Spiders and Magic: Civil War

by Masterob

First published 30th of March, 2021

An internal battle between The Avengers and The Elements of Harmony threaten Equestria's future.

A world of heroes would ideally be a good thing for Equestria, but with the heroes came the villains, and after so many villain showdowns and multi-dimensional troubles from other worlds outside Marvel and Equestria, order needed to be restored to maintain the harmony Princess Celestia worked for many years to achieve. With the help of Tony Stark, the two design a method in which the hero work would be properly moderated and harmony can be maintained.

But over time ideologies began to clash as Steve Rogers began to doubt the Accords laid out by Tony and in time would stage a rebellion to fix Equestria of it's newest grasp. Friendships will be tested, allies will become enemies as a battle breaks out between two groups, those who are aligned with The Accords, and those against it. This is war.

The Spark Ignites Part I

The world of Equestria, a place of Magic and Harmony, where Friendship reigned and it's citizens happy, well mostly happy. A world known for it's Harmony has had more troubles than expected, especially since the arrival of other worlds. Worlds like Capcom and it's Street Fighters, Fighting Anti-B.O.W. Teams and Demon Hunters, Worlds like Square with their Avalanche of Rebellion, the Dragon World and it's powerful Saiyans. But more importantly, the world of Marvel, a word rich in Super Heroics.

The Marvel World and Equestria had connected in a deeper way than the other aforementioned worlds, starting with the relationship between Twilight Sparkle and Peter Parker, the latter better known as Spider-Man. It's been almost nine years since the boy was transported from Marvel Earth to the land of Equestria, which led to the romance between the two, culminating in their marriage and a daughter to call their own, with another child on the way. From there led to more friendships and relationships between the two worlds. Rainbow Dash and The Human Torch, Applejack and Gambit, Rarity and Iceman, Deadpool and Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Wolverine and even Spike and The Wasp.

Those heroes currently reside in Equestria along with Scott Lang, better known as Ant Man, and some other X-Men such as Kurt Wagner, better known as Nightcrawler and his friend Jubilee. Heroes like Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and Cyclops also keeping watch over Equestria, alongside the Princess sisters, Celestia and Luna.

Even heroes from the rival world Capcom, such as Ryu, Chun-Li, Dante and Chris Redfield, along with heroes from another world in Square, namely Cloud Strife, all take part in keeping a watchful eye over the world of Equestria, alongside their Equestrian ambassador Sunset Shimmer.

But trouble had risen over the last few years. First with the potential devastation by The Green Goblin of Marvel, using the powers of the Equestrian Chaos Spirit Discord in an attempt to rule over the multiverse. The next major disaster came years later with the Capcom Invasion of villains led by Albert Wesker.

Things were resolved temporarily, with all the villains defeated, until years later, with Marvel villains like Iron Monger, Mysterio, Annihilus, Baron Mordo, Taskmaster, Loki, Magneto and Sabretooth all invading and causing trouble for this normally harmonious world. Even Nemesis, a monster from the Capcom world, attempted to wreak havoc.

All of this was orchestrated by Discord, the spirit building a legion to go against Spider-Man and the Powers of Equestria, alongside his ally Lord Tirek, who sought after Equestria's throne.

Very recently, a Saiyan named Goku had come to Equestria to do battle with Peter while his ally Vegeta went to Capcom to do battle against Ryu. It was a big showdown, both men displaying power the heroes rarely saw, if they ever. It took Thor to take down Goku and Cloud Strife to slow Vegeta to a halt. This was certainly a wake-up call for the heroes of these worlds that there couple be potential threats with that level of power.

In light of all this, Princess Celestia grew very concerned over the troubles caused by these invasions, but fortunately Tony Stark knew what to do. After months of planning, he had the perfect way to maintain order across Equestria, a plan he calls 'The Accords'. He will maintain order, and maintain the Harmony between Equestria and Marvel.

It was about five months after The Saiyans arrived, Tony Stark had called a big meeting in Canterlot, one open to the public for everypony to see. He stood on a big stage alongside Steve Rogers, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance and Princess Twilight.

Other Avengers such as Bruce Banner, Thor, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Captain Marvel and The Wasp were attending, all waiting near the side of the stage alongside X-Men ambassador Cyclops. The Wonderbolts were also in attendance on the side opposite to The Avengers, Spitfire looking particularly excited and intrigued for what could be announced.

Peter was also on stage to support his wife while The Elements stood in the crowd with their husbands, as well as Starlight and Sunburst, and heroes like Ant Man and Miss Marvel, and family like Laura, Lightning Dust, Rina, Aunt May and Trixie. Also present were the Cutie Mark Crusaders, all three looking after their nieces and nephews.

Shining Armor was also present with Flurry Heart and Mayday Parker-Sparkle by his side as well, keeping the two girls close to him as he curiously awaited this meeting. He wasn't alone, Reed Richards and Susan Storm had stood by him alongside their son Franklin and family friend Ben Grimm. Reed seemed particularly interested in what his colleague Tony Stark had to say in this matter, and what it could also mean for their Earth.

Rumble had also attended alongside his foalsitters Fitter and Cloudchaser, and his brother Thunderlane, the two having a chance to reunite after a long period of time.

The Student Six and Cozy Glow were also present in the crowd, with Nightcrawler and Jubilee keeping watch over them. Many of the kids were hoping to spread good info back to their homes, figuring their Kingdoms may benefit from these Accords as well.

Nearby Sunset Shimmer was observing alongside a curious Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Chris Redfield, Nathan Spencer, Dante, Strider Hiryu, Mega Man, Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart, Barret Wallace and Squall Leonheart, the latter visiting Equestria for the first time in Sunset's attempt to reach out to more of Square.

"You all might be wondering why you've been gathered here," Tony began. "As you can probably tell from our esteemed company, from The Avengers, to Equestrian Royalty, even our friends from the other worlds, I have a very big announcement, one that will affect all parts of Equestria maybe even beyond. Now as you all might be aware, we've been hit with an unfortunate string of Invasions over the last year, mostly threats from my Earth. As an Earthling I do apologize on behalf of my world for all the grief you have all felt, which is why I have been hard at work coming up with ways to fix and adjust these issues, so that we don't continue to have the same problem for years to come."

"How will you be doing that!?" Bon Bon asked from the crowd.

"Very glad you asked that citizen," Tony said. "See I've been developing a new method of operation as of late, a little something I call The Accords, which I also intended for my world but I figured this world needs it too. There are a few parts to this, for starters we have the the Superhero Registration Act. See to make sure there is order, and preferably less destruction, all the superheroes will sign this sheet I have here." Tony held up the sheet in question. "Agreeing to it's rules of procedure and carrying out their heroic duties. Some will work with Equestria's Royal Guards, stationed especially in Canterlot and The Crystal Empire. Others will work in tangent with The Wonderbolts, under the leadership of the very talented Spitfire. Some heroes may be stationed in various towns, including Ponyville, to help assist Princess Twilight and Spider-Mane in keeping the peace."

"How are you deciding?" Shining Armor asked.

"I will be looking for volunteers of course, but I make the final call, and I'll do it based on the individual's talent and skills," Tony explained. "For the next part of the The Accords, I am offering Auditions, a chance for one of you to work alongside The Avengers in keeping this world safe. See while I intend to ask for assistance from my world, along with Capcom and Square, I figured some Equestrians would want a chance to join the Superhero ranks."

"My chance to shine," Lightning Dust commented.

"Your chance? How?" Trixie asked. "Are you planning to join The Avengers?"

"Something like that," Lightning said. "Tell you more later."

"There is a third part, but it's currently a work in progress, once I figure out the kinks and make it as flawless as possible, I will let everyone here know before I make it official," Tony said. "Everything here being done today, is to make sure we all have a bright future ahead of us, one where there is less chaos and destruction, a future where our children can grow and be happy. With these Accords, I will set Equestria on the right path!"

"Hold on! One question for you!" came a somewhat familiar voice. Stepping into view was Thunderlane, his brother and friends curious about his interruption. "What's the point of all this? Like why are these Accord things really necessary?"

"Good question you...uh, who are you again?" Tony asked.

"My name is Thunderlane," the pony greeted. "Not sure if you heard of me, but I was a big player during the original Invasion of the Capcom world."

"Oh right, the guy who really hated Peter and as a result, Peter and Twilight had to house your little brother," Tony said, getting a look of shame and annoyance from Thunderlane and some awkwardness from Rumble. "Given the fact that you were around for that invasion, I would think you'd understand what I'm trying to do here. We need order in this world if we're gonna keep it safe."

"Is it really needed though?" Lyra asked. "Spider-Mane already does a great job, same with his team of Amazing Friends!"

"That's not our team name by the way!" Johnny said.

"Johnny, not the time!" Twilight loudly whispered.

"We just want to know how this might affect our every day lives," Bon Bon said.

"Will there be strictly enforced rules?" Minuette asked.

"All you'll be doing is following the law, you ponies can do that, you're already mostly harmonious," Stark said. "The heroes will continue to do what they always do."

"But then what's the point of these 'Accords' of yours?" Thunderlane asked. "Honestly it seems like the only way to stop the villains from attacking is by sealing your world away. Not that I'm saying to do that but if all the most dangerous threats come from your world, and sometimes those other worlds, then it seems like the problem is there, not here."

"He's got a point Mr. Stark!" Bon Bon said. "Evil rarely exists in Equestria in the first place to warrant this Accords thing."

Luna took the moment to take center stage, "Tony Stark has put a lot of work into this, but it will require all of us working together to ensure it's success. Please everypony, show your support and good will for Tony Stark and his ideas."

"See, even Equestrian Royalty believes in this idea," Stark said.

"Seems more like she's dodging the question," Thunderlane commented.

"Hey, I heard that!" Tony warned. "Anyway you heard your Princess, if she thinks this is a good idea then what's the harm in trying?"

"Hm...we want to hear what Princess Celestia has to say!" Bon Bon said.

"What is Luna not good enough for you?" Stark asked, almost joking. Of course Luna did seem annoyed, not at Tony but the possible truth in his words. "But if that's what you want, then let's hear from Celestia."

"Thank you, Tony Stark," Celestia said, making her way to the center of the stage. "I understand any grievances you have, but like my sister pointed out, Tony Stark has put a lot of work into this. He's doing it for his world as well as ours, please I implore you to give this a chance."

Steve also too center stage, "Myself along with Celestia will continue to look over everything, nothing will be done without her full approval. If there's one thing we all know is that Princess Celestia loves and values all of you. As the leader of The Avengers-"

"Co-Leader!" Tony corrected.

Steve groaned in annoyance, "Co-Leader...I promise to keep whatever Tony has planned civil. I can assure you that right now, he is only looking to station heroes in many parts of this world, and that we are indeed looking for volunteers. Any of you who think you have what it takes, step up and you can be among the first to be part of a new branch of The Avengers, The Equestrian Edition!"

Many in the crowd seemed to be on board with this idea, with mostly Bon Bon and Thunderlane having doubts due to their lack of faith in Tony Stark. Though they both respected Princess Celestia, mostly for Thunderlane, and decided to trust his idea.

"Think I can be an Avenger?" Rumble asked.

"I thought you wanted to be a Wonderbolt?" Cloudchaser asked.

"I can be both, they're already working with The Avengers, like you're gonna be since you're also a Wonderbolt," Rumble said. "I'll be The Wonderbolt Avenger."

"Keep reaching for that goal little bro," Thunderlane said.

Twilight took the moment to take center stage, "Everything Tony Stark is doing is for the betterment of our world. He's put a lot of thought into this, he's worked tirelessly to ensure safety and harmony between the worlds. I know you're all nervous and I know it means changes, but sometimes change is necessary to make extraordinary progress for our world."

"Oh smart, using big words to make this sound intelligent," Bobby joked.

"Bobby!" Rarity scolded.

Twilight continued her speech, "I urge you all to give this a chance, Tony has ran this plan by me and my fellow Princesses, along with my husband. You all admire Peter for being Equestria's hero, well Tony is the one who helped inspire Peter to be the hero you all know today, if he trusts him, we all should. And know that no matter the change and as scary as it could come across, just remember that we have the power to make anything work."

"We got this!" Tony said, gesturing to everyone on the stage.

"You got this!" Steve said, gesturing to the crowd.

"We got this Together!" Twilight finished, expanding her magic across the crowd, making everyone feel connected and together.

"And to make sure everyone here knows the value of this agreement, I have already picked out our first hero to sign, one that you all know and love, Spider-Mane himself!" Tony said, welcoming Peter to center stage.

Of course all the ponies in the crowd cheered for Peter, save for a few. The boy nervously waved to the ponies of Equestria as Tony presented him the papers.

"Make us proud kid," Tony said. "Show your support."

"Yeah, sure thing," Peter said, taking the paper and pen. "Well, time to make this official I guess..."

Before Peter could sign, the skies overhead started to darken a bit, much to the worry of the ponies and the concern of the heroes and ponies.

"Uh...what's happening?" Peter asked, looking around.

"I have no idea," Tony turned to his radio. "Spitfire, wasn't the weather suppose to be clear today!?"

"It was, I don't know what's happening," Spitfire said.

"Well something's up, figure it out!" Tony ordered.

"There's a giant ship approaching!" Hawkeye called out.

"Giant ship?" Peter and everyone looked up. "Looks more like a blimp!"

"I would say 'Zeppelin'," Twilight corrected.

"Something ominous is approaching," Celestia said.

Luna turned her attention to Tony, "I don't suppose you know what that is?"

"Not a clue," Tony said.

"Ryu? Cloud?" Sunset said. "Either one of you familiar with that?"

"Can't say that I am," Ryu said, trying to figure out what's happening.

"Me neither," Cloud said. "Unless Cid did a major redesign on the Highwind."

Squall turned his attention to Tifa, "Things like this common here?"

"It is a pattern from what I was told," Tifa said.

"Everyone be ready for anything," Chun-Li ordered.

The ship landed down near the stage, all the Marvel Heroes immediately rushing to the front, guarding the civilians in the ground. Within seconds the door to the ship opened up, a giant ramp setting down before the heroes. From the top, a little blue hedgehog appeared at the doorway, confusing everyone in attendance.

"You're all seeing this, right?" Peter asked.

"Is that a porcupine?" Johnny asked.

"No, I think it's a hedgehog," Logan said.

"A hedgehog? Those exist in Equestria?" Bobby asked.

"I mean, lots of different animals exist here," Peter said. "So hedgehogs shouldn't be that unusual."

"Yeah but, he doesn't look like a wild animal," Bobby said. "Also if hedgehogs appear then why did that one hedgehog who came here a few years ago resemble a pony?"

"Luck of the draw? I mean he is technically an alien, that's what Mega Man told me," Peter said.

The small hedgehog grabbed a mega phone, turning it on loud enough for everyone to hear. "Attention ponies! Name's Grubber! I'm here to crash this party on behalf of the greatest soon to be ruler of Equestria, the one, and only, Storm King!"

Within seconds a few banners had fallen into place, all of them containing logos and pictures of the aforementioned Storm King.

"The Storm King?" Silversteam muttered in surprise.

"Pfft, Storm King?" Johnny asked. "Uh, there's only one Storm King, that's me. Johnny Storm."

"Dude, seriously?" Peter asked. "Put your ego away, we got bigger things to worry about."

Rainbow Dash flew overhead, "Hey you! I don't know what you're deal is but you better start explaining yourself before I grind you into dust!"

"I'll leave that to the big man himself!" Grubber said, stepping aside as a new face appeared, a creature resembling a primate.

"That must be the Storm King," Peter said, recognizing him from the pictures on his banner. The other heroes looked ready for a fight, including the outer world heroes.

"Hey! Sorry to barge in! But I saw this big, get together, and thought, this would be the perfect opportunity to present myself!" Storm King said. "Now I'm not gonna bore you with details, just know that I am here to conquer you all and you're all going to do exactly what I say! Ok? Good! Now you may all-"

"Hey! Storm King!" Peter interrupted.

Storm King looked down at the boy, "Ah, it's Spider-Mane, the hero who saved all of Equestria! Tell me, do you actually have spiders in your mane? I mean the name has to mean something doesn't it?"

"Nevermind that!" Peter said, somewhat annoyed. "Look I don't know what kind of joke this is but you need to take a hike dude! You are not conquering Equestria as long as I'm here!"

"We're," Johnny corrected, much to Peter's anoyance.

"So what you're saying is that I need to get rid of you, is that right?" Storm King asked.

"Y-yes, technically you do!" Peter awkwardly confirmed. "Not that it would be easy, if fact it isn't gonna happen! Because I'll beat you!"

"Way to sound intimidating," Bobby joked.

"You wanna step up dude?" Peter aked his smart-mouth friend.

"Right, right, you'll beat me, typical hero talk" Storm King said. "Gotta say, I am very interested in you Spider-Mane, I mean you came all the way from another world! For the longest time I thought the Equestrian Princesses were all I had to worry about, now you and your little friends are here to protect these ponies, even turning into ponies yourselves! Boy must that be embarrassing for you! I bet you used to look cool, not as cool as me but anything's better than this."

"Want cool huh? Get a load of this then," Tony said, activating a button, his suit flying in and attaching itself to him, the billionaire having completely donned his armor.

"Alright, that's moderately impressive," Storm King admitted. "You still look like a pony though."

"A pony who can do this!" Tony said, quickly blasting Storm King back with his repulsor, an act surprising Grubber. "That's just a warning too."

"Hey! You can't treat the Storm King like that!" the little blue creature shouted.

"Take a hike pipsqueak, the adults are talking," Tony said, still having his focus locked on the Storm King. "Ready to give up? Or do you want more?"

"Heh, you pack quite a punch," Storm King said, struggling to stand. "But I didn't come this far to give up without a fight."

"What do you want from us anyway?" Peter asked.

"It's more The Princesses I'm after," Storm King said. "You see, I want their magic."

"What could you want with our magic?" Twilight asked, getting into a defensive position. "What are you planning?"

"You'll see soon enough, now we can do this the easy way, or the Storm King Way!" the villain warned.

"I was thinking more The Avengers way, as in we kick your ass and send you crawling back to whatever hole you freaks crawled out from," Tony warned.

"Sorry, not one of the options," Storm King taunted. "Looks like it's my choice, and I choose, Storm King Way!"

Within moments, an army of creatures emerged from the ship, each of them armed with a trident and a shield, all of them making their way toward the ponies of Canterlot. By this point, Starlight, Sunburst, Sunset, The Capcom Warriors and Square warriors stepped in closer.

"This guy obviously means business," Sunset commented.

Storm King held his arms out in satisfaction, "Not bad huh? Think you have a chance against my army?"

"Think you're the first guy to present an army to us? I mean for starters, we have a Hulk," Tony gestured to the hero in question. "Second, we're an army of heroes, you can't stop us!"

"Time to put your money where your mouth is!" Storm King said, gesturing to the heroes. "Attack!"

As the army charged in, so did the heroes, the two sides immediately clashing, and going to war against one another, to either conquer or protect. While some heroes fought, others focused on protecting the Civilians, especially the kids in the crowd.

"Let's do away with these second rate minions." Tony said as he blasted several of the creatures away with his repulsors, Thor used his hammer to whack a large amount of them back and struck others down with his thunder, Steve tossed his shield around as it ricocheted off a bunch, the hero moving in quickly and using take downs during the process, Hulk smashing like per normal.

"Time for this Friendly Neighborhood Spider to fan away the storm!" Peter said as he zipped around, punching and kicking a bunch of them, using his webbing to keep a few detained, Johnny blasting off his fire, using to to scare a few off. Bobby froze a bunch of them as Remy blasted them with his kinetic cards, and used his staff on any of them that got too close. Janet zapped a few in her Breezie form, but mostly kept an eye on civilian ponies, ensuring their safety.

"Come on bubs!" Logan shouted, using his claws to destroy their tridents and shields, allowing an opening to punch the creatures. Hawkeye used his arrows to set off mini explosions, disorienting them long enough for Black Widow to move in and kick the monsters down. Miss Marvel grabbed several with her elastic body while Captain Marvel blasted them with her cosmic powers.

"It's clobbering time!" The Thing said, ramming through a bunch of monsters while Reed used his elasticity to form hammer fists and Susan using her invisibility to attack through stealth. T'Challa zipped around to strike the army members down, while Cyclops, Jean and Storm zapped together from a distance.

"Kicking ass all day long!" Deadpool said, rushing in with Jubilee, Night Crawler and Ant Man, performing combinations of strikes, blasts, teleporting attacks, sneak attacks an everything in between.

"Wait, the kids," Jubilee turned to see that they were surrounded by soldiers. "Kurt! We have to save them!"

"Of course," Nightcralwer said, joining his friend to help fight off the villains.

"I'll protect my world!" Twilight said, keeping her distance as she zapped several of the guards. The ones that got too close were intercepted by either Rainbow Dash with a flying kick, Rarity with her own magic blast, or the combination of Starlight, Sunburst and Sunset using their own magic to send the guards flying off.

Applejack wanted to help, but due to her pregnancy, it wasn't safe for her to act. Plus her friends were already trying to protect Twilight, she didn't want to be a liability.

"Applejack!" Big Mac called to his sister. "This way, we'll keep an eye on you!"

"Watch out big brother!" called Apple Bloom. A Storm King solider lunged at the Big Mac, but the farmer stallion head rammed it away into a few others, knocking them over like bowling pins.

"That'll teach ya!" Big Mac said, then turned to his sister. "We'll get you to safety."

"Thanks Big Mac," Applejack said, following her brother.

"I will not forgive this cowardly assault!" Ryu shouted. Keeping a firm ground, he quickly struck the guards with precise blows. Ken and Chun-Li joined in with kicks to keep them distant, Chris rushing in with some strong blows, Dante using his sword to destroy their shields and leave them open for him for attack. Mega Man, Spencer and Strider cleared the way for some ponies to get to safety in the midst of the chaos.

"I won't let another army hurt innocents!" Cloud said. He used his sword to whack a bunch of the soldiers away, along with some quick strikes, using the helm for assistance. Tifa used her martial arts skills to take a bunch down, Squall also fighting hard, using his sword to disarm the villains. Barrett kept a bunch away from the ponies, allowing them another chance to escape.

"Welcome to Equestria new guy!" Spencer joked to Squall.

"Whatever," Squall said, attacking more guards.

Thunderlane was the only one in the crowd who didn't leave, but he didn't leap into action either, the pony trying to figure out his best course of action.

"Hey Thunder," came a voice. He turned to see a very welcome face.

"Felicia?" Thunderlane said.

"Why don't you head back to our place, you can hold the fort there while I step in here," Felicia said. "I'm itching to stretch my legs again after so long."

"Be careful out there," Thunderlane warned, flying back to his home.

"You worry too much," Felicia rushed in and attacked many of the guards, using her quick movements to rush around them, using her whip to her advantage as well.

"Uh, they're losing!" Storm King commented, turning his attention to Grubber. "Why are they losing!?"

"Because you didn't give them a worthy enough of a fight," Came another voice. Stepping out of the ship was a purple pony with a broken unicorn horn.

"Hey, Commander Tempest! I don't suppose you can lend a hoof here," Grubber suggested.

"If I must, someone has to keep this army from getting it's name dragged through the mud," Tempest said, stepping completely off the ramp.

"If you pull this off, I'll give you a promotion," Storm King said.

"When I pull this off," Tempest corrected. "I want you to fulfil our end of the deal."

"Sure, whatever you want, now go beat those hero people up!" Storm King commanded.

Tempest focused her sights on the first pony who crossed her path, that being Bobby.

"Back off creeps!" Bobby said, blasting the Storm King's soliders with his ice, freezing them in place. "Who else wants some of me?"

At that moment, Tempest took her opportunity to jump in with a kick to his head, knocking him over. "I'll take you up on that offer."

Bobby shook it off, focusing on the newcomer, "You look tougher, alright let's see what you got!" He sent an ice beam at Tempest but she quickly jumped out the way and rushed in with a kick to his head, then zipped around to kick him in the face, knocking him over.

"Hey back off!" Remy warned, grabbing his cards and tossing them at Tempest, the mare dodging and rushing in with a kick, one that Remy inetitially blocked with his staff. He tried following up with a twirl attack but she had ducked and swept his hooves with a kick.

"Back away from my friends!" Rainbow Dash warned, flying in to kick Tempest back. She flew in for a follow up attack, but Tempest quickly blasted her in the face with her partially destroyed horn magic.

Tempest brought out a type of ball, ready to throw it, "I was saving this for the princesses, but I have a few spares just in-"

Suddenly the ball was webbed away, getting knocked into a solider, immediately turning it to stone. Tempest turned to see Peter, the hero looking a bit confused. "Did he just turn to stone?"

"Spider-Mane...so we meet at last," Tempest said.

"Uh...am I suppose to know you?" Peter asked, genuinely confused.

"No, I doubt you would know me, but I know about you," Tempest said, taking a few steps forward. "The hero of Equestria, who's saved this world time and again, through his valiant efforts have ensured the safety of these ponies, and the proud husband of an Equestrian Princess."

"Seems like you did your research," Peter said, somewhat weirded out. "What do you want with us anyway?"

"It's like The Storm King said, we want your magic," Tempest said. "See The Storm King wants power, and while he could go for those Artifacts, like the one in The Crystal Empire, or that silly orb the Hippogriffs own, he seeks greater power than that."

"Silly orb?" Peter asked. "What silly orb?"

"Never mind that," Tempest said. "I'd tell you not to stand in our way, but you seem like the stubborn hero type."

"I mean, yeah that's my whole deal," Peter said. "I have to protect my home after all."

"How valiant," came another voice. Peter recognized it, but just as he turned around, he took a blast from behind. Standing in place was Thor's mischievous brother Loki. "I told you he would say something like that."

Loki's arrival did alert a couple of heroes nearby, namely Remy. "What's Loki doing here?" He wanted to help Peter but found himself blocked by a Storm King Solider. "Out of my way!

"So you came, I figured you'd sit back while we did all the work," Tempest said.

"Watch that tone of yours, I'm the one who helped you set this invasion up," Loki said. "I help you with your goals, in return I require help in my goal to overtake Asgard, preferably quick, I fear for it's destruction, and I will not allow some old prophecy to take what is mine."

"Loki!" Peter said, standing back up. "Where did you come from!? And what prophecy!?"

"None of your concern," Loki said, turning away. "Finish him off Tempest, I have a brother to find."

Tempest turned her attention back to Peter, the boy looking a bit confused, "What's he talking about, and how are you in league with Loki!?"

"We had a mutual ally," Tempest said, immediately blasting Peter with her magic. "Let's finish this, shall we?"

As the two fought, Loki sought out Thor, whom he spotted battling some of the soldiers, "Hello brother!"

"Loki!?" Thor whacked a solider away and turned to his younger brother. "What are you doing here!?"

"Is that any way to greet a relative you haven't seen in a-" Loki's taunt was interrupted when he had to quickly dodge a lightning bolt.

"I am in no mood for games!" Thor flew up and tried attacking Loki with Mjölnir, the fellow God blocking with his Tesseract powered staff.

"So you want to skip straight to the fight!?" Loki parried Thor and blasted him back. "So be it! The sooner you're out the way, the sooner I can take Asgard before Surtur can!"

"Surtur?" Thor remembered a prophecy his father once told him. "No, don't tell me..."

"You sound worried brother," Loki said. "You won't have time to be once your dead!"

The mischievous God flew in to attack once again, Thor blocking with his hammer, ready to keep fighting, especially for answers.

In the midst of the fighting, Storm King smartly stayed out of the way, fending off the occasional royal guardsman, much to his annoyance. "Hope this doesn't take long, all I need is to steal the magic from those four Princesses and place in this staff thing...what did Tempest call it?"

"I think she said Staff of Sacanas your Storminess sir," Grubber said.

"Oh right, Staff of Sacanas, weird name," Storm King said, looking over the object. "No matter, I just need Tempest to hurry up, she's got those weird stone bomb things, she could finish Spider-Mane off easily."

"You don't think that would be enough, do you?" came a voice. Within seconds, Discord had popped into the battlefield. "Hello."

"Oh it's you, that Discord guy," Storm King said.

"Really, is that my legacy now after all I've done?" Discord asked, sighing in shame. "What a world..."

"Hey, got any new info for us?" Grubber asked.

"Yes, I just nabbed some extra allies for us, and just in time, seems like your soldiers are dropping pretty fast," Discord said. "I thought Loki would have powered them up a bit more, probably didn't think they were worth the magic."

"Maybe I should steal his magic too," Storm King said. "Make him actually useful."

"I wouldn't, see Loki has chaos magic, similar to mine, and it's very hard to control," Discord said. "Plus if you tried stealing his magic, he'd make you regret it."

"Well anyway, where are these allies you promised?" Storm King asked.

"Here comes the first," Discord said, snapping his fingers. "Straight from the Marvel world."

Nearby Nightcrawler and Jubilee had gotten Cozy Glow and The Student Six to safety, away from the Storm King's soldiers, right near the entrance to Canterlot castle, where others like Rumble, Flitter, The Cutie Mark Crusaders, Aunt May and the hero kids had gone to.

"Alright, you kids go in the castle and wait while Kurt and I beat up those bad guys," Jubilee said.

"You mean we're not gonna fight?" Gallus asked.

"Of course not, it's too dangerous for you kids to be fighting," Jubilee said.

"Hey we're tough!" Smolder said. "Let us help!"

"Twilight wouldn't be happy if you got hurt," Nightcrawler said. "And we would be devastated."

"Just wait here," Jubilee said, running off with Nightcrawler, the two heading back to battle.

"This is so lame, I want to fight too!" Smolder said.

"Yeah, maybe we should go out there, just to show we can fight," Gallus said.

"Or we could just wait?" Silverstream suggested, to the surprise of her friends.

"You of all creatures want to wait?" Smolder asked.

"Let's just trust the heroes," Silverstream said. "If we go out there, we'll be a liability. Besides, I've heard stories about that Storm King guy from Queen Novo, he and his army are not to be messed with."

"You know about them?" Cozy Glow asked. "Could you tell us?"

"I don't know much, I was just told to beware The Storm King," Silverstream said. "But I trust Jubilee and Nightcrawler to help the heroes get rid of them, let's all do the same."

As Nightcrawler and Jubilee rushed back to the battlefield, the former noticed somepony in the distance. "What in the world?"

"Kurt, what's wrong?" Jubilee asked.

"That unicorn...could she be?" Nightcrawler gestured to the distance where he spotted a blue unicorn with red hair knocking some royal guards out the way as she approached Logan.

"It's been a while, Wolverine," the mare said.

Logan immediately stopped fighting as he turned around to face the mare, "Mystique?"

"Seems like Creed couldn't finish the job," Mystique brought out a rifle. "So I'll finish it for him!"

Logan rushed to attack but Mystique had jumped and fired at Logan, the mutant taking a bullet to his shoulder, but that wouldn't deter him.

"Gonna have to do better than that!" Logan rushed to attack, Mystique leaping back.

"I will!" Mystique turned into a Timber-Wolf and knocked Logan back, then turned into a Cragidile and bit Logan's leg hard, tossing him away. She turned back to normal as she slowly approached Logan. "An acquaintance of mine familiarized me with a few Equestrian beasts, and with this form, I have magic to help me amp up my transformations." Mystique then turned into Logan himself, "Of course, I am not without my own tricks."

"I got tricks of my own, what years of experience in this world will do fer me," Logan said, rushing in to attack again.

From afar, Nightcrawler could only watch on in surprise, "It's...my mother..."

Jubilee could certainly understand Nightcrawler's plight, but right now she was more worried about their mutual friend and teammate. "Logan needs our help, let's go."

Nightcrawler snapped out of his worried state of mind, "R-right!"

Meanwhile Discord had another trick planned, "Now for part two, from the Capcom world!" With a snap, Discord brought in his second ally. "This one was hard to convince, luckily Sunset brought over Ryu just like I hoped she would."

Not too far off, while Ryu was fighting some soldiers, trying to keep them away from some civilians, he felt a familiar evil ki, "What's that power?"

"Boy..." came a demonic voice, one that sent shivers down Ryu's spine.

"No, impossible!" Ryu quickly turned and found himself facing off against his old rival. "Akuma!"

That got the attention of Ken and Chun-LI, both of them looking just as surprised as Ryu to see the demonic martial artist in Equestria.

"How are you here!?" Ryu shouted in disbelief. "How did you come to this world!? Explain youself!"

"I am not here to talk, I'm here to fight," Akuma said, powering up. "I hope you've gotten stronger!"

Ryu was incredibly concerned over the situation, not the first time an enemy of his find their way to Equestria, but Akuma was definitely one of the worst possibilities. While he's not one to actively hurt innocents like Bison or his Shadoloo operatives would do, when Akuma fights he goes all out regardless of who may be around.

"Akuma, this isn't the place! If we fight then we'll risk the destruction of the city!" Ryu said. "Plus there are still innocent ponies around!"

"If they get hurt during our fight, that is on them," Akuma said, getting ready to go in. "Show me your power!"

"Dammit!" Ryu had no choice, he just had to act quickly, hopefully subdue him. Akuma is in pony form, that should give him an advantage, it is unlikely he's fully adapted. "Fine! I'll defeat you here and now!"

Ryu rushed in and engaged in combat with Akuma, the two matching blows upon first contact. Ryu felt some force behind Akuma's punch, he definitely still had a lot of power, this fight won't be as easy.

"You have gotten stronger, good!" Akuma knocked Ryu back with a kick. "Let's see more!"

"Ryu!" Chun-LI rushed over with Ken and Spencer.

"Stay back!" Ryu warned. "I'll fight him!"

Akuma briefly turned to Ken, "I recognize your ki, and that ridiculous hair. You're Ryu's little friend. After I finish him off, I'll gladly take you on next, if you think you're strong enough to take me."

"You bastard!" Ken looked ready to fight here and now, but Chun-Li held him back.

"Let Ryu fight for now, we still have to fight off that Storm King guy's invasion," Chun-Li said.

"Looks like that bastard brought help too," Spencer said, gesturing to the battle in the skies between Thor and Loki.

"Great, from bad to worse," Chun-Li turned her attention to Ryu. "Good luck."

"Thanks but I think I can do this without luck," Ryu said, getting back in position. "Let's do this then!"

Ryu and Akuma rushed back toward each other, once again engaging in combat. Ryu felt the force in his punch but it wasn't enough to really deter him. He went for a few strikes but Akuma had blocked and parried most of them until he got a blow to his face. Feeling confident, Ryu rushed in to attack again but Akuma hit the stallion with a powerful punch to the abs, knocking him back.

"You dropped your guard for that fleeting moment," Akuma critisized.

Ryu stood up, angrily glaring at the brother of his sensei, "This is going to be a bit tougher than I hoped."

Meanwhile Discord seemed pretty pleased with himself, but still had one more trick up his sleeve. "Now for the final appearance, and it's a special one. For the first time, an enemy from Square has made his way to Equestria." With a snap came Discord's final ally. "I hope that Cloud boy is ready."

The skies darkened yet again, clouds forming overhead as another ominous feeling overtook the atmosphere. Very few noticed as they were trying to fend off the invasion, but the ones who would notice, would feel unnatural dread.

Emerging from the clouds was a Pegasus in black and a long eight foot tall sword. What was interesting about this Pegasus, was the fact that it had only one wing.

As Cloud knocked away some enemies, he felt something ominous. The mercenary looked up to see the figure descending down from the skies, a terrified look in his eyes upon contact, "Sephiroth!?"

That caught Tifa's attention as she also looked up into the skies, "Impossible!"

"Sephiroth?" Squall stopped fighting a moment to see the mysterious figure floating from the skies. "No way."

As Sephiroth descended, he immediately spotted Cloud. Different form or not, he would recognize him just about anywhere. "So, you are here, I heard you found a new haven of safety with all your friends, and it seems like you have made some new ones." Sephiroth landed on the ground, eye to eye with Cloud, a sinister grin on his face. "You should know by now, you can never escape me, much like the night sky will inevitably cast darkness over the lands, I will always there to keep the darkness residing within you."

"That's fine," Cloud said, grabbing his Buster Sword. "I'll just defeat you again! Like I always have!"

"So foolishly optimistic," Sephiroth taunted, aiming his Masamune. "Once I defeat you, I'll give this world a taste of despair, that's if Loki and those others don't beat me to it first."

"Loki?" Cloud looked around and spotted Loki in the skies. "When did he get here!?"

"Focus on what's in front of you!" Sephiroth shouted, rushing in to attack, Cloud immediately blocking with his sword. "Show me just how much stronger you've become!"

"That what you want? Then fine!" Cloud brought the fight to Sephiroth, the two clashing swords in the battlefield. Cloud aggressively attacked with his sword, Sephiroth blocking and parrying, though somewhat amazed by Cloud's power, almost as if he were anew in this world.

"Not bad, but I'm just warming up!" Sephiroth said, returning the aggression against Cloud.

As Sunset Shimmer continued zapping all oncoming soldiers, she noticed the situation both Ryu and Cloud were in. The two were engaged in battle against newer foes, ones she wasn't entirely familiar with. Though given their appearances, she had an idea of who they might be, and the revelation worried her extensively.

"This is going from bad to worse!" She looked up in the skies to see Thor battling Loki. "How is this even happening!? Who's causing all this!?" Suddenly she found herself dodging an oncoming chunk of concrete from a Storm King solider. "Damn, if we don't worry, Canterlot's going to be completely destroyed!" Sunset looked toward the castle, an idea crossing through her head. "We're gonna need more help to end this faster, I just hope Princess Celestia doesn't mind."

Sunset quickly teleported away, just as the fights started to intensify, all at the pleasure of Discord and The Storm King.

"Wow, so much chaos, if this much is happening now, just wait til this plan of mine really takes off," Discord said.

"What plan?" Storm King asked.

"Oh don't worry about it, just a little science experiment on my end," Discord said. "I trust you are satisfied with the current results?"

"I'll be even more satisfied once I have the magic of the four Princesses!" Storm King said.

"You really do have a one track mind, don't you?" Discord teased.

"It's called a goal, I came here with a goal and I want to accomplish that goal!" Stom King said.

"I suppose I can't fault you for wanting to stick to your plans, that is what makes a good leader after all," Discord said. "Well now that my work here is done, I should be going. Cheers."

With a snap, Discord had disappeared, leaving Storm King to enact the next part of his plan, "Alright, I'm going in." He readied a stone orb. "That magic isn't going to collect itself."

"Boy wouldn't it be so much easier if it could?" Grubber joked, though Storm King hadn't reacted, the villain just going off to do what he intended to do. "Alright, you go do that you gotta. I'll just...stay here I guess."

Nearby Tempest was still engaged with Peter, despite her earlier advantage, the mare quickly found herself struggling. Peter was too quick and agile for her, she could barely land a blow, and the moment she got close, Peter had kicked her way.

"You should give up, I really don't want to have to keep fighting you," Peter said.

"I don't want your sympathy," Tempest turned to some nearby soldiers, "Hey! Make yourselves useful! After him!"

The guards tried to double team Peter, but the hero leapt up, webbed the two together and slammed them into each other. As he landed a third solider tried to attack but Peter elbowed it in the stomach and knocked him back.

"Is that all? Maybe you should-" His spider sense reacted and he quickly found himself avoiding a stone orb, one that hit a random citizen, a citizen he recognized. "Lyra!?"

"Sorry did I turn your friend into stone!?" Tempest taunted.

"How do you turn her back!?" Peter shouted, angrily turning to Tempest. "Answer me!"

"It's useless without the magic needed for the Staff of Sacanas," Tempest said. "I could try to find another way, but I'll need some cooperation."

"I'll cooperate my hoof into your face if you don't give me-" Peter felt his senses go off again but this time he could barely react as he took yet another blast to the side from Loki, who happened to be nearby during his fight.

"Don't be so careless, Spider-Man is stronger than he looks," Loki warned.

"I had this under control," Tempest said.

"Yeah, you're welcome," Loki sarcastically replied.

"Loki!" Thor rushed in to attack, but this time Tempest had blasted him from the air, much to Loki's surprise.

"Wow, nice shot, you're either extremely talented or very lucky," Loki said.

"I don't do luck," Tempest said, as she focused back on Peter. "Also this makes us even."

"Uh...right..." Loki said. "Now then, time to-"

"Loki!" Came Luna's booming voice, one that got Tempest's attention again. "How dare you return to our world unwelcomed!"

"Well that's quite harsh for beings about love and acceptance," Loki taunted.

Celestia had also appeared, right by Luna's side, "I don't know what it is you're planning here, perhaps you believed you could take us all at once, a plan that's obviously failing."

Cadance had also shown up, staring down Loki, "You still have to answer for the trouble you caused at The Crystal Empire!"

"Now ladies, let's compromise," Loki said. "I believe we can all work this out, this will end if I can get my hands on your magic, now if you would just politely-"

"You can't be serious, are you expecting us to just give you our magic?" Luna asked.

"It's rude to interrupt you know," Loki lecutred. "As for my suggestion, I only offered a peaceful solution, one befitting Equestrians such as yourselves."

"As if we'll just give in to your demands you troublemaking knave!" Luna said. "The three of us will blast you back to your dimension, hopefully where your father Odin will deal out a proper punishment."

"You think he hasn't tried that already?" Loki taunted, aiming his staff at the Alicorns. "My magic is getting stronger, I'm surpassing that old fool by the second, and in due time, even if this plan fails, I still have plenty of back-up plans. All you're doing is delaying the inevitable and welcoming more unwarrented destruction to your world!"

"If we must, we will vanquish you!" Luna warned, charging her horn.

Loki, quickly glanced behind him, seeing Tempest ready an orb. The God simply smirked at Luna's threat, "My, even within the harmonous world of Equestria, even creatures like you seem ready to end your conflicts with fighting rather than reason. Perhaps you aren't that different than the other realms."

"Don't try playing that game with us Loki," Celestia warned. "We will not be so easily swayed by your mind games."

Tempest got closer, Loki hoping to distract them some more, "My Princess, it is not mind games, it's merely a friendly warning, sometimes we all need our flaws pointed out."

"Like your flaw in thinking you can distract us!?" Luna flew up and sent a blast at Tempest, the mare dropping her orb. "I am no fool!"

As she attempted to try again, Loki whacked her out of the air, then quickly blasted Celestia and Cadance. Peter then webbed his hooves, trying to keep him in place as Thor rushed in and whacked Loki with his hammer.

Tempest quickly retreated, not wanting to go ay it alone against four Alicorns and a hero, "This is going downhill."

"After them!" Thor ordered, everyone going in to pursue. Storm King soliders quickly tried surrounding them, the royalty and heroes fighting them off in an attempt to catch up to Loki and Tempest.

Nearby Logan was still fending off Mystique, the woman taking on even more forms, even attempting to trick Logan a few times by disguising as his friends, though given that Logan can track a person's scent, that wouldn't work for long.

"Why won't you just perish!?" Mystique said. She went to attack again but took a blast to the sides, courtesy of Cyclops.

"Thanks Scott," Logan said.

"It's nothing," Cyclops said, still surprised by who's before him, "I can't believe she's even here."

"She's not the only surprise," Logan said, taking notice of Ryu's fight.

"Is that...Akuma?" Cyclops asked.

"Seems like it, how did he even get here?" Logan wondered.

"This invasion is much more massive than I thought," Cyclops said. "How are we gonna get these villains out of our world?"

Ryu got knocked near Logan, this bringing the old X-Men leader's attention to Akuma. "Wolverine...never expected to find you here as well."

"Wanna go bub?" Logan asked, aiming his claws. "Don't think I've forgotten the trouble you caused back when our worlds first crossed paths."

"If you have a death wish, I will gladly answer it," Akuma said.

"I don't think so!" Ken said, rushing in. "I'm done standing aside, I get next crack at you!"

Akuma stopped a punch and knocked Ken back. He then blocked Chun-Li's oncoming kick and knocked her away. Spencer tried grappling him with his arm hook, but Akuma pulled the bionic solider in and greeted him with his own punch. Even Strider attempted to attack with his sword, but Akuma quickly disarmed him and delivered a massive punch to his stomach and a demonic Shoryuken like attack

"Who else?" Akuma said, focusing on Wolverine and Ryu. "Which one of you wants to fall to my power?"

As Chun-Li tried standing up, she took notice of Cloud's fight with Sephiroth, the one-winged angel overpowering an attack from Cloud and knocking him away. Squall rushed in to help but he was knocked back as well.

"Foolish," Sephiroth said, readying a flare to destroy Squall. Just before he could fire, Dante rushed in and attacked with his own sword, Sephiroth blocking.

"Hey pal, there can only be one white haired swordsman in Equestria, I didn't fight off my own brother just for some poser like you to show up!" Dante jumped back before Sephiroth can parry. "Take this!"

Dante rushed in to attack again, striking down with electricity but Sephiroth had leapt out the way. He rushed in with an Octi-Slash attack, though in incredible speed, Dante had blocked the eight strikes and kicked Sephiroth back, the former Solider rolling back into fighting position.

"Huh, you're tougher than you look," Dante said.

"You seem strong as well, but you are in my way," Sephiroth said. "Step aside or I will strike you down."

"Just try it tough guy!" Dante rushed back in to attack some more, Sephiroth quickly blocking as the two resumed battle against one another.

"Looks like Dante's busy," Chun-Li commented. "Now Square looks like it's bringing it's villains, this is getting out of hand!"

Mystique attempted to attack Chun-Li from behind, the martial artist sensed in and knocked the mutant back. "Lucky hit."

"It's not luck, it's called experience, you should know I have experience fighting alongside the X-Men against foes like you!" Chun-Li said.

"I'm honestly amazed Professor X let you join, considering your non-mutant status," Mystique said.

"Professor X is about equality after all, where everyone can get along despite the differences, not like Magneto who believed everyone should be the same," Chun-Li said.

"Survival of the fittest, that is the only way to thrive in any world!" Mystique said, going back to attack Chun-Li again.

Akuma was once again engaged in battle, this time with Wolverine. Each one remembered their first encounter on Earth, they pushed each other to their limits. Akuma hasn't felt such a strong opponent since Ryu, or even his brother Gouken.

"You've improved, it'll be fun destroying you!" Akuma said, getting a punch in.

"Not gonna happen bub!" Logan shouted, slashing at Akuma, getting him in the foreleg. Logan went for another attack but Akuma got him in the chest, knocking him into the air.

While he was seemingly distracted, Tifa rushed over to get in a punch, but Akuma had blocked and kicked her aside. "You're not worth my time." Chris also tried to sneak attack Akuma, but failed when he took a blow to the jaw.

Logan rushed back in to attack, but Akuma was prepared, and dodged his claw attacks to hit a hadouken attack that sent his opponent flying. Logan landed on his hooves, but felt some of the force. "This guy's gotten tougher, somehow he seems like a natural fighting in this state. What a monster."

While all this fighting was going down, Tony flew overhead to scout the area, hoping to figure something out. "This is NOT a good start to my plan!" He then saw the Storm King making his way over to where Celestia, Luna and Cadance were fighting. "Alright pal, time to make you regret coming here!"

Storm King looked ready to attack Celestia while she was distracted, holding his orb. "Time to take you down Princess."

As he got close, Tony flew in, firing his beams at the Storm King. "Hey pal, this is for ruining my big plans!"

"Hey! You're ruining my ambush!" Storm King said, tossing his orb right at Tony, the obsidian overtaking his armor.

"Oh shit! oh shit!" Tony quickly ejected himself out of his armor as the suit was destroyed in the petrification. "Dammit."

Storm King searched himself, "Better have another one here, I want that mare's magic."

"Hey you!" Came Steve's voice, Storm King turning his attention to the Avenger. "That's the end of the line for you!"

"Another one? Wow, nice shield, big fan of Princess Celestia?" Storm King taunted.

"I'm her right hand stallion," Steve warned. "You go anywhere near her, and I'll make you regret it."

"Aw, how loyal, and all that junk," Storm King taunted. "Alright, you wanna go! Then let's go!" The villain then rushed to attack but Steve blocked with his shield and punched him in the stomach, following up with an uppercut with his shield.

Steve then tossed the shield at Storm King's head, knocking him dizzy before rushing over with a jumping kick to his head. "I can do this all day pal, but you look like you can barely go five seconds."

Storm King angrily stood up, "I'm not gonna let some puny pony get the better of me!"

"I'm more than a pony," Steve said, rushing in again, dodging a punch attempt and bashing the shield in Storm King's face. "I'm an Avenger!" Cap then grabbed Storm King and tossed him into the air. He jumped up and spun him around. "FINAL JUSTICE!" Cap then crashed down with the Storm King.

"Boss!" Gruber shouted in concern.

"Ahem," came Tony's voice, getting the hedgehog's attention.

"Oh, hey, it's you...the guy who was talking before," Grubber nervously said. "So, how's-"

Tony then blasted Grubber with a back-up ion beam he had. "Stupid rodent."

Storm King struggled to stand, angrily looking around. He then felt a hoof on his back, courtesy of Steve. "That's enough, now you're going to-"

Loki then quickly rushed in to blast Steve, then blasted Tony before assisting Storm King and Grubber back to the ship, where Tempest was waiting.

"This isn't working out, our forces are dwindling," Loki said. "We need to unleash one final assault."

"Right, let's grab those other guys who came with us!" Grubber said.

"I'm already on it," Loki used his magic to telepathically communicate with the others. "Mystique! Retreat to the ship!"

"Retreat!?" Mystique asked, fending off Chun-Li. "Ugh, if you insist." She quickly turned into a bird and flew away, to Chun-Li's confusion.

"Where's she going!?" Chun-Li rushed to pursuit the villain.

"Akuma, wherever you are, I need you to come back to the ship!" Loki ordered telepathically.

"Away with you, I'm busy here!" Akuma said as he was fighting Logan.

"Akuma!" Loki groaned in annoyance. "Damn stubborn fighter." He tried again. "Sephiroth! I need you to come to the ship!"

"This better be important," Sephiroth warned, using his Shadow Flare to knock Dante back as he flew off.

"Where the hell is he going?" Dante wondered.

Within minutes, Mystique and Sephiroth had rendezvoused with their allies, the former being the first to notice something. "Where is Akuma? Did you not call for him?"

"I did, he ignored me," Loki said. "Fine by me, if he wants to die with the rest, so be it."

"We're unleashing a final assault to destroy this place," Storm King said. "We need your help."

"I'm good with that," Mystique said.

"Seems like a waste," Sephiroth added.

"Well I'm sorry to tell you, but we have more important things to worry about than this being a 'waste'," Loki said, gathering his magic. "Just help me with this please!"

Sephiroth sighed in frustration, but he did have his own reasons for being here, and he did want to move things along. "Very well."

Loki, Sephiroth and Tempest charged up some magic, with Mystique and Storm King bringing out a giant gun.

"Let's end this!" Loki said, though just before they can attack, something came along and destroyed the Storm King's ship. "What now!?"

"Who's that!?" Mystique asked, gesturing to an orange figure, one familiar to Equestria.

"You can call me 'Goku'," the newcomer greeted. "So are you the bad guys that Sunset girl told me about?"

"Goku?" Loki remembered that name. "Ugh, it's that primal being that Discord sought out. Damn fool, he may have just given us a new enemy!"

"Goku?" Peter said, having seen from the distance.

Twilight, who was still being protected by her friends, also noticed the Saiyan. "Goku's here!"

"Goku?" Rainbow Dash looked to the distance. "Oh yeah, that guy."

"That's Goku?" Rarity asked. "The one who gave you trouble before?"

"How did he return I wonder?" Twilight said. "Well as long as he's here to help."

Loki floated over toward Goku, "Look you, I don't know if you're aware, but I am Loki, God of Mischief and future ruler of Asgard. If you don't turn away and return to your own pitiful world, I shall be forced to-" Suddenly Goku punched him in the face, much to his annoyance. "What the hell was that for!?"

"Sorry but you kind of left yourself open," Goku said. "You look like you wanted to fight too, if so you're gonna need to guard yourself better."

"Is this some game to you!?" Loki shouted about to attack but Goku punched him again, knocking him back.

"Your guard still pretty bad," Goku said.

"That's it!" Loki shouted. "Kill him now!"

"Oh boy, they seem serious," Goku said, powering into Super Saiyan. Storm King leapt up but Goku punched him in the stomach, then deflected a blast from Tempest and kicked her away. Sephiroth flew in, trying to attack with his sword but Goku was able to dodge for the most part, aside from a scratch or two.

"You feel much stronger" Goku said, just as he parried an attack and knocked Sephiroth aside. The villain flew over to attack again, with Loki helping, the two trying to overpower Goku. "Gotta take this seriously!"

Goku quickly powered into Blue and punched the two in the stomach and teleported behind them to knock them back.

"This is a bother," Sephiroth said, charging up a Gigaflare. "Die."

Both villains sent magic blasts at Goku, the Saiyan quickly charging his attack. "Kamehame-HA!" The beam struggled against the other two.

As Loki held the beam, he looked behind, noticing all the heroes in the path. A villainous idea passed through his head. "Sephiroth, drop the attack a moment, and move."

Confused, but somewhat curious and oddly trusting, Sephiroth did as asked as the beam went straight through town, many of the heroes jumping out the way, and many buildings in Canterlot taking damage, including part of Celestia's castle.

"Oh no!" Goku quickly powered out of the beam, but this left him open for an attack from behind from Sephiroth, who hit a Mega Flare, weakening him long enough for Loki to blast him diagonally to the ground.

Many of the heroes stopped fighting when they saw the damage, even the Storm King's soldiers had stopped, whichever ones weren't already hit by Goku's beam at least. Even Akuma stopped when he observed the damage caused by Goku.

"Incredible power," the demon mused.

"Akuma, we are leaving, are you coming or not!?" Loki ordered.

This left Akuma a bit irritated, "Not yet!" He turned to attack his enemies again, but from out of nowhere, Sunset Shimmer appeared and blasted Akuma away from the battlefield.

"That'll teach you!" Sunset shouted.

Akuma landed hard near Loki, the God quickly teleporting him away. "Let's go, we'll regroup back on Earth."

"Earth?" Tempest asked.

"You'll be fine, now let's hurry!" Loki said.

"Hold up!" Came Twilight's voice, the mare flying in with her worried friends right behind her.

"Twilight wait! You're in no condition to be charging into a fight!" Rainbow Dash warned.

"I want answers!" Twilight shouted, flying in closer. "I want them right-"

Suddenly Sephiroth appeared before her, his sinister glare startling Twilight. Taking note of her stomach, he had one piece of advice. "A mother to be, should not be in the battlefield. You have life inside you, life that must be protected."

"...Who are you?" Twilight asked.

"Just a guardian angel, with a soft spot for mothers," Sephiroth said, almost in an unnerving way. He then turned away from the mother to be. "Take care."

"H-huh?" Twilight was a bit confused, "What is he?"

"I got you Twilight!" Rainbow Dash said, she was about to attack Sephiroth when he quickly evaded and met back up with Loki.

"We'll see you around soon, ponies!" Loki said, readying his magic.

"Mother!" Came Nightcrawler's voice as he rushed in with Jubilee by his side. "Mother, wait up!"

Mystique seemed a bit surprised to see her son, but she shook it off just as Loki teleported all the villains away

"Mother!" Nightcrawler had just teleported right to where the villains were, but was a second too late. "No..."

"Kurt?" Twilight said, getting his attention.

"That woman is my mother, I wanted to talk to her, see if I could reason with her..." Nightcrawler sighed in shame. "Guess she has no interest in doing so."

"Aw, Kurt..." Twilight said, walking over to pat him on the back. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Not at the moment," Nightcrawler said. "I just hope I can see her again soon."

"You will..." Twilight reassured. "We'll find her."

Celestia looked around at all the damage caused by the fighting, especially from Goku's Kamehameha. It was terrible, so much destruction, so many injured ponies, some hurt by Storm King soldiers, some hurt from the attacks made by Akuma and Sephiroth, some hurt by Loki, some unintentionally hurt by Goku, she even spotted one of her agents tearfully checking up on a petrified Lyra.

Tony painfully trotted to her, "This is why we need the Accords, they would have prevented this."

"Would they?" Celestia asked. "Would they honestly?"

"We were underprepared, but that changes now," Tony said. "All this destruction, all this chaos, quite the eye opener, if they weren't already wide open before."

"Tony..." Cap said, making his way over. "Discuss this later, we have to help these ponies. Then we gotta figure out how and why Loki was here, and where he may have gone."

"I think I have an idea," Thor said. "He's probably back home, getting ready for the next part of his plan before...that day comes."

"Day? What day?" Steve asked.

"Ragnarok," Thor answered. "It was told in various prophecies that a powerful being would destroy all of Asgard. I hoped it was only a myth but, given the signs my father has seen, plus this ominous dread, Ragnarok may truly be upon us."

"What will you do?" Celestia asked.

"I must return home," Thor explained. "I do not know for how long, but I must find a way to stop Ragnarok."

"We'll help you get prepared," Celestia said. "My world may be in crisis, but I won't turn my back while your world may suffer similar consequences."

"I can't ask you to, I have my duty to my people, and you have yours," Thor said. "But I will stay long enough to help you clean up. It is the least I can do for a friend."

"Very well, we'll discuss this later," Celestia said.

At that moment, Goku sheepishly made his way over, nervously rubbing his head. "So, you're not too mad that I accidentally destroyed part of the city, are you? Along with your castle?"

"Castle!?" Peter said. "That's where Mayday is!" He rushed to find his wife. "Twilight! We gotta check on Mayday!"

"Mayday!?" Twilight said.

"Those kids were at the castle too!" Jubilee remembered.

"Let's hurry!" Nightcrawler said as the four rushed back to the castle.

"Oh boy..." Goku said. "I hope their daughter's alright."

Celestia groaned in annoyance, now she had this Saiyan again. She was just about done with him, "Tell me how you got here..."

Meanwhile at the Castle, Twilight, Peter, Jubilee and Nightcrawler were running through the halls, the place took a bad hit, they just hoped their friends and loved ones were safe.

"Mayday!?" Twilight rushed around until she heard her brother's voice.

"Twiley! We're in here!" Shining Armor said.

"That way," Nightcrawler said, following his friends.

"Mayday!" Twilight entered the room she heard her brother's voice. "Thank Celestia you're..."

"Hey Twiley," Shining Armor greeted, gesturing to the kids. "Yeah they're all safe, I had a little help from somepony who knows you and Peter."

Twilight took one look at the mare that was sitting with her daughter, the mare that was tending to her mane, showing such a tender and motherly vibe, a mare making her daughter feel safe.

Boy was she mad. "You!?"

The mare in question was her old romantic rival, Felicia Hardy, better known as Black Cat. "Hello Twiley, my your daughter is adorable, she's just as cute as her father. You're only lucky girl."

"Daddy, your friend's nice," Mayday said.

Peter nervously chuckled as Twilight started to silently rage. "Crap..."

Author's Notes:

Been wanting to do this story for a while, and now it's finally going to happen. Forewarning, this story is mostly Marvel and MLP, franchises like Capcom, Square Enix, Dragon Ball and others will not have a lasting presence, any future appearances will be very limited so please do not expect them to take part of the central conflict.

The Spark Ignites Part II

The heroes were still cleaning up the mess from the damage earlier, what was suppose to be a simple meeting about the future and safety of Equestria turned into a total war involving many worlds coming together.

While many were hard at work outside on the streets, inside another hint of destruction was looming, Peter nervously standing across from his old flame Felicia Hardy, said girl was holding his daughter close to her as the mother of his daughter, his wife Twilight was fuming.

"Felicia...Didn't expect to see you here," Peter nervously said.

"Well I do live in Canterlot, and I was asked to come to the castle," Felicia explained, rubbing Mayday's hair. "That's when I came across your daughter, such a little sweetheart."

"This lady's really nice," Mayday said. "How come you don't invite her to our house more daddy? She said she misses you."

"It's...complicated," Peter nervously answered, still feeling the tension his wife was giving off.

"Wow, um, this is kind of awkward," Jubilee said, earning a glare from Twilight, the X-Men member backing off. "Alright, not the appropriate thing to say."

Nightcrawler focused his attention toward the seven kids that he and Jubilee sent over. "I'm just glad you kids are safe."

"Barely, that beam was so close, I thought I was gonna die!" Gallus said. "My life flashed before my eyes...it was kind of boring."

"You need a little excitement then," Felicia said. "That's always good for the soul."

"They're a little too young for any 'excitement'," Jubilee said.

"We're practically adults, why do you keep treating us like kids?" Smolder asked.

"She's just looking out for all of you," Peter explained. "She had the same thing happen to her during her X-Men days."

"I think it's sweet," Cozy Glow said. "It's nice having a big sister like Jubilee keeping us safe."

Jubilee gushed a little, "Big sister? Wow that's so adorable. I've taken the role of big sister!"

"Pretty awesome isn't it?" Peter boasted. "I've been there myself."

"You were called 'Big Sister'?" Gallus asked, earning himself an annoyed glare from Peter.

"Gallus, don't say stuff like that to Peter, remember he is married to what's essentially the school principal," Jubilee warned.

"Well speaking of big brothers, where is Apple Bloom?" Peter asked. "Didn't she come here as well?"

"I'm here," Apple Bloom said, making her way over with Applejack and the other Crusaders. "We were checking on the damage."

"This place took some pretty bad damage from a big blast," Applejack said. "Boy was that startling."

"Yeah, Goku's Kame-whatever beam destroyed part of the castle while he was fighting Loki and that weird guy with the one Pegasus wing," Peter said.

"Who was that guy? Twilight wondered, remember facing off against Sephiroth not too long prior. "The way he looked at me was so...unnerving."

"We're really going to need some answers," Shining Armor said. "Starting with The Storm King and just how long he was planning this invasion of his, and where exactly he's from."

"Well we know he's definitely from this dimension, so he's not a villain from any of the Earths," Twilight said. "Just a further reminder that our world does have it's own danger."

"I just want to know how and why The Storm King has this alliance with Loki," Peter said. "Plus those other villains that were there, I think I saw that guy Ryu constantly does battle against."

"My mother was there as well, this Storm King fellow seems to have very interesting contacts," Nightcrawler said.

"Well let's start with what we know," Twilight said. "So we know Loki, and what he's capable of since this isn't our first run-in with him. And Nightcrawler obviously knows his mother."

"Not just him, all the X-Men know about Mystique," Jubilee said.

"I know enough that she's a shapeshifter, just like The Changelings," Peter said.

"Alright this helps," Twilight said. "Now what about that guy you said was fighting Ryu."

"That's Akuma, he's basically Ryu's biggest and most dangerous rival," Peter said. "He's told me a bit about him, saying he succumbed to the Satsui no Hado, basically to him what the Nightmare is to Luna and what the symbiote is to me."

"Right, I think I heard Ryu and Logan talking about him," Twilight said. "It would explain why I saw him doing battle with Logan."

"I remember him from the days the X-Men were invited to participate in the Street Fighter tournaments," Nightcrawler said.

"He's not as bad as Bison but he's still very dangerous," Jubilee said. "Like Ryu, he enjoys a good fight, but he usually prefers fights to the death."

"Ryu also mentioned once his technique was for assassination," Twilight said. "Guess it makes sense that a master of that style would use it for fatal combat."

"There's also that other guy with the white hair," Peter said.

"He was fighting Cloud I believe, we can ask him later," Twilight said. "Though it seems like now there's a villain from the Square world to worry about."

"That just leaves the last guy, The Storm King," Shining Armor said.

"And his friends, especially that one mare who called herself 'Tempest Shadow'," Peter said.

"I don't know about Tempest..." Silverstream began, getting their attention. "But I think I know a thing or two about The Storm King."

"Know something kid?" Came Tony's voice, the Avenger on his way over with Steve, Celestia, Ryu, Chun-Li, Spencer and Cloud. "Good, because we're gonna need some answers."

"Hey how is it outside?" Twilight asked. "Was anypony hurt?"

"Some ponies took some pretty bad damage, some direct, some caught in the crossfire, though I am curious about the state of this castle after that giant beam destroyed part of it," Stark said.

"I haven't finished surveying the damage, I don't think it's too bad, aside from the damage but I'm more worried about any lives lost," Shining Armor said.

"Well the part destroyed really isn't occupied for the most part," Celestia said. "But that doesn't change the fact that it could have been worse. I am curious as to how Goku even found his way back to Equestria."

"We cna figure out those details later," Tony said, then focused on Silversteam. "Kid, you were gonna say something about The Storm King?"

"Only rumors I've heard from Queen Novo, apparently The Storm King sent some of his guards to infiltrate our Kingdom to find a Magic Pearl, which according to what I heard from Princess Skystar, has magical properties well beyond what most Equestrians have even come close to accomplishing. In a way, it's almost more valuable than The Crystal Heart."

"What exactly does it do if I may ask?" Steve inquired.

"I can't say, Princess Skystar told me everything she could, but her mom is pretty secretive about it, she's worried that more villains will try to come for it," Silverstream said. "Luckily the invasion was thwarted, actually I think it was thanks to help from your world Mr. Stark."

"My world?" Tony asked. "You're from Mount Aris right? I don't recall actually going there though."

"Me neither," Steve said. "Peter, have you been there?"

"Once, just to help Twilight convince the Queen to let Silversteam come back, but I don't recall any danger," Peter said.

"It was that magic guy, called himself a Doctor," Silverstream said.

"Doctor Strange?" Tony asked. "Wait, he was at Mount Aris!? When!?"

"I believe I remember," Celestia said. "It was the week Peter and his friends were on vacation, Stephen had come to this world because he wanted to explore more of it, and along the way he came across Mount Aris. Perhaps by luck, it sounds like he prevented an invasion, something he alerted me to."

"Wait, then why didn't he tell us?" Tony asked.

"He did mention to you that he helped some foreigners," Celestia pointed out. "But my guess is that since Queen Novo didn't want too many to know about her Pearl, she likely asked him not to make a big deal out of it."

"Not that it matters now," Tony said. "Cat's out of the bag."

"What's worse is that now he has stronger friends, if he wants to go back for that Pearl, there isn't much stopping him," Silverstream said. "I mean, for all we know, that's where he's going now!"

"We'll send some scouts to Mount Aris," Steve reassured. "Nothing will happen to your home, we'll find this new band of villains and put a stop to them."

"We still need more information," Peter said. "Ryu, can you think of why Akuma would join with The Storm King?"

"I can't explain, Akuma isn't really one to join villainous groups, or any groups for that matter, he's his own man," Ryu explained. "His sole motivation right now is a fight to the death with me."

"Yeah I remember you mentioning that unhealthy motivation," Peter awkwardly pointed out.

"The only good side is that Akuma isn't one to attack helpless people, he only fights those who challenge him first," Ryu explained. "The exceptions being his master Goutetsu and his brother and my master, Gouken. He had attacked them with the intent to kill, and succeeded."

"So he truly killed your Martial Arts Master?" Twilight asked, having remembered Ryu mentioning this once.

"I thought he did, but I also believe I saw him not too long ago," Ryu said. "Perhaps it was a hallucination, but I do remember Akuma targeting him when I was a boy, that's not someone one easily forgets."

"Does this have to do with the Satsuki Hadou?" Twilight asked.

"Huh? You mean the Satsui no Hadou?" Ryu asked.

Twilight blushed in embarrassment, her intellect usually won't forgive a mispronunciation of words, "Right, that, sorry."

"It's fine, if it's easier you can say 'Dark Hadou', it's similar enough," Ryu said.

"No, I can memorize the other saying," Twilight insisted.

"Well alright, but to your point, it is the Satsui no Hadou, a curse to anyone who learns our style," Ryu said. "Those who master it our style come close to embracing the darkness, it's nearly happened to me on occasion. Deep down, Akuma wants it, figuring I would give him a more worthy fight. Whenever I do battle, I usually make sure to keep it non-leathal, I hold back, much like you do Peter."

"Wait, you hold back in your fights Spider-Mane!?" Gallus asked. "Why don't you just go all out!?"

"Because I don't want to kill anyone, now hold your questions til after Ryu's done talking," Peter said.

"I prefer not to kill either, but Akuma sees that as a weakness," Ryu said. "So I train hard to avoid turning into something I don't want to be."

"What if you could control it though?" Cozy Glow asked. "Then you'd be really strong!"

"I could but I don't want to risk falling into darkness," Ryu said. "Akuma is a constant reminder of what I don't want to be, and truthfully I fear the concept of turning into something like that."

"You won't, you have your friends Ryu," Chun-Li said.

"We'll keep you with us," Spencer said. "Akuma can take his Dark Hadou nonsense and shove it."

"Yeah, we got you on this bud," Peter said. "To quote my wife, Friendship is Magic."

"Nice one Peter, perfectly delivered," Twilight praised.

Ryu bowed his head in respect to his friends, feeling a sense of relief, "Thank you, I truly believe what you say about Friendship. Without Ken, I might have failed in surprising this long ago."

"Speaking of Ken, he knows the same style too right, has he ever had those moments?" Peter asked.

"Once...during the time when the two of us and many of the other World Warrior combatants entered the King of Fighters tournament," Ryu said. "He nearly lost control but maintained it at the last second, thanks to encouragement from myself and a man named Terry Bogard."

"Good for Ken at least," Peter said. "But, I don't think I'm familiar with the King of Fighters, is that a Capcom thing or..."

"It involved us traveling to a world we called 'SNK'," Ryu explained. "Many great warriors there aside from Terry, such as my rival from that world, Kyo Kasunagi, Chun-Li's rival Mai Shiranui. Plus other strong warriors such as Athena Asamiya, Ryo Sakazaki, his little sister Yuri and an ice powered woman named Kula Diamond."

"Wow, sounds neat, does Sunset know about that world?" Peter asked.

"She does, but has yet to travel there," Ryu said. "One day I hope to introduce you, I once mentioned you to them and they seemed pretty impressed."

"But they also said pretty weird, so keep that in mind," Chun-Li said.

"They're not gonna be like how Capcom was when they first came here, are they?" Twilight asked. "I mean, no offense to you three, you're all great but-"

"It's understandable Twilight," Ryu interjected. "I doubt they would be that disrespectful, if there is a problem I will speak on your behalf."

"Well in that case, I also hope we get to meet such amazing warriors," Twilight said.

"That just leaves us with one thing to figure out," Peter said, then focused his attention to the former employee of Shinra. "Hey Cloud, what can you tell us about that guy with the long sword? Is he that person Sunset mentioned a while back?"

"Yes, that's Sephiroth, a former SOLIDER of Shinra, someone I met back when I was part of the organization," Cloud explained. "He was also my personal hero, someone I looked up to. I wanted to be as great as he was, saving peole and looking cool in the process."

"So wait, is he a good guy or a bad guy?" Gallus asked.

"He was a good guy...until he learned of his origin," Cloud said. "Apparently he was born as a science experiment involving the lifeform known as JENOVA, an alien species that came to our world some time ago. The knowledge of his birth and his sudden realization that his life may have been a lie hit him pretty hard, and then he snapped. In his rage, he burnt down my entire village, killing so many people, including my mother."

"He killed your mom!?" Silverstream asked in disbelief.

"We're so sorry to hear that," Ocellus sympathized.

"Appreciate it," Cloud said. "It's just really frustrating, you spend your life idolizing someone, just for them to turn into the very thing they fought against. I tried fighting Sephiroth, we both nearly died in the process, but here we both are, still fighting to this day."

"What is his motivation?" Twilight asked.

"To become a God," Cloud said. "That was his motivation, that and revenge against me for foiling his plans."

"Becoming a God?" Peter asked. "What is he like Wesker then?"

"In a way, though ironically enough, from what Chris Redfield told me about him, Sephiroth might actually hate Wesker due to how similar the Shinra Corporation is to the Umbrella Corporation," Cloud explained. "Of course, I know Wesker left to do his own thing but I guess there are similarities between the two."

"How would you become a God?" Cozy Glow asked.

"Depends, I know Sephiroth wanted to use the Lifestream, the source of my world's power," Cloud said.

"And according to Chris, Wesker was trying to develop some virus to help him achieve that goal," Chun-Li said. "I did my own research as well, it was called 'Uroboros'."

"Didn't Hiryu go against something like that?" Spencer asked.

"Yeah, not the actual virus but something of a similar name," Chun-Li explained.

"Well all this helps, we just need to inquire a bit more about Mystique, maybe run this by the X-Men," Twilight said. "Plus we should meet up with Thor and discuss the Loki situation with him."

"That's not all we'll need to discuss," Celestia said, turning to the other worldly warriors. "I think some changes are needed."

Ryu, Chun-Li, Spencer and Cloud seemed a little confused by Celestia's statement, though the female of the group seemed to have an idea of what the Princess was planning.

---

Outside Thor and Sunset Shimmer were talking over the situation, the former angrily wondering where his brother had gone.

"I can't believe I let Loki escape, I was a fool!" Thor self berated.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, mistakes happen," Sunset said. "Plus it's not like he was alone, he had help."

"Yes, foes that appear to be from this world," Thor commented. "That is indeed most curious."

"We've been fighting so many villains from your Earth, seeing villains from this world seems refreshing in an unsettling way," Sunset said.

"I am curious about this Storm King fellow, and where he is from," Thor said. "Here I thought I knew all of the creatures of this world, but it seems like there is still much I must learn."

"Even I don't really know who they are, but we'll figure this out together," Sunset said. "For now maybe we should check in with Princess Celestia."

"Yes, there is not much for us to do out here," Thor said, taking another look around. Logan and Fluttershy were assisting injured ponies, Johnny and Rainbow Dash were flying overheard, likely scouting for any other injured ponies or any lurking enemies. Strider was assisting some injured guards while Applejack and Remy cleaned up some debris with the help of some of the Avengers. They even took note of Cadance and Doctor Strange nearby the stone Lyra, with Bon Bon nervously hoping for things to be resolved soon.

"I kind of feel bad for Tony, this really wasn't the type of reveal for his Accords that he imagined," Sunset said. "But if ponies were hesitant to accept the accords before, then this may have changed either changed their minds, or worsened their opinion."

"Time will tell, but if Stark wishes to maintain their good graces, he needs to address this chaos and promise to deliver on a much better future," Thor said. "A word is only as good as the man, or pony, who makes it reality."

"Hey quick question," Sunset said. "I heard something about Ragnarok, what's that all about?"

"Something my father has warned me time and again about," Thor said. "My home is in danger, I must return and prevent the destruction of my Kingdom."

"Anything I can do to help?" Sunset asked.

"I cannot ask that of you, it's too risky," Thor said.

"But what if your brother shows up with all his allies?" Sunset asked. "I mean, Ryu's told me all about Akuma and how dangerous he is."

"I am familiar with Akuma, he has yearned to do battle with me, citing how fun it would be to kill a God," Thor said.

"That's unnerving," Sunset said. "Still, it's just just Akuma, Storm King or even Mystique. It's that one swordsman with the long white hair."

"Oh yes, I don't know much about him or why he was associated with my brother, but he did seem rather menacing and intimidating," Thor said.

"I think that's Sephiroth, one of Cloud's enemies," Sunset said. "Cloud mentioned having a dangerous rival who has the power to destroy a planet, so it sounds like Sephiroth is a dangerous foe, for all we know he's the one who may bring Asgard to ruin."

"If he is, then I will strike him down with my hammer," Thor said, wielding his Mjölnir high. "Be it Akuma, Sephiroth, The Storm King, even my brother Loki or that accused Fire Giant Sutur. I will protect my home for years to come."

"It's admirable that you want to defend your home, but don't turn away a helping hoof, this mission sounds dangerous, you shouldn't go on your own," Sunset said.

"But I must, it is my duty as the Prince of Asgard," Thor said. "Plus I won't be alone, I have the other Knights of Asgard to assist me to defeat the foes that threaten my world."

"What about The Avengers, will you at least consider their help?" Sunset asked. "Even Twilight and Peter might be willing to-"
"Hey, you off on an adventure?" Goku asked, making his way over. "I heard something about foes, and if someone as strong as Thor is worried, then the enemies must be really strong, especially if it's the ones we just fought."

"It may not be my brother Goku," Thor said. "It may be something much more powerful."

"Still, I'm always up to fight strong guys," Goku said. "Hey Sunset Shimmer, are you going too?"

"I want to, first I might need to get you back to your world first Goku, I did drag you away rather abruptly, your wife didn't sound too happy," Sunset said.

"Oh yeah, she gets mad when I get distracted from my home and work life," Goku said.

"Plus you might need to explain to Celestia the damage you caused to her castle," Sunset reminded, pointing to the destruction. "Fortunately I don't think there are any casualties."

"That's a relief, I would never want to actually hurt an innocent person, or pony," Goku said.

"Well for now I suggest we round up our allies and meet with Princess Celestia," Thor said.

"Yeah, good idea," Sunset said, the trio looking to gather all they could.

---

It wasn't long before the rest of the heroes along with The Wonderbolts and a few other ponies gathered in Celestia's castle, the guards outside cleaning up whatever remained.

As Thor expected, the Princess looked rather furious at Goku. "I still can't believe all the damage you caused to my castle! Was destroying it the first time not enough for you!?"

"Hey ease up, not like I intended it both times," Goku insisted. "No one got killed, that's all that matters at least."

"Someone could have gotten killed though, just because we were lucky once doesn't mean we'll be lucky again," Celestia said.

"I almost have to agree with Celestia here," Twilight said. "You endangered our daughter Goku."

"Sorry, I mean this is why I don't like fighting in populated areas but it seemed so urgent that I help right away," Goku said. "Those guys were already causing trouble, I had to step in."

"He's not wrong," Cap said. "Goku was part of the reason Loki and his allies were driven off. We do owe him some gratitude."

"He also stopped the attack the moment it went bad," Peter said. "Takes some good control."

"Not to mention, Loki and Sephiroth are more at fault for what happened than Goku is," Cap said. "He tried fending the two off, plans failed obviously but Goku tried his best.

Celestia of course still seemed rather irate, but decided to take Cap and Peter up on their word. "As long as the damage is repaired. Does anyone know who else got injured? Guards or civilians?"

"Fluttershy and I helped get some ponies to an infirmary," Logan said. "But...even though ponies got lucky with Goku's attack, they weren't so lucky in regards to the other villains."

"Some of the ponies are in really bad condition," Fluttershy said. "The doctors there already had doubts of some making it."

Celestia's eyes widened a moment, but she maintained herself, "I see...Yet another invasion with casualties." She turned her attention to Tony. "I really hope this plan of yours works Tony."

"It will, because as of right now, The Accords are being set into motion," Tony said. "I'm going to make contact with my world and get some assistance from there. I have some heroes in mind that would do wonders, ranging from fighting villains to other lines of work. We even have a woman who specializes in monster hunting."

"You talking about Elsa Bloodstone?" Logan asked. "What you gonna send here here to fight a Hydra?"

"If I have to," Tony said. "She's really good at her craft, I bet she can handle any monster."

"Let's see her battle Rathalos then," Dante joked, Spencer and Ken snickering as a result.

"I can even get help from The Defenders," Tony said. "A few of them have been to Equestria already, actually I think they all have."

"You can consider whoever you want, just remember that they have to adjust to Equestrian style," Cap said. "Meaning they have to get used to being a pony."

"Which has me wondering," Tony turned to Celestia. "Think there's magic that would let us not be ponies? Might make it easier to get more recruits."

"That is not possible," Celestia said.

"Really? That's a shame," Tony said. "Might be a deal breaker for some heroes."

"You don't need that many honestly, in fact the heroes here should be enough," Cap said, gesturing to all of the Avengers, X-Men and Fantastic Four, plus the non-affiliated heroes.

"I can help too," Felicia said. "I could use some extra work, it's been hard lately, I have a little one to help take care of."

"Huh? What little one?" Peter asked.

"This, little one," came Thunderlane's voice, the stallion walking into the room along with a small filly. "Though if you want to help, you'd actually be around more often for her."

"Mama!" the little filly said, making her way over to Felicia.

"Wait, 'mama'!?" Peter shouted in disbelief.

"You're a mom!?" Twilight asked. "Since when!?"

"Since about two years ago," Felicia said, lifting the filly onto her back. "I was blessed with this little bundle of joy."

"That I'm practically raising alone!" Thunderlane said.

"Wait dude, you're the dad?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, Felicia and I have been..." Thunderlane not only had to consider that his daughter was there, but so was Mayday. "We've been close and it led to her being pregnant."

"You slept with my ex?" Peter asked.

Twilight glared at her husband, "You say that like it's a bad thing! Besides I would hardly call her your 'ex' since she never really cared about you to begin with."

"I know how Peter feels then," Thunderlane said.

"Oh come on, I told you it's nothing personal, I'm just not into stallions much," Felicia said.

"Maybe you should try going to the human world, might help your relationship," Stark said.

"She doesn't mean pony, she means guys in general," Thunderlane said.

Peter glanced curiously at Felicia, "Gonna need a lot of explaining."

"I just thought that maybe I could settle with a nice...lady, as oppose to a guy," Felicia said. "I think girls are more my speed."

Peter couldn't believe his ears, neither could Bobby, Johnny or even Twilight for that matter.

"So, it took you being with Thunderlane to realize that?" Peter asked. "I mean...that might be a blow to his pride. I mean I guess after me it was hard finding a guy to measure up to but-"

"Dude!" Thunderlane shouted. "So not cool!"

"Yeah Peter, since when are you some arrogant playboy?" Tony asked.

"Just joking," Peter insisted.

"Aw, too bad, kind of like seeing your more vain side," Felicia said, batting her eyes at Peter. "I always believed you woud be more attractive if you showed off a bit more, live more on the wild side."

"Hey! Stop flirting with my husband Miss 'I prefer ladies'," Twilight said.

"Well Peter is kind of girly looking as a pony," Johnny pointed out.

Peter's eye twitched slightly, "I swear if I had a nickel for every time I heard that..."

Felicia turned her attention back to Thunderlane, "As for you Thunder, you know if I could I would be around more for Felicity, but I do have a job to do, this job provides food for her, and you by extent."

"Hey I'd like to be able to work again but someone's gotta watch over our daughter," Thunderlane said. "I can't ask my friends to foalsit either, mainly since they're probably still mad about my whole 'rebellion' thing."

"Maybe Peter can help," Felicia suggested, glancing to the boy. "He's helped your relatives before."

"He lives all the way in Ponyville, and he works too, as a Superhero," Thunderlane said.

"I can watch over her," Mayday insisted.

Thunderlane looked down to the filly, "That's really nice of you kid, but I'd rather an adult watch over my daughter."

"I don't know, I think Mayday would be great, good chance for them to bond," Felicia said. "Wouldn't that be nice? It'd be like they're sisters."

"I don't know about that," Twilight said. "I mean she is your daughter, and if she's anything like you she might spend half her time flirting with my daughter."

"Twilight, she's two," Thunderlane said. "And she's not gonna be like her mother, since her mom's not around enough to be an influence."

"You are so stuck on that little detail," Felicia said.

"It's not little!" Thunderlane frustratingly insisted.

"Uh, do you two need a couple's counselor?" Tony asked.

"Worry about that later," Felicia said, turning to Tony. "Now about any jobs you might have for me."

"How do I know I can trust you? I mean, you are a cat burglar," Tony said.

"She'll be fine," Celestia said. "Trust me on this."

"Yeah, what she said," Felicia agreed. "You can count on me Tony Stark."

"Alright, don't make me regret this," Tony said.

"If you need other assistance, that's what we're here for too," Spitfire said. "The Wonderbolts are at your service."

"That works because I have some big plans, especially for those two up and coming Wonderbolts," Tony said.

"You mean Sky Stinger and Vapor Trail right?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Those two climbed the ranks fast, thanks to the coaching they got from Johnny and myself."

"Those two did great work with them," Spitfire said. "They really connected, helps being an Element of Harmony and a Superhero."

Rainbow Dash arrogantly brushed her chest, "Well I am the best at a lot of things, flying, speed, agility-"

"Crashing," Fleetfoot finished, getting a chuckle from the group, much to Rainbow Dash's annoyance.

"Wow, good one," Rainbow Dash sarcastically replied.

"Sorry Crash, but you know how it is," Spitfire said. "It's our way of making you one of us. Right Matchstick?"

"It's so great that the name spread," The Thing mused.

"Yeah, haha, real funny," Johnny replied.

"Not sure if I like that type of talk, seems kind of mean," Fluttershy said.

"It's fine Fluttershy, just some joking around," Johnny said. "Rainbow Dash and I learned to get used to it."

"Yeah, we still have a lot of respect for them," Spitfire said. "But it's just too fun resisting the chance to mess with them."

"I do the same myself, common in the Avengers," Tony said, turning his attention to Thor. "Isn't that right Goldilocks?"

"Sure is, Shell Head," Thor replied.

Tony turned his attention to Peter, "Hey! Did you tell him about that!?"

"Dude everyone knows I called you that," Peter said. "Just like everyone calls me 'Web-Head'."

"And now you're Spider-Hair," Johnny said.

"Don't!" Peter warned.

"Oh, is this because The Storm King said your name sounds like a spider-style hairdo?" Bobby asked.

"Not like it has to make sense!" Peter insisted. "I've seen those Power Pony comics Spike reads, my name is not that much weirder than theirs!"

"Hey can't those things be brought to life?" Johnny said. "Maybe we can get help from them too."

"That might cause more trouble than it's worth Johnny, let's keep them in their world while we focus on fixing ours," Twilight said.

"Speaking of which," Thor said, getting everyone's attention. "I'm afraid that I must leave Equestria for the foreseeable future."

"Wait, you're leaving?" Twilight asked.

"Is this about Loki? You gonna try looking for him?" Peter asked.

"No, it's about something dire to my Kingdom," Thor said. "Years ago my father Odin received a prophecy that great ruin would befall Asgard. We called it Ragnarok. My brother just mentioned to me that the Fire Lord Sutur may be on his way to bring such ruin to my home. So, I must set on a Journey to stop Sutur and prevent Ragnarok. I do not know how long it will take but I may not see the lot of you for a long time."

"Can we help in any way?" Steve asked.

"It's too risky, plus it seems like you're needed here more than anything," Thor said. "I shall venture off with my comrades from Asgard. We alone should be able to put a stop to Sutur, and hopefully find my brother in the process."

"Your brother is probably with Sephiroth," Cloud said. "You're definitely gonna need help if you run into him."

"Same with Akuma," Ryu said.

"I am aware of the risks," Thor said. "But I am The God of Thunder, with the power blessed to me and the power of Mjölnir I shall defeat all my foes. If Sutur is the cause for Ragnarok, then I shall decimate him. If it is Sephiroth I shall strike him down. Even if it's my own brother, I will stop at nothing to protect my Kingdom alongside my comrades and my father."

"Do what you must Thor, I do wish you the best on your journey," Celestia said, bowing to her friend. "But this talk of other worlds brings up one more issue that must be resolved." She turned her attention to the Goku, the Capcom Warriors and the Square Warriors. "That is the three of your worlds."

"You're not holding responsible for Akuma are you?" Ken asked.

"Or Sephiroth," Barret added.

"I do not hold you directly responsible, but it's the indirect danger you caused that has me worried," Celestia said. "I have my hooves full with the troubles from Marvel Earth, to have other worlds sneak in their enemies is going to wear us dry. Capcom has had multiple threats to this world, and now with the risk of Square and it's enemies, I really can't afford any distractions right now, especially knowing that Albert Wesker and his allies have yet to be detained, unless you have caught him since the last time it was addressed."

"We haven't..." Chun-Li shamefully admitted.

"That's a shame, unfortunately I can't afford any more risks to my world," Celestia said

"Hey, where are you going with this?" Dante asked.

"Until this is resolved, until I have fixed the troubles plaguing this world, I'm afraid I must ask you all, Capcom, Square and Dragon World, to return to your own dimensions, permanently."

"Wait, what did you say!?" Sunset nervously asked.

"You want us to go back forever?" Chun-Li asked.

"Not forever, just the foreseeable future," Celestia said. "If things are resolved and there are less threats to worry about, then I'll consider letting you all return."

"Hey I get you're worried, but most of the villains came from Marvel, our world has barely had villains come here, aside from the initial invasion," Dante said.

"I am aware of that, but I do have to reduce the risks where I can," Celestia said. "I will allow Marvel Earth to remain open for the time being but all other dimensions must close. I don't want to risk any more danger."

"Plus one Dimension to keep an eye on will be easier on everyone," Tony said. "We don't have to worry about being sidetracked by another realm."

"Plus the reason it seems like Discord can summon other worlds is because the more portals being active weakens the dimensional rift between our worlds, allowing him to transport villains here with much ease," Luna said.

"Put simply, more portals means more vulnerability, having one portal not only increases magical defense but it's much easier to keep an eye on trouble," Celestia said.

"But Princess, I just got the Dragon World portal open, now I have to close it again?" Sunset asked. "And we were just getting properly acquainted with Square! There are still so many heroes from that world I wanted to see."

"I'm sorry Sunset Shimmer, but you knew the deal, if this was gonna cause trouble then we would have to cancel your multi-dimensional plans," Celestia said. "Capcom has too many dangerous villains, and if that Sephiroth creature is any indication, Square has many strong villains in it's own right."

"Maybe Sephiroth was the most dangerous of them all?" Sunset nervously hoped, though the look on the faces of the Square Warriors hinted that perhaps there are other big threats from their world.

"Sephiroth is bad, but he's not the only one," Cloud said.

"Plus, if someone as strong as Goku exists, others may exist too, especially villains," Luna said.

"I can't argue that, there's always some type of baddy to worry about, even after times of peace," Goku said.

"Well then, you know what must be done," Celestia said. "I'm sorry Sunset, but my decision is final."

"Well...if they have to go, then...I want to go with them!" Sunset said.

"Sunset, no," Ryu tried insisting.

"No, I have to go, I...want to continue my multi-dimensional research, if I can't do it here, then I'll just go to the Capcom world to do it," Sunset said.

"Our world would be better for that," Ken said. "Given all the traveling we do. She can even come to our tournaments too, there's a new one coming up."

"It would be easier for her to explore other worlds," Mega Man said. "There's tons of possibilities for her if she comes with us."

"So I can come with you?" Sunset asked.

"Sunset, you know we like your company, but you heard Princess Celestia, it's a permanent close and who knows how long it will be before the portals open up again," Ryu said. "You could be stuck in our world for years."

"I'm willing to take that risk," Sunset said. "The chance to travel the Multiverse is too good for me to pass up."

"I say bring her, who knows, maybe Stark will figure this Accord thing out fast anyway and she'll be back here if she gets tired of us," Spencer said.

"I would never get tired, Capcom is such a fascinating place, I mean Marvel and Equestria are great too, but Capcom is like nothing I've ever seen before," Sunset said. "You're all so diverse yet you just match up so well."

"She's not wrong," Dante said. "But where will you live?"

"She can stay with me, if she doesn't mind being around the orphan children I care for," Chun-Li said.

"Or she can hang with me, could use some extra assistance for my business," Dante said.

"Doctor Light should have room in his lab," Mega Man said.

"I'll alternate, see what fits me best," Sunset said. "Alright, I am a hundred percent confident in my decision. I am going to the Capcom world!"

"If you're certain," Celestia said, feeling uncertain about her old pupil going to another world. "I just hope you truly are aware of the consequences."

"More like the opportunities for me," Sunset said, standing by the Capcom Warriors. "This is my calling."

"Very well..." Celestia said. "If that is all, then let us move on with our plans. Tony, come with me while I survey the damage, I want to hear more of your plans."

"You got it Princess," Tony said. "Wanna join us Steve?"

"In a moment, gotta talk to Thor," Steve said, making his way to his Asgardian friend.

"Right, I'll be back soon to say 'good-bye' bud," Tony said to the Thunder God.

"See you later on then Stark," Thor said.

Peter stepped over to the outer world warriors, "Sucks you all gotta go back home, for good."

"It's not permanent, but this is a problem you need to fix on your own, so it would be better if we weren't around to mettle," Chun-Li said.

"It's a shame, especially when Square brought over a new guy," Peter said, turning to Squall. "This must be one heck of a first day for you."

"Whatever," Squall replied.

Sunset leaned in to whisper to Tifa, "Is that like his favorite word?"

"I think so," Tifa replied.

"Well it was nice meeting you anyway," Peter said, then turned to the Saiyan beside him. "As for you Goku, too bad this got cut short. I wanted to test some of my new suits on you, see if I could actually beat you in a fight."

"One day, maybe you can come to my world," Goku suggested. "You too Ryu. I could imagine you want another chance at Vegeta."

"One day," Ryu said.

"I know Vegeta did want another crack at Cloud, he sees a lot of potential in him, same with Dante," Goku said.

"I'd be down with that, hell I'll come over right now and show him what I can do," Dante said.

"Dante, we have things to do back home, you can fight Vegeta another time," Chun-Li said.

"Alright fine," Dante said, shrugging it off. "Gotta show some new employees the ropes anyway."

"Hold on," Logan said, making his way over. "Before you all go back to your world, you should be aware that you have an ally in this world's future. I think you should let him know before you leave."

"Yeah you're right," Chun-Li said, grabbing a special type of radio. "Leon, you there Leon?"

"Leon?" Peter asked. "Wait what's happening?"

"You'll see," Logan said.

"Leon, answer me," Chun-Li said, shaking the radio a bit.

"Hey Chun-Li, it's been a while since I heard your voice," Leon replied, having finally gotten through.

"Oh good. Leon, there's something I gotta explain to you," Chun-Li began.

---

An hour later, Celestia and Tony had returned, all the heroes still waiting in the halls, but now there were some new faces.

"Hey, it's that other Sweetie Belle from the future," Tony said. "What's she doing here?"

"I see a few others as well," Celstia said. Not only was Leon there, but Lady and Roll were there as well, the group explaining things to Peter.

"A couple years back Logan and Flutterhsy told us that Sweetie Belle from the future needed help rebuilding, that and there were a few remaining Changelings," Leon said. "Since I have experience with outbreaks and ruined citites, I figured I'd lend my assistance."

"It got bad so when Leon requested for help, Dante sent me over," Lady said.

"I was there to clean up since that is technically part of my programming," Roll explained. "Plus I wanted to help too."

"Leon's been a great help, same with Lady and Roll, our world's looking so much better, it's almost back to normal," Future Sweetie Belle said. "You gotta come by and check it out one day."

"Sure, it'd make a nice little vacation, going to the future," Peter joked. "Maybe this time I'll be able to come back without the trauma."

"Hey Peter, what's happening here?" Tony asked, making his way over.

"Hey Tony, Leon and a couple of his friends were still in this world's future, so they came back in time since Celestia's closing the portal," Peter said.

"We wanted to stay but Sweetie Belle insisted we go back," Roll said.

"Not that I don't want you there but I also would rather you not get stuck," Future Sweetie Belle explained. "You can come back once this 'Accords' thing is settled."

"Which it will be, I talked everything over with Celestia and she feels more confident," Tony said. "Just gotta get some signatures."

"By the way Peter, how is the Changeling situation here?" Leon asked. "Anything different?"

"It's much better, the Changelings have a new leader and he's much nicer than Chrysalis," Leon said. "Now they live harmoniously with us."

"They do?" Leon asked, a little surprised.

"Yeah, there's one of them right there," Peter said, gesturing to Ocellus, who along with Cozy Glow was talking with Fluttershy. "Her name's Ocellus, she's a bit shy but she's a really nice girl."

"Wow, that's so great!" Future Sweetie Belle said. "She's so cute too, I didn't know Changelings could be so cute. Oh I knew you could do it, everything resolved, no fighting needed." She glanced at Leon. "Words do wonders."

Leon rolled his eyes in annoyance, knowing what Sweetie Belle was alluding to. Even Logan knew what she meant, the hero still feeling like Leon went too far that day.

"Well what about the Queen?" Leon asked.

"She...kind of got away, but we're looking for her and her loyal Changelings," Peter said. "It's kind of frustrating, I really thought I could get her to switch sides."

"Didn't she destroy the future? A creature like that isn't redeemable," Leon said.

"Hey it was possible," Peter said. "She could have been better."

"You honestly think so?" Leon asked.

"If I may say something," Goku said. "I told Peter once about two Androids...or Cyborgs as he calls them, that in my world's future, they killed everybody and destroyed most of the world. But in my current timeline, they didn't do any of that stuff. In fact Trunks, the boy who came back in time to warn us, told everyone that the Androids in my timeline were more mischievous punks rather than cruel destroyers. Anyway they're good in my timeline, one of them is even part of our group of friends. She's kind of cold but she's still a good friend to have. Her brother I think went off traveling on his own."

"...So who is he again?" Leon asked.

"That's Goku, a Saiyan from Dragon World Earth," Peter explained.

"His world had a destroyed future as well huh?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Lots of timelines do," Logan explained. "I know a guy named Forge who came back in time because our world was destroyed by Sentinels."

"X and Zero's future has had it's rough moments as well," Chun-Li said.

"I think you guys and Trunks would get along well, I haven't seen him in forever but I think he's doing well right now," Goku said.

"One day," Peter said. "Anyway no use dwelling on the past, at least Sweetie Belle's future is safe and our world is on the verge of being better. I do hope that Tony fixes this soon, I really don't want any more major surprises. I mean I just found out that my ex-girlfriend had a baby with a stallion who hated me, and it turns out she's probably a lesbian."

"Uh...who are you talking about?" Future Sweetie Belle asked.

"Felicia, your old mentor," Peter said.

Sweetie Belle began to blush a bit, "I'm...not surprised about the lesbian part, she told me that she slowly started liking other girls. I mean we never had a fling but..."

"It's fine, you don't have to go into detail," Peter said. "Like I said, you're safe now and I'm happy your world is getting back to normal. Maybe you'll be able to take it easy."

"She should, especially with the fact that she's a mother," Roll said, surprising Peter and worrying both Logan and Future Sweetie Belle. "Cute baby too, she named it after you Spider-Man. But she never told us who the dad is."

Peter's face started to turn pale, realizations and worries plaguing his mind, "I see...how old is this baby exactly?"

"Uh, almost five I think," Roll said. "She told us she met someone shortly after you left, got pregnant but it didn't work out because he had to leave and-"

Sweetie Belle covered Roll's mouth and brought her close, "Boy is she a blabber mouth, kind of cute though."

"Yeah..." Peter said, his face still pale.

"Peter, what's with you?" Leon asked. "Man is hearing about babies that much of a surprise for you?"

"Yeah...let's go with that," Peter said. "I should go now..." Peter turned around and immediately came face to face with Twilight, her smile worrying him even more. "Twilight!?"

"Peter..." Twilight replied.

"Hey...how much did you hear?" Peter asked.

"Well, for starters, that's two new babies I've heard about, isn't reproduction great?" Twilight said, her eye slightly twitching despite her smile.

"Oh good God..." Logan muttered.

"What's happening?" Leon asked.

"Nothing! Nothing's happening, what makes you think something's happening?" Future Sweetie Belle nervously said. "Right Peter?"

"Yeah, everything's all good," Peter said, the unsettling smile from his wife making things worse.

"...You two are so strange, but I am gonna miss that," Leon said. "Make sure you take care of yourself while we're gone Sweetie Belle, you and your baby."

"I have Pinkie Pie, so I'm not alone," Future Sweetie Belle said.

Twilight was still smiling, trying to hide her feelings of frustration, knowing full well the secret Peter and Future Sweetie Belle want to hide. This was noticed by Johnny as he made his way over. "Did someone break Twilight?"

Minutes later, it was time to say good-bye. The Capcom Warriors had bid their farewells, vowing to return. Leon, Lady and Roll in particular had a nice embrace with Future Sweetie Belle, the girl feeling absolutely terrible in knowing that her friends had to leave.

All of them would be missed, especially with Sunset Shimmer going with them. Reaching the portal the group started going in one by one, until all that was left was Sunset and the main trio.

"Bye Twilight, I hope your baby is born nice and healthy," Sunset said, having her friend in an embrace.

"I'll miss you, and when you come back, be sure to have a hug ready for little Benjy," Twilight said, breaking away.

Peter approached the main trio of Ryu, Chris and Dante, "We had a rough start, but I am gonna miss you guys."

"We'll miss you too Peter," Chris said. "Take care of your family, and be safe."

"Keep an eye out, we might come back sooner than you least expect it," Dante said.

"This isn't good-bye forever, it's good-bye for now," Ryu said.

Peter held his hoof out, "Yeah, good-bye for now." Each of the trio hoof-bumped Peter before heading into the portal with Sunset.

The Square Warriors made their way into their own portal, Cloud being the last to enter. "I'll be back if Sephiroth returns, I'll make sure of it."

"Bye Cloud, thanks for coming as often as you do," Peter said.

"Please be safe," Twilight said.

Cloud saluted them and made his way into the portal as well.

All that was left was Goku, the Saiyan stepping to his portal, stopping just before entering. "I'll be back one day, I still have a lot of you I want to spar with. Especially you Twilight Sparkle."

"Don't make challenges you can't live up to Goku," Twilight sassed.

Goku smirked confidently as he stepped through the portal, saying one final good-bye. "See you all later!"

After that was said and done, Princess Celestia used her magic to shut down the portals, sealing away the other warriors for good, at least for now.

But of course there was still one left, Thor Odinson. As he approached the Marvel portal, he turned back to face his comrades. "I wish you all luck with whatever you have planned, and please don't do anything foolish."

"No promises," Tony said.

Thor couldn't tell if Tony was being sarcastic or if he really wasn't that confident in his plan. "I shall return once I safetly prevent Ragnarok, and with any luck, find that brother of mine along with his meddlesome friends."

"You got this Thor," Peter encouraged.

"Come back to us if you need help," Twilight said.

Everyone else voiced their concern or encouragement for Thor, with some praise sprinkled in as Thor bid one final good-bye, "Good luck to you all, and farewell for now!"

Thor entered his portal, ready to return to Asgard and prevent Ragnarok, or die trying. Everyone quickly began to dissipate, looking for anything else they could do for the moment, mostly to take their minds off the sad good-byes and the worry they felt for their friends.

"I should return to my timeline then," Future Sweetie Belle said.

"No, stay dear," Rarity said. "There's a lot I want to know about you."

"Same here," Present day Sweetie Belle said. "Maybe share some fashion tips."

"Wow, our Sweetie Belle is almost the same size as the one from the future," Bobby said. "Almost like twins."

"Come on kids," Jubilee said as she and Nightcrawler led the Young Six and Cozy Glow away. "We need to get you home."

"Think we should let their Kingdoms know about the invasion?" Nightcrawler asked.

"Yeah, we probably should," Jubilee said. "I just hope they won't be too mad."

"Hey remember kids, Accords!" Tony called out to them. "Let King Thorax, Prince Rutheford, Queen Novo, Dragon Lord Ember and Grandpa Gruff know about them, we'll form a stronger alliance!"

"Sure thing Mr. Stark!" Silversteam said, unsure if Queen Novo would actually go through with it.

"We'll do our best," Ocellus said, hoping that King Thorax would be more willing to agree.

"Well one good thing happened today," Smolder said. "Those jerks from Capcom are gone."

"Smolder!" Silverstream scolded.

"Hey they beat up my brother, they could stay gone forever for all I care," Smolder said, to the disappointment of her friends, along with Nightcrawler and Jubilee.

Cozy Glow meanwhile seemed focused on Steve and Celestia, wondering what they would be up to. This whole thing has gotten very interesting to the young filly, she really wanted to know more about what the future of Equestria would be like. Well as long as she had her friends, especially Ocellus.

Of course one other pony had her eye on Ocellus, that being Future Sweetie Belle. Knowing that Leon led an attack on the Changelings with some rebels from her timeline did not settle well with her, especially knowing that a nice Changeling like Ocellus could have gotten hurt. She dreads the consequences of that attack, feeling like it would make her rebels no better than the Changelings of her time.

As everyone scattered about, all that was left was Peter, the hero looking over to Thunderlane. "So...you and Felicia?"

"We did live together, briefly," Thunderlane said. "So it was bound to happen, especially given that she's such a flirt."

"Well, sorry to hear about you two," Peter said.

"It's fine if we're not together, I just want Felicity to have a good relationship with her mom," Thunderlane said. "I don't want her growing up thinking her mom doesn't care about her."

"Felicia is a pain but she is genuinely a good person, and I think she loves the daughter you two share," Peter said.

"She does, but she...I don't know how to say it, it's like she's off doing whatever she's doing, and even when she's around I'm worried that she might negatively influence our daughter," Thunderlane said. "I want them to have a nice, normal relationship, I want Felicia around but I also don't want her influencing her to being a thief."

"I don't think she'll let that happen," Peter said.

"Isn't her dad a thief too?" Thunderlane asked. "What if it's a family tradition?"

"Well, if I were you, I'd sit Felicia down and have a nice talk with her about being a good mom," Peter said. "I think she'd be willing to listen, if for her daughter's sake."

"I hope you're right Peter," Thunderlane said, looking to his daughter and ex-girlfriend. "I just want what's best for my little filly."

"Well, we'll be willing to help you, if you need it," Peter said.

"I appreciate that, but your wife hates Felicia, I don't think that would be a good idea," Thunderlane said.

"Worth a shot," Peter said. "I mean it's how we explain it. Instead of saying, 'We're looking after Felicia's daughter', it's more 'We're looking after Rumble's niece'."

"Oh, clever, your wife cares a lot about my brother after all," Thunderlane said. "Also, I really appreciate you looking after him when you did, that was cool of you. I messed up years ago, I have so many regrets, I just want a chance to start over and be better."

"Well being a parent could be that first step," Peter said. "Now you have a child to look after, and it can make you a better person, worked for me."

"You were already a good person," Thunderlane said. "You're a superhero."

"But I wasn't perfect, still not, but being Mayday's father, and now having a second child on the way really puts things into perspective for me," Peter said. "It'll do the same for you too."

"Thanks..." Thunderlane said. "And, I'm really sorry for being a massive jerk to you years ago. You're a nice guy, you didn't deserve that. I was just so jealous, and frustrated, and...I don't know what came over me. My actions cost me so much, I could have been a Wonderbolt."

"All's forgiven, kind of glad too, you seem like a cool guy, and your brother really admires you," Peter said. "He missed you so much while you were away."

"I'm gonna make things right," Thunderlane said. "My first step is finding a way to help keep this world safe. I'll be a Superhero myself!"

"Gonna join the Equestrian Division of The Avengers?" Peter asked. "I'll vouch for you if you'd like."

"Something like that," Thunderlane said. "Thanks for the help."

"No problem," Peter said, hoof-bumping Thunderlane.

"Also, I could use some advice, father to father," Thunderlane said, then took note of his daughter now interacting with Mayday, Felicia finding it adorable while Twilight seemed a bit annoyed. "Guess we really gotta work on our family dynamic. Maybe I should move back to Ponyville, my daughter's been stuck with me in Canterlot for a long time, and that's not good for her growth."

"Well then, let's get started on that," Peter said, making his way to his daughter, Thunderlane following suit.

Everything seemed to be going well, Tony had already began communication with the heroes of Marvel Earth while everypony else attempted to go back to normal.

---

Discord however, was not deterred. Seeing this from Tartarus, he only could see the bright side. "Wow, I didn't think Celestia would actually close the portals, I must have given her more of a shock than I thought. No matter, this works all according to my plan. Portals or not, my plan is still coming together, in time I'll unleash my ultimate act of chaos upon Equestria, especially the little surprise I have in store for them, it will be absolutely marvelous."

Discord continued his plans, just the same as Tony, Peter and many others within. No more Capcom, no more Square, no more Goku, and no Sunset Shimmer or Thor around. Big changes are coming fast to Equestria.

The Accords take Start

It's been a week since the recent villain invasion, Canterlot was slowly getting back to normal and most of it had been properly rebuilt.

In that time, Tony had gotten to work on the next phase of his Accords, that being recruiting more heroes to guard Equestria and keep it safe from villainous invasions. It required a lot of scouting but to keep it simple, he mostly recruited heroes from New York area.

Standing in Canterlot Hall were Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Elektra, Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Firestar, five of them ponies, Iron Fist having the luck of taking form of a dragon, all of them awaiting what's coming next.

Luna took a good gander at these six heroes, and needless to say, she wasn't too sure about this plan so far. "So, this is all you could come up with Tony?"

"They were the only ones immediately available," Tony explained. "Of course I did also ask for Nova."

"He's off planet with Star-Lord and his buddies," Luke Cage explained.

"How about Moon Knight or Night Thrasher? Anyone get in contact with them?" Tony asked, Luna curious about the answer.

"Not yet," Iron Fist answered, Luna feeling disappointed. Night based heroes seem like they would be a better help to her than her sister, hopefully this can be rectified soon.

"What about that White Tiger lady?" Tony asked.

"She was busy," Elektra said. "Plus we gotta keep some heroes in New York, otherwise it becomes too defenseless."

"Thankfully we also got Ben Grimm and some X-Men helping out too," Luke Cage said. "Of course things have been slow since that big fight nearly eight years ago but it can't hurt to take a little extra precaution."

"Yeah, the biggest trouble since then was those Capcom guys showing up," Jones said. "We still got our share of baddies but with guys like Doom gone, Magneto gone and The Green Goblin gone, plus those other villains that disappeared, seems like a lot of crooks are staying in the shadows more often."

"Alright, well regardless I think this is a decent start," Tony said. "You're perfect for this role, with your mercenary ways."

"Mercenaries?" Daredevil asked. "We're not mercenaries Stark."

"Alright maybe not the best word, though you almost are, you're Heroes for Hire," Tony said.

"Technically I'm not," Firestar said.

"Let's not get technical, point is you're all here to help keep this world safe," Tony said. "We're gonna need round the clock protection to keep villains out of Equestria."

"And how are we suppose to do that?" Luke Cage asked. "I mean if we gotta protect this world, then shouldn't we be going back to Earth where the villains are coming from and stopping them there?"

"Hey these villains can come from anywhere, it might not even be New York. Think about it, it could be someone from Europe, or Japan, or one of the Nine Realms, hell even Antarctica for all I know," Tony said. "But we do know where they usually strike first. Over the last couple of years targets have included this city of Canterlot, a town nearby called Ponyville and The Crystal Empire."

"So you're expecting us to stand guard in these towns?" Luke Cage asked. "Also what kind of name is 'Ponyville'?"

"Yeah, sounds Generic, like Human City," Iron Fist said.

"Ask the Apples, they named it," Tony said.

"And they picked out a perfect name, the town is full of great and friendly ponies," Luna explained.

"It's also where Peter lives, with his wife and daughter," Tony said. "And whoever else lives in that house."

"Peter? That reminds me, what about Bobby?" Firestar asked.

"He lives in Ponyville too, with his own wife and kids," Tony explained.

"Wow, can't believe they're both married, especially Bobby, he seemed like too much of a player to settle down," Firestar said.

"I'm more impressed seeing Spider-Man settle down," Iron Fist said. "I don't think I've formally met his wife though, heard she's powerful."

"She is, she's an Equestrian Princess after all," Luna explained. "Just like me."

"Peter marrying Royalty, he really moved up in the world," Firestar fondly stated.

"So how do we go about this guarding thing then?" Luke Cage asked.

"Well for starters I'm going to split you into three groups, each one will be stationed at one of the three cities that I mentioned are the frequent target of attacks," Tony explained.

"Oh! Can I go to Ponyville!?" Firestar asked. "If Peter and Bobby are there then I want to protect it."

"Well that's not surprising, just try to remember that you're there to protect, not to hang out with Peter and Bobby," Tony reminded.

"Of course, I promise to take my job seriously," Firestar said.

"Alright, so it's you and Miss Jones here guarding Ponyville, Daredevil and Elektra can patrol Canterlot while Luke Cage and Iron Fist can patrol the Crystal Empire," Tony said.

"This place is Canterlot, right?" Daredevil asked.

"Yes, so you won't really have to go anywhere," Tony said. "Think you can manage watching over everything here?"

"It's no trouble," Daredevil insisted. "Little different than the Kitchen but I should be able to maneuver around."

"Alright then, now I'm going to get our friends here to their town," Tony said. "Luna would you midn helping Daredevil and Elektra here get acclimated to Canterlot?"

"It would be no trouble," Luna said.

"Alright then, Firestar, Jones, Cage, Rand, follow me," Tony said, about to lead the four out of Canterlot.

"Oh Tony, there's something you should know," Luna said. "We actually already have a volunteer to watch over Ponyville, so she may be assisting these two ladies you just recruited."

"Really? Where is she?" Tony asked.

"She's already there, with her daughter and ex-coltfriend," Luna explained.

Tony could tell who Luna meant, "Oh boy..."

---

In Ponyville, Felicia was strolling around the bottom floor of the Golden Oaks Library, taking in the sights of the home. "Wow, so many books. Do you actually read all of them Twilight?"

"Yes, I do," Twilight said, clearly not happy with this girl in her home.

"You must have a lot of time on your hands if you can go through all of these," Felicia commented.

"It really isn't that hard, plus it's something I enjoy doing," Twilight said. "The more your read, the more your intellect broadens."

"Somehow I never really believed that," Felicia said, taking a book from a shelf, looking through the pages. "Such weird writing too."

"That's Pony Latin, I doubt you'd be able to read through it," Twilight said.

"Wow, do you always talk so condescending like?" Felicia teased. "Poor Peter, having to put up with that for so long."

"He wouldn't know, I don't talk down to him," Twilight turned to her husband. "Isn't that right Peter?"

"Uh, right..." Peter hesitantly agreed.

"That answer doesn't sound confident," Felicia pointed out. "Is there something you're not telling us Peter?"

Before this could escalate, Thunderlane stepped in, "Come on Felica, you know this is going to irritate Twilight so lay off a bit."

"It's just a friendly conversation Thunderlane, nothing to worry about," Felicia insisted. "You just keep an eye on my little Felicity."

"Your Felicity!?" Thunderlane asked, looking a bit offended. "How often do you even see her to call her yours!?"

"I see her plenty," Felicia said. "Keep in mind that my work is what feeds you both, so I am providing for my daughter, like a good mother should."

"Yeah but..." Thunderlane groaned in annoyance, it was really hard getting through to her sometimes. "I appreciate you doing that for us but part of being a mother is being more involved in your daughter's upbringing."

"You act like I've totally abandoned her or something," Felicia said, sounding a bit displeased by his tone of voice.

"Well you do seem like the type to not really care about anything aside from your reflection in the mirror," Twilight said.

"Aw, you're cute when you're so full of it," Felicia said, further irritating Twilight. "Say where is Felicity?"

"She's with Trixie and Mayday," Peter said. "So she's fine, Trixie's really good with kids after all."

"Trixie...wait which one is she?" Felicia asked.

"She wears a wizard hat," Thunderlane answered. "Calls herself 'Great and Powerful', sometimes speaks in third pony. My brother loves that about her actually, I find it irritating but to each their own."

"Yeah, I think I remember her," Felicia said. "She's actually pretty cute, is she single?"

"Yes, and don't get your hopes up, she won't be interested," Peter said. "She tells me quite a lot that she's not interested in a relationship just yet."

"And even so, I'm fairly certain that she'd be more interested in Scott Lang than you," Twilight said.

"Scott Lang?" Peter asked. "Oh boy, Lightning Dust won't like that."

"What is she actually into Trixie?" Thunderlane asked.

"Yeah, it was suppose to be a secret but a lot of ponies know," Peter said. "Especially considering Laura blurted it out once, despite her lame attempt at covering it up."

"Wait, which one's Laura again?" Thunderlane asked.

"The girl with the same powers as Wolverine," Peter explained. "There's a lot I gotta catch you up on."

"Hey I got time, gonna be weird seeing all the changes," Thunderlane said. "I hear Rarity's married, I remember her wedding being a big deal in Canterlot."

"Yeah, she and my friend Bobby had a kid too," Peter said. "All of Twilight's friends have kids, Pinkie gave birth to twins recently."

"So Pinkie's a parent now huh?" Thunderlane commented. "Rainbow Dash too..."

"A lot happened these last four and a half years," Peter said. "Of course you'll have something to tell everyone too. I mean you're a dad as well now."

"Speaking of which, how come Rumble never told us?" Twilight asked. "Did he know?"

"I told Flitter and Cloudchaser, I asked them not to tell Rumble yet, I wanted to do it myself in pony," Thunderlane explained.

"But it's been two years, actually more than that since Felicia was pregnant," Peter said. "How did this even come up? Like how did you two end up together?"

"Thing is, we weren't totally together," Thunderlane explained. "Felicia just let me stay at her apartment."

"Which was nicer than a dungeon," Felicia added.

"Well yeah, anyway we stayed together for a bit, though Felicia often traveled, saying it was work related," Thunderlane said.

"You can ask Celestia, she and that agent of hers supervised it," Felicia said.

"What agent?" Twilight asked.

"Tell you later," Felicia said. "Go on Thunder."

"Around the time Rarity got married, I remember hearing it being all ponies talked about, I felt so envious of the fact that a mare I used to date had moved on," Thunderlane said. "I mean I dated a lot of mares but I really did like Rarity, I thought we had a chance together. It was one of the reasons I hoped my brother could get together with Sweetie Belle, of course that went downhill fast but I won't delve into that chaos."

"Even Sweetie Belle regrets it," Peter said.

"Well point is I felt kind of down, so I consulted with Felicia about it," Thunderlane said. "She was about to go off on some assignment, so the night before we left we got to talking and...one thing led to another."

"We had sex," Felicia said.

"Thank you, that was what I was alluding too," Thunderlane said, blushing a bit. "But yeah, we got intimate, and I guess she was in heat because when she came back months later, she told me she was pregnant."

"Where were you that you were gone for months?" Peter asked.

"Sorry, can't tell," Felicia teased.

"Can't tell? Peter and I are royalty! We have a right to know!" Twilight demanded.

"Twilight, it's not important right now," Peter said.

"But Peter, what if she was up to no good!?" Twilight said. "It is our duty to know what's going on when it comes to crooks!"

"I just went to Klugetown for a bit, its someplace far down south of here," Felicia explained. "There was some shady business that Celestia wanted me to investigate, mostly involving pirates."

"Pirates!? You saw pirates!?" Peter asked.

"It was nothing really," Felicia said. "But I was gone for a few months, then came back with a bigger belly."

"Really surprised me, I was gonna be a dad, but I was also happy because I thought I had a chance to start a family, a chance to start over and make things right," Thunderlane said.

"Let me guess, Felicia here had no interest in doing that," Twilight said.

"Not true, I was ready to settle down, I even considered marrying him," Felicia said. "But that's the problem, I felt like I was just settling, and deep down, I don't think I really loved him that much."

Thunderlane felt a cringe feeling in his chest, "Yeah, pretty much what she told me, that and she also said she preferred mares over stallions."

"Which I really don't believe by the way," Twilight said. "You probably said that so you have an excuse to break up with him without looking bad."

"Oh what's so hard to believe? Sine coming here I found that a lot of the mares are really cute and as I remembered life on Earth, the girls there were cute as well," Felicia said. "I felt like I could truly be who I wanted to be."

"So is that why you never loved Peter back?" Twilight asked. "Or is it still that you found him boring without his mask?"

"Hard to say," Felicia teased, further irritating Twilight.

"You're totally faking this liking girls thing! And I'm gonna prove it!" Twilight shouted.

"How? Oh, do you want to kiss me and find out?" Felicia asked, seductively eyeing Twilight.

"Yeah, in your dreams, I don't swing that way," Twilight said.

Peter scratched his head in confusion, remembering the time Twilight teased a three way with another mare, and he thought he had that with Future Sweetie Belle, even though Twilight constantly assured him that nothing happened, they just fell asleep together. He won't question it, he doesn't want to think that he slept with Future Sweetie Belle twice.

"Well that's a shame, I could make out with you all day," Felicia said, giving a wink.

"Even if I did swing that way, one I'm married and two, you're not my type of mare," Twilight said.

"Never thought I'd see the day where Felicia would flirt with Twilight," Peter said. "It's actually kind of weird for me to see."

"Yeah, I'm uncomfortable too," Thunderlane said. "Felicia, give it a rest, you don't need to prove that you're into girls."

"I thought boys liked seeing two cute girls kissing each other?" Felicia teased.

"I...cant deny that," Peter said. "But that is my wife and I'd rather she not kiss anyone that isn't me, much like I don't want to kiss anyone that isn't her."

"See this is what I wish I had," Thunderlane said. "Instead she breaks up with me while still pregnant with my child and one month after the baby is born, she goes off on another long mission, leaving me to take care of her."

"Didn't you enjoy bonding with her?" Felicia asked.

"Of course I enjoyed spending time with my daughter, honestly she's the best thing that's happened to me in years," Thunderlane said. "Like, I love her smile, her little giggles, that look in her eyes every time she looks up at me, like she completely admires me."

"Pretty awesome isn't it," Peter said.

"My daughter gives me a new reason in life, I have something worth protecting, something I want to fight for," Thunderlane said. "Though you understand what I mean Peter, given you have a daughter yourself.."

"You know it, there's nothing I wouldn't do for Mayday," Peter said.

"Which is why I'm going to do everything in my power so that my daughter has a dad she can be proud of," Thunderlane said. "I'm so grateful that the Princesses are gonna give me another chance. I already told Tony Stark that I want in on this plan of his."

"Oh, you're for The Accords?" Twilight asked. "The way you spoke at the rally made me think you were against it."

"I wasn't totally against it, but I just had my doubts," Thunderlane said. "But maybe I'll feel more confident if I'm part of it, gives me a sense of control and not just relying on others. Plus that invasion reminded me that The Avengers are kind of important."

"Well, it's great you want to help Thunderlane, I just hope you know that you don't have to do this just so that you're daughter would be proud of you," Twilight said. "All any child wants is for their parent to love them, and I can tell you love your daughter a lot."

"Well, all the more reason for me to do this, because my daughter deserves the best from her dad," Thunderlane said.

"How sweet, you're such a devoted father Thunderlane," Twilight said, then glared at Felicia. "And you gave that up! So foolish!"

"It'll all work out," Felicia said.

"Honestly Twilight, I'm more concerned with Felicia being a good mom rather than my wife or anything," Thunderlane said.

"Look, I promise to not seclude myself from her life, I won't make the same mistake my dad made," Felicia said.

"You already did, you're a thief!" Twilight said.

"What's worse? Being a thief? Or not being there for your child?" Felicia asked.

"Are you kidding me with that question?" Twilight said. "They're both bad regardless, so-"

"Actually Twilight, Felicia might be on to something," Peter said.

"Huh? Explain!" Twilight said.

"Felicia didn't have good role models so she became a burglar, probably to seek out her dad's approval," Peter said. "If she's around more for Felicity and can help Thunderlane teach her right from wrong, we'll have nothing to worry about."

"Uh...that sort of makes sense, I guess," Twilight said, thinking his explanation over. Thunderlane in her mind is enough to be a good influence on Felicity, so long as he doesn't revert back to his rebellious phase. But she still isn't sure if Felicia would really contribute much as a parent, though being an active mom may deter her from being a thief herself.

"Alright, are we done trying to play therapist?" Felicia asked. "Now enough of my personal parenting life, it is becoming quite bothersome. I don't tell you how to raise your daughter."

"Like I'd listen to what you have to say," Twilight said.

"For a Princess of Friendship, you're pretty cold," Felicia said. "What if I wanted to be friends with you? A pretty girl like you would make great company for me."

"I told you to stop hitting on me! I'm not interested!" Twilight said.

"It was just a compliment, but have it your way," Felicia said, trotting off. "Thunder, I have to patrol town for a bit, Tony Stark's orders. We can talk more later about Felicity and see if we can work out a deal that will make everyone happy."

"Uh, sure thing," Thunderlane said.

Felicia turned to the others, "Catch you all later." She made her way out to take to town.

"Well at least she's doing a good service to Equestria," Thunderlane said. "Still, this is not how I imagined parenthood."

"I still can't believe she didn't want to be with you," Twilight said. "Like, did it ever seem like you had a chance?"

"Yeah...I think..." Thunderlane scratched his head. "I honestly don't know, I mean she used to flirt with me and she seemed to like our time together. Even if it was mostly just, you know, intimate moments. But I thought her being pregnant would make it work."

"That's not always enough sometimes," Peter said. "I mean Twilight and I could have easily not ended up together since I got her pregnant before we got married."

"Well you two at least loved each other enough that you probably didn't even need to get married," Thunderlane said. "But you know what, it's fine. There's plenty of fish in the sea, I can easily find another girl to fall in love with. Maybe I can call up Flitter or Cloudchaser, see if either of them want to try again. Or maybe Blossomforth, or Helia."

"At least you're seeing the positives," Peter said. "Plus some super hero girls are coming over, maybe you can find luck with them."

"Just make sure she's not only a compatible mate for you, but also for Felicity," Twilight reminded.

"Right, any girl I end up with may be a step-mother to my child," Thunderlane said. "I hope she loves her just the same though."

"Hey it's very possible, I mean I was raised by my aunt and she loved me like her son," Peter said. "Maybe whoever you end up with will love Felicity just the same, helps that she's still pretty young so she might be more accepting herself."

"Also don't forget to tell Rumble about his niece," Twilight said. "Still surprised he doesn't know, hasn't he gone to visit you? He was with you last week."

"He never came over to my house, I usually met up with him somewhere in Canterlot, one time I brought him over, but at the time Felicia had taken our daughter shopping, so it never came up," Thunderlane said.

"Well it's gotta come up now," Peter said.

"Yeah, it does. Boy is that gonna be an awkward conversation," Thunderlane said. "I should probably take Felicity to see him now, by the way is he still dating Apple Bloom?"

"Yeah, they seem happy together," Peter said. "Though I should warn you, Rumble's become a bit of a jock."

"I'm aware, kind of got that vibe when I saw him the other day, Flitter mentioned that he's turning into me, and she said it like it's a bad thing," Thunderlane said. "He's not being a rebel is he?"

"Uh, well kind of..." Twilight said. "He has rebelled against the idea of Cutie Marks."

"Cutie Marks!?" Thunderlane asked. "Wait why is he rebelling against Cutie Marks?"

"He says they're limiting to a pony's personality," Twilight said. "That it makes a pony one thing."

"Doesn't help that a bunch of the heroes from my world and even the other worlds don't seem to have Cutie Marks yet and they're doing just fine," Peter said. "So it's validating Rumble's opinion."

"He hasn't even tried earning a Cutie Mark, in fact he's still a blank flank, which by his age, is quite strange," Twilight said. "Most ponies earn their mark without even trying, even Mayday earned her mark without trying."

"I certainly didn't set out to earn a Cutie Mark, yet I got one," Peter said.

"I think Rumble is somehow willing it away, it's really unheard of, I've never seen a pony not want a Cutie Mark," Twilight said.

"Well maybe I can straighten him out," Thunderlane said. "Other than that he's been good, right?"

"Of course, though brave to a fault as well," Twilight said. "If he sees a villain, he'll go after that villain."

"Oh boy..." Thunderlane shook his head. "That kid."

"Thunderlane!" Trixie called, making her way over with Mayday and Felicity. "Sorry to bother you but somepony really missed your presence."

"Dada!" Felicity flew over to Thunderlane, the older Pegasus catching her in his forelegs.

"Hey, miss me did ya?" Thunderlane asked.

"Dada! Dada!" Felicity said, hugging her father tightly.

"Aw, my little cloud puff," Thunderlane said, rubbing her mane. "Thanks for watching over her Trixie, but now I'm gonna get her to see her uncle."

"It's a pleasure, she's really a nice filly," Trixie said. "And you raised her by yourself?"

"Mostly, though Felicia promises to be more involved," Thunderlane said, pulling his daughter back. "Wanna go see Uncle Rumble?"

"Huh?" Felicity seemed a bit confused.

"Right, you don't really know him," Thunderlane said. "Fixing that now." Thunderlane plopped her on his back. "Ready to fly with daddy?"

"Fly! Fly!" Felicity cheered.

Thunderlane turned to face the others, "Again, I really appreciate you helping out, and keeping an eye on Felicity."

"Don't be shy about bringing her back," Trixie said.

"I won't, I mean I know a pair of foalsitters but if I need to leave her in Ponyville for whatever reason, I know just the family to ask," Thunderlane said, then flew off with his daughter.

"Wow, amazing how much he's changed over the years," Peter said. "He used to hate me."

"Well I used to hate you too, and that changed," Trixie said. "Maybe you just have that affect on others."

"Eh, sometimes, otherwise all my enemies would have a change of heart," Peter said.

"So, tell me Peter, how do you feel about these Accords that Tony Stark wants to pass around?" Trixie asked.

"Uh, well they seem alright to me," Peter said. "Tony just wants to keep this world safe, I mean he felt pretty bad knowing that the recent string of invasions started with one of his enemies, especially since that enemy got in through a portal at his building."

"He doesn't believe he's at fault, does he?" Twilight asked. "I mean it's not like he could have predicted this."

"It's his moral compass, Tony's arrogant but he cares about people and he's come to like Equestria, and all of you," Peter said. "He's especially fond Twliight, and Mayday as well. Tony thinks you both can contribute well to both societies, that's why he's all in for the Accords, he wants both worlds to flourish. Equestria has resources that can help a lot of people on Earth, and he believes Earth's resources can help Equestria."

"Oh, like some of your Earthly technology?" Trixie asked.

"Uh, yeah, in moderation," Peter said. "I mean we're not gonna overwhelm Equestria, mostly since Celestia isn't too confident in Earth technology, so Tony and I hope to change her mind. If it works then we can flourish Mayday's interest in science much more, imagine her working at Stark Industries, Tony says she's so smart she can be like a CEO."

"Doesn't Tony have a daughter of his own?" Trixie asked. "Wouldn't he want her to take over?"

"Well she was just born, and for all he knows, she might have a different career path in mind," Peter said. "Of course he dreams of the day she becomes President of his company but he told me that he can imagine a big position for Mayday, Franklin Richards too."

"Oh yeah, Franklin Richards," Twilight said, remembering the son of Reed and Susan. "He's a nice boy too, I think he and Mayday are becoming friends."

"Or trying to, remember Mayday usually does not like being around other foals," Trixie said. "She did like Felicity though, but that felt like her getting ready to be a big sister rather than wanting a friend."

"I really worry sometimes, Flurry still can't get through to her," Twilight said. "Maybe we should give it more of a push. What do you think Peter?"

"I would like for Mayday to have friends, but I don't want to force it on her," Peter said. "It's like I've said before, she doesn't really need it right now, if she's happy the way she is then let her be."

"But every time I see Mayday, it reminds me of myself, how I prioritized my studies over Friendship, and because of that, I barely even had time for the friends I had in Canterlot, and I'd rather Mayday not go through what I went through with Moon Dancer," Twilight said. "Didn't you wish you had friends when you were younger Peter?"

"Well yeah, but I was a bit more miserable since no one even liked me when I was a kid," Peter said. "Aside from Harry, and that went to hell."

"You had more friends than that didn't you?" Trixie asked. "I mean Johnny was your friend, so was Bobby, and this Mary Jane girl."

"Johnny was more my rival, he didn't act like my friend until he came to this world a couple of years back," Peter said. "Bobby was kind of like my friend, I remember doing some hero work with him and a girl called Fire Star. Mary Jane was just a girl I knew, she was really nice but I never really got that close with her. Not that it mattered, any other friend I had I drove away during my first year of college. My aunt was sick so I kind of ignored everyone because I had so much on my mind, and they took it pretty personally, even Gwen."

"That's a bit petty," Trixie said. "If your aunt wasn't feeling well then you had a right to be worried about her."

"Well maybe I shouldn't have pushed anyone away, and maybe..." Peter had a realization. "Maybe Mayday shouldn't have either."

"Now do you understand?" Twilight asked. "I mean, I'm with Trixie, your friends were petty to get upset because you were more worried about your aunt than hanging out with them. I know if I were worried like that, my friends would actually be more understanding, and I know that if they were around they would be more sympathetic. But at the same time, I do want Mayday to learn to let others in, true friends who care about her. That's where Franklin Richards comes in, that's where Flurry Heart comes in, even The Cake Twins can help her with that. If Mayday ever needs somepony to care about her, that's who she must turn to, her friends, because as much as we love her, she needs more than just us."

"Yeah, you're right Twilight," Peter said. "Alright, Mayday's about to make some friends then."

"Finally, I get to give Mayday Friendship Lessons!" Twilight excitedly stated. "It's gonna be so much fun!"

"Speaking of new experiences, I do wonder how Sunset Shimmer is doing," Trixie said.

"I think she's doing alright, she's out traveling the multiverse with our buddies from Capcom, hopefully we'll get to hear from her soon," Peter said. "The day she comes back, she'll bear witness to a brand new Equestria."

---

Elsewhere at Fluttershy's cottage, the mare had just laid Rina down for her nap and made her way outside where Logan was observing a training spar between Laura and Lightning Dust.

"Rina asleep?" Logan asked.

"Yes, I just laid her down," Fluttershy said. "Looks like Laura and Lightning Dust are enjoying themselves."

"Nothing more those two like than combat," Logan said. "Laura wants to surpass me and Lightning Dust just wants to get better."

"Combat training is tough work," Fluttershy said, checking her forelegs. "I'm still feeling sore from my last training, is that normal?"

"Of course, if yer sore it means you worked hard," Logan said.

"I thought I'd be used to it by now, I'm more frail than I thought," Fluttershy said.

"It takes a while to get used to it, especially fer someone who doesn't regularly fight," Logan said. "Besides you should always feel a bit sore after training, it means yer muscles are tearing and growing more fiber, that makes you physically stronger."

"Think I have grown in strength?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yeah, I mean yer still a few leagues under Lightning Dust but you certainly ain't the frail damsel I met when I first came here," Logan said. "You have a lot of potential within you, Laura, Dust and I are just helping you bring it out."

"I'm happy that I'm making progress, when I told Rainbow Dash I was training to fight, she started laughing," Fluttershy said. "Apparently me fighting seems to abnormal for her understanding."

"She just needs to get used to the idea," Logan said. "Give it time and soon you'll be the one laughing when you out perform her in combat, or even in speed. I remember the story of you helping a tornado of Pegusai bring some water from a Ponyville pond to the factory up in Cloudsdale."

"Speed really isn't my thing, I prefer to take things slow and steady," Fluttershy said. "And don't worry about Dashie, her laughing doesn't bother me too much, it's just her being prideful as usual."

"It is one of her more admirable traits, but a foolish one," Logan said. "Too much pride can be one's downfall, something I worry will happen to Laura and Lightning Dust if they don't pull back on their own snarky attitudes."

"...By the way, I wanted to ask you..." Fluttershy began. "Do you trust Tony Stark's idea? With his whole Accords thing as he calls it?"

"Well, I trust he thinks it'll work," Logan said. "But honestly this whole thing feels a bit pointless. If he really wants to do something like this, he should reserve this idea for Earth, not Equestria."

"Maybe he's tried to do it on Earth and failed?" Fluttershy suggested. "Or he thinks Equestria needs it more than your world."

"Most of the villains are from my world, before the Storm King the only other villain I saw was Chrysalis, and Peter was close to getting her on our side anyway," Logan said.

"I mean, there are other villains in Equestria, but I see your point, Equestrian villains come and go very few in between, yet your Earth has a lot of baddies," Fluttershy said. "Still, it can't hurt to keep this world more secured, especially if guards are set all around, it'd be easier to catch the villains as they come."

"That basically makes this world a glorified fly zapper, but what happens when the electricity dies out?" Logan said.

"We gotta try something Logan, if it's not working on your Earth, then it can work here," Fluttershy insisted. "Besides, don't tell her I said this, but I think Lightning Dust is really eager about this opportunity."

"Huh? How so?" Logan asked.

"Captain America is starting an Equestrian Avengers isn't he?" Fluttershy said. "I think Lightning Dust wants to be part of that, she wants to finally achieve something great."

"I thought she was happy starting them Wash-Out shows," Logan said. It's really picked up as of late."

"She loves doing her stunts of course, but she also wants to contribute more to Equestria," Fluttershy said. "She really wants to be a hero. Again don't tell her I told you, she might want to tell you herself."

"My lips are sealed," Logan said, focusing back on the spar between Lighting Dust and Laura. "Think Laura would join her?"

"I asked her, and she said she doesn't trust Tony Stark's idea, and she doesn't want him bossing her around or anything, but she is more than willing to help Lightning Dust train for this," Fluttershy said.

"Well I can't say I'm surprised that Laura wants nothing to do with this," Logan said. "I just hope Stark doesn't try roping her in with his smooth guy business charm."

"We'll keep a lookout for that," Fluttershy said, standing up. "Gotta say, they really look like they're getting into it, think I should join in? I need the practice."

"I don't know, you've improved but those girls are still quite a league away, and Laura can get carried away," Logan said.

"Oh you worry too much, I think I'll be fine," Laura said, making her way over, Logan looking a bit apprehensive. "Hey girls, mind if I join in?"

"Think fast!" within seconds Laura had lunged at Fluttershy, the sparring already going bad for the poor girl.

"Laura! Dial it back!" Logan warned, of course Laura was way too into the zone to listen, meaning Logan would have to take action. "Damn, gotta do this the hard way!"

---

Later in the day, Peter was seen walking home with some groceries, still considering the big changes about to incur. "I wonder how Thunderlane's doing, hope he's told Rumble by now."

"Peter!" Came the voice of Firestar. He would recognize it anywhere.

"Angel!?" Peter noticed the girl coming over with Tony Stark by her side. "No way!"

"Way! I'm in Equestria!" Firestar greeted. "Iron Man brought me! Oh, I suppose now it's Iron Stallion."

"Both work," Tony said. "Hey Pete, just thought you should know that our good friend Angelica will be patrolling Ponyville for quite some time."

"Not alone either, Jessica Jones is coming here as well," Firestar said. "She's still with The Defenders back in Canterlot, they're trying to make some plans. I would join them but I really wanted to come here and see you again."

"Well it's always nice to see you Angel," Peter said. "Wow, so you're patrolling Ponyville huh? That's pretty neat. Though, and not that I'm not happy, but is this necessary? I mean we already got a bunch of heroes living in this town, including someone who controls fire. Angel should go somewhere she's needed, she'd make more of a difference and it'd keep Equestria safer."

"Well I wanted to kind of start them off in familiar places before they were comfortable enough to spread out," Tony Stark said. "I mean I wouldn't just throw her into Fillydelphia by herself after all."

"Uh...yeah good point," Peter said.

"So she and Jessica Jones will stay here for a few weeks and then once they gain the proper experience, I'll consider sending them off," Tony said. "But think about it this way, now your friends don't have to worry that much about Ponyville if other heroes are here, more time with their families. Plus you and Johnny are the only ones who have expressed interest in The Accords, everyone else seems to be on the fence, even Scott barely trusts me."

"I don't think it's that they don't trust you, they just don't have faith in this idea," Peter said. "You just gotta find ways to encourage and motivate them into believing this could work."

"Just remind them that they get to travel to an exotic new world," Firestar suggested.

"I try to, but from the sounds of things, they're not too keen on going to a world where they transform into ponies, at least for the most part," Tony said.

"Huh, you'd think with Captain America coming to this world as often as he does the others would come to realize it's not too bad," Peter said. "Speaking of Cap, where has he been?"

"Back on Earth, he and Fury are looking into reports they got from Latveria," Tony said. "There are rumors of our old buddy Doctor Doom resurfacing."

"Yeah, I heard about that a while back," Peter said. "Hope it's resolved soon."

"Should be, this Doom situation may affect the Accords, if he really is back then Fury's gonna have a lot of heroes stationed around Earth, should he be ready for a fight," Tony said.

"Hey if you need help against Doom, I'm always ready to head back to Earth for a fight," Peter said.

"Same here, I can head back and stomp on Doctor Doom," Firestar insisted. "Me, Peter and Bobby could totally take him!"

"Bobby? I know you're all old friends but Bobby?" Tony said.

"Too be fair, Bobby is pretty tough, I mean he's lasted against Magneto, who's just as bad as Doom, maybe worse," Peter said.

"Still, Bobby is not who I would think of in a situation like this," Tony said.

"All this talk of Bobby has me wanting to go see him," Firestar said. "Where does he live Peter?"

"He lives a few houses down, a place called 'The Carousel Boutique," Peter said. "It's a clothing store his wife runs."

"What's his wife like?" Firestar asked. "Is he super hot? I mean for a pony?"

"Well according to the stallions of Equestria, yeah, she has looks befitting royalty," Peter said. "She's very glamorous and has a high society attitude, but she's also very generous and instead of insulting someone based on their style, she would offer to help them look better."

"Oh so she's like one of those prudes, except she's not," Firestar said.

"Pretty much," Peter responded. "I mean, she has her moments, like she will overreact if she finds something 'hideous' or 'unbearable' but she's pretty much chill."

"That's good to know," Firestar said. "It's great that Bobby found himself a really nice girl."

"One that is clearly out of his league mind you," Tony said.

"Come on Tony, stuff like that isn't gonna make Bobby want to trust these Accords," Peter said. "I mean, when it comes to society rules and typical conduct, the X-Men really aren't ones to follow suit on either of those."

"I guess even being married to a Society type girl won't change that mindset then," Firestar said.

"Yeah he..." Suddenly Tony had an idea, one he felt confident could work wonders. "Hey, Angelica, how about we both go see Bobby together? I just remembered I needed to talk with his wife about something."

"Sure, but would Bobby be alright with you talking to his wife? You are a bit of a player," Firestar said.

"Hey I'm a Happily Married Man these days, plus I talk with my assistant Coco all the time, and we've always kept it professional," Tony said. "That and she just got engaged."

"Aw, how sweet," Firestar said. "I mean, I don't know who this girl or her fiancé are but still, good for them."

"Yeah, real nice girl, maybe you can attend her wedding," Tony said. "Well let's get going if we're gonna check on Bobby, see you later Peter."

"Yeah, we'll catch up again soon!" Firestar said, going with Tony towards Rarity's Boutique.

"See you both around," Peter said, heading back to his own home. "So Angel's here how, and it sounds ike Jessica Jones isn't too far behind. Tony's really going full swing into this, hope it doesn't become much of a hassle, but if anyone can pull this off, Tony can, especially with the help of Celestia and Luna."

---

At the home of the Storm-Dash family, Johnny was seen laying on his couch, resting a bit while his daughter played with some blocks close by. Suddenly his phone began to ring.

"Yo, what's up?" Johnny answered.

"Hey Johnny, it's Susan," his sister greeted.

"Sup Sue, need something?" Johnny asked, briefly glancing his daughter's direction, making sure she's playing safe.

"Big news, Reed's gonna be working in Equestria, helping Tony with the Equestrian Accords," Susan said. "Tony has a bunch of ideas to fix the country up and wants Reed's input, so he's going to be working in Ponyville for the time being, and I'm of course going to be working with him."

"Sweet, we'll see each other more," Johnny said. "Maybe you can come by and see Firefly."

"I'd love to see my niece," Susan said. "Ben will be coming by a lot as well, same with Franklin. He's hoping to see some of his friends in Ponyville, including those twins."

"You mean Pound and Pumpkin right?" Johnny asked. "Funny now there are two sets of twins at Sugarcube Corner given that Pinkie Pie and Deadpool have twins of their own, and surprisingly cute. Thank God they got their mother's looks."

"Come on, looks are subjective after all," Susan said.

"Pfft, I remember you freaking out the first time you saw Ben as a rock person," Johnny teased.

"That was a long time ago Johnny," Sue said, somewhat annoyed and a bit ashamed. "Well just letting you know that you'll be seeing much more of me."

"I'm fine with that," Johnny said. "But where is Reed going to be working?"

"With a nice Pony he met back during the original invasion of the Capcom world," Susan said. "A Doctor Hooves."

"Doctor...oh right, the local scientist," Johnny said. "Forgot all about him, but I do remember someone hanging out with that mailmare that had a crush on Peter. So he and Reed are gonna team up huh?"

"Yes, Reed is excited to get to work on whatever they have planned, it's really going to change the two worlds," Susan said.

"Well Reed definitely has his work cut out for him," Johnny said. "Of course if anyone can pull this off, Reed can. Guy lives and breaths this stuff."

"Can't be more accurate than that" Susan said. "I know you and Rainbow Dash are going to be quite busy yourselves, given that you'll be helping The Wonderbolts with the Avengers plans."

"It is all Spitfire talks about, she calls it the Greatest Collaboration," Johnny said. "She thinks way too highly of herself if she really thinks that. The Wonderbolts are great but they're no Avengers, or a Fantastic Four for that matter. They seemed cool when I first met them but when you spend as much time with them as I have, you come to realize how overhyped they are. I'm only with them because Dashie is, not that I would ever tell her that."

"Are you really alright with that?" Susan asked. "If you're not happy with The Wonderbotls, then you should tell her."

"I can't do that to her, it would break her heart," Johnny said. "Besides I don't mind being with The Wonderbolts if it means I can hang out with Dashie, the best job is one where you can spend as much time as you can with the one you're married to. Something you relate heavily to sis."

"I...can't argue that," Susan said. "As long as you know what you're doing."

"I got this sis," Johnny insisted. "There's nothing I can't handle, I'm Johnny Storm after all, I got the power to do anything."

"Yes, you do have the power, just make sure you're wise with it," Susan said.

"Uh-huh..." Johnny said. "Well I guess I'll see you when you get here, if I'm not busy with The Wonderbolts."

"Yeah, see you in Equestria, bye Johnny," Susan said, hanging up.

Johnny placed the phone aside as he turned to his daughter, the filly looking his way, "Too bad I can't bring you with me to The Wonderbolts practice, having my wife and kid there would be ten times better."

---

Finally at the depths of Tartarus, Discord is seen searching through the Marvel world, looking for anything he can use to his advantage. He would have to be careful, with the links out of Equestria weakened, creating more portals may be a bit more consuming, and would be more noticeable and easily spotted by the Princesses.

"Just when I was having fun with the other worlds, I'm back to searching through Marvel," Discord lamented. "Feels like I've gone through all the good ones too, and they're all either dead or captured. But there must be something within these realms that I can make use of."

"As long as you don't bring in anymore of those Saiyan guys," Shocker said, making his way over with Sonata. "That Goku guy nearly overpowered Loki. Unless you know any other of them that would be on our side, stay the hell away from them."

"I may have to, the only other Saiyan is very primal and would be difficult to control," Discord said. "Plus I doubt his father would let him cooperate with my plans. Not that it matters, accessing the Dragon World again will be difficult."

"I won't miss it," Shocker said.

"But I do wish I could locate Loki, he seems to have just scampered off, probably plotting to overthrow Asgard," Discord said. "His magic would have really come in handy, that and he's such a fun guy to be around."

"He took that Storm King guy with him, and those other villains," Sonata said.

"Oh I don't doubt the Storm King will return, he has unfinished business in Equestria after all," Discord said. "But fret not, I could just throw in a few more appetizers, after all sometimes tells me I have yet another chance at some glorious chaos."

"Who do you have in mind?" Shocker asked.

"I have someone in mind, another person Peter knows quite well," Discord said, accessing his magic. "His arrival may have some, Negative Repercussions, but I think the long term goal will pay off."

"Negative? What are you-" Before Shocker could inquire further, Discord had snapped away. "And he's gone..."

"What did he mean by Negative Repercussions?" Sonata asked. "Does he mean the Negative Zone? Where Annihilus is from? Is he getting more help from there?"

"I don't think so, I have an idea of who he might mean though," Shocker said. "Let's head back, think there might be a big showdown soon."

Alliances of Old and New

A day had passed and the patrols had already gone underway. Luke Cage and Iron Fist had gone to The Crystal Empire where they worked with Shining Armor and Cadance on proper guidelines to effectively guard The Crystal Empire. Daredevil and Elektra stuck around Canterlot while Firefly, Jessica Jones and Felicia Hardy where transported to Ponyville, each patrolling their quadrant of the town.

Peter took a look out of his Balcony that morning to see Firestar flying overhead, carefully observing the ponies in Ponyville.

"The girls are already at work," Peter commented. "Glad to see they're taking it seriously." Peter made his way downstairs where on the way to the kitchen, he heard a knock on the door. "Wonder who that could be?"

Answer it, he was greeted by a fellow pursuer of science, Reed Richards. "Good morning Peter."

"Oh, hey Reed," Peter greeted, then noticed his company. "Hi Susan, Hi Franklin."

"Hi Peter," Susan greeted.

"Hi Mr. Parker," Franklin greeted.

"Mr. Parker was my uncle, I'm just Peter," the hero said. "But anyway, what brings you three here?"

"We were just in town and we figured we'd stop by," Reed said. "I'm helping a local scientist with some inventions that Tony requested for his Accords."

"Local scientist?" Peter asked, trying to think. "Oh do you mean Doctor Hooves?"

"So you know him," Reed said.

"I know pretty much everypony in town, especially since he recently got married to Derpy," Peter said. "Smart guy, but I get the feeling he doesn't like me too much."

"What's there not to like about you?" Susan asked.

"For starters, some ponies still think it's weird that I was born a human, some were pretty upset when The Green Goblin nearly destroyed this world, and they were even more upset because those Capcom villains came after me," Peter said.

"Ponies are gonna hate I guess," Susan said. "Don't worry about it Peter, we know you're great, and I bet you have more admirers than naysayers."

"Probably, not something I keep tabs on too much," Peter said.

"Always the modest one," Susan praised, getting a slight blush from Peter. "Anyway, aside from checking in on you, we had another reason for stopping by, involving Franklin here."

"Yes, see Twilight mentioned something about Friendship Lessons," Reed said. "I don't quite understand what she meant but it sounds very important."

"Wow, Twilight works fast on this," Peter said. "See here, Friendship Lessons are what Twilight needed to take while under the mentorship of Princess Celestia, it taught her to be more social, so right now she's doing the same with our daughter and Franklin here is a prime candidate to make a great friend for Mayday."

"Aw, well isn't that nice," Susan said. "Quite flattering of our Franklin being chosen for something like this."

"What would this entail exactly?" Reed asked.

"I'm not too sure, but Twilight's given Friendship Lessons before, she last did it for Wanda Maximoff, and she's been giving a few to a mare named Starlight Glimmer," Peter said. "She picked up pretty fast though and is a guidance counselor at Twilight's school, helping other foals with their problems."

"Speaking of Wanda, any sign of her or her brother?" Reed asked. "I heard they left some time ago."

"They're just exploring the lands, though the last time they came back was to check on Toad," Peter said. "Poor guy nearly bit the dust in the fight against Magneto, fortunately he pulled through and is traveling with his friends again."

"That's good to know," Susan said. "Well I guess now's as good of a time as any to start this Friendship Lesson of Twilight's."

"Oh right, you can come on inside, if you have the time to," Peter said.

"I have a few minutes to spare," Reed said. "Plus I do want to check in on what these 'Friendship Lessons' will entail."

"Well Franklin may need to get used to writing letters then," Peter said.

"Wait, how can I?" Franklin asked. "I don't have fingers in this form."

"Well fortunately you're a Unicorn so you can learn to use magic," Peter said. "Other than that, you can use your mouth to write, unless you really get good at using your hooves."

"Sounds kind of hard," Franklin said.

"You get used to it," Peter said.

"At least you get to use magic, right?" Franklin asked.

"You would think," Peter said, faking a smile as he led the family inside. "But life has ways of saying 'Screw you'."

"Uh, that's quite unfortunate, I guess," Reed said, not sure what to make of that statement.

"Peter!? Who was at the door!?" Twilight asked.

"Reed and his family!" Peter answered.

"Oh good!" Twilight teleported into view. "Hello, welcome to our home."

"Thank you for having us," Reed said. "I understand you plan to give Franklin 'Friendship Lessons'?"

"Yes, well it's mostly for Mayday but I believe Franklin will find a benefit or two out of this," Twilight said.

"The biggest being that he gets a new friend in my sweet little Mayday," Peter said. "You'd like that, right Franklin?"

"Yeah, but I don't know if she likes me," Franklin said. "She didn't like talking to me the last time I was here."

"She's just a bit shy, once she gets used then it'll be easier," Peter said. "Maybe if you want, I can see if Flurry can come over sometime as well, help you two bond. She's already been trying to do that, hasn't she?"

"A little," Franklin said.

"Well now you have more of a chance to bond with Mayday," Peter said. "It's gonna be gradual, but worth it."

"I hope so, she's really nice, smart too," Franklin said.

"She gets that from her mother," Peter said.

"You too, don't be so modest Peter," Twilight said, then turned back to Susan and Reed. "Your child is in capable hooves with us. I just might bring back my classroom for this, just like I did when I helped out Wanda."

"A classroom huh? Like in the school or here?" Susan asked.

"Here, but if all goes well, I can probably get your son enlisted in our School of Friendship," Twilight said.

"Johnny has had nothing but nice things to say about your school, and it looks amazing too," Reed said. "I may have to take you up on that offer."

"Amazing!" Twilight said. "I look forward to seeing where this goes."

"Well until then, I should be on my way to seeing Doctor Hooves," Reed said.

"Go change the world or something," Peter said. "Franklin will be fine here."

"Bye Franklin, have fun!" Susan said.

"Be good for the Parkers son!" Reed said.

"Bye mom, by dad," Franklin said, waving bye to his parents. As they left, the boy turned to Peter. "So, what do we do now?"

"That's up to Twilight," Peter said, then turned to his wife. "Any ideas?"

"Plenty, now follow me," Twilight said, leading Franklin into the kitchen.

---

Susan and Reed strolled through Ponyville, taking in the sights of the community before them.

"Such a nice lookin place, isn't it Reed?" Susan asked.

"Yes, of course," Reed said. "A society like this has so much potential for adequate growth."

Susan also noticed some of the heroes on patrol, namely Firestar, the girl flying up overhead. "Still surprised Tony got some heroes to agree to patrols."

"He'll get anyone he can, but convincing heroes to leave their homes to come here will not be an easy task," Reed said. "Of course he doesn't need to go overboard, at least I don't think he should."

"This is Tony Stark we're talking about, he'll literally ask help from Gods," Susan said.

"Well Thor's out of the question, given his trip to Asgard," Reed said. "I just hope Tony can be civil about this."

"Well thankfully some heroes seem willing to protect this world, and it may not even be a permanent thing," Susan said. "Just enough to make sure there are no more anomalies that can affect pony life here."

The two finally arrived at the front door to Doctor Hooves's home. "Well, here it is," Reed said and knocked. "Doctor? Are you in here!?"

The door opened, revealing Dinky Do, the young teenager blowing a bubble briefly before popping, "You the two Doc was expecting?"

"Yes, is he home?" Reed asked.

"Yeah, he's been waiting for you," Dinky said, spitting out her gum. "Doc! Derpy! The two Earth Scientists are here!"

"Doctor Richards!?" Doctor Hooves said, addressing the two from on top of a ladder. "Ah, welcome, come on in! I've been awaiting your arrival."

"Wow, you look like you've been busy," Susan said, taking a look around the room.

"Yes, I have been expecting your arrival," Doctor Hooves said, coming down from the ladder and eagerly greeting Reed. "It's so great to work with a man of your expertise once again!"

"Yes, it's been a while since we last interacted, right after the Capcom Invasion," Reed said.

"And boy have there been an interesting turn of events since then!" Doctor Hooves said. "From your world showing off more evil doers, the arrival of Square, plus those Saiyans showing up, it's like a wonder of scientific possibilities."

"Doc's been very interested in all the weird stuff that's been happening," A pregnant Derpy said, walking in with a platter. "Muffin anyone?"

"No thanks," Reed said.

"I'll take one," Susan said, using her magic to lift the muffin.

"So, you two are related to Johnny Storm right?" Derpy asked, turning to Susan. "He's your little brother."

"That he is, have you interacted with Johnny much?" Susan asked.

"Sometimes, I don't talk to him a lot, but he's really nice, but has something of an ego," Derpy said.

"Sounds like Johnny," Reed said. "Of course being a father has helped him mature up, if only a little."

"His daughter's adorable," Derpy said. "Dinky gets to foalsit sometimes."

"Johnny and Rainbow Dash pay really well," Dinky said. "If I could I'd foalsit for Peter and Twilight, but their daughter doesn't like ponies."

"Dinky, don't say that!" Derpy scolded.

"Hey you've seen how secluded she was, she only opened up to Rumble," Dinky said.

"Peter and Twilight are aware, so they're trying to see if she can befriend our son Franklin," Susan said.

"Hey if it doesn't work out, can I foalsit him?" Dinky asked, getting a glare from Derpy. "What? I need bits."

"Don't mind Dinky, she's just a rather ambitious girl, very admirable," Doctor Hooves said. "Now I believe Tony Stark mentioned you had some design ideas for me."

"Yes, though getting the materials may be a task, Tony hopes they can be produced here but I do not know this world well enough to know if it's feasible," Reed said.

"Give me the this and I will answer for you," Doc said, grabbing the list in question. "Hm...some of these are easier than others, some materials I don't know if I'm familiar with, perhaps a translation issue." Doc amped up his enthusiasm, "But I am very confident that we will be able to pull this off, if we put our brilliant minds together that is! Let us venture off into our grand scheme old chum!"

Dinky giggled a bit, "Wow, Doc's really getting into this. Wait til your kid ends up like this Derpy."

"Oh it won't be so bad," Derpy said, rubbing her belly. "I don't think so at least."

Susan turned to the two boys, both of them already making their plans, "Well, I think this could turn out great, I'm quite eager to see what they'll come up with."

---

Meanwhile as Firestar continued to patrol, she spotted Bobby at the Boutique, bringing in some supplies. "Hey Bobby!"

The ice user turned to the oncoming girl, "Sup Angel? How's life in Ponyville?"

"Amazing! Lots of friendly ponies here, way friendlier than in the city!" Firestar said.

"The ponies are usually more friendly, but remember that even this world has it's share of sour pusses," Bobby said. "Just wait til you meet the Donkey that lives in town, though according to Pinkie, he used to be a lot grumpier."

"I'll take that over less than friendly," Firestar said. "So, how's married life?"

"Awesome, have you seen my wife Rarity? Super hot!" Bobby said. "She's really nice too, like you'd expect a girl as ridiculously attractive as her to be a prude but she's one of the nicest girls in Equestria, she's basically the personification of Generosity, it's literally her Element."

"Sounds like a nice woman," Firestar said. "Wait, is woman a common noun?"

"No but she'd know what you meant," Bobby said. "Pony lingo isn't hard to remember but even I might forget at times. It still weirds me out that I don't have fingers."

"How did you even adjust to this change?" Firestar asked, looking down. "Like, I don't hate it but it definitely feels different."

"Rarity helped, same with Peter," Bobby explained. "See being a pony isn't that different than being a human, I just can't use my fingers." Bobby began to flex his hooves a couple of times. "Though our hooves are surprisingly dexterous. If I wanted to I could pick up a cup or a book. Most ponies still use their teeth, unicorns can even use their magic, but me, I made it work with my hooves."

"That's awesome," Firestar said, checking her own hooves. "I still got quite a bit to figure out about being a pony myself."

"Hey you'll get there, make sure you practice your abilities too, they can get totally nerfed here, happened to Peter when he first arrived in Equestria," Bobby said. "Even I had trouble using my ice the way I could on Earth."

"I've noticed, guess I gotta step up then," Firestar said.

"On the plus side, it makes villains easier to defeat, they don't always know how to adapt at first either," Bobby said. "Unless they just have natural talent or something."

"Hey Angelica!" Came the voice of Jessica Jones from a nearby roof. "Stark's not paying us for idle chat!"

"Hey I just wanted to catch up with my friend!" Angel said.

"Wrap it up! Stark wants us to keep an eye out," Jones said.

"Sup Jessica!" Bobby said.

The girl took a moment to recognize him, "You're Bobby Drake, I recognize you even in this form. Makes sense Angelica would want to see you."

"Right, so how's your adaptation to Equestria?" Bobby asked.

"Nothing I can't handle," Jones said and leapt off. "Hurry it up Firestar!"

"That Jessica," Firestar said. "Always super focused."

"I like her better than the other Jessica at least," Bobby said.

"You mean Spider-Woman? Yeah she's not very popular," Firestar said. "Kind of outspoken."

"Think Stark's gonna try to recruit her as well?" Bobby asked.

"Oh totally, he'll recruit Black Panther if he could, though I can't imagine him leaving Wakanda for this," Firestar said and flew off. "See you around Bobby!"

"Catch you later Angel!" Bobby said. "Wait, did Jessica say something about getting paid?"

---

Off in a faraway meadow, using what magic he can create, Discord had opened a small portal to Marvel Earth, of course he had to do it carefully to avoid getting caught. The less dimensional rifts means the more likely he could be spotted.

Using this he brought over the founding member of F.E.A.S.T. and one of New York's Crime Lords, Martin Li, better known to others as Mister Negative.

"Welcome to Equestria Martin, please take a moment to adjust as your body takes a new form," Discord said. "Don't worry, it doesn't hurt."

Adapting the form of a Unicorn with a white coat, Martin stretched his legs out, trying to get used to the form, "This is quite unusual."

"Now, I bet you're wondering why I brought you here," Discord said.

"An explanation would be nice, honestly I don't even know where you came from, I don't recall reading about a creature such as yourself," Martin said.

"I'm quite unique, I doubt many on Earth know what I am," Discord said. "I am a Draconeques, you may call me Discord."

"Your form reminds me of that of a Chimera," Martin said.

That gave Discord a good hearty chuckle, "Oh my dear friend, even on Earth a Chimera is a combination of a lion, goat and snake. On Marvel Earth at least, funny story, Capcom's Chimera is just a mutated fly, pretty fascinating isn't it?"

"That sounds quite unusual" Martin said, a little weirded out.

"Blame Umbrella, but I should warn you, a Chimera does in fact exist in this world, with a tiger's head instead of a lion's, but equally as dangerous," Discord said. "Though last I saw it, it was safely imprisoned with Tartarus. I do hope you know a lot more about the mythical creatures of Greece, you may spot them in this world."

"Greek culture isn't my strongest suit but I believe I am familiar enough," Martin said.

"Good, now as for why I brought you here, I was hoping to reunite you with an old friend, a one, Peter Parker," Discord said.

"Peter's here?" Martin asked, almost sounding hopeful, before feeling a rage. "Spider-Man..."

"I need someone to help me keep Spider-Man on his hooves, with this whole plan that Tony Stark came up with, he might get too used to the peace, and he would definitely be disadvantaged against that army of villains I'm creating," Discord said.

"You're creating an army? What for?" Marin asked.

"Chaos, nothing more, nothing less," Discord said. "Which is where you come in, I'd like for you to help spread that chaos. I know how much you value chaos, almost as much as me and my dear friend Loki."

"Loki? So you've met the God of Mischief?" Martin asked. "Quite interesting."

"Yes, unfortunately he's off world with a few friends, probably going on a load of misadventures before the inevitable fall of Asgard," Discord said.

"The Fall of Asgard? How would that happen?" Martin asked.

"Don't worry about it, it's not something you need to be concerned about, I just need you to keep Peter busy for a bit," Discord said. "My invasion is happening in close to a year, I need everyone to be ready."

"Alright, but if I'm gonna do this, I might need some assistance," Martin said. "I want to rebuild my own army here, take a new fresh start."

"Oh that sounds wonderful, restarting your old business," Discord said. "I have a good place in mind for you to accomplish that goal too."

With a snap of his fingers, the two ended up an a city familiar to Martin, "Is this New York? Did you take me back home?"

"Not quite, this is Manehattan," Discord said. "It's like Manhattan, only with an 'e'."

"Did the ponies build this city in honor of Spider-Man?" Martin asked.

"Oh no, it already existed, you'd be surprised at how much our world has parallels with Earth," Discord said. "There are many theories as to how it's possible, but nothing concrete."

"Well regardless, this would be a great place to get started," Martin said.

"Think you can get by on your own for now then?" Discord asked.

"Leave it to me, I've started with nothing before, I can do it again," Martin said, trotting into the city.

"This should be interesting, normally when I bring a villain, they just go right into the action, aside from Magneto," Discord said. "Even Goku couldn't resist starting a fight right away, curious as to how our dear Martin Li will handle this.

---

With a snap, Discord returned to Tartarus, the villains there enjoying idle chatter.

"Oh hey, Discord's back," Sonata said, making her way over to the creature. "So anything new and exciting you want to share?"

"We might have a new friend, if he survives the trial, Discord said.

Shocker looked concerned, "It's not another super powered alien freak is it?"

"Oh no, not yet at least," Discord said. "Just wait until I go back to Marvel Earth, I heard there's an alien there who's literally done the Impossible."

"Just be careful who you bring over, make sure it's someone we can actually trust," Electro said.

"Yeah, you did bring Loki, I doubt he would want to cooperate with us," Mysterio said.

"Same with Mystique, can't trust a shapeshifter," Green Goblin said.

"Excuse me?" Chrysalis replied, walking into view. "I heard that."

"Well you said it yourself, you want to go and get your own revenge," Green Goblin pointed out.

"Yes, I do, I want revenge on Spider-Mane and Princess Twilight for setting up that trap," Chrysalis said. "Plus I want my chance at the pony who wounded me."

"You tell him my queen," Pharnyx said. "Spider-Mane and his buddies will rue the day they crossed us."

"Such eagerness," Discord said. "But back to what I was saying, who here has heard of Martin Li?"

"You mean Chinatown's Crime Lord?" Shocker asked.

"The very same, I gave him a chance to come here and start anew," Discord said. "He just might help us in our conquest, plus I think our Siren friends will like him, he can manipulate negative emotions just as well as they can. He is called Mister Negative for a reason."

"Hm, so he's not too different than us, that does sound interesting, it would make a nice buffet if he can help bring out the negativity," Adagio said. "Can he sing though?"

"Not that I'm aware," Discord said.

"That's fine, just leave the singing to us," Adagio said, checking her throat. "Ran into a little trouble on Equestria Earth, especially with Sunset Shimmer and that world's Elements of Harmony."

"Just watch out with Mister Negative though, he's not one to share when it comes to turf," Electro said. "You can ask Kingpin and The Hood just how territorial he can get."

"Plus his powers are super freaky, nothing anyone wants to get mixed up in," Shocker said.

"You all worry too much," Discord said. "If I see Martin Li as a problem, I will personally tend to it."

"Let's hope it doesn't," Adagio said. "Anyway we should run this by Tirek."

"You called for me?" Tirek said, making his way over with Annihilus.

"Ah Tirek, just the centaur I wanted to see," Discord said, then noticed a letter in his hand. "Oh, you have mail?"

"Just a pen pal from Ponyville," Tirek said.

"A pen pal?" Discord asked, everyone else looking just as surprised. "You never mentioned one.

"It's just been a few letters, apparently a pony did some heavy research on me after hearing of my existence from the School of Friendship, she found my powers fascinating," Tirek said.

"Hm, I might just have to dig into that," Discord said.

"Just don't expose her, this could work well to our benefit, you mentioned one of the heroes trying to set up some laws, she could be our inside," Tirek said.

"That's so cool, like our own little spy!" Sonata said. "Spider-Mane won't know what hit him."

"Just how did you get that letter? Since when to mail carriers come to Tartarus?" Shocker asked. "Also why wouldn't the mail carrier ask?"

"Don't ask, the lack of sense in this situation is what makes it fun," Discord said.

"Not for me! I need answers here!" Shocker said. "Seriously, enough with the vagueness!"

"Oh you're way too serious Herman," Discord said. "Just have fun for once."

"Yeah Hermie, it's all in good fun," Sonata said.

"Alright, don't call me 'Hermie', I draw the line there," Shocker said.

"Ha, looks like Shocker's having siren troubles," Electro taunted. "Or should I say, 'Hermie'."

"Hey shut up Maxwell!" Shocker said.

"Hey, be nice to Maxy!" Sonata said.

Electro's eyes widened in shock, "Maxy!?"

"I kind of like that," Aria said.

"You be quiet!" Electro shouted.

"Will you stop behaving like children," Mysterio scolded.

"Yeah, listen to Becky," Sonata said.

"Excuse me!?" Mysterio shouted in embarrassment. "That's a female's name! Why are you giving nicknames anyway!?"

As the bickering continued, Discord nervously stroked his chin, "I hope she doesn't try that with Wesker and his group...assuming I can find them again."

Adagio quietly crept over to Tirek, "So, this pony you've been writing to, who is she anyway?"

"A bright young girl from what I've seen," Tirek said. "Such an adorable sounding name too."

---

Back in Ponyville, Cozy Glow was seen sitting on the roof of the school, whistling a tune to herself as she stared across the town.

"This place is kind of nice from up here," Cozy held out her hooves as if she was trying to hold the down in them. "Also kind of small."

"Cozy Glow!" Came Jubilee's voice, the X-Men member making her way to the roof.

"Jubilee!" Cozy flew over to hug the girl. "Were you looking for me? Did you need something?"

"I just wanted to check on you, nothing more," Jubilee said, ruffling her mane. "Get this, we're gonna try to set up a field trip to Manehattan soon, I heard there's a lot of fun things to do there, and if it's anything like the city in my world, then it's gonna be a spectacle!"

"Golly, that sounds like fun!" Cozy Glow said.

"We just need to clear it with Twilight, and get some permission slips signed," Jubilee said.

"Oh..." Cozy seemed sad. "That might be hard for me to do."

"It might just be for the local ponies, I'll double check," Jubilee said.

"Maybe Peter and Twilight can just sign off, I stay at their house sometimes," Cozy Glow said.

"Hey it's fine, the trip won't be for a while anyway, you have time," Jubilee said. "We won't go without my favorite little gal anyway."

"Am I weally your favorite?" Cozy Glow asked.

Jubilee giggled to herself, "Cozy Glow, you really shouldn't be talking like that, but yes, you're really my favorite. It's probably wrong for me as a teacher to pick favorites but you're just so endearing. This may sound cliché, but you're a little sister."

"Peter told me that too," Cozy Glow said. "I feel lucky to have a big brother, a big sister and a best friend in Ocellus."

"Kurt mentioned you were close to her, he thinks it's adorable, but he also mentioned that you could be a bit clingy to her," Jubilee said.

"Am I really? I don't mean to be," Cozy Glow said.

"You never had many friends right?" Jubilee asked, getting a sad confirming nod. "Maybe that's why, you bonded so quickly with Ocellus that you don't want to let her go."

"I want to be her best friend forever," Cozy Glow said.

"And you will, just remember to mind your distance once in a while," Jubilee suggested, leading Cozy Glow off the roof. "Let's go for now, there's some cool stuff we can still do."

"Sounds fun," Cozy Glow said. "Also, when can we learn more about Mr. Stark's Accord things? Is he bringing more heroes?"

"Probably," Jubilee said.

"Are you gonna help?" Cozy Glow asked.

"Eh, I usually try not to get mixed up in government stuff, plus I'd rather be your teacher," Jubilee said. "But know that I'll still fight to keep you safe if I have to."

"Like you did when those baddies invaded Canterlot," Cozy Glow said.

"Yes, I'll fight anyone, regardless of what world they're from," Jubilee said.

---

At Canterlot, Steve is seen using his binoculars to check across the city, spotting Daredevil on a nearby roof, doing his patrols as promised to Iron Man.

"Yo Cap, on your left," came a familiar voice.

Steve turned to see a close friend of his, "Sam, its good to see you."

Sam Wilson, The Hero known as The Falcon, who unlike most of the heroes who came to Equestria, had taken the form of a Griffon as oppose to a pony, made his way over to Steve. "Same here."

"Did Tony ask you to come?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, he called me up, saying something about 'The Accords' or something like that," Falcon said. "What exactly is that about though? I tried asking and he just said a work in progress but something that can change our worlds."

"It has to do with a string of invasions and attacks by villains, mostly from our Earth, and occasionally from other worlds," Steve explained. "Tony wants to keep the worlds safe by creating a set of rules for heroes to follow, and even creating a proper routine for them. He's starting with Equestria and with luck he wants to bring it to our world."

"Creating a routine? Rules?" Falcon asked. "Like soldiers?"

"Well he used the term Mercenary, Daredevil wasn't fond of that term though," Steve said. "This is according to what he and Elektra told me."

"So he's starting this with this world and wants to bring it to ours," Falcon said. "Honestly this sounds like something Thunderbolt Ross would come up with."

"Well we do need to set some ground rules, the invasions hit this world hard," Steve explained. "Some ponies were hurt, or even killed. I can't allow more innocents to suffer, so for now I'm going with Tony's plan."

"You actually trust him?" Falcon asked. "Tony's a great hero but he can be a bit off his rocker."

"He's my friend, I'd like to trust him," Steve said. "But don't worry, I'll make sure to reign him in if he gets carried away. Though there isn't much he can do without approval from the Princesses."

"These Princesses co-rule?" Falcon asked. "No King or Queen?"

"No, Celestia told me that in tradition, the Princess rules over Equestria, she prefers 'Princess' because it sounds more approachable than 'Queen', or 'King' for that matter" Steve said. "Which I feel is a disservice to King T'Challa, who many ponies seem to find friendly. I know Princess Twilight is fond of him."

"Twilight's the second Princess in charge?" Falcon asked.

"No, Luna is," Steve said. "There's five Princesses, Celestia and Luna rule over Equestria, Celestia during the day and Luna at night. Twilight rules over Ponyville and Cadence rules over The Crystal Empire."

"Right, and Spider-Man's married to one of them right?" Falcon asked.

"Yes, Princess Twilight," Cap said. "She's a very modest pony, always humble and respectful to others. Peter picked a good wife to have, and a great mother to his daughter and soon to be born son."

"Good for him, so where does he stand with this Accords stuff?" Falcon asked.

"He's with Tony of course, you know how much Spider-Man respects him," Cap said.

"Well I'll give it a chance, for now at least," Falcon said.

"So, are you staying in Equestria?" Cap asked.

"I'll come back and forth, still got stuff to do on Earth," Falcon said, checking his talons. "Love the claws though."

"Still can't believe you took a non-pony form, that's actually pretty rare," Cap said.

"So, not the only one?" Falcon asked.

"Iron Fist turned into a Dragon, Storm and T'Challa turned into Zebras, even one of Logan's old enemies turned into a sabretooth-tiger, give you one guess who it was," Steve said.

"Wow, that's rough," Falcon said. "So do I need to change my hero name in this form?"

"Eh, it's possible, Peter had to be come Spider-Mane, Logan became Timber-Wolverine, Johnny became the Equine Torch, Tony became Iron Stallion, Iron Fist is now Iron Claw and I became Captain Equestria," Steve explained.

"Right...probably gonna stick with Earth names for most of them, I mean Spider-Mane sounds so stupid," Falcon said.

"Please do not say that in front of Peter, he actually hates it but he's stuck with it," Steve said. "Also it really isn't that bad, it rolls off the tongue quite well."

"You're way too nice," Falcon said, making his exit. "See you around, and let me know if anything happens."

"Will do!" Steve said, looking back across the distance, this time spotting Elektra looking down on the streets. "Hope they're not too bored, there's hardly any street crime in Equestria. But then again, I'd rather a safer community than excitement, and I'm very sure that Daredevil and Elektra feel the same way."

---

In the castle, another set of heroes were exploring with Tony, that being Carol Danvers and Kamala Khan, or better yet, Captain Marvel and her sidekick, Miss Marvel.

"Thanks to the Accords I'm planning, and with assistance from Reed and Doctor Hooves, I have the utmost confidence in our goal to properly shape this world and eventually ours," Tony said.

"Sounds interesting, and it looks like you're off to a decent start, even if most of the recruits are low level," Carol said.

"Best I can do for now, of course I can still call in Hawkeye, Black Widow and The Hulk if I need to," Tony said.

"The Hulk? You trust him to follow orders?" Carol asked.

"Bruce does have better control these days, just call him Professor Hulk," Tony joked. "But seriously, aside from them, I still have more in the cards. Just this morning I contacted Vision, he's more than willing to help protect this world, he's even working on making a pony version of himself, just so that he fits in a little better. It worked for those Fighting Robots from the Capcom world."

"Oh, did you ever consider inviting Ant Man?" Kamala said.

"Ant Man already lives here, he's in Ponyville," Tony said. "I might enroll him but he can be a bit of a slacker."

"I don't think she means Scott Lang," Carol asked.

"Oh, you meant Hank Pym," Tony said. "Eh, he hasn't been himself since he built Ultron, plus Scott's Ant Man now."

"It's worth asking, even if he's not Ant Man he's still a genius," Carol said.

"Well like I said, he's barely himself, one failure and everything falls apart, poor guy lost his marriage on top of that, how would he feel if he came to the world his ex-wife lives in and sees that she married a younger and more successful dragon," Tony said.

"Can you at least consider it?" Carol asked.

"Alright fine," Tony said. "Maybe he has some worth."

"Tony Stark!" Came Luna's voice, the mare flying in.

"Oh cool! You're one of the Princesses! Remember me!? I'm Kamala!" The girl said. "I was at the Changeling Treaty and when The Storm King invaded with Loki, Mystique and those two other guys from the other worlds."

"Right..." Luna said, not sure what to make of this girl. "Tony, I just got into contact with someone who refers to himself as Vision."

"Oh, is he done already?" Tony asked, then turned to the Marvels. "Hey, let's go meet up with him."

"Sounds good to me," Carol said, following after Tony with Kamala and Luna.

---

At the Parker home, Peter is resting on his balcony, leaving the Friendship Lessons to Twilight for the time being. He heard his name called, "Peter!"

"Sup Thunderlane!" Peter greeted, fist bumping the stallion.

"So, I had a chance to tell Rumble about Felicity," Thunderlane said.

"Alright, how did he take it?" Peter asked.

"He kind of flipped out at first since I never told him, but when I showed him, he immediately fell in love," Thunderlane said. "He's happy that he's an uncle, he even offered to foalsit for her today."

"That's great, Rumble's good with kids, he used to watch over my daughter at one point," Peter said.

"Yeah, he told me all about that," Thunderlane said. "Says she's like a little sister. Your daughter's cute so I don't blame him."

"Well speaking of my daughter, Twilight's trying to set her up with a new friend," Peter said. "It's Johnny's nephew Franklin, not sure if you know about him."

"I think I've heard of him, maybe from Rumble," Thunderlane said. "So, a boy huh? You cool with that?"

"Yeah, I think it's fine," Peter said.

"That's great, and if it goes really well, they might start to hit it off, if you know what I mean," Thunderlane said, shifting his eyebrows.

"I doubt it, Mayday's too young," Peter said.

"For now, kids grow up," Thunderlane said, somewhat feeling depressed. "Something I'm gonna have to deal with some day when my little girl starts catching [the eyes of the colts."

"Right...I mean it's fine, Mayday may have a few admirers but I'm not worried, she's a smart girl, Twilight and I will continue to raise her right," Peter said. "She already has Pound Cake crushing on her, too bad she's not interested."

"Well you'll probably be luckier than me, my worry is that Felicity might take after her mother," Thunderlane said.

"Then set an example for her, you said it yourself, you're more present in her life than she is," Peter said. "So you have more influence."

"Yeah, you're right, thing is I'm not that different than Felicia, I can be a flirt myself," Thunderlane said. "Of course now that I have a daughter, I don't really care much for being a random flirt these days, that mare could be someone else's daughter."

"A pony usually has a parent so I would say yes," Peter said.

"Which means I need to change for the better too, and hope that maybe Felicia will as well," Thunderlane said.

"Well don't give up your flirty nature too much, I mean you said yourself you want a marefriend," Peter said.

"Yeah, you're right," Thunderlane said. "Gotta make sure I do it right this time."

"Hey you probably did it right the first time, just make sure she's actually into boys," Peter said.

"Yeah here's the thing, I saw Felicia earlier today and I swear she was giving Johnny Storm the affectionate eye," Thunderlane said. "She turned away quickly because Rainbow Dash almost spotted her, but I'm finding that a bit weird and suspcious."

"Wow, wait til Twilight hears about that," Peter said.

"She's not too obsessed is she?" Thunderlane asked. "I mean I don't want to make that big a deal over it and I know how intense Twilight can get."

"She's just mad because Felicia wasn't loyal enough to you, and she feels like she ditched you and your daughter," Peter said. "Twilight just never liked her and if she does she deems something terrible, she will raise hell about it."

"Oh I don't doubt that," Thunderlane said. "Anyway I should fly off, thought about heading to Canterlot and asking Tony Stark and Captain Equestria more about this whole Equestrian Avengers thing."

"Hey if you also want to join The Wonderbolts, let me know, I'll talk to Spitfire for you," Peter said.

"That'd be awesome, thanks bro," Thunderlane said and flew off.

"Never thought I'd be friends with him, he's a really nice guy," Peter said. "Really deserves better than what happened with Felicia. Maybe I can help, at least for their daughter's sake."

---

Things were going well so far, at least it seemed that way. The heroes were unaware of the dangers that existed in Manehattan as Martin Li got to work on his own army.

While there he bumped into a fashionista, the mare not too happy, "Hey watch it!"

"Sorry ma'am, I'm new here so I don't know my way around very well," Martin explained.

"Yeah, I can tell," the mare said. "But it's fine, no big deal I guess."

"Allow me to introduce myself," Martin said. "I am Lee, I am an entrepreneur, and I was looking to build a business in town."

"An entrepreneur huh? That's pretty interesting," the mare said. "Got experience?"

"I do, I made quite a name for myself in my home town, but I am running into troubles, so I hoped to get a start here to help stay on top of my game," Martin said.

"Hm, okay, maybe we can help each other out," the mare said. "I ran into some troubles myself as well."

"Then we are two of a kind, I can tell you have a strong sense of business from just your appearance, you give off that confident aroma," Martin said.

"Oh yeah, I get that a lot, hehe, okay," the mare replied. "Maybe we can work something out. You said your name was Lee right?"

"Yes, that is correct," Martin said, somewhat deceptive.

"I'm Suri Polomare, I want to get back on top, so I think we can help each other out," Suri held out her hoof. "Do we have a deal?"

Martin shook her hood, the girl feeling a bit strange, "Yes, that we do." A new alliance was blooming.

Spreading Out

A few days had passed by, Tony Stark had really started to build up the superhero connection across the two worlds for his plans to really take to fruition.

The Marvels, both Carol and Kamala had opted to patrol the Crystal Empire in place of Luke Cage and Iron Fist, the two being relocated to Las Pegasus. Hawkeye and Black Widow agreed to patrol over Canterlot, relocating Daredevil and Elektra to Manehattan, the two feeling more at home in that city than where they were before.

Vision would also patrol Canterlot, having donned a robotic pony form to feel not so out of place within the realm of Equestria. For the moment, Ponyville remained the same, one change being the addition of the Skateboarding Hero, Night Thrasher, who agreed to do a few patrols here and there since things were slow in Stamford.

Standing by in observation were Steve and Falcon, the two opting to see what else Tony had planned, though both were also somewhat keeping tabs over Canterlot, the city feeling much more secure than it has been in a long while with many in The Avengers keeping watch.

Tony had other plans though, he still needed more heroes to help, but beyond that, he needed more of this world's support, and that was his next step.

Off in Ponyville, Twilight was organizing the Field Trip she had planned to Manehattan, taking a quick roll call over the students. "Alright, I think that's everyone. Now everyone has their parents' permission right?"

"My parents are cool with it!" Silversteam said.

"Yeah, so are mine," Sandbar said.

"Mine just want me to be careful," Ocellus said.

"Got clearance from Dragon Lord Ember," Smolder said.

"I got mine from Grandpa Gruff, since you know, my actual parents suck, especially my dad," Gallus said, getting a look of awkwardness from the others nearby.

"Got mine, ready for trip!" Yona said.

Everyone else continued to confirm, at least those who need permission. Cozy Glow was last, but the poor filly felt hesitant, "Uh...what if you couldn't get in contact with your parents?"

"Oh, were you not able to reach them?" Twilight asked.

"No, but I don't think my family would mind, or care if I go," Cozy Glow said.

"Why do these ponies even need slips?" Jubilee asked. "Back in the X-Men Boarding School we rarely had to get permission slips, and most of our trips involved fighting villains."

"Given everything that's happened, first with the school getting shut down and the trouble of getting it back up and running again, then some of the villain attacks, a lot of parents don't seem to comfortable with this school, and even the adult ponies have their doubts, not to mention the non-pony nations were also hesitant" Twilight said. "I'm just taking extra precautions and trying to prove that I can watch over everypony."

"Especially since Twilight and I have to meet these other leaders in Canterlot," Peter said.

"Well Twilight's been doing a great job, Ponyville's got quite a long time without villain attacks at least," Jubilee said. "As for Cozy Glow, I think she's good to come with us, I'd hate to leave her behind."

Peter turned his attention to the filly, "I think so too, plus if her parents are still cool with her being here, I think they'd be fine with a trip. She already has permission to be here after all."

"Alright, but Cozy Glow, please stay close to the group, and don't get lose," Twilight said.

"Being a Pegasus, it's a bit hard for me to get lost," Cozy Glow said. "Flying helps."

"Plus, I'll personally keep an eye on her," Jubilee said, placing her foreleg around the filly. "I won't let my pal down."

"It's gonna be me and Jubilee!" Cozy Glow said.

"Heh, rhyming," Peter joked. "Alright, mind your teachers and...hey where's Starlight?"

"Over here!" Starlight said, making her way over with some maps and schedules. "I was organizing a few ideas."

"And I helped," Trixie said, trotting over.

"Thanks again for going Trixie, we were a bit short handed," Peter said, looking down at his hooves. "Or rather short-hoofed."

"Nothing I can't handle," Trixie boastfully stated. "But you're absolutely sure you don't need me to watch over Mayday?"

"Susan and Derpy are staying over while Reed and Doc work on whatever it is they're doing," Peter explained.

"And you're fine going to Canterlot Twilight?" Starlight asked, gesturing to her very pregnant belly. "You're probably due any day now."

"If I can still walk, I can still get things done," Twilight said. "A proper Princess never takes a break."

"A proper Princess should also mind her physical health," Starlight said. "You're tough but you're not invincible."

"Don't worry so much about me, I'll be fine," Twilight insisted. "Just focus on keeping an eye on the students."

Kurt teleported to the front, getting everyone's attention, "Your determination is admirable Twilight, I just hope you know what you're doing."

"As long as she takes it easy then it should be fine, I mean even Applejack knew to slow own when she got too pregnant," Trixie said.

"Well like Applejack, I've been pregnant before, I know how well my body can handle it," Twilight insisted. "Alright, now I suggest you get going, the train is going to be here soon."

"I asked Bobby and Rarity to meet you at the station, they're going to join you on your trip," Peter said.

"Sounds fun," Kurt said. "Alright, let us hurry! A delightful day awaits us!"

Everyone started making their way to the train station in a somewhat organized line led by Starlight and Kurt, eager for the day ahead, mostly at least.

"I hope our chaperones can handle that many students," Peter said.

"Well some of them are adults, or late teens," Twilight said. "I think they'll be fine."

"Just because you're older doesn't mean you're mature, not everyone was as level headed as I was when I was a young adult," Peter slightly boasted.

Twilight rolled her eyes at the comment, "Sure you were Peter."

"What? I was!" Peter insisted, Twilight rolling her eyes and trotting off. "Twilight...hey wait, don't we need to catch a train too? Shouldn't we have gone with the others!? Twilight!"

---

At the Parker-Sparkle home, while Susan and Derpy conversed with one another, Mayday was seen reading a book about inventions. Though sitting on the floor right next to her was a very nervous Franklin Richards, the boy looking too shy to say anything.

Mayday glanced over, noticing his awkward fidgeting, at least the best he could without fingers. It's been like this for days now, he would come over, attempt casual conversation, but nothing. Despite the encouragement from her parents, she just felt no motivation to actually talk to this boy, or any other pony aside from her own family, especially her dad.

"Why do you keep coming here?" Mayday asked, spooking the boy.

"Pardon me?" Franklin asked.

"For like the last few days, my mom would bring you over and try to get you to talk to me, and sometimes she'd make me talk to you about whatever," Mayday said. "Thing is, you're really lousy at talking to other ponies, you're worse than Pound Cake, at least he can work up the nerve to say something, you're just quiet all the time."

"Sorry, I'm just...not sure how to talk to a girl," Franklin said.

"It's not hard, just talk, my dad does it, all his friends do it," Mayday said. "Then again I really don't want to talk to you so it would be a waste of time."

"Oh, um, alright," Franklin said, turning away from the girl. He wanted to leave but it's not like he could go anywhere. This world is a bit more confusing to him, despite the amount of time he's come here.

This did raise some concern from Susan and Derpy, the two seated nearby and taking note of the interaction.

"Looks like Franklin's having trouble," Derpy pointed out.

"He's always been a little shy around others, and Mayday's tough and pushy demeanor isn't helping," Susan said.

"Johnny once mentioned she was really anti-social, and I have seen it for myself on occasion," Derpy said. "But this really is bad, I can't even imagine how she ended up like this, especially given her mother being the Princess of Friendship and her father being such a social pony himself."

"Could be a mental block, sometimes people, or ponies, just don't have social capabilities," Susan said. "Everyone is wired a bit differently, so some limitations are different than others. But one thing you must know about Peter is that he too was socially awkward, so it could be hereditary."

"Well that makes sense, especially since Twilight was also socially awkward, even after making friends with Rainbow Dash and the others, she still seemed hesitant to talk to other ponies," Derpy said.

"So there's hope for her, if Peter and Twilight could overcome those limitations, so can Mayday, she just needs to be willing to put in the work, but she is also going to need a lot of nudging," Susan said.

"What should we do to help?" Derpy asked. "I know Twilight just needs us to foalsit but I think there's something we should do."

"I may have an idea, if you're up for it," Susan said. "We talk them out for a walk through the park, something might happen to stir up conversation."

"That sounds like a good idea," Derpy said. "I don't think Twilight would mind."

"Then let's get to it," Susan said, getting off her head. "I might need you to lead the way though, I'm not entirely familiar with this village."

"You got it Susie," Derpy said, then called to the foals. "Mayday! Franklin! We're going to the park now!"

"Do I have to!?" Mayday asked.

"Come on, it'd be great to stretch your legs wings," Derpy said. "Do you really want to be stuck inside all day?"

"Fine with me," Mayday said.

"For heaven's sake Mayday, just for a few minutes," Susan said. "Even Reed needs fresh air in between his inventing, it's good for your mental processing if you just go out to enjoy nature."

"And hopefully make a few new friends," Derpy said.

Mayday groaned in annoyance, placing her book down. "Fine, but just for a few minutes." The girl strolled out the house, with Franklin Derpy and Susan following after her.

"I hope this works," Derpy commented, leaving a note before closing and locking the door as she joined in this impromptu park stroll.

---

Later on, Peter and Twilight had arrived in Canterlot as promised, making their way Celstia's throne room for a meeting they were nearly late to.

"Hurry up Peter, it would look bad for us if we're even a second past when we promised we'd be there," Twilight said.

"I don't remember promising a specific time though," Peter said.

"Don't smart mouth me," Twilight warned. "Honestly we have no excuse for being late, you have super speed and I can teleport."

"You'd be amazed how often I was late back on Earth, even with my powers," Peter said.

"Well you didn't have me around to keep you in check," Twilight said as she sped up. "Now hurry!"

"I'm on it," Peter said, quickly following after his wife. The two made it to the Throne room where Celestia was waiting.

"Peter, Twilight, glad you made it," the Princess greeted.

"Hellos Princess Celestia, I hope we're not late," Twilight said.

"On the contrary," Tony said, making his way into the room, looking as confident as ever. "You're right on time. Now we have pretty much all the important leaders here."

Peter scanned the room finding other ponies of royal status such as Prince Blueblood, the Duke and Duchess of Maretonia, Princess Cadance and of course, Princess Luna. Beyond that he saw leaders from the other nations, such as Ember to represent the Dragons, Grandpa Gruff for the Griffons, King Thorax of the Changelings, Prince Rutheford of the Yaks, Sky Beak, the brother-in-law of Hippogriff Queen Novo, and Rain Shine, leader of the Kirin.

"Wow, is every Equestrian leader here?" Peter asked. "Seems like you got all the species."

"Peter, Equestria is the name of our country, not our world," Luna said. "These rulers are from outside Equestria."

"And no, I couldn't get all of them to come," Tony said. "I tried contacting some creatures called Abyssinians but they weren't interested in what I had to say."

"We even sought out Zebras from Farasi, no luck," Celestia said.

"Zebras? Well maybe we can ask Zecora for help on that," Twilight said.

"Which one is Zecora?" Tony asked.

"She's the shaman that lives in the Everfree Forest," Peter explained. "Speaks in rhyme all the time."

"I might remember her," Tony said, feeling vague. "But if you can get her to contact her homeland then that would help, really bring the world together."

"Why are all the leaders gathered here anyway?" Peter asked.

"Is it part of The Accords?" Twilight asked.

"Right on the mark Twilight," Tony said. "See I hope to achieve worldwide unity in Equestria, and the best way to do so is by uniting the countries. Now obviously we don't have all of this world's countries, but this is a really nice start if I do say so myself."

"What exactly is the purpose of these Accords?" Ember asked.

"Control really, we're trying to lessen the damage this world has received from villain attacks," Tony said.

"How does this relate to us?" Rain Shine asked.

"Well part of my plan is stationing as many heroes as I can all over this world, at least until we can finally get a firm grip on what's been causing these invasions in the first place," Tony said. "It doesn't have to be permanent but we need to neutralize this problem the best we can."

"Wait, aren't the Invasions coming from your world?" Ember asked. "Why do you need to station heroes in our domain?"

"First, not every Invasion is coming from our world, so you still kind of need our help," Tony explained. "Second, it's easier to catch them if we know they're coming here rather than running around rampant hoping to find them in our world. Now for the most part the bigger targets were Ponyville and The Crystal Empire, but we understand that Mount Aris also had it's share of troubles."

"Our only troubles recently was that of The Storm King," Sky Beak said. "A problem that originated in this world, not yours."

"But you still had one of our guys helping you, did you not?" Tony asked.

"Well, yes, a fellow called Doctor Strange," Sky Beak said. "Though the Queen was not too trusting of him, so I doubt she'd be trusting of any hero you send to our land."

"I'm not too trusting myself, how can we be so sure that these heroes can be of any assurance to our Kingdom?" Ember asked.

"Don't you have a hero in your Kingdom though?" Thorax asked. "Spike's married to one."

"Yeah but she doesn't really talk to any of us, in fact most of the Dragons don't care for her and find it strange that she's married to one of the despite not being a dragon herself," Ember said. "Their child even came out as a pony, her only dragon quality is that she recently just hiccupped fire."

"Aw, that's so adorable," Twilight said.

"Took us by surprise, luckily we're fire proof, mostly," Ember said. "Still doesn't answer my question though."

"You just need to know that The Avengers are a very noble group who always have the best interest of others in mind," Luna explained. "I believe they are very trustworthy, as to be expected from heroes that even Spider-Mane himself admires."

"Plus keep in mind that we did help The Dragon Lands a couple of years ago, even your father seemed impressed by us," Tony reminded.

"Even so, there are some in The Dragon Lands who don't trust you," Ember said. "They're still a bit peeved about the Neighsay situation, and some humans did attack a few dragons some years back."

"What humans?" Tony asked.

"She probably means Ryu, Chris and Dante," Peter said. "They did admit to attacking some dragons because they were threatening some ponies."

"See, it was protection," Tony said. "Though those guys aren't even from the same Earth as myself, Peter and The Avengers, so we should not be held responsible for their actions."

"Plus if Garble was causing trouble, he only has himself to blame, so no reason for the Dragons to think Ryu and his team started that fight," Peter said.

"Garble has quite a reputation in the Dragon Lands believe it or not," Ember said.

"Isn't he Smolder's older brother?" Peter asked. "Hasn't she tried spreading the good word on us humans?"

"She really doesn't care to, the only humans she speaks fondly of are the ones known as Nightcrawler and Jubilee," Ember explained.

"That makes sense since they've taken older sibling roles to Smolder and her friends," Peter said.

"Now speaking of Smolder, I understand she's taking a Field Trip to Manehattan," Ember said.

"Oh yeah, their train left this morning, they should be there right now," Twilight said.

"Did you tell them to stop by my building?" Tony asked. "I bed they'd like it, the future of Equestrian products right in front of their eyes."

"I would like to see most of these products you're selling before I allow them to be readily available across this world," Celestia said.

"Of course, but I have a feeling you'll love them so I'm not too worried," Tony said. "With time this world's culture and technology will perfectly mirror that of Earth's."

Peter seemed a bit worried about that idea, he doesn't know if this could have a negative impact on the world of Equestria, but he wouldn't mind seeing some old Earth tech be common, and Equestria already has it's share of similar devices.

"Alright, so does any creature have questions for Tony Stark?" Luna asked.

"Yes, this plan of yours, will it have any impact on the every day lives of those in those of our respective Kingdoms?" Sky Beak asked.

"Oh no, you're free to live your life how you please, we're just lending a helping hand," Tony explained.

"Will we have a say in which hero we want?" Thorax asked.

"I'm open to suggestions, I could even make a list of all the heroes who agreed to be part of this, including their powers and abilities," Tony explained.

"Did you get anyone else to join us?" Peter asked.

"I'm in talks but it's not going as smoothly as I'd like," Tony said. "T'Challa can't make time for this since he has a Kingdom of his own to protect, same with Namor, he pretty much turned me down."

"Who's Namor?" Twilight asked.

"Guy who lives under water, from the Kingdom of Atlantis," Peter said.

"Sounds familiar, is he related to Aquaman?" Twilight asked.

"No, he's from another Earth," Peter said. "The one Superman is from."

"Another world of heroes?" Thorax asked. "Wait are they in on this as well?"

"No, I mean, they could be, with a bit of smooth talking," Tony said.

"Don't even try Tony, they have their own problems, let's focus on this world and the Earth we're from," Peter suggested.

"Right, got a little ahead of myself," Tony said. "Now I did manage to secure another hero, one who could be a good fit for the Dragons. I know how much they respect super strength, so I got a hero who's all about that." Tony gestured to a door where a big, muscular alicorn pony in a toga stepped through. "Every creature, meet Hercules!"

The God made his way over, analyzing the room and taking everything in, "Greetings..."

"Dude, you got Hercules!?" Peter asked.

"Sure did, all the way from Greece, the son of Zeus, the God of Strength, and our newest ally," Tony said.

"A God huh?" Luna asked. "That would explain why he's an Alicorn."

"With our buddy Thor off trying to save his own Kingdom, I figured we were short one God, so I asked Hercules and he agreed to help out," Tony said.

"I do not appreciate being considered second to Thor," Hercules said.

"Hey come on, you know we like you big guy," Tony said. "And we would have asked your help even if Thor was around, but now you get to be the top God, aside from the Princesses here."

Hercules took a nice look at the four Alicorn Princess ponies, "Hm, I do have to wonder what they would look like as humans. I imagine they're quite the beauties."

"Oh they are, I've seen Twilight and Luna, they're absolutely stunning as human ladies," Tony said. "A looks befitting Goddesses, and I'm willing to bet that Cadance and Celestia are also a pleasure on the eyes."

"Uh, thank you for those kind words Tony," Celestia said, blushing a bit, as were the other Princesses.

Peter seemed a bit suspicious of the tone of the two heroes, instinctively standing close to Twilight. "Yes, we know these ladies are very attractive, especially my wife, so let's move on please."

"Who's that scrawny pony?" Hercules asked.

"It's me! Spider-Man!" Peter said, stretching out his attire. "I'm wearing my suit dude! No other hero has webs!"

"Spider-Woman does," Tony said.

"Well, besides her," Peter said. "Hey is she coming too?"

"I've asked, but she turned me down, she's actually relishing that she's the only spider hero on Earth right now," Tony said.

"Is she for real?" Peter said. "Eh, let her have it, not like I care."

"So, that is Spider-Man, and he is married to a Goddess?" Hercules asked.

"I prefer to be called a Princess rather than a Goddess, or you can just call me Twilight Sparkle," the mare said. "It's nice to meet you Hercules."

"The pleasure is all mine," Hercules said. "Now, who will I be assisting in this endeavor?"

"The Dragons," Tony said, gesturing to Ember. "If she wants the help at least."

Ember still had her suspicions, bringing another Earth Hero to The Dragon Lands may not sit well with everyone there, even if her father does not mind, "I'm not too sure about this."

"Ember, I think you should consider this," Thorax said. "I just might, might be a good way to bring our Kingdoms together, after that fiasco with Neighsay I think a little unity could help us."

"Silverstream does talk fondly of Equestria and the Earth Heroes, maybe I'll be able to convince Novo to give this a chance," Sky Beak said.

"Yona like heroes too, maybe Heroes be good for Yakyakistan," Rutheford added.

The Duke turned to the Duchess, "What is your take?"

"Well the Princesses seem to trust the heroes, perhaps we can as well," the Duchess said.

"Very well, I guess we can consider this," the Duke said.

"I probably wouldn't mind, but no one too flashy!" Grandpa Gruff said. "Keep it minimal."

"Great, so you're all on board with this?" Tony asked, then focused on Rain Shine. "How about you?"

Rain Shine still had her doubts, "I'm sorry, I don't think I'll be taking your offer right now. My Kingdom is still rebuilding after some troubles."

"Troubles? Anything big?" Tony asked.

"It's nothing really, just an internal conflict," Rain Shine said. "A kingdom is at it's most vulnerable when it collapses from with in, an it takes time to rebuild, time I need right now. Perhaps one day I will consider this, if what you have planned lasts that long."

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that you won't be considering this, I do hope you change your mind, this could be a ticket to world peace," Tony said.

Rain Shine tapped her chin, "Perhaps there is a way. I can send one of my own to scout parts of Equestria to see how this plan of yours is coming along. If there is promise, then I will reconsider."

"Sounds fair," Tony said, then turned to the Princess of Love. "I don't think we've heard from you Cadance, where do you stand in all this? I mean you already have heroes in your Kingdom, they rotated a bit but has it been going well?"

"Truthfully I think this plan has a lot of great potential," Cadance said. "The ponies in The Crystal Empire have been more at peace since heroes became common, now they feel less susceptible to danger. Plus those last two heroes, Luke Cage and Iron Fist, were both really nice, I invited them into my castle at one point and they were so courteous and friendly. My daughter was especially fond of them."

"Ah, building a bond with the heroes, perfect example of The Accords," Tony said. "So what about Carol and Kamala, how have they been?"

"Kamala's really nice and friendly too, she gushed the moment she saw my daughter," Cadance said. "She's such an excitable girl, almost reminds me of Pinkie Pie. Carol, is a bit stiff but she seems reliable."

"She takes some getting used to," Tony said. "She actually used to be more fun, now she's a bit boring, real shame."

"I liked her better when she was Ms. Marvel," Peter said.

"We all did," Tony said. "But that's in the past, and as long as Carol can do her job, she can be as stiff as she'd like. Fact is she is one of the most talented heroes in our world, and she is an Avenger, so I'd like to trust her."

"I trust her as well, I think your plans are going to really benefit Equestria greatly Mr. Stark," Cadance said.

"Mr. Stark was my father, call me Tony," the hero insisted.

"Well Tony, I thank you for having me, is there more to discuss?" Cadance asked.

"We can take a few more questions, if you have no more reason to be here then you're free to exit," Tony said.

"Fine by me," Ember said, then turned to Hercules. "If you're gonna come, be there by tomorrow morning. Ask how to get there or have someone take you."

"I can handle that part Ember, I guarantee he'll be a big help," Tony said.

"He better," Ember warned. "I'm trusting you on this Tony Stark."

Ember started making her way out, along with Rain Shine, the Duke and Duchess, Prince Rutheford and Grandpa Gruff.

"Wait, so when will we get the heroes exactly?" Thorax asked.

"I'll come to each Kingdom with a list, you can decide from there if you want a hero or not," Tony said.

"Uh, sounds good," Thorax said. "Also, any sign of those ponies who ambushed us at the Peace Treaty?"

"No, not yet, but we're looking," Tony said. "Personally I don't think you yourself are in too much danger, whoever did that was probably after Chrysalis."

"Maybe, still it was such an unfortunate thing to happen," Thorax said. "I remember how worried Ocellus was about her father, I really do appreciate the ponies here looking after him and the other injured Changelings, including Rebecca Chambers. Remind me, is she from your world?"

"No, she's Capcom, and we're probably not gonna see her or her friends for long time," Tony said.

"That's too bad, if she were a hero from your world, I think the Changelings would trust her to be around," Thorax said.

"I can think of good replacements," Tony reassured.

"I look forward to it," Thorax said, taking his exit. "Well good-bye Mr. Stark."

Tony waved bye to the last of the royalty, then noticed Hercules approaching from the side, "Yeah, what is it?"

"That woman, Celestia," Hercules said, gesturing to her. "Is she single?"

"Huh!? Uh you're already fine with being with a pony?" Tony asked.

"Oh no, I was hoping to take her back to my world for a bit," Hercules said. "So, is she?"

Before Tony could answer, another hero had made his way over, "What's going on here!?"

Tony turned to see that it was Steve, being joined by Falcon. "Oh sup Steve? You remember Hercules right?"

"Yes, I do," Steve said, suspiciously eyeing the God. "So, here to join The Accords?"

"Yes, I received a nice offer from Tony Stark," Hercules said. "A chance to use my abilities to help others outside my home."

"That's good, just remember this is a job that must be taken seriously, ponies will depend on you to keep them safe," Steve said. "It is not for you to bring them back as souvenirs."

"Who said anything about that? If I bring one back, it is for a chance at paradise," Hercules said.

"They don't need your 'paradise'," Steve said, hiding some frustration behind his somewhat friendly appearance. "Now please maintain some professionalism."

"Uh, alright then?" Hercules said, walking off somewhat awkwardly.

"Heh, Gods, am I right?" Tony said, walking off as well. "Imma go."

Steve still looked a bit annoyed, something Falcon took note of, "Were you jealous or something?"

"What? No! Be quiet!" Steve said, trotting off himself.

"He's so jealous," Falcon joked as he followed after his friend.

Hercules looked back a moment at Steve, "What was that all about?"

"Oh he has a thing for that pony you were talking about, so he got a bit jealous," Tony said. "Guys love a big woman after all, and Celestia is big in all the right places, even for a pony."

"Is it normal to be with a pony?" Hercules asked.

"Well it works for Spider-Man, and Wolverine, also The Human Torch, and Deadpool," Tony said. "Actually there have been times I brought Pepper over for some fun, and it's really not that bad. You immediately forget and just enjoy the moment."

"Interesting, perhaps I can try for myself," Hercules said. "Wait, what of dragons?"

"You're gonna have to ask Janet Van Dyne about that part," Tony joked as he led Hercules away.

Twilight began tapping her chin, "That talk of Thor and The Capcom Warriors has me wondering about Sunset Shimmer, I hope she's doing well."

"I think she is, she's with Ryu and his friends, traveling across different dimensions," Peter said. "I just wish there was a way to get into contact with her."

"Maybe she'll figure something out," Twilight said. "I hope we get to hear all about it."

"Hopefully we can hear from Thor too, maybe he found Loki and his gang," Peter said. "I'm just so curious about that Tempest Shadow mare, I've never seen a Unicorn with a broken horn, makes me wonder how it happened."

"It is rare, she must have suffered a serious injury," Twilight said.

"She's pretty tough, she makes one dangerous ally for Loki," Peter said.

"Speaking of his dangerous allies, I'm a bit worried about that Sephiroth guy too, I only saw him up close once, yet something about him feels so chilling," Twilight said. "He's powerful too, he might be at Loki's level."

"I have confidence that Thor can handle Loki, and Sephiroth, and whoever else in on their side, plus he has other Asgardians to help hm as well," Peter said. "Who knows, maybe Odin will step in."

"He already has a lot on his plate, especially with his talk of Ragnarok and how his Kingdom is in danger, I really think we should try to find and help Thor," Twilight said.

"Thor doesn't want help though, he feels it's his duty to protect his Kingdom," Peter said. "I completely understand him on that, I felt the same way back in Queens, and even now in Ponyville."

"But Peter," Twilight pleaded.

"Besides you are in no condition to go anywhere, considering you're pregnant and due any day now," Peter said. "Let's allow Thor to handle his own problems, if it really gets bad then we'll go. But who's to say he doesn't have help aside from the other Asgardians, like maybe he asked Goku for help."

"Goku went back to his world though," Twilight pointed out. "And the portal to his world is gone."

"Maybe Thor opened it on his end, it's possible," Peter said.

That caused a realization for Twilight, "Wait, if the portals are open on Marvel's side, and our portal to Marvel is open, wouldn't that mean we could still have access to these other worlds?" Twilight asked.

"Huh, good point," Peter said. "Guess Celestia overlooked that when she closed the portals. That or she doesn't care as long as the portal to the other worlds aren't directly linked to this one."

"Well we'll keep in under wraps just in case, at least this reassures us that Sunset Shimmer has a way home," Twilight said.

"And maybe we'll see our friends from Capcom and Square again," Peter said. "Now let's get home, we still have our own planning, like a special day for our little girl."

"Right, I can't believe that she's gonna be eight soon, time really flies," Twilight said. "Just feels like the other day she was just learning how to walk."

"Yeah, it does," Peter said, chuckling a bit before coming to a sad realization. "She's growing up too fast."

"It's part of life," Twilight said. "All we can do is sit back and enjoy the moments we have now."

"I hope she's doing well with hanging out with Franklin," Peter said.

"Pardon me, but did you say 'Franklin'?" came Luna's voice as she trotted over.

"Hi Luna, yeah we recently set up some playdates with Mayday and Franklin," Twilight said.

"Oh, how excellent, I was hoping Mayday would befriend that boy, very nice and friendly," Luna said. "Plus, a friendship with a boy like that can really grow into something special."

Peter's eyes widened in worry, "Uh, let's not get carried away with that, she's too young to date."

"I'm with Peter, I'm more worried about her making a friend than having a coltfriend," Twilight said. "But if it does happen, then I'd be super happy for Mayday."

"I wouldn't..." Peter said.

"Peter!" Twilight scolded, her husband turning away in annoyance.

"Ever the protective father, such an admirable quality about you Peter," Luna said. "Maybe you yourself just needs to grow used to the idea."

"I can, just not yet," Peter said. "Mayday's growing up too fast as it is, I don't want to speed up her maturity process."

"Alright Peter, we won't do anything you don't feel is right," Twilight insisted. "Now let's head back to Ponyville and check up on Mayday. I hope she and Franklin are getting along well."

---

In the city of Manehattan, the Friendship students and their Chaperones are taking a stroll down the sidewalks, taking in the sights.

"Wow, it really does look a lot like New York City," Jubilee said.

"This city is one of the busiest places in all of Equestria, so many ponies coming and going and getting a lot of work done," Starlight said.

"It's so cool looking!" Silversteam said. "We don't have places like this back at Mount Aris!"

"Looks too crowded though," Ember said.

"But it's probably a lot friendlier, after all, this is Equestria, ponies have a higher tolerance than humans," Jubilee said.

"Hey watch where you're going!" one pony shouted.

"Put a sock in in!" the other pony shouted.

"Ok, maybe not that different than New York," Jubilee said.

"Ponies, like humans, have emotions, and sometimes they can get frustrated," Nightcrawler said. "Perfectly normal."

"Well we know Equestria can be a pretty judgmental place deep down," Trixie said. "So it's not too surprising."

Cozy Glow just looked around the city, gawking at the sights of the tall buildings, "Golly...Did Peter really use to live in a city like this?"

"He sure did, sort of," Jubilee said. "He spend most of his life in Queens but he came to Manhattan to work and go to school. He's definitely used to this type of city life."

Sandbar looked aside and noticed something interesting, "Hey that building says 'Stark Industries'."

Nightcrawler turned his attention to the building in question, "Oh yes, and it seems to be quite busy."

"Tony really made this business grow fast, says a lot about his skills as an entrepreneur," Jubilee said.

"He's so cool, almost as cool as Peter," Cozy Glow said. "Imagine building power so fast, to have ponies working under you to get a job done! To have that sense of leadership and rise all the way to the top of the hierarchy!"

"Uh...right," Jubilee said. "Interested in business Cozy Glow?"

"Uh, something like that, I did always want to be a Boss," Cozy Glow answered.

"High ambitions, I respect that," Starlight said. "You just have to hone your leadership capabilities and charisma. Think you can command ponies?"

"I'm not sure, I never had the chance to," Cozy Glow said.

"You just need to start small, like maybe try being a Hall Monitor," Jubilee said. "We'll turn you into boss material in no time, you might even find yourself working in Stark Industries, imagine being the Manager of this building."

Cozy looked back to the building, imagining the power she could have if she were the boss. It seemed exciting to her, a great way to achieve her goal of having loads of friends, and this is just a start.

"Hey I see somepony on the roof over there," Silverstream said.

Nightcrawler squinted his eyes to see who was there, "Oh, it's Elektra. I heard she and Daredevil got relocated to this city."

"Isn't this place a little too big for just the two of them?" Jubilee said. "Plus I was under the impression they mostly worked at night."

"Tony Stark is still growing his Accords, maybe he'll get more heroes to come here, we must be patient," Nightcrawler said.

"Let's get a move on, we might make a Briddleway show if we hustle," Trixie said.

"Right, let's hurry!" Jubilee said. "This way everypony!"

Everypony moved fast, except for Cozy Glow, the filly was still standing there, thinking over her future plans. Suddenly she realized she was by herself. "Huh? Where did everypony go?" She flew around looking for the students. "Starlight!? Trixie!?" She looked around some more. "Ocellus! Kurt!" She cupped her hooves, "JUBILEE!"

"Stop screaming!" came a voice of a random pony, Cozy responding by sticking her tongue out.

"Meanie," Cozy flew up, trying to get a bird's eye view, but there were too many ponies down below, she had a hard time spotting the class. "I hope I can find them, I don't want to be all by myself!"

She flew back down, trying to locate her friends, zipping around in a panic until she bumped into somepony.

"Come on! Again!?" came the voice of Suri Polomare. She turned her attention to Cozy Glow. "Watch where you're flying kid."

"I'm weally sorry ma'am, I'm just looking for my classmates," Cozy Glow said.

"You're not gonna find them here," Suri said. "Now I suggest you-"

"What is the commotion?" Martin said, making his way over.

"This kid just bumped into me, nearly knocking me over mind you, saying she's looking for her classmates," Suri said.

Martin kneeled before her, "Is this true? Are you lost?"

Cozy Glow nodded, "Yes, I am mister."

"Well we can't have that, a young filly like you alone in a city like this is way too scary," Martin said. "Why don't you wait in my building and I will help look for your classmates."

"Lee we don't have time for this, we have a meeting to attend," Suri said. "Our business isn't gonna grow on it's own."

"Now, now Suri, I cannot turn away a child in need, it goes against my very being," Martin said. "I used to run a homeless shelter, I know how scary it can be when you feel alone. I can't let this girl feel that same fear, the meeting can wait, this is more important."

Suri groaned in annoyance, "You're such a goody-four horse shoes. Fine, go do what you have to do."

"Excellent," Martin turned to Cozy Glow. "Now tell me, what does your class look like?"

"It shouldn't be too hard to find, five of them are non-ponies, a dragon, a griffon, a yak, a hippogriff and a changeling," Cozy said. "The Changeling is my best friend by the way."

"That's sweet," Martin said, despite not really knowing that a Changeling is. "Uh, anything else? Like what do your teachers look like?"

"One of them is a blue Unicorn with a pretty silver mane, one is a pink Unicorn, purple mane with stripes," Cozy began. "Then there's a pony with a yellow jacket and pink sunglasses, and a blue pony with pointy ears and a long, pointy tail."

"That sounds unusual, what kind of pony is that last one?" Suri asked.

"Uh, have you heard of humans?" Cozy Glow asked.

"Humans? Like Spider-Mane?" Suri asked.

"Yes, they're humans like him from Earth, they're part of the X-Men," Cozy Glow said. "My teachers are pretty famous, heroes who helped save the world."

"Interesting..." Martin said. Even if he's not used to the term Spider-Mane, he does know who they're referring to. "Well I'll go and find them."

"I think some other Earth heroes are patrolling this city, maybe they can help," Cozy Glow said.

"Yes, I believe I've seen them," Martin said. "I will go and find your friends, you wait here with Suri."

"Wait why do I have to foalsit? I don't like kids," Suri said.

"Were you not a child once yourself? Imagine how she feels," Martin said. "It's just for a few minutes, you can manage that, can't you?"

Suri groaned in annoyance, "Fine...But you owe me for this Lee."

"That's only fair, I will be back in a spell," Martin said, making his way out the building.

Suri rolled her eyes, and focused back on Cozy Glow, "So...how did you get lost exactly?"

"I got distracted by my dream," Cozy Glow said.

"What type of dream?" Suri asked.

"A dream, of power," Cozy Glow answered, Suri feeling intrigued.

Martin strolled down the streets, a sinister smile on his face, "So, more from my world have come, this could be an interesting turn of events." The disguised villain continued making his way down the streets, hoping to make use of this situation.

Trouble in the City

Back in Ponyville, Peter and Twilight had returned home, expecting to see Mayday, Franklin, Susan and Derpy.

"We're home!" Peter called out, not getting answer. "Sue? Derpy? Mayday? Franklin?"

"Where could they be?" Twilight wondered. "Did they go out somewhere."

"Oh here's a note," Peter said, grabbing it to read it out loud. "Dear Peter and Twilight, Susie and I took Mayday and Franklin out for a walk, be back soon, signed Derpy."

"A walk, that sounds nice," Twilight said. "Wonder how long ago they left?"

"Thirty minutes," came a voice, the two turning to see Susan. "It could have gone better."

"Susan? Where's Mayday?" Peter asked.

"Right here!" Mayday said, stomping in, seemingly in a bad mood.

"Uh, what happened to Mayday?" Peter asked. "Why does she look so unhappy?"

"Did something happen honey?" Twilight asked her daughter.

"Bobby happened," Mayday bitterly said as she stormed off.

Peter groaned in annoyance, of course Bobby likely did something, of all his friends, Bobby seems to get on Mayday's nerves the most. "So what happened exactly?"

---

Not too long ago, Susan and Derpy were walking Mayday and Franklin through the park, Susan taking note of the peaceful atmosphere.

"I'm amazed at how calm and quiet this place is, not my typical ambiance," Susan said.

"You're from the city right? So there's not a lot of places you can go for nature walks right?" Derpy asked.

"No, I mean sometimes I'll take a walk through Central Park, it's actually pretty peaceful but still just as busy as the rest of Manhattan," Susan said.

"What's Central Park? What's it like?" Derpy asked.

"The biggest park in New York City, it has a decent amount of places you can visit, including playgrounds, pools, baseball fields, you can even go bike riding or horse..." Susan took a moment to remember her company. "Er, well you get the point, there's a lot to do."

"Sounds fun," Derpy said. "You know since Equestria has a city just like Manhattan, and it's own big park, maybe there's similar stuff to do there as well."

"We'll make a note of it, maybe with Peter and Twilight's permission, we can bring Mayday and Franklin to the city," Susan said.

"Funny too, the School of Friendship is taking a field trip to Manehattan, maybe they can tell us about it and see if there's somewhere fun to go," Derpy said.

"That's a great idea," Susan said. "Alright, let's make plans for it."

Derpy nodded in agreement, then noticed an oncoming pony, "Hey it's one of the new heroes assigned to Ponyville."

Sue took a moment to see who it was, "Oh, it's Firestar."

"Hi Sue!" Firestar said, landing beside the hero. "Hello to your friend too."

"This is Derpy, Reed's working with her husband on something, so we're here with my son and Peter's daughter," Susan said, then called the foals over. "Franklin! Mayday! Come say hello!"

Franklin was the first to make his way over, "Hi Angel."

"Hi little Frankie," Firestar said, rubbing his mane. "Just as cute as a pony as you are as a boy."

"Uh, thanks Angel," Franklin said, blushing a bit.

Firestar turned her attention to the filly beside him, "And Mayday, funny, I've been here a few days and this is the first time we might actually had a chance to really speak with each other, I see you sometimes with your dad but you're always busy with something."

"There isn't much for me to talk about, I'm just the daughter of Spider-Mane and The Princess of Friendship, and an aspiring scientist," Mayday said.

"Mayday used to be friendlier, my brother mentioned that she loved his company and the company of the othe heroes that lived here, including Wolverine," Susan said.

"Oh yeah, Bobby's told me his share of stories of Mayday," Firestar said.

"Bobby? What could he have to say about me?" Mayday asked in an almost sassy way.

"Nothing bad, he just said you're a sassy little firecracker, but underneath all that you're a sweet little girl, and, in his words, very adorkable," Firestar said.

"I'm what!?" Mayday shouted. "First of all, Adorkable isn't even a proper word! Second if he wants a firecracker I'll show him fire hot enough to melt his stupid grin!"

Susan turned to Derpy, "Is she usually like this?"

"I don't know, usually she's just really quiet," Derpy said.

Firestar took a moment to register Mayday's little outburst, then playfully rubbed her mane," Wow, you're so adorable when you get mad."

"I am not trying to be adorable!" Mayday angrily stated, puffing out her cheeks in annoyance.

"I know, but I can't help but find you cute," Firestar said. "It's like Peter would probably say, girls are cute when they're mad."

"Peter does say that," Derpy said. "I hear it's one of the reasons he likes Twilight."

"Hopefully not the sole reason," Susan joked.

"Well I'm about to get REAL cute then, especially once I find Bobby," Mayday said. "That guy thinks he's cool because he's literally made of ice, I've seen campfires cooler than he is, and when I spot him-"

Suddenly Mayday got hit in the head with a snowball, "You'll what shrimp!?"

"Bobby?" Susan said, taking note of the ice mutant.

"Sup Sue? Sup muffin mare! Hey Angel! Hi Franklin!" Bobby greeted to the others in the vicinity.

"Uh, hi Bobby," Susan greeted.

"My name is Derpy by the way," the muffin loving mare reminded.

"Right, but when I think you, I think of muffins," Bobby said. "I just might call you the Muffin Mare."

"And I just might call you a dumbass!" Mayday shouted, stomping over to the ice mutant.

"Hey! Language young lady!" Susan said.

"Huh? Wonder where she learned a word like that?" Firestar said.

"Probably from Logan or something," Bobby said, then noticed Mayday stopped right in front of him, glaring daggers. "Sup?"

"SUP!?" Mayday shouted. "You threw a snowball at my head!"

"Yeah, it's really darn hot today so I figured you could use something to help you cool off," Bobby said. "So, me being the cool guy that I am, literally." His joke just irritated Mayday more, not that he cared, "I figured you could use a little cold to balance the dreadful heatwaves."

"First off, it's not hot at all, second, throwing a snowball does not cool people off!" Mayday said. "It's just annoying!"

"Snowballs are fun, maybe you just need to be outside more," Bobby joked. "I mean, you were born around the time of Winter Wrap-Up weren't you? Snow is a part of you."

"If I was born around Winter Wrap Up then that means I wanted to be done with snowy weather, which means you are my natural enemy," Mayday said.

"Ah, a Spring Chicken huh?" Bobby said, making the clucking sounds.

"H-hey! Are you calling me a chicken!?" Mayday shouted in annoyance.

"Of course not, you seem more like a duck because you 'quack' me up," Bobby said.

Mayday raised her eyebrow in confusion, "That was terrible! You're terrible!" Mayday turned to leave. "I can't put up with this, if I stick around you any longer my brain cells are going to decay into nothing."

"Aw but we were just having fun, no need to give me the cold shoulder," Bobby said, using his powers to cover her shoulder area with ice.

"Cut that out!" Mayday shouted as she rubbed the snow off. "You're so immature!"

"You gotta learn to have fun, can't be exciting with your face stuck in a book all day long, Rarity said that before Twilight came to Ponyville she was the same way," Bobby said. "Do you really want to end up as boring as your mother was? Especially with a father as fun as Peter?"

"What I do isn't any of yours or anyone's business," Mayday said. "I'm going back home, where I don't have to be around ponies!"

"Uh, Mayday, maybe you should try to put a damper on your foul mood," Susan suggested. "Bobby doesn't mean to be annoying."

"Well he is!" Mayday said, storming off.

"Well that went downhill," Derpy said.

Firestar turned her attention to her friend, "Think you overdid it there Bobby?"

"Hey Johnny did warn me that she's been a stick in the mud lately, I figured if I messed with her a bit she would either fight back or get witty herself," Bobby said.

"Come to think of it, she used to be a little bit snarky," Derpy said.

"Yeah, according to Ben, she pulled her share of pranks during that Beach Vacation from a few years back," Susan said.

"Exactly, where did that Mayday go?" Bobby said, almost missing her pranks. "I mean, maybe it could be worse but it really seems like over time she just became moodier. And she's not even a teenager yet!"

"Maybe something's bothering her?" Firestar suggested. "Maybe one of you can get her to open up."

"I hope it's that easy, depends if she's willing to talk about her emotions," Susan said.

"Um, excuse me mom," Franklin said. "Shouldn't we be going with Mayday before she gets too far?"

Susan's eyes widened, "Oh thanks for that Franklin." She turned to Derpy, "Let's hurry."

"Right behind you," Derpy said as she, Susan and Franklin rushed to catch up with Mayday, though not before overhearing a few things.

"What a fussy young girl Peter raised," Bobby said. "What a shame, she could have been so much more fun."

"Kind of hard to have fun when you get hit with a snowball, and when you were messing with her the way you were," Firestar said.

"She knows it was all in good fun, she used to mess with me like that too," Bobby said. "Ever since she got her Cutie Mark though, she's been in a pretty bad mood."

"Cutie Mark?" Firestar asked.

"The mark on a pony's butt. They call it a Cutie Mark, it shows their talent and what that pony excels at," Bobby explained. "I can't figure out Mayday's though, it just looks like her parents' meshed up together."

"So theoretically, I can get one?" Firestar asked.

"Yeah, might be easier since you already have your talent, you just have to do that talent as a pony or something," Bobby said. "Some ponies don't care for one though, like one pony that used to stay at Peter's house, a colt named Rumble."

"Peter took in a colt?" Firestar asked.

"Just for a little bit, that's quite a long story, next time we get together with Peter, we'll give you the details," Bobby said. "There's still quite a bit to tell you."

Derpy wanted to stay more but Susan needed her assistance, so she quickly followed after the mare.

---

Back in the present, Peter was seen shaking his head in annoyance, "Bobby seems to get some enjoyment out of messing with Mayday, one day it's gonna bite him where he would not want to get bitten."

"I think Bobby mentioned something about Mayday's Cutie Mark," Derpy said. "Has she said anything about it?"

"Not really, of course she barely seemed interested when she saw it," Peter said. "She did seem kind of confused though."

"How did she get it?" Susan asked.

"She got it while we were working in our lab, I think it's suppose to symbolize Family Hobbies," Peter said.

"Which is my theory," Twilight said. "She loves spending time with Peter, and a lot of intuition was partially my influence, so just a combination of my drive plus her shared talent with Peter made way for her Cutie Mark."

"So weird how these marks just magically appear, I mean can you will them away?" Susan asked.

"I don't think so, I don't know anypony who would even want to," Twilight said.

"What about Rumble?" Derpy said.

"Rumble's...unique," Twilight replied, though she herself barely understood the boy's reasonings for not wanting a mark. "I hope he hasn't negatively influenced Mayday."

"Come on, it's Rumble, he wouldn't want to be a negative influence," Peter said.

"He might have done so by mistake," Susan said. "Or unintentionally."

"Yeah, he thinks Cutie Marks are a waste, so in his mind he wouldn't have negatively influenced Mayday if he got her thinking the same thing," Derpy said.

"Let's not jump to conclusions, we don't know for sure," Peter said. "It could have been anything else."

"Yeah, Peter's right, maybe it's something you should try talking to Mayday about, let her know her Cutie Mark is fine and it shouldn't define her," Susan said.

"Yeah, you're right, it is just a mark in the end," Twilight said. "We'll talk this over later."

"Where did she go anyway?" Derpy said, looking around. "And where's Franklin?"

"Mayday probably went to her room to cool off, and I guess Franklin followed her," Peter said. "Hope she's not annoyed though, when Mayday's in a bad mood, she does not like talking to anyone."

"I think it'll be fine, as long as Franklin doesn't do anything to set off her annoyance," Susan said.

"Franklin? Be annoying?" Twilight asked. "He seems like such a nice boy, I can't imagine him being annoying."

"Oh he has his moments, I usually have to keep him in line," Susan said. "It's partially Johnny's influence, even if he's not around as much he still rubbed off on Franklin."

"Gee, I hope he hasn't rubbed off on Mayday," Twilight said.

"Probably not if Mayday's gotten this moody," Peter said. "If Bobby hit Johnny with a snowball, Johnny would return the favor with fire."

"Kind of harsh, considering Bobby's made of ice," Twilight said.

"Hey Bobby can take it, as long as Johnny doesn't go Supernova," Peter said. "Of course Bobby's no pushover with his ice powers so it won't be that easy."

"Wonder what a fight between them would be like?" Twilight wondered. "Closest was when he got mind controlled by the Capcom villains."

"Yeah he held back a bit, thankfully," Peter said. "He could have frozen the entire Crystal Empire like nothing."

"Bobby's so much stronger than people realize, same could be said for any of the other heroes," Susan said. "You can't imagine how much we have to hold back Twilight, Johnny could destroy the planet with his fire if he's not careful."

"Yes, Peter does hold back, and I need to as well," Twilight said. "It's important for a hero to be responsible with his or her powers. One point to Tony's Accords after all."

"Thankfully Johnny's got his powers under control," Peter said. "Well I should go check on Mayday, hey Twi, when will those students be getting back from their trip?"

"In a couple of hours," Twilight said. "Trixie, Starlight, Kurt and Jubilee will let us know when they get here."

"Wonder how they're doing now though?" Peter wondered. "Bet they're having the time of their life."

---

Meanwhile in Manehatten...

"Cozy Glow!" Jubiliee shouted, frantically checking every corner she can reach. "Cozy where are you!?"

"How did we lose track of her? She was right behind us!" Smolder said.

"Quick, think, when was the last time anyone saw her?" Starlight asked, trying to stay calm during this.

"Uh, back at Tony Stark's building," Gallus said. "When she said that weird thing about power or whatever."

"Hasn't anyone seen her since though?" Starlight asked, losing her calming state.

"Sorry, we haven't," Sandbar said. "We were too busy checking out the view."

Starlight's eye twitched as she began nervously laughing, a discomforting sight for the others, "Oh man, when Twilight finds out we lost one of her students, she's gonna have a meltdown."

"Let's not lose hope," Kurt said. "We can still find her, this city is relatively safe correct?"

"Well yeah, but it's huge!" Starlight said. "It will be difficult to find her!"

"Difficult, yes, but not impossible," Kurt reminded. "We will find her, and she'll be safely back with us in no time, let's just have faith."

"Right, faith," Starlight said. "Alright, let's spread out."

"We saw some heroes before didn't we?" Trixie asked. "Let's see if one of them have seen Cozy Glow."

"Good idea," Kurt said. "Trixie, you stay with the students, the rest of us will spread out to find Cozy Glow."

"Wait, can we help?" Ocellus asked.

"I appreciate the offer but I'd rather not risk you getting lost as well," Starlight said. "Just stay here with Trixie, we'll be right back!"

Starlight, Kurt and Jubilee quickly spread out into the city, leaving Trixie behind with the other students.

"Wait, why do we need a chaperone, we're all practically adults?" Gallus pointed out.

"It's safety stuff, besides there are kids here too, this way we can all keep an eye out for each other," Silverstream said, then turned to her friends. "Isn't that right everyone?"

"Yeah, besides it'd be easier to just wait, especially when two of our teachers can easily teleport," Sandbar said. "Until then, let's just find someway to pass the time."

"It'd be easier to pass the time if we were actually doing something and not waiting to find Cozy Glow, way to be irresponsible," Gallus said.

"I'm with Gallus, she really screwed up here," Smolder bitterly said.

"Hey take it easy, she made a mistake, happens to everyone," Silverstream said. "Remember the trouble we caused at school and got it shut down? It's important to be understanding."

"What do you think Ocellus, you're closer to Cozy Glow," Sandbar said, then noticed the Changeling attempting to sneak away. "Hey where are you going?"

"Yeah, if you're gonna sneak off, at least shapeshift," Gallus pointed out.

Ocellus felt startled upon being caught and sheepishly turned to the others, "I want to find Cozy Glow, I'm worried about her."

"You heard what Starlight said, we have to stay here," Smolder said.

"I can't sit back and do nothing though, Cozy Glow's my friend," Ocellus said. "Aren't any of you worried?"

"A little," Sandbar said.

"I am of course," Silversteam added.

"Eh, she's a bit weird," Gallus said, receiving a few glares. "But, I suppose this isn't ideal for her either."

"Yona agree, we all should find pony," Yona said. "She one of us."

"Even so, how do we sneak off without Trixie knowing?" Smolder asked. "Anyone have a plan?"

"We might not need one, look," Silverstream said, gesturing to the oncoming Elektra, having been waved down by Trixie.

"Oh thank goodness I got your attention, I could really use your help," Trixie said.

"What do you need?" Elektra asked.

"One of the students I'm chaperoning is lost in the city," Trixie explained. "Her name is Cozy Glow, we lost her near the Stark Industries building. She's a small, pink Pegasus with a blue curly mane, and a Rook for a Cutie Mark."

"Cute Mark...the mark on a pony's side correct?" Elektra asked.

"Yes, she also has these adorable little freckles," Trixie said. "She got separated from us during a school trip."

"I'll help find her, I'll contact Daredevil too and let him know," Elektra said. "Is anyone looking for her? Other teachers?"

"Yes, my friend Starlight and two X-Men, Nightcrawler and Jubilee," Trixie explained.

"Well Nightcrawler should have an easier time given his powers," Elektra said. "I'll head out, you wait here until I return, hopefully with Cozy Glow."

"Oh thank you, I do appreciate that," Trixie said.

"Also, be on your guard," Elektra said. "Something strange is going on in this town, I'll have to move fast to make sure this girl isn't in danger.

Elektra quickly headed off, leaving a concerned Trixie behind. "That was ominous, oh well at least that's one more set of eyes patrolling the city. Hopefully it won't be long before Cozy Glow is found."

It was during this that conversation that Ocellus and the others took off to find Cozy Glow themselves.

---

Meanwhile in the city, Starlight was seen running through, teleporting to each possible area, hoping to find this poor filly. "Come on, where are you Cozy Glow!?"

As she patrolled through, a couple of ponies turned her way, their eyes glowing in a demonic aura. They slowly approached Starlight as she was seen talking with a Manehatten local.

"Have you seen a pink Pegasus with a blue mane?" Starlight asked, the pony shaking his head. She immediately turned to another, "How about you? Have you seen a pony?"

"No sorry," the mare said.

Starlight groaned in annoyance and continued looking around, unaware that the ponies were now following after her. Starlight continued to search and ask around, some ponies trying to be as helpful as they could, others rudely brushing her off, some annoying Starlight.

"Twilight should send a bunch of Friendship Lessons to the ponies of this city," Starlight mused. As she continued walking she heard a noise near a alley. "Cozy Glow!?"

She rushed over in hopes of finding the filly, but instead finding nothing of interest. Just some rats running around, disgusting her a bit.

"So much for that," she turned around and found herself surrounded by four ponies. "Uh, can I help you?" The ponies did not answer, instead they just walked forward, Starlight taking a step back. "Uh, I don't know what this is about, but I'm in a hurry, I'm gonna need you to step aside." Of course none of them complied, Starlight began to sense danger, her defenses kicking in, the mare ready for a fight. "I'm warning you, I fought Spider-Mane, and I was a tough opponent."

The ponies lunged at her, but before Starlight could react, Daredevil had arrived to kick one in the face. He then used his short-rod to smack two others. He turned to the fourth, ready to attack but Starlight had beat him to the punch with a magic blast, knocking him through some cans.

"Oh, you can fight?" Daredevil asked.

"Yeah, I'm pretty tough," Starlight said.

"So I heard, correct me if I'm wrong but I believe you mentioned fighting Spider-Man," Daredevil said.

"Not just him, some of his friends too, granted I had some eventual assistance from Loki but I could still hold my own," Starlight said. "I appreciate you coming to help me though, you're Daredevil correct? A hero from Earth?"

"Yes, and you are?" Daredevil asked.

"Starlight Glimmer," the mare replied.

"Think I heard your name mentioned once or twice," Daredevil said. "Nice to formally meet you."

The ponies began struggling to stand, Daredevil whacked one back down, Starlight blasted the other.

"Yeah don't try running off you creeps," Starlight said, using some magic to bind them. "I don't suppose you know what this is about."

"I'm not sure, I've noticed something strange happening the last couple of days since I've been here," Daredevil said. "Seems like there's some sort of gang to look out for in this city. I was a bit surprised, from the way Tony Stark and Princess Luna made it sound, ponies here were rude but not crooks. Something strange is happening."

"If that's true, then I need to hurry," Starlight said. "I have to find a young girl before it's too late."

"A missing girl?" Daredevil asked.

"Yes, a Pegasus filly named Cozy Glow," Starlight said.

"I'll do my best to find her then," Daredevil said. "Anything I should know about her?"

"Well she's has pink fur and a blue curly mane," Starlight said. "Does that help?"

"Somewhat, truthfully I had trouble distinguishing colors, but I can at least ask around," Daredevil said.

"Oh, are you color blind?" Starlight asked.

"I'm blind period actually, been that way since I was a boy," Daredevil explained.

"Wait, you're blind!? As in you can't see!?" Starlight asked.

"I can see, just differently," Daredevil explained. "I'll be happy to go more in depth later, but right now it's imperative we find this girl, she might be targeted by this gang."

"R-right, good point!" Starlight said. "Let's hurry!"

---

Elsewhere Nightcrawler was teleporting through the city, trying his hardest to find Cozy Glow. Despite his calm demeanor, he was greatly concerned for the whereabouts of this filly.

"I hope I find her, I could never forgive myself if something bad happened to her," Kurt quickly zipped around the city until he heard a scream. "That's not Cozy Glow, but someone still needs assistance."

He searched around until he spotted a mare with a blue mane and green sweater being backed into a corner. "Back away you brutes!"

"Hey you!" Kurt got their attention, quickly teleporting in with a kick to one's head. The others jumped in an attempt to dogpile the X-Men hero, but he quickly teleported out of the way, and continued to zip around, kicking everyone in sight, ending with an uppercut to a brute right into a dumpster.

"Wow, that was impressive!" the mare said. "You one of them superhero ponies?"

"Somewhat," Kurt said. "I am Nightcrawler, but you may call me Kurt."

"Blueberry Curls," the mare introduced. "Gracias amigo, that was really brave of you."

"It's nothing, I just did what anyone would do," Kurt said.

"You must me new here, ponies ain't exactly friendly in this city," Blueberry said. "Granted this is definitely new, never had a bunch of brutes gang up on me."

"That so?" Kurt eyed the KOed guys. Acting quickly he checked the dumpster and fortunately found a clothesline that he used to tie up the bad guys. "Are there any local authorities nearby?"

"I can call for some," Blueberry said.

"Do that, I have to go, there's a little filly lost out in the city," Kurt said.

"Oh my, can I do anything to help? Blueberry asked.

"If you could keep an eye out for her as well, maybe let the authorities know she's missing," Kurt said. "She's a Pegasus with pink fur and a blue mane, her name is Cozy Glow."

"Alright, you got it," Blueberry said, the two splitting up once again.

---

In another part of town, Jubilee is seen asking some ponies about the whereabouts of Cozy Glow, hoping one of them has seen her. Fortunately her luck seemingly took a turn for the better.

"Excuse me Miss, are you looking for a child? A small Pegasus perhaps?" Came the voice of Martin Li as the disguised villain made his way over to Jubilee. She could swear she's seen him before but she can't place her non-existent finger on it.

"Yes, have you seen anyone like that?" Jubilee asked.

"Why yes, she stumbled into my assistant not too long ago, she seemed rather distraught," Martin said.

"Oh, my poor little Cozy Glow," Jubilee said. "You gotta take me to her."

"But of course, this way if you would please," Martin said, leading Jubilee toward his building. "But do hurry, some strange activity has been going on as of late."

"Strange activity?" Jubilee asked.

"There are some shady ponies roaming this city, if we aren't careful, we might find ourselves in danger, now hurry along," Martin said, Jubilee following closely.

---

Back with The Student Six, the group searched high and low for Cozy Glow, Ocellus really putting in the most effort into finding the girl, including asking as many ponies as she could.

"Oh where could she be!?" Ocellus frantically looked around, leading her friends toward the edge of a park. "I should have kept a better eye on her."

"Don't worry, we'll find her," Sandbar reassured.

"Gotta say, this is the most I've seen you talk to others," Gallus said. "You must really be worried."

"Aren't you worried too?" Ocellus asked.

"Well, maybe, a little," Gallus said.

"Come on dude, Cozy's our friend, if you were lost she'd help look for you," Sandbar said.

"Sandbar right, Cozy Glow one of us, we search harder!" Yona declared.

"Let's hurry though, I don't want to get in trouble over this," Smolder said. She then noticed a few ponies glaring their direction. "Don't look now but I think we caught the attention of some of the locals."

"Huh?" Sandbar was about to turn when Smolder shouted.

"Don't look I said! They'll know we know about them," Smolder said.

"Wait, maybe that's a good thing, they might know where Cozy Glow is!" Silverstream said.

"Worth a shot," Gallus replied.

Silversteam turned to the ponies in question, "Hey, any of you seen a Pegasus filly? Pink fur and blue mane?"

"She's also got freckles!" Gallus said.

The ponies did not reply, they just ominously approached the group, worrying them a fair bit.

"They're creeping me out," Gallus said.

"What should we do?" Sandbar asked.

"Uh..." Silversteam looked around, "Let's just keep walking until we get to a more populated area."

"Good idea," Ocellus said, trying to step back with the others. Unfortunately a few of them teleported in front of the student six.

"We can't let you leave."

"Hey pal, you do NOT want to mess with us," Smolder warned.

Gallus considered his options, he could just fly off, maybe find a hero to help, or anypony who could, but that would risk leaving his friends behind. Plus there's some Pegasus ponies among this gang, they'll just fly after him.

"The trouble Cozy Glow puts us through," Gallus said.

"I'm warning you, stay back!" Smolder said. "I won't tell you again!"

"Get them!"

The moment one group lunged in, Smolder wasted no time breathing fire, stopping them in their path. Ocellus quickly jumped through the fire in cragidile form to collide against the opposing ponies.

The villains in the other side tried attacking but Yona rammed through them like a bowling ball through pins, leaving many of them dazed and open for Gallus and Silverstream to attack. One tried attacking Sandbar from behind but he jumped aside and kicked dirt at the pony's face, stunning him enough to deliver a headbutt.

"Ow!" Sandbar rubbed his head. "That actually hurts, why do heroes use that technique?"

This fighting did start to attract attention from other ponies, namely Elektra, the mare still trying to find Cozy Glow. "What in the world?"

A few more enemy ponies started to arrive, some of the unicorns blasting magic at the six. Ocellus quickly put up a barrier and then charged her own magic to zap the ponies while Silversteam and Gallus flew in to attack some more.

"We should leave! Maybe find one of those heroes to help!" Sandbar suggested.

"We need to make an opening first!" Ocellus said. "At the very least make sure they don't directly follow us, otherwise they might attack in a crowd of innocent ponies."

A few ponies tried flanking them, but fortunately Elektra had arrived, kicking one down and using the helm of her sai to punch the other.

This caught the attention of Silverstream, "Isn't that the mare that was talking with Trixie earlier?"

"Wow she travels fast," Gallus said.

Elektra turned to the students, "You kids! With me!"

"We're not kids!" Smolder said.

"Argue later! Go with the hero!" Gallus said, flying toward Elektra. The other ponies tried to attack but were no match for Elektra's martial arts skills, the talented ponies taking them down with precise strikes and kicks, using her sais in non-lethal ways to assist in her battle tactics.

"Wow she's good," Sandbar said, admiring this mare.

After knocking the last one out, Elektra turned her attention to the group of friends, "Are the six of you alright?"

"Thanks to you we are," Sandbar said, a hint of a blush on his face. "You're so awesome!"

"Yeah! We're so glad you showed up when you did!" Silversteam said.

"It's nothing, but I am impressed with you six, seems like you did a good job of fending them off," Elektra said. "How did this happen?"

"We don't know, one minute we're trying to find our friend, the next we got attacked," Silverstream explained.

"Friend? Is this related to that Pegasus that got lost somewhere in this city?" Elektra asked.

"Yes, our friend Cozy Glow," Ocellus said. "We were trying to find her!"

"You six are part of that class then, do your teachers know you went to find her?" Elektra asked.

"Well...no, not exactly," Silverstream said.

"I know you're worried about your friend, but sneaking away to find her isn't the answer, what if they find her and get back just to find six more students had left," Elektra said.

"I mean, we're practically adults, Cozy Glow is still a little girl," Smolder said.

"Regardless, I think it'd be best if I got you back to your class, I will look for Cozy Glow right afterwards," Elektra said. "Daredevil is out there as well, his powers make it easier for him to find a person, or a pony better said."

"Well you heard the mare, we'll leave Cozy Glow to her," Gallus said. "So can we go now?"

"But, what about Cozy Glow?" Ocellus said. "She needs as many ponies looking for her as possible!"

"Young girl, I know you're worried about your friend but you need to consider your own safety too, plus your teacher might have noticed you left, you're just going to cause them to be stressed out even more," Elektra said. "Now let's go."

The group followed after Elektra, including a very reluctant Ocellus, the changeling still keeping an eye out for Cozy Glow. Before leaving, Elektra signaled a nearby officer about the gang of ponies, allowing them to be taken in before they could escape again.

---

Elsewhere Daredevil is seen knocking another gangster pony back, Starlight using her magic to bound him.

"How long has this been happening?" Starlight asked.

"About a week," Daredevil said. "Everypony I've talked to about this has mentioned how unusual it was."

"That is odd," Starlight said. "Might be a pony mind controlling others. Or worse, a lingering villain from Earth."

"This world has been getting invasions from mine, correct?" Daredevil asked.

"Yes, though usually those invasions consist of a pony coming to our world and wreaking havoc, for a pony to work in the sidelines..." Starlight suddenly grew nervous. "It seems like something Loki would do."

"Loki? You think he might be behind this?" Daredevil asked.

"It's a strong possibility," Starlight said. "I should let Peter and Twilight know that."

"We'll do that first chance we get," Daredevil said.

"Starlight!" came Jubilee's voice. The two turned to see the excitable mutant making her way over with Martin by her side. "Oh, you're with Daredevil too! Neat!"

"Hey Jubilee, what's up?" Starlight asked.

"This pony found Cozy Glow!" Jubilee said, gesturing to Martin.

"She is in my office with my assistant, she's perfectly safe," Martin reassured.

"Oh thank Goodness," Starlight said. "So glad you found her."

"That takes care of that at least," Daredevil said. "And you say this pony found her?"

"Yes, his name is Lee," Jubilee said.

"An honor to make your acquaintance," Martin said, bowing to the two.

Daredevil couldn't help but find this guy's voice very familiar, in fact he could sense a lot of familiar things about him, but he couldn't identify for sure what it was, "Uh-huh...well if you don't mind, would you take me to her?"

"Certainly," Martin said. "This way."

After a few minutes, Martin had led his three accompaniers to his building, Jubilee looking pretty fascinated, "Wow, nice place."

"Xie-xie, Jubilee. I just started working on it with my assistant I believe we are making great progress," Martin said.

"Starting up a business?" Daredevil asked. "Of what may I ask?"

"Well my assistant is an aspiring fashionista, so I want to help her achieve that goal, and hopefully that success can lead to even more success and we can branch out into other endeavors," Martin explained.

"That's so neat," Jubilee said. "A fashionista, just like Rarity."

"She's mentioned a Rarity, said they had a falling out of sorts," Martin said. "I do hope that in time the two can learn to forgive one another, it's such a waste to bear grudges."

"Something I learned the hard way myself once before," Starlight said.

"What matters is that you took something from the experience, and I trust you know not to hold grudges," Martin said.

"I have friends now, they help me through my problems," Starlight said.

"Friendship is a wonderful thing, isn't it?" Martin said.

"Friendship is Magic!" Jubilee said. "That's what Princess Twilight would say."

"Sounds like a wise Princess then," Martin said.

"Oh she is, she's the one who opened the School of Friendship, and gave me a job there, which I absolutely love," Jubilee said.

"She's the one that Spider-Man married, correct?" Daredevil asked, this piquing Martin's curiosity.

"Yes, they're such a cute couple too," Jubilee said.

"That's nice, I'd love to hear more," Martin said. "I can be a sucker for romance at times."

"Oh me too, I'd love a guy like Peter," Jubilee said.

"Same," Starlight admitted.

Martin went to the other room, "Suri, Cozy Glow, if you could come this way?"

Suri was the first to step out, taking a look at the others, "Isn't one of those ponies a superhero or something? He's got a suit like Spider-Mane."

"I'm Daredevil, not sure if you've seen me around," Daredevil replied.

"Oh right, I think I remember you," Suri said.

Cozy was the next to step out, an immediately noticed her teachers, "Jubilee! Starlight!"

"Cozy Glow!" Jubilee rushed over and brought her in for a hug. "Oh my sweet little Cozy, I'm so glad you're safe!"

"Me too," Starlight said, feeling relieved. "At least we won't say we lost track of a student."

Jubilee broke the hug, turning on her worried and stern approach, "You had us worried sick Cozy, how did you get lost from us?"

"I'm weally sowwy about that," Cozy Glow said. "I just thought Stark Tower looked weally neat!"

"Is she baby talking?" Daredevil asked Starlight.

"She does that from time to time, personally I find it annoying," Starlight said.

"Yeah it would get annoying fast," Daredevil said.

Jubilee rubbed Cozy Glow's head, "I'm just glad you're safe at least, but please try not to do this again, I don't want anything bad happening to you."

"I pwomise," Cozy Glow said, hugging Jubilee. "Thank you for being there for me."

"It's no trouble," Jubilee said, hugging the filly back.

"Yeah, yeah, how cute, now if you're done, take her home or whatever already," Suri said. "This is a business, not a daycare center."

"Suri, please, be courteous to our guests," Martin said. He turned to the others, "I humbly apologize for my assistant."

"Partner!" Suri corrected. "We're business partners."

"My mistake," Martin said.

Starlight whispered to Daredevil, "What a nag."

"Uh-huh," Daredevil agreed.

"It's all good Lee, now we really should get going," Jubilee said. "Starlight, Daredevil, let's go look for Nightcrawler and let him know Cozy Glow's safe."

"Hopefully we can rendezvous with Elektra," Daredevil said, turning to his ear piece. "I'll contact her now actually, we still have that other matter to explain."

As the heroes left, Martin turned his attention to Suri, "So, did you and Cozy Glow have a nice conversation?"

"Believe it or not, that girl would have a lot of business potential, she's quite ambitious," Suri said. "We should try to nurture that."

"I wouldn't mind seeing her again," Martin said. "In fact, I wouldn't mind seeing any of them again, maybe we can make a trip or two to their hometown. Oh, if only I asked, I don't think I recall where Spider-Mane lives."

"Oh he lives in a town called Ponyville, along with Rarity," Suri said.

"Wonderful, let us make a business trip there soon, should be fun," Martin said, a bit of an ominous aura surrounding him. "A chance to see Spider-Mane up close, him and all his friends. Should be interesting."

"I guess," Suri said, making her way into the other room. "Time to get back to work."

"You do that, I have business of my own to attend to," Martin said, making his way out the store and toward an alley. Within moments, more ominous ponies started to surround him, Martin's eyes glowing as his body turned into a black void with white outlines. "Seems like you've all made quite the presence today. In time I expect our legion to grow stronger as we slowly dominate this city, and make all it's inhabitants subjects to our rule. It won't be easy, especially with the heroes of my world residing here, and the unknown threat of the Equestrian heroes. But that will only be a temporary problem, I have planned things out several steps in advance. Just like a game of chess, we will slowly knock off all the pieces before we reach our checkmate." Martin looked back down the alley, the direction the other ponies have gone. "And something tells me, our best piece here might be a Rook."

---

Later in the day, Twilight and Peter are seen waiting at the train station, during this Twilight was on a call with Sunset Shimmer, the girl broadcasting where she currently was.

"Exploring the Capcom world is such an amazing thing Twilight, I got to see Suzaku Castle, where Ryu trains," Sunset said. "And just recently I got a tour of Dante's business."

"That's great, I'm so happy you're enjoying yourself," Twilight said.

"Oh you bet I am, soon I'm going to see the BSAA Headquarters where Chris works, I might even get to explore the old ruins of Raccoon City," Sunset said.

"Is that safe?" Peter asked, chiming in.

"It should be, no traces of the T-Virus have been found, and even so, I'll have Chris with me, so it's safe," Sunset said.

"It's great to know you're having fun out there," Twilight said. "Where else are you thinking of exploring?"

"Chun-Li suggested Kamiki village, where the Sun Goddess of this world resides," Sunset said. "I also want to go to Doctor Light's Laboratory, see how Mega Man was made."

"Think he'll tell you?" Peter asked. "I bet it's top secret stuff."

"Well see," Sunset said. "Soon we're going to see other worlds, Ryu promised to take me to a King of Fighters tournament, and a King of the Iron Fist tournament."

"Well I hope you have fun," Twilight said, hearing an oncoming train. "I should go, I have to pick up the students."

"Wait, before I forget," Peter said. "Thor hasn't been around correct?"

"No, he's off looking for Loki, but I wouldn't be surprised if he tried recruiting for assistance from this world and Square, especially with that Sephiroth guy by his side."

"I'm also hoping he finds The Storm King, and that Tempest Shadow mare," Twilight said. "I tried getting a meeting day with Queen Novo, but she's taking forever to respond."

"We'll find them, you have the best heroes of Capcom and Square at Thor's request," Sunset said. "Who knows, he might even ask Goku for help, if he can get away from his farm. Boy was his wife unhappy, but at least his youngest son got a laugh out of it."

"Goku as a farmer, maybe he can be buddies with Applejack," Peter joked.

"He's quite good, he gave me a carrot, it wasn't bad," Sunset said. "Well Ill see you later."

"Bye Sunset, have fun," Twilight said, putting the communicator away. "So great that she's enjoying herself, now-" Suddenly she felt some pain. "Ow..."

"Benjy's kicking again?" Peter asked.

"He probably has your super strength," Twilight said, rubbing her belly. "I can't wait til he's out of my uterus, I love him but I can do without the kicks."

Peter rubbed her belly as well, "Be nice to your mommy Ben. No more kicking, save it for when Auntie Applejack wants help bucking apple trees."

"Applejack's going to teaching her own newborn foal that tradition," Twilight joked.

"Oh yeah, she sure is," Peter said as the train came to a complete stop. Within seconds, all the students stepped out, along with the four chaperones.

"Hey, welcome back!" Peter said. "Enjoy the trip?"

"Well, it was certainly eventful..." Starlight said.

"Anything happen?" Twilight asked.

"A lot..." Kurt said. "Peter, Twilight, we have something to tell you, it's pretty important."

"Uh, sure, what is it?" Twilight asked.

"We believe there's a type of gang forming in Manehattan," Kurt explained. "I saw some ponies trying to mug a poor mare."

"I had a run in with some as well," Starlight said.

"Daredevil and Elektra were there to help too," Jubilee said. "But they still proved to be dangerous."

"None of the students were hurt, were they?" Twilight asked.

"No, but some of them did put themselves in danger," Trixie said, gesturing to the Student Six.

"It wasn't intentional," Silverstream insisted.

Twilight sighed in annoyance, once again these six students were up to mischief, intentional or not they do get caught up in more trouble than she'd life, "Come with me, we'll discuss this at the school."

The Student Six seemed kind of nervous, hoping Twilight wouldn't be too mad. As they were about to follow her, Cozy Glow quickly ran over to Ocellus, nuzzling against her, "I'll vouch for you, I'll tell her you were just trying to help me."

"I appreciate that Cozy Glow," Ocellus said, nuzzling back. "I just hope she won't be too mad."

"Let's just hurry and get this over with," Smolder said.

---

Meanwhile in Canterlot, Tony was being given a report from Manehattan through an ear piece, "Hm, so a gang of some type huh? Thanks for the heads up Daredevil. You and Elektra took care of everything right...? You had help from Nightcrawler and Jubilee? Hm, well that's good, as long as they didn't do any...wait kids? Kids were fighting? Ugh, this is what I'm trying to avoid, I hope they weren't trying to go vigilante...You need more patrols? Yeah I suppose it is a big city, maybe I can get Night Thrasher or Jessica Jones to relocate there, or see if I can convince more heroes to come to Earth...Uh-huh, so you're suspicious of one of the ponies there? Give me some details and I'll have someone look into that. Appreciate the work, thanks, give Elektra my regards."

As Tony disconnected, Luna made her way over, "Is everything alright?"

"Not exactly, there was trouble in Manehattan today, and I think Twilight's students nearly got hurt," Tony said.

"Oh, was it resolved though?" Luna asked.

"Mostly, apparently some pony there is starting some type of gang, I'm gonna need to send more patrols to Manehattan," Tony said. "I also need to have a talk with some kids, they attacked some of the villains."

"Oh my, sounds reckless," Luna said.

"It was, went against some of The Rules of the Accords, namely the first three," Tony said. "Bet you can't name them in order."

"Rule One, all Superheroes must Register with Equestrian Royalty to do Superhero work," Luna began. "Rule Two, all registered heroes must be assigned to a city where they will do patrols. Rule Three, only registered heroes can do battle against a threat of any kind. Rule Four, Registered Heroes must be relegated to fighting in their own assigned town unless otherwise notified."

Tony looked amazed, a felt a bit foolish, "Pretty sure I said you only needed to guess the first three."

"I was on a role," Luna smugly said.

"Show-off," Tony muttered. "Anyway Nightcrawler fought them too but it sounds like he wasn't looking for trouble, he just happened to notice a lady in despair. I can let that slide."

"He has not registered yet, has he?" Luna asked.

"No, it might be hard getting some of the X-Men to do so, them and government rules never really mixed well, plus they already had to go through something like this on Earth," Tony said.

"What about the ones who want to be official heroes?" Luna asked. "Like Bobby Drake."

"Well since I have Peter and Angelica, it might persuade Bobby," Tony said. "Maybe Rarity too, The Elements of Harmony would make great additions to this after all, they are the original heroes of this world."

"I can help you with that," Luna said.

"Good, now I have more calls to make, hopefully I can get T'challa to at least lend us some Wakandan soldiers," Tony said, making his way to the other room.

"Lot of incoming changes, I hope Celestia is pleased with the work that Tony Stark is putting in," Luna said, then flew off. "Time will tell."

More changes needed to be made and rules needed to be enforced. The heroes continued to work to keep Equestria safe, unaware of some of the danger that still lurked about.

Heroes of Old

The following day, Cozy Glow and The Student Six were seen hanging out in front of the School of Friendship, still a little bummed from some of the unfortunate events from the previous day.

"I don't think I want to take another field trip anytime soon," Sandbar said.

"Hey it wasn't that bad, we got to see a Briddleway show at least," Silverstream said. "Good way to take our minds off the trouble we went through."

"The show wasn't even that good, so lousy trip and we got an earful from Twilight," Smolder said.

"Hey she could have been angrier, the only reason she wasn't that mad is because she understood the situation," Sandbar said.

"That and Spider-Mane was there to make sure she didn't fly off the handle," Gallus said.

"I'm sorry I put you all through trouble," Cozy Glow said. "But I really appreciate you trying to find me."

"Think nothing of it Cozy Glow," Ocellus said. "You would have done the same for us after all."

"Oh I definitely would have," Cozy Glow said. "Especially for you Ocellus."

"Alright seriously, what is it with your affection towards Ocellus?" Gallus asked. "I know she saved your life or something from that group that came after Timber-Wolverine but at this point it's just getting irritating."

"She's just being nice Gallus," Ocellus said. "I really don't mind it."

"And she did help us out yesterday when Professor Twilight gave us that lecture," Sandbar said.

"Well we did get in trouble because of her," Smolder said.

"Don't say it like that," Ocellus scolded. "None of you had to help me go find her, it was my choice to do so."

"And it was our choice to help our friend find a friend," Silversteam said. "So Gallus, Smolder, try not to be sourpusses about this. I mean yeah we did get in trouble, and yeah we ran into those mean ponies, but it worked out."

"Who were those ponies anyway?" Gallus asked.

"Whatever they are, I hope Daredevil and Elektra can handle them," Sandbar said.

"Spider-Mane might look into it as well," Ocellus said. "Nothing to worry about."

"Hey everyone," Came Jubilee's voice, the mare walking over to the seven friends.

"Jubilee!" Cozy flew over to hug the X-Men member. "It's so nice to see you!"

"I'm glad you're doing well, especially after that big scare yesterday," Jubilee said.

"Pfft, none of us were scared," Smolder said. "We could have totally roasted those ponies who came after us."

"Any update on who they were?" Silverstream asked.

"Not that I was told, hopefully Tony Stark has this under control," Jubilee said. "He apparently sent another hero to patrol Manehattan, which is a good thing, Ponyville doesn't need that many heroes since most of the best ones already live here."

"By the way, are you registered with this Superhero Accords thing too?" Ocellus asked.

"No, I'm not registered, which is fine, I'm more focused on being a teacher than an active superhero," Jubilee said. "Not that I wouldn't protect you if another villain showed up."

"Well I can't speak for the others, but I personally don't need protecting," Gallus said, buffing his chest. "I do appreciate the gesture though."

"You're so full of it," Smolder said, to Gallus's annoyance.

"Well you do seem like the strong type Gallus, and a strong guy needs confidence," Jubilee said.

"Uh, yeah, totally," Gallus agreed. "Glad you understand."

"Maybe one day you can be a Wonderbolt, you kind of look like one already," Jubilee said. "I bet you have the speed too."

"Hm, being a Wonderbolt might be cool," Gallus said. "I'll think about it."

"Did somebody say 'Wonderbolt'?" Came Rumble's voice, the Pegasus landing down near the group. "Sup?"

Cozy Glow immediately turned her attention to Rumble, hearts filling her eyes, "Rumble!"

"Oh, Rumble, what brings you here?" Jubilee asked.

"Heard there was trouble in the city yesterday, and that the students had their lives saved by Daredevil and Elektra," Rumble said.

"Not exactly what happened," Gallus said. "We did hold our own."

"Yeah, we weren't totally defenseless," Smolder said.

"Well I figured I'd come by to check on you, I mean I know what it's like to stare death in the face, I've been against my share of villains and each one was more dangerous than the last," Rumble said.

"The only time I've seen you go against a villain was that Magneto guy," Sandbar said. "And you got beat up pretty easily."

"I do remember you going after that other pony, think he was called Zero or something, the one that came with the group led by Timber-Wolverine's old enemy," Silversteam said. "You were brave there too but you didn't do that much."

"I still have more experience than you, haven't any of you heard of the Invasion led by the Capcom villains?" Rumble asked. "I was there, I saw the destruction they caused, I still remember the time one of those Capcom guys teamed up with an old enemy of Spider-Mane and destroyed this town."

"Oh yeah, I remember that too," Sandbar said. "Me and my family found a good place to hide, but our home got wrecked by that one pony's weird blast gloves."

"I remember Peter and Twilight telling me about that too," Jubilee said. "I can only imagine how terrible it was for this town."

"It was the worst, a lot of my friends got hurt, even Mayday got hurt," Rumble said. "The worst was
Apple Bloom, she was tortured by one of those guys."

"Golly, poor Apple Bloom," Cozy Glow said. "But Peter beat him up right?"

"More than that, he killed him," Rumble said. "We'll never have to see that creep again."

"Wait, Spider-Mane killed a villain?" Gallus asked "The same Spider-Mane who holds back because he doesn't want to kill?"

"I mean I don't know the full details, I just know that Peter tackled the guy off of the top of the castle at The Crystal Empire," Rumble said. "That guy was done, and then Twilight offed his friend."

"Even Princess Twilight?" Ocellus asked. "Honestly, I find that hard to believe."

"Hey you can ask Johnny Storm, or Rainbow Dash, even Lightning Dust," Rumble said, then thought that over. "On second thought, don't ask Lightning Dust, pretty sure she's still traumatized from what happened that day."

"You mean that show-off mare that lives with Professor Fluttershy?" Gallus asked. "That same mare that does stunt shows? She actually got traumatized by something? How bad were these guys?"

"It wasn't the villains that traumatized her, but I can't say more than that," Rumble said. This of course peaked everyone's interests, especially Cozy Glow.

"Well if you can't tell us that's fine, I hope we can find out someday," Cozy Glow said.

"You're better off not knowing, the truth can be hard to believe," Rumble said.

"How do you know all this stuff, were you there for all of it?" Gallus asked.

"Hey I was around for a lot of these fights, I remember one of the villains nearly killed Peter by punching right through his body," Rumble said. "Even if I wasn't there, Peter and Twilight told me a lot, I did live with them for a few months, I was their adopted son."

"You? Why did they adopt you?" Smolder asked.

"My brother was my legal guardian, but one day he rebelled against Peter and Equestria, and after that, Peter and Twilight took me in until Flitter and Cloudchaser were able to financially support me living with them," Rumble explained. "That Capcom Invasion really changed my life, for better and worse. But if just motivated me to get stronger, and soon I'll be able to not only join The Wonderbolts, but become an Equestrian Avenger, I'll be as cool as Peter and Johnny Storm."

"You seem pretty sure of yourself," Gallus said.

"Well like I said, I lived with Peter, he was like my personal mentor, still is to an extent, I am an honorary member of his family, Twilight saw me as a son, Mayday sees me as a big brother, I got to accompany Peter to the Apple Family Reunion since he's an Honorary Apple, even Trixie says I'm her favorite," Rumble said. "I was, no, I still am a Parker-Sparkle family member, and when Twilight's baby is born, I'll be like a big brother to him as well. Honestly if I could, I would live with them again."

"Why don't you?" Cozy Glow asked. "Don't they want you?"

"Of course, they hated seeing me go, and who could blame them," Rumble cockily admitted. "But that's the way it went, I still see them often, so I wasn't completely gone from their lives, if anything things might get better. My brother put aside his issues with Peter and now they've become friends, so now our families can be a lot closer."

"That sounds great," Ocellus said.

"Yeah, the only real problem is that Twilight hates the mother of my niece, but it's not like she and my brother are together, so we might not see her much," Rumble said.

"Even though she's one of the heroes patrolling this town," Jubilee said.

"Which I don't get, Black Cat isn't a hero to my knowledge, how did Tony Stark get her to patrol Ponyville?" Rumble wondered.

"Same way he got Elektra, she's not exactly a hero either," Jubilee said. "But being friends with Daredevil for several years probably rubbed off on her to be more of a hero and less of an assassin."

"That girl was an assassin!?" Gallus asked, freaking out a bit.

"Don't worry, not like she'll target you," Jubilee said.

"Unless you give her a reason to," Smolder taunted, stifling a laugh at Gallus's annoyed reaction.

"I am definitely not going back to Manehattan," Gallus said. "Weird pony gang and hero who's also an assassin, not digging this Accords thing so far."

"Give it time, Tony Stark is one of Peter's favorite heroes, he knows what he's doing," Rumble said. "I mean he already helped protect Equestria from other villains, like Loki."

"That's another thing, where is that Loki guy?" Smolder asked. "Didn't he escape with those other villains?"

"I'd like to know the whereabouts of The Storm King, when Queen Novo heard that he came back, I think it startled her," Silverstream said. "Rumor is she might do something drastic to protect her Kingdom."

"I can't tell you, I think that's confidential information that only heroes on the Accords can know," Rumble said.

"Well we know Thor's out looking for Loki, probably looking for the other villains too," Jubilee said.

"Doesn't Professor Wagner know anything?" Silverstream asked. "One of those villains is his mother after all."

"Well if he does, he hasn't told me," Jubilee said. "Either because he's not allowed to or he's too ashamed, I know how much he wishes that Mystique wasn't doing such terrible things."

"Well yeah, no one would be thrilled with their mother being a villain," Silversteam said. "But why is she a villain?"

"Similar reason to Magneto, they both felt out of place in human society and strived for change," Jubilee said. "It was not easy being a mutant back in my world, people like me would be judged for being born differently, and anyone who was a mutant had to register as one and be known to society. It made us easier targets for those who despised us and it was hard to fit in."

"Just like Peter when he first came here, once ponies found out he was a human, a lot of them looked at him differently, like my brother and a select few other ponies," Rumble said.

"Well we know what it's like too," Gallus said. "Still remember how much of a jerk that Neighsay pony was."

"Thankfully he backed off," Jubilee said. "But I feel like it's a bit more reluctant than actually accepting Twilight's idea."

"Hey, is that why you and Professor Wagner stay by us a lot?" Gallus asked. "Because we went through what you did?"

"In a way, I mean as a teacher I wouldn't play favorites, I always make time for a student who needs me," Jubilee said. "But I do feel your plight, thankfully not many ponies take issue with you being in this school, as it should be. Plus you're all pretty fun to be around and I enjoy your company."

"We like your company too," Yona said. "You good friend, really fun to be around."

"Same to you Yona," Jubilee said. "Why don't we go and do something, maybe find a game to play."

"Oh! How about buckball!?" Silversteam asked.

"I don't think I'm familiar with that," Jubilee said.

"From what Peter told me, it's what you on Earth call 'baseball'," Rumble explained.

"Oh, that I can play then," Jubilee said. "Wanna join us Rumble?"

"Mind if I get The Cutie Mark Crusaders?" Rumble asked. "The more the merrier after all."

"That sounds like a great idea," Jubilee said.

"Sweet, I'll meet you at the buckball field," Rumble said, flying off to find the girls.

Cozy Glow sighed in delight, "He's so dreamy."

"Uh, Cozy Glow, he does have a girlfriend," Ocellus reminded.

"I know, but I can't help it, he's the cutest pony in town," Cozy Glow said.

"It's nice to have a crush, just make sure you don't yearn for someone who might not, or rather should not return your affection," Jubilee said. "There are a lot of cute boys in town, I can help you find one if you want. Maybe I'll get lucky and find a guy myself."

"You're alright with dating a pony?" Gallus asked, this somehow getting Sandbar's attention.

"Well yeah, I mean I wasn't sure at first, but I have started noticing how attractive some of the ponies in town are, and seeing how happy my fellow X-Men are with their pony wives, I figured maybe I should find a guy myself here," Jubilee said.

"You'll find one soon Jubilee, you're super pretty after all," Cozy Glow said.

"Well aren't you sweet?" Jubilee said, rubbing Cozy Glow's mane. "Just like an adorable little sister." Jubilee turned to the other students, "You're all like my little brothers and sisters, I feel like we're such a big and happy family."

"Uh, right..." Sandbar said, somehow feeling dejected. This did not go unnoticed by Gallus, the griffon having some ideas on what's going through his head.

"Alright, take me to this buckball field of yours," Jubilee said, the students accompanying her.

---

Back in Canterlot, Tony was explaining some details to Vision and Rhodey, trying to map out a plan with them when he noticed Steve and Falcon walking by. "Hey Cap, going off somewhere?"

"Sam and I are going to Manehattan, we wanna look into this pony gang thing that those School of Friendship students encountered," Steve said. "We were hoping that Daredevil or Elektra could fill us in."

"Oh that's not necessary, they report everything to me," Tony said.

"Even so, maybe some extra perspectives can help," Steve said. "Won't take us long."

"Yeah, well here's the thing, you can probably go Steve since you're deputized to, but Sam really can't go right now," Tony said.

"And why can't I?" Falcon asked.

"You didn't register," Tony said. "You know the rules of the Accords Steve, gotta be registered to handle hero business."

"Stark, I work with S.H.I.E.L.D., isn't that enough?" Falcon asked.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. has no authority here, that'd be like if we went to Wakanda and assumed we could do whatever because we work for our own government," Tony said. "We'd still need King T'Challa's permission."

"Pfft, when have you ever asked for permission?" Falcon joked. "You always dive headfirst into a problem."

"And that led to more problems," Tony said. "See I'm trying to learn from my mistakes and I am hoping to make sure that everyone else learns from their mistakes too. We owe it to Celestia to make this work so that our friends and allies can enjoy the lives they've sustained in this world."

"What happens if you don't do this stuff?" Falcon asked.

"Well Celestia might start banishing people and I'd rather that not happen," Tony explained.

Falcon turned to Steve, "Will she really?"

"I honestly don't know, but I do not want to make her upset," Steve said. "Guess it's not a good idea for you to come right now Sam, maybe once you've registered, however long that will take."

"He might need to do a bit of reading," Tony said. "But if you really want his help, then I guess I can let this slide just once, afterwards Sam really needs to sign on to the registration if he wants to do hero work in this world."

"And what does registering do exactly?" Falcon asked.

"It just means you'll abide by the laws of this world, and if you break any of those laws, you'll have to deal with Celestia and Luna," Tony explained. "These ladies are probably about as strong as Thor too, so I'd watch my step. But you should be fine, I mean you don't seem like the type to cause trouble.

"Yeah, sure thing..." Falcon said, feeling unsure. "Alright if you don't mind then, Steve and I are off to Manehattan, but I'll definitely check out the registration stuff."

"Sweet, you do that," Tony said, doing his imitation of a gun-click motion.

"Yeah, I'll do that, hehe..." Falcon awkwardly walked off. "Weirdo."

Steve began catching up to Falcon, "See you in a bit Tony."

Tony waved bye to the duo, Rhodey trotting beside his long time friend, "You sure it's good to give Sam a pass?"

"He's an Avenger, so I think I can trust him, wouldn't you?" Tony asked.

"Of course I would, just make sure no one else finds out, or they'll want passes," Rhodey said. "That might be a quick way to completely lose control."

"You really think so?" Tony asked.

"If I may interject," Vison said, approaching the two. "I do understand Rhodey's point, but I also believe that Sam Wilson is a trustworthy man. You shouldn't have anything to worry about."

"Right, plus we're still new to the whole Accords thing, I think we can afford a little bit of leniency, just not too much, whatever's fair," Tony said. "Just don't tell Celestia."

"Come on, she's a nice mar, she's not going to care that much," Rhodey said.

"Indeed, now let us resume our plans to expand to the countries outside of Equestria," Vision said. "And hopefully persuade some of our allies remaining on Earth to join in our cause."

"Good idea," Stark said, trotting off. "Let's get to it."

---

At Ponyville's Library, Twilight was seen looking through some books in her room, soothing the baby in her belly and trying to get it to stop kicking so much. "I know you're eager to be born Benjy, but you have to be a little more patient."

"Hey, how's it going?" Peter asked, trotting over. "Benjy ready to come into the world?"

"Seems like it," Twilight said. "He kicks hard too, a bit harder than Mayday."

"That so?" Peter gently rubbed his wife's stomach, "Hey little guy, save the energy for when you're born, you'll have a lot more room to exert it."

"I just hope he does so in a not so chaotic way," Twilight said. "Something tells me he's going to be a wild little colt through."

"That almost sounds like fun," Peter said.

"Yeah, fun, until we have to pick up his mess," Twilight said.

"Hey we can handle it, we can handle just about anything when we work together," Peter said. "That includes raising children."

"Speaking of our children, did Susan and Franklin come by again?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, about five minutes ago," Peter said. "Franklin went to Mayday's room while Susan is waiting downstairs with Starlight, who apparently found some old book."

"And old book?" Twilight asked. "What is it?"

"I don't remember the name, but she started reading it in some weird language," Peter said.

"Weird language?" Twilight said, getting off the bed. "I have to go check it out."

Twilight went downstairs as Peter followed after. Down below Twilight took note of Starlight's book, the mare still reading in whatever language it was, Susan looking amazed.

"Wow, I had no idea you could read so fluently," Susan said.

"I'm not even sure if I'm reading it right, this hoof writing is really sloppy," Starlight said as she looked over the book.

"Starlight?" Twilight said, approaching the mare.

"Oh hey Twilight, need something?" Starlight asked.

"Yeah, may I see that book?" Twilight asked.

"Sure, it's Ye Olde Pony Latin though, not sure how fluent you are," Starlight said, presenting the book.

"Pony Latin? I've heard Twilight mention that language," Peter said.

"Yes, this is an older version of it," Starlight said. "I read a lot of old books when I was young, including magic ones, and I picked up on how to read and understand that language."

"You're better at it than me them," Twilight said, looking over the book. "I can barely make out the words. But what's interesting is that this book was written by Starswirl the Bearded."

"That guy you look up to?" Peter asked. "The one with the Time Travel spells?"

"Well he did a lot more than that, but yes, that same Starswirl," Twilight said, looking over the book still. "Starlight, did you find out anything interesting from this book?"

"Sort of, it mentions the Pillars of Equestria," Starlight said. "The names that popped up were Mage Meadowbrook, Flash Magnus, Rookhoof, Sonambula and Mistmane."

"Oh, I think I recognize some of those names," Peter said. "Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Rarity mentioned a few of them, saying they were tales told to them when they were fillies."

"Is there a lot about them?" Susan asked.

"Well one curious thing here is that they mentioned going on a quest, but nothing is written after that," Starlight said.

"That's strange, hope they didn't bite the dust," Peter said. "I mean, I know it was so long ago and they're probably not around anymore anyway, but still."

"If anypony has answers, it might be Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Rarity, and maybe discover some new stuff, or rather old stuff that hasn't been known about for so long," Twilight suggested. "Oooh, this is gonna be so fun Peter!"

"Imagine what this could even do for the future of Equestria," Starlight said. "Maybe we'll discover some old magic that can help the heroes."

"Maybe we'll find out about other dimensions too, I mean Sunset Shimmer had to have learned about this magic from somewhere," Peter said.

"Oh I wish Sunset Shimmer was here to see this," Twilight said. "She'd be so excited."

"How is she doing anyway?" Susan asked.

"She's doing great, exploring Capcom and soon other dimensions," Twilight explained. "I can only imagine the wealth of knowledge she'll bring back."

"If she can come back," Peter said.

"Hey it'll happen, I'd like to think that Princess Celestia will be alright with the Capcom portal and the Square Portal opening again," Twilight said. "And many other portals in the near future, multi-dimensional friendship!"

"That would be cool actually," Peter said. "Whether Princess Celestia will be alright with that is an entirely different story though."

---

Up in Mayday's room, the little filly is seen remotely controlling a flying device, showing it off to Franklin, "Cool huh? It's a prototype that daddy and I have been working on. Soon we'll get it to fly really fast, like a hoverboard."

"That's amazing," Franklin said. "What else have you invented?"

"This is mostly all I made, I haven't been able to work on a lot of other things," Mayday said. "Daddy hasn't been able to help much either since he's working on a new suit, one that he said is supposed to be really fast."

"Isn't he already fast?" Franklin asked.

"Yeah, but this one is supposed to be much faster," Mayday said. "I'd tell you more but I'll wait for him to unveil it."

"Are you ever going to make a suit?" Franklin asked. "Like your dad's? Or Mr. Stark's?"

"Eh, not sure, I don't really want to be a superhero," Mayday said. "But one of daddy's suits was messed up while fighting that Goku guy, maybe I'll fix it up for him, just to see if I can."

"Goku?" Franklin did briefly remember the Saiyan, who showed up during the villain Invasion. "Right, that guy. Still can't believe what he did with his hair."

"He was really strong according to daddy, and ruined his suit when they fought," Mayday said. "So I'm gonna fix it."

"If you could that'd be amazing, my parents were fascinated with that suit, or just about anything your dad worked on," Franklin said.

"Well is daddy really amazing when it comes to inventing, mom says that even if he stopped being a superhero, he can still save the world with his inventions, he even promised to build things with me as I got older," Mayday said. "Still, that suit is going to be tough to make, I don't suppose you're tech savvy."

"I usually leave that stuff to my parents, but I'lll try to able to help anyway I can," Franklin said.

"Good to know, if you're going to come to my house and be my 'playdate', might as well get some personal use out of it," Mayday said, her choice of words being a little hurtful to Franklin.

"I guess...but is it alright to work on this stuff? I mean, we're kids," Franklin said. "Unless you're older than you look or something."

"Well I'm seven, but I'll be eight in a couple of weeks," Mayday confirmed.

"Oh, so I'm actually a little bit older than you then," Franklin said.

"Don't think that means you have say over what I do, this is still my home and I have the intelligence of an adult, or most adults, I know I'm way smarter than Bobby," Mayday boasted.

"Well being smart isn't the same as maturity," Franklin pointed out.

"Watch it pal," Mayday warned, then shut down her machine, placing it on her table.

"What is that machine for anyway exactly?" Franklin asked.

"Something daddy was working on, and I just took over," Mayday explained. "He has mentioned that he wanted to be able to fly, so this will help him with that. It's also less clunky than his armor and with his natural sticking abilities, he can glide on this at fast speeds without falling off. This might actually be an improvement over that old armor."

"Can it shoot missiles or anything?" Franklin asked.

"If I want it too, though I don't see what my dad would need missiles for," Mayday said. "He has his webs, and he's doing incredible stuff with that as well. Uncle Johnny's powers made him want to create fire webs, and that loser Bobby made him interested in ice webs"

"What about electric webs?" Franklin asked. "Or acid?"

"Run those by my dad and see what he says," Mayday suggested. "Now I'm going to the lab, you can come but remember the three word rule."

"Three word rule?" Franklin asked. "What's that?"

"DON'T...TOUCH...ANYTHING!" Mayday warned. "If I catch you touching something you shouldn't, I'll kick your butt."

Franklin looked taken back by that, he didn't take too kindly to this little filly threatening to beat him up but she did look intimidating and he wasn't sure if she secretly had super strength, he never did inquire about her powers, assuming she had any, "Alright."

"Good, now follow me," Mayday ordered, leading Franklin toward the lab. Despite how off putting her attitude was, something about it did entice Franklin, almost admiring her spunk.

---

Later on Twilight, Starlight, Susan and Peter had made their way over to Rainbow Dash's house, where the mare was seen outside talking with her patents Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistle.

"Hey! Rainbow Dash!" Peter called, getting the mare's attention.

"Huh, didn't expect to see Peter here, or my sister-in-law, or anypony for that matter," Rainbow Dash said.

"What a nice surprise," Windy said. "Hello Peter! Hello Susan! Hello Princess Twilight! And hello...wait, who's that other pony?"

"My name is Starlight Glimmer ma'am," the mare introduced. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Same here, you may call me 'Windy'," the mother of Rainbow Dash said.

"I'm Bow Hothoof," the father introduced. "So what brings you youngsters over here?"

"We just needed to ask Rainbow Dash something, it won't take too long, and we'll try not to cut too much into your time with your parents," Twilight said.

"Don't worry about that, if you're all here then it's probably something important," Rainbow Dash said.

"We just needed to confirm something with you that you told Peter once," Starlight said. "He mentioned that you know of a pony named Flash Magnus."

"Oh yeah, that's an old story my parents once told me," Rainbow Dash said.

"It was her favorite story as a filly," Bow Hothoof said.

"Back before the Wonderbolts, there was a very elite team of Pegasus Ponies known as The Royal Legion of Cloudsdale who flew the skies to protect Equestria, and Flash Magnus did the most awesome thing," Rainbow Dash said. "He onc faced off against dragon, using only a Shield to block his fire while rescuing two of his friends!"

"Sounds very Captain America like," Peter said.

"You bet, he was probably the Captain America of Equestria back in the day with those skills, legend has it that his shield is still somewhere in the Dragon Lands," Rainbow Dash said. "Though is there a reason you wanted to ask about Flash Magnus?"

"According to an old book that Starlight translated, he was associated with Starswirl the Bearded, known as the Pillars of Equestria," Peter said.

"Wow, so Equestria might have once had it's own set of Avengers then," Rainbow Dash said. "I mean besides The Elements of Harmony."

"I don't suppose you know what happened to him?" Susan asked. "Anything you were told as a filly."

"Not really," Rainbow Dash turned to her parents. "Either of you two know?"

"From what I've read, he mysteriously disappeared one day, some say he was up against a foe so powerful, even he couldn't take him down," Bow said. He turned back to his daughter, "We thought it best if we left that part out when you were a filly."

"Yeah I get that," Rainbow Dash said, turning back to her friends. "That's all I got, hope that was of some help."

"It was, thanks," Twilight said. "We'll have to check in with Rarity and Applejack as well."

"Yeah, the book mentioned Rockhoof and Mistmane as well, I recall those two girls knowing that story too," Peter said.

"Oh yeah, I remember the three of us shared those stories with Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo at a young age," Rainbow Dash said. "They'll definitely have something to say."

"We better be off then," Twilight said.

"Same here, I gotta get to Wonderbolts HQ," Rainbow Dash said. "Though Johnny's taking long in there, probably trying to get Firefly settled in."

"Hey has Johnny talked about The Accords much?" Twilight asked.

"A few times, I mean since we're Wonderbolts, we're deputized to protect Equestria, at least according to Spitfire we are. She might personally assign us to various cities however," Rainbow Dash said. "But with my speed, I bet I can patrol all the cities at once."

"Eh, Tony would prefer once city per hero, but he's at least making sure each city is properly protected," Peter said.

"That reminds me, what about you?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Are you assigned?"

"Well Tony just asked me to keep an eye out in Ponyville, he's still trying to balance things out," Peter said. "That little incident in Manehattan did have him shifting some plans around."

"I just hope he knows what he's doing," Susan said.

"In the meantime, let's go see Rarity," Twilight said, then turned to Rainbow Dash. "We'll see you later."

"Tell my brother I said 'hi'," Susan said, leaving with the others as they too waved bye.

"Catch you later!" Rainbow Dash said, then turned to her parents. "Good thing you told me about Flash Magnus then huh?"

"Who would have thought that old story would likely turn out important?" Windy said. "The original Avengers of Equestria, how exciting."

"Yeah, The Avengers," Bow thought a moment. "You know, given that Celestia and Captain Equestria are starting their own group, maybe this old flyer should join, give a bit of expeience to them."

"Absolutely not!" Windy said. "You're retired remember?"

"I know, but I got some flight left in me," Bow said. "Plus, if Dashie here is a Wonderbolt, then it gives me a chance to work alongside my little girl."

"That'd be cool and all dad," Rainbow Dash said, not fully meaning it. "But mom's right, you're retired and you should enjoy life. Leave the hard stuff to me and Johnny."

"Right, hard stuff," Windy said, feeling a bit worried now. "Rainbow Dash dear, you are being extra careful right?"

"Of course, there's nothing I can't handle," Rainbow Dash proudly insisted. "Especially with Johnny by my side."

"Yes, I do believe you're capable and all, but...that doesn't mean you won't run into a strong enemy" Windy said.

"Are you still worried about what happened with Annihilus?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Remember, Johnny and I were the ones who took him down."

"I know but, just the thought of you being in danger from a monster like that, it worries a mother," Windy said.

"It's a risk that comes with the trade," Rainbow Dash said. "I know you'd rather I wasn't in something potentially dangerous, but somepony needs to help keep Equestria safe, and I have the power to do so. It's like Peter's always telling me, With Great Power comes Great Responsibility."

"I always liked that phrase," Bow said. "Windy, we should trust Rainbow Dash's abilities, and that Johnny will be by her side."

"What's this about me being by her side?" Johnny asked, flying down. "Sup in-laws?"

"Oh Johnny, we were just talking about the Accords and what you and Rainbow Dash do for our world," Windy said.

"You mean being a total hero?" Johnny said, smirking a bit at what he considers praise. "Yeah it's a gift."

"I just hope you're being careful out there," Windy said.

"Oh yeah, totally," Johnny insisted. "Nothing we can't handle."

"By the way, your sister was just here," Windy said.

"Sue? Was she looking for me?" Johnny asked.

"No, she was actually also with Twilight, Starlight and Peter, asking about Flash Magnus," Rainbow Dash explained.

"Flash Magnus? That guy from the story your parents told you when you were a foal?" Johnny asked.

"Yeah, exactly," Rainbow Dash said. "Apparently he was a bigger deal than we thought, part of his own hero group, The Pillars of Equestria."

"The Pillars?" Johnny asked. "Uh, that's an...interesting name. I mean, not as cool sounding as The Fantastic Four but pretty decent."

"Hey now," Rainbow Dash teased. "I know you're about being the best, just like me, but let's try to remember that these guys came before us and deserve a little respect."

"Hey I respect them, don't worry about that," Johnny said. "We can talk more on the way to HQ, Spitfire's probably waiting, and she isn't one for patience."

"Right," Rainbow Dash turned to her parents. "Keep an eye on Firefly for us, see you later!"

"Peace out!" Johnny said, flying off with Rainbow Dash.

"We raised one great daughter, didn't we?" Bow asked, Windy nodding in agreement.

"We sure did."

---

Later at Sweet Apple Acres, Twilight and company had caught up with Applejack, the mare explaining her story, "Yeah ah remember the story of Rockhoof, mah folks told me when ah was a young filly."

"What was he like?" Peter asked.

"Skinny little guy at first, wanted to join the Mighty Helm, a group of Elite Guards, but was too weak," Applejack said. "One day he bulked up and saved his village from an erupting Volcano, using only a shovel" Applejack said.

"So weak guy bulking up huh? Almost reminds me of The Hulk," Peter said.

"Well unlike our big, muscular friend, Rockhoof stayed bulked up, and remained in the Mighty Helm as one of it's best guards," Applejack said. "In fact, from what I've heard, he's got this big beard and long, wavey mane and an old fashioned way of speaking, so I'd say he's more like Thor."

"Either way it's fitting since he as apparently a Pillar of Equestria," Twilight said. "They all mysteriously disappeared one day, and we're trying to figure out why."

"Maybe it was a dangerous enemy, one so strong it wiped them out," Applejack said. "Ah mean, I'd hate to know if that happened but considering we're all safe, maybe it's a sacrifice that worked."

"That has me even more worried actually, what could have happened back then?" Twilight wondered.

"Does it matter?" Came Remy's voice. "It happened a long time ago, no use worrying about the past, focus more on the right now, that's my thing."

"Remy, if something bad happened in the past that resulted in great heroes disappearing, it could happen again," Twilight said. "We don't want to make any mistakes they did."

"She's right, this could be big," Peter said. "Come on, we still gotta check in with Rarity and see what she can tell us about Mistmane."

The group of four ponies left, leaving Applejack curious, "Ah do wonder what could have happened to Rockhoof."

"I just hope they don't awaken some ancient evil, I've seen first hand how that goes," Remy said. "Apocalypse was no joke."

"Maybe we can avoid that," Applejack said. "Twilight's got this."

"I hope so, you due any day now and I'd rather we not have to deal with more trouble until that baby is born," Remy said.

"Hey Twilight's just as pregnant and she's fine," Applejack said. "Anyway let's finish checking our supplies, Spring's coming soon and we want the farm to be ready fer more apples."

"Say I've been thinking, maybe we should do more than apples," Remy said. "I mean your mom was a Pear so maybe do something for her? Or even Oranges? Might be good to branch out more."

"Remy we've been over this, we're Apple Farmers, it's worked the last hundred years or so, and if it ain't broke, don't fix it," Applejack said.

"Right, sorry, just wanted to think outside the box, I mean we did struggle a bit in finance, what if ponies are just getting tired of only Apples?" Remy said.

"Ponies love our apples, ah can't think of a single pony that doesn't like Apple Family apples," Applejack said.

"What about Rarity's friend Strawberry Sunrise?" Remy asked.

"Alright when I say ponies ah mean ponies that matter," Applejack said, surprising Remy. "Look sugarcube, you got good ideas and it's great that you want to contribute, but let's just stick to what we know fer now. Our finance troubles is more for the repairs we had to make due to them villain attacks, that and us donating most of our supplies to ponies who need it. We're still good on bits, and it's gonna take more than a little finance troubles to put us at risk."

"Well if worse comes to worse, I can find another job," Remy said. "I got good people skills, it shouldn't be hard."

"That won't be necessary," Applejack said. "Trust me."

"You the expert," Remy said.

"Though, speaking of work, been meaning to ask," Applejack said. "You ever gonna consider them Accords that Tony Stark mentioned?"

"I did, but if I'm being honest, that ain't the life for me," Remy said. "This whole registration thing, it just gives me bad flashbacks to my childhood, back when folks like me had to let the world know I wasn't like most people. We in the X-Men never really saw eye to eye with any government, and while I like Celestia way better than the guys in DC, it just don't feel right to me."

"That's understandable ah guess, you do what makes you comfortable," Applejack said.

"If there's trouble, you know I'll still be here to protect you and the family, I don't need no dang law telling me to do that," Remy said.

"You yer own man," Applejack said.

"No, I'm your man, mon cherrie," Remy said, lifting Applejack's hoof to plant a kiss.

"Heh, such a charmer," Applejack said, blushing from the affection.

---

Finally Peter and company had arrived at Rarity's house, where she and Sweetie Belle were telling the story of Mistmane.

"She was a very beautiful mare who explored Equestria, helping to find the beauty in everything," Rarity said.

"But when she came back home, she heard that her best friend Sable Spirit was oppressing her village, so she challenged her to a magical duel," Sweetie Belle said.

"In the end, she sacrificed her beauty to save not only her town, but her friendship with Sable Spirit, and helped her become a better pony," Rarity said.

"Hearing the story of Mistmane is a good reminder that beauty is on the inside, not the outside," Sweetie Belle said.

"I know a certain Capcom ninja who could use that lesson," Peter said. "I mean he's dead so it doesn't matter but, still."

"Peter, you probably shouldn't talk about that subject near Sweetie Belle," Twilight suggested.

"It's fine, I know what happened with Vega wasn't ideal, and that he was a creep," Sweetie Belle said. "A handsome creep, but still a creep nonetheless. Still can't believe he tricked me like that, I should have known a pony like him just wanted power and girls by his side."

"Well it was a nice story you told Rarity," Susan said. "Thank you for sharing it with us."

"It's no trouble dear, I am always happy to tell the story of Mistmane, it's my absolute favorite," Rarity said.

"We actually found out recently that she's friends with Starswirl and they were part of a group of heroes called 'The Pillars of Equestria'," Peter said.

"But she mysteriously disappeared, and we want to find out why," Twilight said.

"Hm, well I hope you find the answers you're looking for," Rarity said.

"We will once we find out about Sonambula and Mage Meadowbrook," Twilight said.

"Mage Meadowbrook?" Sweetie Belle said. "You should ask Zecora."

"Huh? Zecora? You think she might know?" Peter asked.

"Well yeah, see Apple Bloom once told me and Scootaloo that Mage Meadowbrook was an inspiration to Zecora to try motions, to prove that even non-unicorns can do magic," Sweetie Belle said. "If you find Zecora, she might be able to tell you more about Mage Meadowbrook."

"Alright, thanks Sweetie Belle," Twilight said, then turned to her friends. "Let's hurry and...ow..."

"You alright Twilight?" Peter asked, checking on his wife.

"I'm fine, guess all this running around has made me tired," Twilight said, feeling her stomach. "Oooh, that kind of hurts actually."

"Twilight, is it your baby?" Susan asked.

"N-no...it can't be," Twilight said. "It's just a..."

"Twilight, let's get you home," Peter said. "All this running around isn't good. We can ask about the remaining Pillars another time."

"But I need to know..." Twilight started to feel a bit nauseous and suddenly hurled all over the floor, surprising everypony.

"Oh my!" Rarity shouted in dismay.

Twilight wiped her mouth, turning to her friend, "I'm so sorry, I don't know what happened."

"It's fine, I can clean it up," Rarity said. "But you really should get home dear, for your own health."

"Fine, I guess I can do that," Twilight said, still feeling nauseous.

"I can give you a ride if you want," Susan said.

"That'd be nice, but how?" Twilight asked.

In an instant, Susan had summoned a flat forcefield under Twilight, lifting the mare up. "How's that?"

"That's nice, thank you Sue," Twilight said.

"Just let me know if you're feeling nauseous again," Susan said.

"You girls take Twilight home, I'll go pick something up to help her stomach," Peter said, making his way out.

"Oh Peter, you don't need to do that," Twilight said.

"I don't need to, but I want to," Peter said as he left. "I'll meet you back home!"

"Thank you, Peter," Twilight said, still feeling a bit sick. "This is so unfortunate."

"We got some stuff done today at least, we'll take that as progress," Starlight said.

---

As this was happening, in Manehattan, Babs sees is seen walking with her Aunt and Uncle Orange, when on the way they were suddenly pulled into a dark ally by some ponies in sunglasses.

"Hey what gives!" Babs shouted.

"Quiet!" one warned.

"Please, we'll give you anything, just don't hurt my wife or niece," Uncle Orange said.

"Sounds like you're giving us permission to hurt you then," a pony said, cracking his hoof. "In that case, let's have some fun and-"

Suddenly he was hit from behind with a shield. The other pony turned and took a kick to the face from a talon.

Babs looked up to see the heroes who saved them, "No way..."

Standing before them was indeed, Steve and Falcon, the former checking on the ponies, "Are you three alright? Any injuries?"

"No sir, thank you," Aunt Orange said.

Falcon checked on the guys, "These must be the gangsters that have been causing trouble."

"Then we got here just in time," Steve said. "Sam, help me tie them up, we'll get them to the local authorities."

"Got it," Falcon said, grabbing some restraining rope.

"I'm happy to see you both, but what brings you to Manehattan?" Babs asked. "Is it these guys?"

"Yes, see yesterday some students from Princess Twilight's school were caught up in some trouble and ponies like them were described as being the aggressors," Steve said.

"We came to town to see if we can gather intel, or see if either Daredevil or Elektra had any new intel," Falcon said. "That's when we spotted you three."

"Well thanks for the help, we owe you one," Babs said.

"No it's fine, our job is to protect you, so your safety is worth more than 'being owed one'," Steve said.

"Well still, thanks," Babs said. "Hopefully we can get home before we run into more of them weirdos."

"Sam, mind escorting them?" Steve asked. "I'm gonna go find Daredevil and Elektra, after I drop these ponies off with the local authorities."

"You got it," Falcon said, turning to the family. "Let's get you three home."

"Thank you so much," Aunt Orange said, leading the Apple Family relatives toward their home.

Steve started taking the guys to the station, though not without wondering more about them, "How can a gang of ponies suddenly start? Was this the result of Loki's Invasion? Are they working with The Storm King? What could it be?"

Meanwhile in Tartarus, most of the unfolding events are being observed by Discord, who was in the company of The Dazzlings, Shocker, Mysterio and Electro.

"Seems like Twilight is looking for answers regarding the old Pillars of Equestria," Discord said. "Oh I do wonder if she can solve that little mystery."

"Damn Pillars, I won't forget what they've done to us," Adagio said, bitterly remembering her banishment.

"What happened to them anyway? I mean it seems like they've been gone forever," Shocker said.

"Gone, yes, but not in a permanent sense," Discord said. "If Twilight continues her path, we might see the return of legends."

"That's fine with me, I'll be able to take some revenge," Adagio said.

"But how strong are they? Like would it be trouble for us?" Shocker asked.

"You need to have more faith in your team Herman," Discord said. "Once you have that, you can accomplish anything."

"Even Goku?" Sonata asked.

"Yes, even Goku," Discord said, using his orb to show off a Kai of Universe 11. "I believe our friend Zamasu is on the move, might be something truly amazing."

"You expect this guy to join us?" Shocker asked, looking a bit unsure and distrusting.

"Well I might need Loki's help, but within time, he should make a nice little member to our little group," Discord said.

"How much longer before the grand invasion?" Electro asked.

"About a year, give or take," Discord said. "Won't be long now til you all make your grand appearance as...Discord's Deviants."

"...No, we're not going with that," Adagio said.

"Huh? But it's clever," Discord said.

"We're not your 'Deviants', we're our own ponies, or humans as ponies, or sirens as...dammit you know what I mean," Adagio said.

"Well what would you prefer then?" Discord asked.

"How about The Sinister Squadron?" Electro suggested.

"Ooh, that might work," Adagio said.

"Can we at least vote on it?" Discord asked.

"Fine, let's round everyone up," Adagio said. "No one's picking your name though."

"We'll see about that," Discord said. "But first thing's first."

Using some magic, Discord had reached into Marvel Earth, trying to find what he was looking for, "I know you're around here."

"Hey be careful! Can't Celestia sense that now?" Shocker asked.

"It's hidden better in this place, but only if I'm quick about!" Discord said. "Aha!" Using his magic, he brough over a man unfamiliar to this world.

"Where am I?" the guy asked, looking around. "Who are all of you?"

"Settle down now," Discord said. "You're with friends. Oh, let me speed something up for you." With a snap, the man in question turned into a pony, "There, now you fit in."

"Hey what's happening!?" The guy said, looking around and spotting Shocker, Electro and Mysterio, "Wait, you look like some of the crooks from New York! The guys Spider-Man fights!"

"Wait I know him," Shocker said. "That's The Winter Solider!"

Indeed it was the best friend of Captain America, The Winter Solider, Bucky Barnes.

"Are you casting him into our production Discord?" Mysterio asked.

"Casting me?" Bucky asked. "I don't know what you're up to but-"

"Yeah hold that thought," Discord said, trying to send a message. "Mmhmm, mmhmm, good, you're ready then? Excellent."

"Hey who are you talking to you-" Bucky was suddenly transported away.

"Uh, what just happened?" Adagio asked.

"You'll see," Discord said, gesturing to the screen.

---

Bucky landed in Manenattan, feeling very confused, "Something strange is going on, where-" Suddenly something strange was happening as his mind started warping. Bucky fell down, holding his head as his mind started transferring inside out.

Standing near Bucky was the fully negative Martin Li, or as he was better known as in this persona, Mr. Negative.

"Welcome to Equestria, your friend Captain America is waiting, you should go to him," Martin said, sinisterly laughing as Bucky was fully taken over by the Negative Force.

Reunion in Manehattan

At the Parker-Sparkle home, Twilight laid in bed, still feeling a bit sick from earlier, the mare taking more out of herself than she expected to. Peter of course stayed by her side, wiping her head with some tissues.

"You really wore yourself out today," Peter said.

"I'm fine, I'm just a little tired," Twilight said.

"You nearly collapsed out there, you should take it easy for a bit, at least wait til the baby's born before you go out looking for info on older civilizations," Peter suggested. "Starswirl and his friends can wait."

"You make a good point and I should follow your advice," Twilight said. "But this type of thing is hard for me to put aside, the chance to learn more about the pony I admire most is too grand to put on hold."

"You're gonna have to work on that willpower then," Peter said. "You stay here for now and don't exert yourself. I'll go grab you some mineral water in the meantime."

"I appreciate that," Twilight said as she laid back in bed. "You know the kind I like right?"

"Regular," Peter said as he made his way out the room.

"He's so attentive," Twilight said, then rubbed her pregnant belly. "Maybe I should take it easy a bit, I'm due any day now after all. Still, this is a big chance for me, and the wait is going to be torture. Oh what to do..."

---

Meanwhile in Manehattan, both Steve and Falcon had reunited, Falcon having gotten the family to safety and Steve taking the villains to the proper authorities.

"Got rid of the bad guys Cap?" Falcon asked.

"Yes, I brought them to a police carriage, what about that family?" Steve asked.

"They're good, not the first time they've seen danger, apparently one of them even knew Spider-Man," Falcon said. "The little girl, she said he's a fellow 'Cutie Mark Crusader', whatever that is."

"Cutie Mark...oh right, that group Applejack's little sister started when she was younger," Steve said.

"She mentioned an Applejack too, and she also seemed to know Gambit," Falcon said.

"That girl might have been one of the Apple Family relatives, which means Gambit is essentially an in-law to her," Steve said. "Wow, small world."

"Well let's move on, we still gotta find Daredevil or whoever else is here," Falcon said, the two walking down the street.

As the two strolled through the streets, unbeknownst to them, one figure seemed to be tailing them, one who knew the two pretty well, especially Steve.

Falcon took in the sights, noticing how similar the city was to Manhattan. "It does kind of look like New York, but the fact that there's those horse pully things instead of cars makes it look so old fashioned."

"It is interesting that ponies don't use cars, but when you have Unicorns that can teleport, Pegusai that can fly and Earth Ponies with their natural strength and endurance, a car is not that needed," Steve said. "Though the horse carriages and chariots are a good indication that they do need some form of travel, but cars are not that form."

"I'm surprised that Stark hasn't tried bringing that over to Equestria by this point," Falcon said.

"He has probably tried to," Steve said. "I do remember him mentioning it to Princess Celestia, but she turned it down, saying it was pointless, and that Equestria lacked the proper resources to support cars anyway."

"I can't even imagine a pony driving a car," Falcon said. "That would just look plain weird."

"Ponies are more capable of human things than you might think," Steve said. "I wouldn't be surprised if some of them were capable of bipedal walking or standing, though the only Equestrian born pony I've seen do that was Pinkie Pie."

"Who's she?" Falcon asked.

"Local baker in Ponyville, has a wacky pink poofy mane, super excitable and is married to Deadpool," Steve explained.

"How the hell could someone marry Deadpool?" Falcon asked. "I mean, it's freaking Deadpool."

"Well like I said, she's a bit wacky, not to say she's not a good judge of character and believe it or not, Deadpool has been a great husband for her," Steve said. "He's a strange man but he is incredibly loyal and faithful to his wife, and that's all that should matter in a man."

"Man this world really is magic if miracles like that can happen," Falcon said.

As they walked up the street, they heard some fighting in an ally, moving quick they spotted Daredevil knocking some guys out while Elektra held a sai to one pony's neck.

"Who are you working for!? Who's your boss!?" the former Hand member threatened.

"If I told you he'd come after me!" the pony pleaded.

Elektra was having none of this, she lightly pressed the point against his neck, "You have more important things to worry about."

"Elektra, take it easy, we're not here to kill them, we just need answers," Daredevil said.

"Yes well..." Elektra then happened to notice the new company present. "Captain America? And is that Falcon?"

"Huh?" Daredevil turned to the two Avengers. "This is a surprise, did Stark send you?"

"No, I came here on my own free will," Steve said. "Looks like you're having trouble getting them to talk."

"They're stubborn alright," Daredevil said, looking over an unconscious pony. "But something about them is very familiar, like I've encountered this before."

"Hey someone get this crazy mare off me!" the gangster pony pleaded.

"Elektra, if I may," Steve said.

"He's all yours," Elektra said, throwing the pony to Steve. "Good luck getting him to talk though."

Cap stood over the pony, somewhat intimidating him but also trying to show a bit more openness, "Listen, if you tell us any information we need to know, I will personally guarantee your safety. No one has to know you said anything, just be straight with me. Tell us who you're working with."

"I...really can't answer, it's some weird pony who looked like a black void," the pony said. "I swear that's all I know."

"Black void?" Falcon repeated, looking confused. However that did ring some bells for Daredevil and Elektra.

"This black void pony, does he manipulate emotions?" Daredevil asked.

"I don't even know what he does, it's some weird freaky magic, like I've never seen in this world!" the pony said.

"Thanks," Steve said, then knocked the guy out with his shield. "This information will be very useful to us."

"Black void pony?" Falcon asked. "Is that normal here?"

"Maybe not, but I think I may have figured out who might be behind this, and if it's who I think it is, then that means there's been another dimensional breach between this world and ours," Daredevil said.

"And Celestia will be very displeased, let's rectify this situation before it gets worse," Cap said.

"Daredevil! Elektra!" came another voice. Skating in was Night Thrasher, the hero from Stamford riding in and encountering the new guests.

"Oh good, you're here," Daredevil said.

"Just in time, see..." Night Thrasher noticed the two Avengers. "Is that Captain America? And Falcon?"

"That's us, good to see you again," Steve said. "I'd love to catch up but for now, do you have any useful information for us?"

"Right, I saw a few more of those ponies, but this time they seemed to be glowing for some reason," Night Thrasher said.

"That common in this world?" Falcon asked.

"Not really, unless it's a Unicorn casting a spell," Steve said, then focused back on Night Thrasher. "Take me to them."

"You got it Cap," Night Thrasher said, leading all the heroes away as Bucky continued to follow from a distance.

---

From his office, Martin Li looked through a window across the city of Manehattan, taking in the sight of all the ponies roaming the streets, some using carriages to travel.

"So many ponies to control, so many ways to build our empire..."

Martin shook his head, trying to expel the evil thoughts, "That's enough out of you Mr. Negative."

"Oh don't act so self righteous, you know you want this power, that's why I exist, I am your desires manifested."

"Get out of my head!" Martin shouted. "Away with you demon!"

"So long as your desires remain, I shall keep my power over you..."

"You have no power over me, I control my own fate!" Martin shouted, trying to shake Mr. Negative away. "I control it! Not you!" He turned around in a huff and surprisingly saw Suri standing there with a list.

"Do I even wanna know?" Suri asked, feeling a bit suspicious.

"Apologies, I am just very stressed out," Martin said. "Worries over this new gang has me filled with doubt."

"Well we have heroes working here don't we?" Suri said. "If they do their jobs then we should have nothing to worry about."

"You have faith in them?" Martin asked.

"I mean, I guess I should since they're suppose to keep us safe, though it is strange how this gang appeared just when the heroes got assigned to this city, seems kind of fishy if you ask me," Suri said.

"Do you believe they had something to do with all of this?" Martin asked.

"I mean, I wouldn't be too surprised, I bet this is all one big publicity stunt to push this Accords thing I heard about," Suri said. "Something about Tony Stark comes off to me as completely arrogant and likely devious enough to try this."

"What makes Stark so different than us anyway? What makes any of these so called heroes different? They yearn for control even more than we do."

Martin shook his head to focus on Suri, "I can't say for sure, I don't know Mr. Stark well enough to judge."

"I gotta teach you to see through people Lee, sometimes you're way too nice," Suri said. "Not good business etiquette."

"A little Kindness goes a long way," Martin said.

Suri rolled her eyes, "You get that from Rarity's goody little friend Fluttershy? The Element of Kindness as they call her?"

"You do not seem very fond of this Rarity pony, perhaps you should put your differences aside, and don't focus so much on the negatives," Martin said, feeling strange as he admitted that.

"Yeah, I'll consider it," Suri said. "Anyway I came by to let you know that some investors are here to help spread out our business."

"Oh wonderful, I shall meet you momentarily," Marin said.

"Sounds fine with me, just as long as you sort out whatever...that was you just had," Suri said.

"Yes, of course," Martin said, feeling a bit embarrassed. "I won't let you down."

---

As the two went to meet with the investors, things were getting more intense in the city. The heroes had encountered the gang of ponies that were bothering the civilians.

"Let's settle this quick!" Steve said, grabbing his shield and tossing it at one pony's head. Falcon flew in with a kick to another, Daredevil used his rod to knock a couple back as Elektra swooped in with a double kick. Night Thrasher rode in and performed a jumping dive kick off his skateboard to one, landing back on his skateboard right afterwards.

"My balance in getting better at least," Night Thrasher said.

This continued for a bit more until all the ponies were knocked out, except one who tried crawling away. Elektra tossed her sais near him, causing him to freeze in place as the other heores surrounded the last of the pony gang members.

"Start talking," Daredevil warned. "Who are you working for?"

"I won't talk, I'd rather die than betray my brethren," the pony said.

Elektra pulled her sai on the ground, "I can help you with that last part."

"Elektra, enough," Steve said, then focused on the pony. "Look, I don't know why you're behaving like this but even as a non-native I can tell this is unnatural, why don't you just cooperate and we'll have this all straightened out and ponies in this city can go back to living peacefully."

"There is no peace, only misery, Friendship barely reaches this city, you think it's a surprise that some of us decided to rebel and remold the city under his leadership!?" the pony said.

"Who's leadership?" Steve asked. "Explain!"

"Our master," the pony said, causing some frustration for the heroes.

"How about some specifics!" Falcon said warned. "Enough with this vague crap, it's getting on my nerves!"

Within seconds, more ponies came to attack but the five heroes quickly dispatched of them as the one they were interrogating escaped.

"After him!" Steve ordered, the five in hot pursuit down the streets of Manehattan.

As they moved through the city, Steve ordered a halt, confusing the heroes beside him, Falcon being the first to speak up. "What's up Cap?"

"That pony..." Steve gestured ahead. "Does he look familiar to you?"

Falcon looked ahead as well, same with the others, "Kind if, is that..."

Stepping forward to the group of heroes was of course Bucky Barnes, aside from his distinguashable front left leg being metal, Steve would instantly recognize his best friend just about anywhere, but something seemed different about him.

"Bucky, what are you doing in Equestria?" Steve asked. "Did Tony send you?" Bucky had no immediate response, aside from getting in a fighting stance, to the confusion and worry of his friend. "Bucky? What's wrong!?"

"Hey you recognize us, don't you?" Falcon asked. "It's Steve and Sam!"

"Don't forget about us," Night Thrasher said.

"Something's off about him," Elektra said. "Be ready for a fight Captain."

"A fight?" Steve asked in confusion. He tried getting through to the Winter Solider again, "Bucky! It's us! Do you recognize us!?"

"Of course, you're my targets for today after all," Bucky said, whipping out his assault rifle. "Sorry Cap but it's just business."

"Did your ass get mind controlled again!?" Falcon asked in annoyance. Bucky opened fire, all five heroes dodging out of the way before taking a hit. "Like clockwork!"

"Daredevil, Elektra, Night Thrasher, go after that pony, Falcon and I will deal with Bucky," Steve said.

"None of you are escaping!" Bucky said as he grabbed a grenade, tossing it at the ponies again, though Steve was quick to whack it into the air, completely out of danger. He threw his shield at Bucky, knocking him in the face and stunning him briefly.

"Let's move!" Daredevil said, quickly trotting off with his allies.

Bucky recovered and attempted to pursue them but Falcon rushed in and kicked Bucky down, "Gonna knock some sense into you!"

Bucky tried to attack but Steve was quick to grab his shield and whack Bucky. As he went for a second strike, Bucky whacked the shield out of his hooves and punched Steve back. Falcon flew in to attack again but Bucky jumped out the way and landed a strong blow, knocking the flying hero through a building.

Bucky lunged himself into the air and tried to slam a punch down on Steve, but the experienced hero rolled out the way and delivered a jumping back kick to Bucky's face and then rammed him into a telephone pole, knocking the whole thing over and landing on an empty taxi cart as the loose cables began sparking near a building.

Bucky kicked Steve back and went for another punch, but Steve was quick to dodge and judo throw his old friend through a mailbox. Falcon swooped in and grabbed Bucky, lifting him into the air and dropping him on top of some garbage cans.

"Think we'll get him to talk?" Falcon asked as Steve made his way over.

"About to find out," Steve said, approaching his friend. "Bucky, I don't know what's gotten into you but you have to snap out of it!" Bucky shook off the cobwebs and immediately lunched at Steve, the hero sidestepping and knocking him down.

"Think it's Hydra?" Falcon asked. "Or magic from this world?"

"I don't know who in this world would want to corr..." Steve remembered something. "Discord..."

"Discord?" Falcon asked.

"He's basically the Loki of this world, a being of chaos," Steve said. "He might be the one controlling Bucky!"

"Not quite..." came a voice. "But you're close dear Captain."

"Is that you Discord!?" Steve asked. "Show yourself!"

"I still got a lot to learn about this world it seems," Falcon said, looking around for the voice. "Was that suppose to be Discord?"

"What did he mean by close?" Steve asked.

"All I heard was that he had something to do with this, let's find him and beat the answers out of him," Falcon said.

"It's not that easy, remember he's as tricky as Loki, he'd be hard to track down," Steve said, as he pulled Bucky up. "Look let's just find a way to-"

Bucky immediately pulled away and punched Steve into a fire hydrant and then back hoofed Falcon, stunning him long enough to punch him down the street, right past some panicking ponies.

"I won't be taken in by you!" Bucky turned back to his old friend. "We're going to end this Steve!"

Shaking off the dizziness, Steve pessimistically glared at Bucky, "Why can't this ever be easy?"

---

Downtown the trio of heroes led by Daredevil were still in pursuit of the one pony, unfortunately he seemed to have vanished that not even Daredevil's radar could find him.

"Well he's blended in," Daredevil said. "We were finally getting somewhere too."

"What was The Winter Solider doing in this city anyway?" Night Thrasher asked. "Think he's connected to all this somehow?"

"That raises a good point, these ponies we've been rounding up could be mind controlled," Elektra said. "When Daredevil and I checked the precinct they were taken too, many of them seemed unaware of what they had done."

"Which means if we don't get to the source of the problem fast, this city's going to fall apart," Daredevil said.

"Between the three of us, I think we can figure it out," Night Thrasher said.

"Yes I think so as well, we just need to find the right clues," Daredevil said. "For now we'll keep searching."

"What about Captain America and Falcon?" Elektra asked. "Should we go back to help them?"

"I think they can handle one man, or pony rather, we have a bigger focus," Daredevil said.

"Excuse me! Hero ponies!" Came the voice of Manehattan resident, Blueberry Curls. "I just saw a group of them gangster ponies gathering near a building a few blocks down, I think they're up to something."

"Can you describe the building?" Elektra asked.

"It's like an old building that they're revamping or something, think it's bringing in clothes and stuff," Blueberry said. "Been under construction for a while, think it started around the time heroes first started coming to this city."

"That's interesting..." Daredevil said. "Come on team."

While Daredevil led his group to this new location, back with Bucky, the mind-controlled hero was still fending off attacks from both Steve and Falcon. Bucky had uppercut Falcon away however and engaged solely with Steve.

"I know you're in there somewhere Bucky! You need to snap out of it!" Steve urged as he blocked some strikes.

"Just fight me!" Bucky shouted, trying to go for a punch. "It's nothing new! We're probably just destined to do battle!"

"What? No!" Cap parried a punch and hit one of his own. "We're not rivals Bucky! We're friends! I don't want to fight you!"

"Come on Steve, we both know out of the two of us, I was the disgrace," Bucky said. "You went on to be a hero, leader of The Avengers and loved by everyone, even Royalty, while I barely scrapped by as the guy who could have brought everything to ruins!" Bucky punched Cap through the glass of a diner, the ponies running out the back in fear. "We both know I can never be the hero you are, my past is enough of an indication to that."

"That's not true Bucky," Steve said as he stood up. "It's never too late to want to be better. It worked for so many others, in our world and this one. You can't change the past but you can change your future, is this the future you want for yourself?"

"Huh?" Bucky had a moment of realization, though struggled to accept it as he still felt some resentment toward Steve. "I...I can't!"

"You mean to tell me you're fine being someone else's puppet!?" Steve asked. "Is that what you are now!?"

"No!" Bucky said, holding his hooves to his head. "I am no one's puppet!"

"Then prove it! Be a man Bucky! Fight through this!" Steve said. "Or do you want to be a disgrace!? Do you want to prove everyone who did not believe in you right!? Take control Bucky!"

"Take...control!" Bucky's eyes glowed a second as he started fighting off the Negative energy. Within seconds, it felt like he was in an alternate world where he saw an image of himself, only this version was a black void with some white outlines.

"It's foolish to persist," Negative Bucky said. "You and I both know you're just going to end up hurting others again, it's your true calling after all. How many times have you been through this honestly?"

"A few, can't deny that," Bucky said. "Sometimes a person's worst enemy is themselves, that's a lesson I've had to learn the hard way many times."

"How much have you learned? You still let yourself get controlled," Negative Bucky said. "Just accept it, you're no hero. You're just a little solider who does what his commander says, and from your experience, that can be just about anyone. You have a job to do, I suggest you get it over with."

"A job huh? Is that all this is? Well then, I guess I'm quitting," Bucky then delivered one swift punch to the Negative version of himself, hard enough to completely destroy it, a shockwave going straight back to Martin, the man looking impressed.

"His willpower is stronger than I would have expected," Martin commented. "Not bad."

Bucky snapped back to reality, holding his head in pain, Steve being quick to check on him, "Bucky?"

The man shook his head, turning to his friend, "Hey Steve." He took a look around the mess in the diner, "Did it again, didn't I?"

"Nothing that can't be fixed," Steve happily reassured. "Good to have you back Bucky."

"Good to be back," Bucky said. Suddenly some birds started pecking at his head, much to his annoyance and confusion. "Ow, what the hell!? Get off you stupid pigeons!"

"Ha! Got you now!" Falcon said, making his way over with more birds. "Cap, now's the chance to-"

"Sam stop, he snapped out of it!" Steve quickly urged.

"He what?" Falcon's eyes widened as he called the birds back. "Whoops, my bad."

Bucky glared at the winged hero, "Knowing you, you'd probably would have done that on purpose anyway."

"Do you want me to send them back at you?" Falcon asked in a slightly threatening tone.

"Let's not fight again," Steve pleaded. "We need to find Daredevil and the others, see if they found any more clues regarding that pony."

"Lead the way Cap," Falcon said as Steve rushed out, his two allies following.

"Also what the hell are you? Did you actually turn into a giant bird?" Bucky asked.

"I'm a Griffon, pony boy," Falcon said, flying off with an annoyed Bucky following after him.

Meanwhile the trio of heroes found the building that Blueberry Curls alerted them to, Daredevil using his radar sense to scout the area. "There's definitely a bunch of them, question is what are they planning?"

"Maybe its their hideout, should we go after them?" Night Thrasher asked.

"Too risky, we don't know for sure what this place is," Daredevil said. "I can detect others inside, they might be unrelated."

"I think I hear some construction noises, this place may be a legitimate building," Elektra said. "If we're not careful, we'll potentially be putting innocents in danger."

"What do you suggest then?" Night Thrasher asked.

"It may be better to get some recon to know for sure what this building is," Daredevil said. "Then we can relay the information to Cap, assuming he's done with his Winter Solider problem."

"Now that we know this place has those ponies, it would be a good time to go check on Cap and help him out so he can give us some back-up," Night Thrasher said.

"That's not a bad idea," Daredevil said. "It would certainly help things move along much faster, plus get more information on that Black Void pony."

"Alright, you can stay and keep an eye on the place Night Thrasher, Daredevil and I will go find Captain America," Elektra said. "If you get spotted, make a run for it, you don't need to go in alone."

"I'll be fine," Night Thrasher said. "Alright, you two get a move on then."

Both Daredevil and Elektra made their move while Night Thrasher stood by, though one thing that caught his eye was that some of them were leaving again, after being chased away by a mare with pink fur.

"Go find some other place to gather around!" Suri shouted. "Punks!"

"Did she just scare them off?" Night Thrasher asked in amazement. "Who is she?"

Suri noticed Night Thrasher nearby, the mare feeling more irritated. "You're not with them, are you!?"

"Uh, no?" Night Thrasher said. "Say what is that place anyway?"

"A clothing store I'm trying to make, but now a bunch of punks think they can loiter around," Suri said. "Are you a hero!? Were you standing there the whole time!?"

"Hey easy lady," Night Thrasher said. "I was just-"

"Just what, huh!?" Suri asked, getting in his face. "I want answers!"

"Holy shit she's scary mad," Night Thrasher nodded in agreement. "Alright, I'll tell you what I can."

---

Not too far off, Steve, Falcon and Bucky were getting closer to where Daredevil was going, having asked a few ponies along the way if they spotted them.

Falcon searched the skies to aid in the assist, spotting Daredevil and Elektra making their way back, "Yo Cap! I see them, or at least two of them!"

"Captain!" Daredevil said, making his way over to the Avenger leader, then sensed Bucky beside him, "You got your friend to snap out of it?"

"Yes, Bucky's back to normal," Steve said. "What about your progress?"

"We may have found a hideout but we're not too sure," Daredevil said. "It's just a few blocks down."

"Excellent, let's go then," Cap said, following after Daredevil and Elektra.

It wasn't long before the group met up at the store, where Night Thrasher was still trying to explain things to Suri.

"Night Thrasher?" Steve said, getting the attention of the hero and the fashionista. "What's happening."

"Hey, you wouldn't believe this, but this lady chased off those guys we were after," Night Thrasher said.

"Do you know anything about those guys and why they're constantly roaming the streets!?" Suri asked. "Including the store I'm trying to build!?"

"We're gathering information right now ma'am," Daredevil said. "Those ponies though, do they come by often?"

"Yes, they do, and I'm getting annoyed with having to constantly chase them away," Suri said. "Every other day I spot them here, my partner doesn't want to bother them because he's a goody-four-horseshoes, but I want to run a business and I can't do that with ponies like them making things harder for a filly like me."

"We'll get to the bottom of this ma'am," Steve said. "That's why we're here after all."

"Yes, well you being here just invited all this nonsense in the first place," Suri said. "In fact everything started the moment Spider-Mane showed up, I mean since then we've had nothing but trouble in Equestria because one so-called hero showed up."

Elektra looked a little displeased by Suri's comments, though Steve was the first to speak up. "I've known Spider-Mane since he was a young hero back in my world and he has always done his best to help others, it really is not appreciated when you blame him for troubles others cause when he is just trying to fix it."

"Yeah, great job fixing it, he created a mess so bad that you other annoying heroes showed up," Suri said.

"I suggest you watch your tone, unless you don't want us keeping your frilly little store safe," Elektra said.

"Don't let her get to you," Daredevil said, then turned to Suri. "Ma'am, please just try to cooperate with us. Any additional information you can give me will be a great help."

Suri groaned in annoyance, "Whatever, not like I have anything else to do."

"You do that, I need to make a call," Cap said, walking off and hitting the radio. "Tony, it's Steve, you'll never guess who I found here."

In his building, Martin was looking over, almost displeased by what he was seeing. The heroes seemed to be onto him and his plans, he had to do something fast.

---

Later on, while the heroes were investigating the store, Steve, Falcon and Bucky were waiting near the location of their previous fight, many ponies had come to fix up the mess that was made, including a fire that had started sometime after the telephone pole fell. Of course Bucky felt terrible about this, hoping no one got hurt, or worse.

"Captain America..." came the voice of Carol Danvers, the hero flying in.

"Carol? Didn't expect you," Steve said.

"I offered to come, Tony had a lot on his plate, between contacting S.H.I.E.L.D. and trying to convince these other countries to help with his Accords thing," Carol said. "Seems like quite the mess you made though."

"A side effect from battle," Steve said. "Fortunately no one was hurt."

"This time, but it could have been worse," Carol said. "Buildings could be wrecked, pipelines bursting, innocent ponies in the hospitals, and the potential loss of many lives, just like it's happened before, both in this world, and ours."

"We're aware of that," Falcon said. "We've had our share of battles."

"And it's those battles that actually shake the resolve of the citizens, I mean how many times has the Daily Bugle slandered Spider-Man because of the troubles he seemed to have caused?" Carol asked.

"Most of the time Peter's careful, that blowhard Jameson just wants to stretch things out of a proportion like any other dumbass journalist would," Falcon said.

"Even you can't deny that there is truth to what he says, or was the damage done during Peter's fight with The Green Goblin just 'stretched out exaggeration'?" Carol asked.

"I wasn't there but I'm ninety-nine percent sure that most of the damage was already caused by that freakish Goblin," Falcon said.

"Not just Osborn," Carol pointed to Cap. "You were there too. I know you were mind controlled, just like your friend Bucky usually is, but you still allowed that to happen. A weak will makes for a terrible hero."

"Watch it!" Bucky warned.

"Easy Bucky, she's not wrong," Steve said. "I've let myself get controlled, and it was foolish. If I want to keep others safe, I need to work not just on my physical strength, but mental as well."

"Glad one of you has sense, fitting that it's Captain America," Carol said. "I respect what you can and have done Steve, but I also expect you to keep up that good work. Right now all this is a bad start for the Accords, you were not even assigned to this city and you got it wrecked in your fight, I warned Tony to be more strict, I hope this sends the message he needed to hear."

"You really think being assigned to this city would lessen the damage?" Falcon asked. "Explain that logic."

"Lack of order leads to chaos," Carol said.

"Lack of...the hell are you saying?" Falcon asked. "If Cap and I were assigned here today, it wouldn't have changed the fight outcome. Sometimes things happen, do we want this to happen, no, but our job is to keep things from getting worse and getting assigned to cities isn't going to magically reduce damage or any of that crap."

"Why was Bucky here anyway?" Carol asked, then turned to the solider. "Were you sent here randomly, or by strategy?"

"I just remember being told to find Cap after being transported by some freaky goat thing," Bucky explained.

"So you came here because Cap was here, which he should not have been," Carol said.

"This would have happened regardless of where Cap was, if he were in Canterlot then this fight would have happened in Canterlot!" Falcon said. "Nothing's going to change that!"

"Are you assigned to Canterlot?" Carol asked.

"No, I'm not assigned anywhere," Falcon said. "Not sure about Cap though."

"I am deputized by Princess Celestia to help but I am not officially assigned to Canterlot," Steve explained.

"Well then, I suggest you both find a city and stay there, or just go back home," Carol said. "And Cap, even if Celestia did deputize you, if she herself was serious about keeping this world safe, she'd get in gear too."

"Noted..." Steve said, trying to hide his annoyance.

"Well things don't seem to be too bad here, so I'll let Tony know that it's good and we'll let it slide," Carol said, taking off. "But make sure this doesn't happen again. Canterlot is still recovering from damage, and a big part of that damage was caused by that Goku guy, who was suppose to be on our side. Let's try to be on the side that doesn't cause mayhem."

As Carol flew off, Falcon let out a massive groan of frustration, "Who the hell does she think she is? She cuts her hair, changes her hero name and suit and suddenly she's all hot shit? Like she's never done stupid crap in her life, girl was once as much of a drinker as Stark was, at least he's a bit more tolerable."

"For now," Bucky said. "Wouldn't be surprised if Stark was next, coming in with his lectures."

"Tony just wants what's best for this world, I'm sure once we see him he'll be more grateful that we stopped this mess before it got worse," Steve said. "Let's just help these ponies out and find out more information on that gang."

"Sure thing Cap," Falcon said.

"You got it Steve," Bucky added.

---

Later on in Ponyville, Rumble, Jubilee, Cozy Glow and the Student Six were returning from their buckball game, Rumble boasting about his skills.

"If I don't become a Wonderbolt, I bet I can get into Buckball, should be awesome," Rumble bragged.

"Just wait til we play actual teams," Gallus said. "See how well coordinated you are."

"Hey I'm down with that, you be captain of your team and I'll be captain of mine," Rumble said.

"That would make for a great day out," Jubilee said. "I'll ask Twilight if there's a spot we can play, and maybe we can invite more students from school, or out of school."

"I'm ready whenever," Rumble said.

"Rumble, if you pick teams..." Cozy Glow flew over. "Can I be on yours?"

"Of course," Rumble said, then turned to Gallus. "I call first dibs on Cozy Glow!"

"Fine by me, I don't want her anyway, she was lousy today," Gallus said.

"Gallus!" Jubilee scolded. "Don't say that, Cozy Glow did her best."

"Yeah dude, lay off," Sandbar added.

"So unprofessional," Ocellus added.

"Alright! Alright! Geez!" Gallus shouted in frustration. "I guess Professor Applejack's Element doesn't mean squat to any of you."

"Honesty is good, just be conscious of how you use it," Jubilee said.

As they made their way past the Parker-Sparkle home, they took note of Thunderlane being there with his daughter riding on his back along with Doctor Hooves and Reed Richards.

"So what is it you guys are making exactly?" Thunderlane asked.

"We cannot go into specifics, but according to Mr. Stark, it will greatly increase the patrol potential of this world," Doc said.

"It might come off as a bit weird at first but Tony himself has helped provide us with the transcripts we need," Reed said. "With our own inputs as well."

"And this is not something ponies like me should worry about?" Thunderlane asked.

"Of course not, we would not do anything that would endanger our world," Doc said. "On the contrary, this will ensure the safety of all pony-kind, and perhaps this can be used for the human world."

"Human, as in just Marvel or those other worlds?" Thunderlane asked.

"Marvel for now, I can't imagine the other worlds will be too accepting yet," Reed said. "But if they change their minds, then I believe it can benifit them as well."

"Alright, but how effective is it?" Thunderlane asked. "I mean Marvel Earth has some pretty dangerous bad guys, not too long ago one of Spider-Mane's villains showed up here along with one of the Fantastic Four's enemies."

"Which I apologize for, it happened under my supervision," Reed said.

"You're good, Dash and your brother-in-law put a stop to him, but it wasn't even that long after that Magneto, a supposed friend, came and started wrecking the place," Thunderlane said. "Plus that Canterlot Invasion led by Thor's brother. Did you guys even see or hear about what that Saiyan Goku did? And he's on our side!"

"I know how worried you are, I mean you're a father, just like my comrade here," Doc said. "I too will be blessed with a child soon, and I have another young filly to protect, that's why I am doing this. I want what's best for my wife and children, Reed wants the best for his wife and children, and I know you want your daughter to grow up safe and happy. Trust us Thunderlane."

"Well you guys are geniuses," Thunderlane said. "Speaking of geniuses, is Peter helping?"

"This is just between us," Reed said. "Peter has his own work he's attending to. That and his wife is expecting soon."

"Oh yeah, I heard she got worn out pretty bad today, poor mare threw up in Rarity's store," Thunderlane said.

"She what!?" Rumble asked, getting his brother's attention.

"Whoa, where'd you come from little bro!?" Thunderlane asked.

"What happened to Twilight!?" Rumble asked, not acknowledging Thunderlane's question. "Is she alright!?"

"She's fine, she just got sick, pregnancy thing," Thunderlane said.

"She's recovering right now," Reed said. "You need not worry."

"That's a relief," Rumble said. "Well anyway, we just got back from a Buckball game."

"Buckball?" Reed asked.

"It's baseball for ponies," Jubilee answered.

"Oh, interesting," Reed said. "Did your team win?"

"We didn't play teams, there weren't enough players," Ocellus said. "We just took turns hitting the ball or catching it."

"Sounds clever," Doc said. "Well it's good that you all had fun."

"It was oodles of fun sir!" Cozy Glow said. "Next time we're doing teams. Team Gallus vs Team Rumble."

"And I'm gonna win," Rumble boasted.

"No way, I'm wiping the floor with you," Gallus said.

"I look forward to seeing that," Thunderane said, then gestured to his daughter. "Felicity does too."

"I'll you do you both proud," Rumble said, then turned to the others. "Alright, let's hit Sugarcube Corner!"

Everyone seemed to like the idea, even Jubilee, "That sounds fun, I'll skip out though, I have some things to attend to."

"It's all good," Rumble said, leading the pack away. "Let's go."

As he led the ponies away, Jubilee turned her attention to the three stallions, "So, big plans for the future?"

"Yes...and Jubilee," Reed began. "If you see something uncomfortably familiar, just know that you'll be completely safe."

"Huh? What does that mean?" Jubilee asked.

"You'll see in due time," Reed said. "Now I need to check on my wife and son."

"Same, minus the son part, though my child might be a boy so who knows," Doc said.

The two went inside, Jubilee looking very concerned, which Thunderlane caught on to, "Hey are you doing alright?"

"Yeah, just worried," Jubilee said. "What could Reed have meant?"

"I wouldn't know, let's just hope for the best," Thunderlane said.

"I do that all the time, whether it comes true is always a big game of chance," Jubilee said.

---

In Tartarus, Discord was at work with his next plan of action, "So many more to pick from, who should I bring over next?"

"How about someone who doesn't need to be mind controlled," Shocker said, making his way over. "How about no more heroes what so ever, or at the very least make sure it's not another Saiyan."

"You and the Saiyans again, it's like you have an obsession," Discord said. "Most of the Saiyans are extinct anyway."

"Well I guess that's a relief," Shocker said. "Don't know what I would do it-"

"In Universe 7, bit in Six they are flourishing," Discord said.

"UGH!" Shocker groaned in annoyance. "Just...please don't make things worse for us."

"I'm with Shocker," Adagio said, making her way over with The Dazzlings and Mysterio. "It just seems like you're doing things at random."

"Casting is very important when it comes to a performance, at least allow for an audition before the current cast," Mysterio said.

"Alright my little Deviants, if that's what you desire," Discord said.

"And stop calling us 'Deviants', it's not happening!" Adagio said.
boil
"Yeah it's just plain dumb," Aria said.

"Let's just go with Electro's idea," Sonata said. "Sinister Squadron."

"I'm not totally on board with that, but it is a hell of a lot better than 'Discord's Deviants'," Shocker said.

"I just want you all to know that...you're all jerks," Discord said. "But maybe I should take a step back for now and let Martin have his fun. Plus I'm hoping for less distractions, especially with Twilight being so close to figuring out what happened to Starswirl and his Pillars. Let's see where things go from there."

"I'd like to know myself," Adagio said. "What did happen to you Starswirl?"

The villains eagerly awaited what was to come, big surprises that even they may not expect. Plus the boiling tensions between The Avengers may also prove to be the start of a catalyst for them to enjoy.

Seeds Spreading

A day had passed by, Tony Stark was in Canterlot going over some paperwork, mostly about the battle in Manehattan, plus any clues about the origins of this new gang that formed. He wasn't alone, Luna was right beside him with her assistance.

"To think something like this would start during the beginning of the Accords act," Luna said, checking over the reports. "It's so unusual though, I don't think I've ever seen or heard of something like this. Closest was Starlight's village."

"I'm used to this type of stuff happening all the time back home," Tony said. "I hope this isn't related to Earth but the possibility is high. Celestia won't like this."

"As long as it does not leave Manehattan, and that the heroes assigned to that city do their jobs and sweep the town for any information they could gather," Luna said.

"Yeah, Daredevil's good at this type of thing, he helped Peter keep the gangs under control back home," Tony said. "Those two regularly fought against The Kingpin, Wilson Fisk, a feat not many would dare attempt."

"Still, do you think there needs to me more heroes?" Luna asked.

"Maybe, but we're kind of stretched thin," Tony said. "I could ask Steve, Sam or Bucky to help here, but Steve might want to stay close to your sister, and I don't see Bucky listening to orders really well, at least not my orders. Sam I could probably work with, but he hasn't committed to The Accords yet."

"I hope we can get him to do so soon," Luna said. "Say that reminds me, who is officially stationed in Ponyville?"

Tony grabbed the file for that town, "Firestar, Black Cat and Peter are."

"What about the other heroes living there?" Luna asked. "Have none of them signed up?"

"Well Logan's out of the question, the guy is terrible at taking orders as well," Tony said. "Johnny is more under Spitfire's jurisdiction, but she likely left him and his wife assigned to Ponyville. Deadpool, I can't risk having a lunatic like that on the Accords. All that's left are Gambit and Iceman, and the X-Men have never been known for associating with any type of Government."

"Maybe not back home, but here they're much more respected and they have good graces from royalty, mostly Twilight," Luna said. "Maybe you can ask her to have a word with Gambit and Iceman and see if they're willing to join, that way we can spread out more."

"It's a long shot, but it couldn't hurt," Tony said. "Maybe some of the other X-Men will consider as well, though the only other X-Men that are regularly in Equestria are Jubilee and Nightcrawler, but they're teachers so they probably have no interest."

"Being teachers isn't stopping Twilight, Rainbow Dash or anypony else," Luna reminded.

Tony stroked his chin a moment, thinking over the idea, "I guess that's good point,"

"Also, doesn't Scott Lang live in Ponyville as well?" Luna asked.

"Oh yeah, maybe I can get him to do a few patrols too, if he's willing to listen," Tony said. "But speaking of Ant Man, I need to contact Janet, right now she agreed to watch over the Dragon Lands alongside Hercules, even if Ember isn't too keen on this just yet. If they keep turning us down, I might just have to ask Janet to relocate, maybe she and Spike can watch over Manehattan."

"I would think Spike is better suited at The Crystal Empire," Luna said.

"Carol's there, and she insists that she and Kamala are enough," Tony said. "Probably an arrogant mindset but she has proven her strength so I think I can trust her."

"Alright, now what of the other heroes you have in mind?" Luna asked.

"Right now, the only ones left that are considering are Spider-Woman, Moon Knight and Cable," Tony said. "But, if I'm being honest, I don't have a lot of faith in them. Spider-Woman has always been a bit sneaky, Moon Knight is practically insane and Cable is more of a mercenary type, similar to Deadpool. I don't have all the heroes I would have liked and I'm worried this plan might fail."

"Well what about Mr. Fantastic and his team?" Luna asked.

"Reed's working on something with Doctor Hooves, Susan and Ben don't seem too interested, plus they insist they have work back home," Tony said. "I couldn't even get Bruce to join, according to him, some heroes need to keep the peace on Earth, he's one of the only major Avengers still there since most of them are here and Thor went back to Asgard. I can't blame them, Earth needs heroes too, even if some of us have lost the trust from the public."

"Due to the Green Goblin and his prior invasion," Luna said. "Why do you blame yourself for something you had no control over?"

"Because a hero should be better than that, I felt so ashamed knowing that Osborn misused my abilities, same with my friends," Tony said. "Same thing happened later with Wesker and his goons getting the drop on us and turning us into weapons yet again. Even if I couldn't help it, I still did bad things and I need to make things right."

Luna pitied Tony, understanding his plight, "I know the feeling, for years I was ashamed of what I've done as Nightmare Moon, I even considered punishing myself with a spell that would give me endless nightmares."

"That sounds harsh," Tony said.

"It was, fortunately Peter talked me out of it," Luna said. "Tony, it's admirable that you want to make things right, just try not to let it lead to your self destruction."

"I'll do my best," Tony said.

"I'll take that answer," Luna said. "Plus you won't be alone, I shall assist any way I can."

"Really appreciate that Luna, I can see why Peter likes you so much," Tony said. "And why you're the Godmother of his daughter."

"Yes, it is an honor that he and Twilight have bestowed upon me," Luna said. "I take great pride in it."

"You should, Mayday's adorable, and it's good to have such a reliable pony ready and willing to care for her if, God forbid, something bad happened to them," Tony said. "Plus I bet she likes you, Peter told me your name was her first word. Honestly if her first word was my name, I would be ecstatic."

"You seem really fond of Peter," Luna said.

"He's like the son I've always wanted, that's another reason why I'm doing this, I want to make a better world for he and his family to live in," Tony said. "Peter does so much for others and expects nothing in return, but that kid deserves the world, you agree don't you?"

"Most definitely," Luna said.

"So let's work together to ensure a bright future for Peter, his family and all the ponies in Equestria," Tony said. "With any luck, this can even extend to Earth, and both worlds will relish in Peace and Harmony."

"To the future," Luna said.

"Yes, to the future," Tony acknowledged.

---

Outside Steve was overseeing some training among potential recruits for Equestria's Avengers division, one of the ponies in training was Thunderlane, who was seen sparring with another hopeful in Lightning Dust.

"Remember to exercise patience, even in the middle of battle," Steve instructed. "Eagerness can lead to downfall if you're not careful."

As the two continued to spar and take Steve's advice to heart, mostly Lighting Dust, Sam appeared beside him, taking note of the sparring as well. "So how's it going?"

"These two have potential as Avengers, but there's still something off about them," Steve said. "One is a bit of a show-off and the other is trying too hard."

"Think either one can improve?" Sam asked.

"I can see immediate improvement for the stallion, he has recently turned his life around after some prior mishaps involving Peter," Steve said. "The mare has always had these issues though, seems like a really bad habit for her. She has tried channeling those issues through stunt shows with other former Wonderbolts, but that does not seem to be enough. Even Logan worries about her being an Avenger."

"So you already know these two," Sam said.

"Sort of, I've had unfortunate encounters with both myself," Steve said. "But whatever mistakes those two made in the past, they seem to want to rectify them, and I am giving them that chance to. I really do wish for the best, especially the stallion. The poor guy is a single father after all, so I know he wants this the most so he can have a successful career to substantially provide for his daughter."

"Single father huh? I respect his determination then," Sam said. "If I mayb be so bold to ask, did he mention what happened to his wife? Is that like another factor for his over-eagerness?"

"Uh...well, he wasn't exactly married, but his baby's mother is alive and well," Steve said. "She's actually patrolling Ponyville right now."

"Wait for real?" Sam asked. "So we got a local pony already on The Accords."

"She's not local, she's from our world," Steve explained. "The woman was Black Cat from New York."

"Wait, he got with a girl from our world?" Sam asked. "Also that name sounds familiar."

"She's a burglar that Peter normally engages with," Steve said.

"A burglar!?" Sam shouted in surprise. "If she's a thief then why the hell is she on The Accords list!?"

"To be fair, Hawkeye and Gambit started off as thieves and they've turned things around," Steve reminded. "But Black Cat is technically not on the Accords, she was personally deputized by Princess Celestia, like I was."

"Oh, so she's clean then right?" Sam asked.

"Far as I know," Steve said. "We're keeping an eye on her to make sure she doesn't take advantage of her power."

"Hope so, for the sake of that Princess," Sam said.

"Celestia is very wise, I trust her judgement," Steve said. "She has been ruling Equestria for over a thousand years after all."

"Hey you know her better than I do, so-" Falcon's eyes widened a second. "Wait, did you say 'thousand'? How old is that woman!?"

"You know not to ask for a lady's age Sam," Steve joked. "Don't let it fool you though, she's still quite young at heart, not so bad on the eyes either."

"Pfft, if you're into old ladies you should have just stuck with Peggy Carter," Falcon joked, getting a good laugh. Of course once he noticed Steve's glare, he lightened up a bit. "Kidding Steve."

"Haha..." Steve mockingly laughed, "My relationship with Celestia is strictly professional."

"Not what I've been hearing," Sam said. "Word on the street is that you and the Sun Mare have been pretty friendly with one another."

Steve turned away, hoping to hide a blush, "It's gossip, just ignore it! Look she's not interested in a relationship and neither am I."

"Please, I've seen the way you've glanced at Romanoff, you would not turn down a chance to be with a girl," Falcon said.

"That 'girl' is The Princess of Equestria! I can't just go in and ask her out on a date or anything," Steve said. "If she was interested in dating or marriage, I think she would have done so by now. I mean how many guards has she had over the years?"

"Most of these guards probably grew up seeing her as this ruler or a mother figure, you however came in from another world, just knowing her as Celestia, you have a better chance than you realize," Sam said. "I mean, I'm still getting used to being in this world so I can't tell how attractive a pony is, but even I think she might be a good catch for you."

"Sam, I know you're trying to be helpful, but I really need you to dial that type of talk down a notch," Steve requested. "Think you can do that for me?"

"Alright, your call," Sam said, then looked over Steve's shoulder. "Here comes Bucky."

Steve turned to his closest friend, "Bucky? Thought you'd be resting."

"I'm good Steve, just needed to kick my feet up a second," Bucky said, then looked down. "Or rather, my hooves."

"As long as you're doing alright," Steve said.

"Well I came by because some ponies seemed interesting in joining your ranks," Bucky said, gesturing to four familiar ponies. "Said they have experience when it comes to villains from our world."

"I know you four. Double Diamond, Party Favor, Sugar Belle and Night Glider," Steve said.

"That's us," Double Diamond said. "We want to join your Equestrian Avengers. Got room for four more?"

"We might," Steve said, then called out to the two in the sparring section. "Thunderlane! Lightning Dust!"

"Wait, their names are literally Thunder and Lightning?" Sam joked.

Steve rolled his eyes a second, "You two step aside, I have other recruits I want to train!"

"Sure thing!" Thunderlane said as he and Lightning Dust made room.

Steve turned to the four, "So who wants to go first then?"

---

Later on, Twilight was seen walking downstairs, but she still felt pretty tired and exhausted, "I have no energy left, this baby is taking a lot out of me."

"Don't push yourself too hard," Trixie called from the room below. "You know Peter is going to worry!"

"I'll be fine!" Twilight insisted as she arrived at the bottom of the stairs. Of course she still felt really sluggish. "Won't be long until I give birth, maybe I can move around much better again."

As she got downstairs, she heard a knock on the door, something Trixie went to attend to, "I got it." Opening the door she found the typical trio, "Susan, Franklin, Derpy."

"Hi Trixie, back for our daily visit," Derpy said, making her way inside with the two. Upon entry she also noticed Twilight having come down the stairs. "Hey Twilight, you look out of breath."

"Do I really?" Twilight asked.

"You're sweating a lot, that's for sure," Susan said. "Also we heard you threw up yesterday."

Twilight blushed in embarrassment, "It wasn't intentional, it just happened."

"Well obviously it wasn't intentional, but you don't need to be ashamed, it's part of pregnancy, I've gone through it myself, and this is your second child so you're no stranger to it," Susan said.

"I get sick sometimes too, and I still have about six more months until my baby is born," Derpy said. "Of course this is also my first child on top of that."

"Being a mom is tough, but rewarding, even during the pregnancy days," Twilight said. "Well I should go and get Mayday."

"Hold on, Franklin has something for you," Susan said, looking to her son. "Go on."

Franklin walked over to Twilight, holding a flower to her, "This is for you."

"Aw, how sweet," Twilight said, taking the flower with her magic. "Thank you Franklin."

"Sure thing," Franklin said, going inside. "I'll go find your daughter."

"She should be in her room, remember to knock, she hates intrusion," Twilight said, then turned to Susan. "This is for decorative purposes, correct?"

"Well yeah," Susan said. "What else do you use flowers for?"

"Keep in mind that we're ponies, human like as we are, flowers are part of our diet, just like equine creatures back on Earth," Twilight said.

"My favorite are daisies," Derpy said.

"That's nice Derpy," Susan said, then focused back on Twilight. "Does your biology change when you're on Earth?"

"Yes, it does change, including diet," Twilight said. "I usually only eat meat when I'm on Earth, even if I prefer not to."

"Well you have the option, even humans can be vegetarians, even if it's not the healthiest diet," Susan said.

"I'm aware of that, I did study a lot about Earth culture, I even shared some of my knowledge with Lyra Heartstrings, that girl is such a human fanatic," Twilight said.

"Who's Lyra? The name sounds familiar," Susan asked.

"Green fur, green mane, you might have seen her with her friend and Bon Bon, beige fur and blue and pink mane," Twilight said.

"Actually they're more than friends, they recently got married," Derpy said. "Still, any of this ring a bell Sue?"

"I think..." Susan said. "I should get to know some of the ponies in town more."

"If you want help with that, there's Pinkie Pie," Twilight said. "Knowing her, she'll throw a party to help you get to know other ponies."

"Pinkie's parties are the best," Derpy said.

"That is what Johnny tells me," Susan said. "So where is Peter?"

"At the School of Friendship," Twilight said. "He's just checking on the students and teachers, he hasn't been that active since I took a break."

"Which Peter had to practically beg for," Trixie said, making her way over. "Twilight was insistant on teaching even though she was this pregnant."

"I still say I could have handled it," Twilight said.

"You are hard-headed enough to try," Trixie said. "Even you need breaks now and again Twilight."

"If you need more teachers, I can offer some assistance," Susan said. "I have a teaching degree, I used to teach during a time when me, Reed, Ben and Johnny ran into money troubles."

"That would be nice, but my school is a bit different from the average school," Twilight said. "We're more about Friendship than anything, but we do have a proper curriculum so I can work something for you too."

"I'm no expert at Friendship, but I do know something about Loyalty and Family," Susan said. "I'd be more than happy to pass down my knowledge about that as well."

"Excellent idea," Twilight said. "Why don't you have a seat and we'll discuss this more."

---

As the mares continued on with their conversation, later as classes were letting up, Peter was seen walking back home, with the Student Seven following after him.

"Hey Peter! Wait up!" Sandbar called, getting the hero's attention.

"Hey, need something?" Peter asked.

"Not really, we were just hoping you could tell us how Miss Twilight is doing," Silversteam said.

"Oh is this about her getting sick?" Peter asked. "She's fine now, she just overexerted herself before but she's doing a lot better now."

"That's good, we've really missed her these last couple of weeks, so it was alarming when we were told she really got sick," Ocellus said.

"Well remember, she's very pregnant, she's due any day too, so it's very common to get sick, which is why more than ever I would prefer she stay in bed and get some bed rest," Peter said. "Though after that, she's going on a little learning adventure, one she might turn into Friendship Lessons. I'd expect to hear her talk about Starswirl and his Pillars."

"Starswirl?" Sandbar asked.

"And Pillars?" Silversteam finished.

"Starswirl had his own Elements of Harmony, or Avengers as I would put it," Peter said. "They were Flash Magnus, an old Pegasus that Rainbow Dash knows about, Rockhoof, am Earth Pony that Applejack knows about, Mistmane, a Unicorn pony Rarity knows about, along with Mage Meadowbrook and Sonambula, we're still trying to learn about them."

"Golly, that sure sounds pretty neat," Cozy Glow said.

"Twilight wants to study a bit more about the latter two, but I'd prefer if she had our baby before she went out exploring again," Peter said. "Lets bring in new life before going back to old life."

"Hey is there anything we can do for Twilight?" Ocellus asked.

"If you want to stop by later you can, after you get your work done," Peter said. "The best thing you can do for her is to keep up on your studies."

"Sure thing Mr. Parker," Silversteam said.

"And remember, you can just call me 'Peter', at least outside of school," Peter insisted.

"You got it Peter," Sandbar said.

"Well I gotta get back to my wife, you kids can go on with your day," Peter said.

"Not kids, adults," Gallus said. "Except Cozy Glow, she's a kid, who hangs out with us for some reason."

"You know you like me Gallus, I'm fun and perky," Cozy Glow said, putting on a cute pose.

"And cute as a button," Peter said. "And she fits in quite well the six of you. I mean seeing you hanging around together, you're like Twilight and her friends."

"You really think so?" Silverstream asked.

"Oh yeah totally, I mean Silverstream, you're as fun and perky as Pinkie Pie," Peter said.

"I have been told that," Silverstream said.

"Gallus, you're quite loyal to your friends, and you act like the coolest person in the room, just like Rainbow Dash," Peter said. "Guess it's not an act though, you really do look cool."

"Huh, that's really nice of you to say," Gallus said, feeling a bit flattered.

"Yona, you have that strong presence to you, and like Applejack, the biggest muscle is easily your heart, got that true Apple Family dependency," Peter said.

"Yona never considered herself Apple, Yona like idea," the yak girl stated.

"Smolder, you remind me of Rarity in a few ways, plus something tells me you're pretty fabulous among dragons," Peter said.

"Pfft, yeah whatever," Smolder said, trying to not show emotion.

"Ocellus, you were so shy when I met you, still are, but since then you've worked hard to come out of your comfort zone, which is great because you've been smiling more, and you have the cutest smile since Fluttershy," Peter said.

Ocellus briefly took the form of the pony she was compared to, "Thank you Peter, that's so Kind of you."

"And I guess it's easy to figure out which of you reminds me of Twilight," Peter said.

"Yeah, it is easy to figure out," Cozy Glow said. "And you really flatter me Peter, I try my hardest to be the pony Twilight is and I'm so happy to know it's going to good use."

"Uh...Cozy..." Peter awkwardly began. "I was thinking more of Sandbar than you."

"...Huh?" Cozy asked, looking annoyed.

"Sandbar has that leadership vibe Twilight has, and he's a real hard worker, just like she is," Peter said.

"Wow, thanks Peter," Sandbar said. "Never thought I'd be compared to a Princess."

"You mean that as a compliment right?" Peter asked.

"Yeah," Sandbar confirmed.

"Oh good," Peter said, then focused on Cozy Glow. "And don't worry Cozy, I can think of a certain someone who you're like as well, someone close to Twilight and someone who means a lot to me."

"Is it Trixie?" Cozy Glow asked, her curiousity rising. "Or Starlight? Or Sunset?"

"No, it's Spike," Peter said, Cozy's eager demeanor immediately deflating. "If Sandbar and company are like Twilight and Company, that makes you the Spike of the group, and that's a very prestigious honor. After all, he's the helpful little assistant you are at the School of Friendship, and you're just so darn adorable, even more than Spike actually."

"Golly gee, that sounds so...swell," Cozy Glow said, trying to hide her disappointment.

"Yeah it is, you should be honored," Peter said, aiming his hoof. "Whelp, I gotta get running, see you kids later."

"We're not kids!" Gallus reminded as Peter swung away. "Aaaaand, he's gone."

"Oh don't worry about it, Peter doesn't mean anything by it," Silversteam said. "But it's so cool that he thinks we're just like the professors! Imagine what that means for our future!"

"I like Peter, he nice, and not scary like other spiders," Yona said.

"Think he'd be offended if you told him you didn't like spiders?" Gallus asked.

"Probably not, he seems understanding," Sandbar said. "Well you heard his advice, let's just go and study up."

"Sweet, study group!" Silverstream said. "Come on, let's hit the library!"

As the students began spreading out, Cozy Glow actually stayed behind a moment, something noted by Ocellus, "Uh Cozy, everything alright?"

"Huh?" Cozy looked at her friend. "Oh yeah, I'm fine."

"You're not bummed about being compared to Spike are you? I mean it's meant to be a compliment, Spike is the hero of The Crystal Empire," Ocellus said.

"Yeah, he is, and it's great," Cozy Glow said. "I just...really wanted to be like Twilight, I thought I was off to a good start."

"Well, I think you have what it takes to be like Twilight," Ocellus said. "But you know what's better than being like Twilight?"

"Being like Peter?" Cozy asked.

"Being yourself," Ocellus said. "Focus on what makes you, well, you. Keep it up and one day ponies will be the comparing themselves to you."

"Golly, you really think so?" Cozy Glow asked.

"Of course, now let's hurry before Gallus starts wondering where we are," Ocellus said as she flew in.

"Huh...me, being better than Twilight," Cozy Glow said, smirking to herself as she followed her friend. "That does sound nice."

---

Elsewhere Applejack is seen pushing some barrels into the barn, getting ready to process them into various desserts.

"Whew!" Applejack said, having gotten a barrel in place. "Another one down."

"You really shouldn't be working too hard," Remy said as he pushed in a barrel of his own. "You need to rest more, you due in a few weeks after all."

"Ah can handle it," Applejack insisted. "Keeps me in shape, plus it needs to be done."

"I mean you could call in Braeburn or something," Remy said, wiping off some sweat. "But whatever makes you happy, just be careful.

"Ah will," Applejack reassured, checking her stock. "Glad we're getting these picked, might be snowing soon. Rainbow Dash said that snow clouds coming in."

Remy had a thought pass by his head, "If y'all can control weather, why do you need snow?"

Applejack was about to answer, but drew a blank, "You know, I'm not really sure. Rain ah understand, helps with plant life. Guess that's something we'll have to find out fer ourselves one day."

Remy placed the barrel down, "Hm, something don't seem right."

"What is it?" Applejack asked.

"Didn't we have more apples than this?" Remy asked, looking over the barrels. "Thought there were more."

Applejack scanned over the supplies. "Hey yer right, ah know we had more in here last time."

"Think your grandma used any?" Remy asked. "Or did Big Mac sell a few?"

"Can't say fer sure," Applejack said, then turned to her brother as he popped in with another barrel. "Hey Big Mac, you didn't sell any apples recently, did ya?"

"Nope," Big Mac answered.

"Didn't do anything with them?" Applejack asked.

"Not a thing," Big Mac replied.

"We can ask Granny Smith then, or even Apple Bloom, probably used a few for them potions she's been working on," Remy said. "I heard she's been trying to grow the food."

"That girl sure is ambitious," Applejack said, making her way out of the barn. "Well we'll get to the bottom of this soon, first let's make sure we get all the apples in."

"Right behind you mon cherrie," Remy said, following after his wife.

---

Back in the city, Daredevil and Elektra had taken down yet another thug, still trying to find answers as to who is behind the strange happenings in the city. As they continued to search, Martin was taking a stroll down the streets, taking everything in as Suri walked by his side, reading off some reports.

"Things see to be going smoothly with our investors, not only do they expect this store to be successful but we might be able to start branching out to others towns," Suri explained. "Guess they saw just how much potential I had as a business mare. It's a gift, one I absolutely cherish, and it's going to make us loads of bits. I already have plans to spread this out, like maybe a store in Las Pegasus, oh the income we'd make there."

"We would need to hire managers for those stores, do you have anyone in mind?" Lee asked.

"Not at the moment, but it shouldn't be too hard," Suri said. "Actually if this store is successful enough, maybe we can buy off some managers from local stores and chains. Our biggest competition would be the Carousel Boutique, we'll just swipe some employees from there and bring them down to size."

"While I understand the concept of business competition, doing something like this feels rather harsh," Martin said. "Wouldn't it be easier to just focus on what we can do rather than who we can hurt?"

"You are being way too nice, okay. If you want to get anywhere in life, you have to be willing to step on a few ponies," Suri said.

"I like the attitude from this one," came the internal voice of Mr. Negative.

Martin shook the voice away and focused back on Suri, "Perhaps you have a point."

"Of course, I am your partner for a reason," Suri said. "So any town you want to try opening a store in?"

"Hm..." Martin tapped on his chin, suddenly feeling a bit of a headache. "Ah..."

"Hey you alright?" Suri asked, feeling a bit concerned. "You getting another headache? Need an aspirin?"

"I'm fine," Martin insisted. "Tell me, what town does Spider-Man live in?"

"Ponyville, why?" Suri asked. "Wait, did you just use his Earth name?"

"Uh...slip of the tongue perhaps?" Martin said, trying to cover up. "Maybe it's because those heroes nearby use that phrase a lot."

"Oh yeah, they came by last night, asking questions like, what's the deal with those weird ponies outside our building," Suri said. "I mean I had no idea what they were doing but I hope they don't think you or I have anything to do with that."

Martin nervously wiped away some sweat, "Yeah, very strange."

"Well to answer your question, Spider-Mane lives in Ponyville, along with Rarity," Suri said, frowning at the sound of her name. "Wait, is that where you want the store to be or something?"

"Perhaps, lots of ponies must visit that town to see him, giving us not only local revenue, but tourist revenue as well," Martin said.

"That...actually isn't a bad idea," Suri said. "I mean certainly a bunch of ponies want to go see Spider-Mane. I personally never had that much interest in his goody-goody attitude, but he at least isn't bad to look at, so I think I can tolerate being in his presence."

"Alright then, we'll make plans to visit Ponyville in the coming days," Martin said.

"Great, we'll put it in our planner," Suri said. "Not much longer before we-"

Suri stopped when she noticed a mare nearby, that being her former assistant, Coco Pommel, who was standing out in front of Stark Industries, talking with some potential customers. Martin looked a bit curious, "Something wrong Suri?"

"Nothing, just a traitor up ahead," Suri said, gesturing to Coco. "She used to work for me, until Rarity ruined it."

"What happened?" Martin asked.

"Several years ago, Rarity came to town for some fashion show, I ran into her and politely asked if I could borrow some of her fabric, which she allowed," Suri said. "Later she had the nerve to complain that I used her fabric in the fashion show, despite saying that it was alright to do so. Eventually Coco sold me out and sided with Rarity on that, taking an undeserved win and nearly ruining my career as a Fashionista. That's why I detest Rarity and Coco, they both caused a downward spiral for me, one that took me years to come back from!" Suri turned away with some hurt in her voice. "Plus I lost a friend, I mean I thought Coco and I would reach the top together, lot of good that hopefulness did for me."

"Sorry to hear that," Martin said. "To be betrayed by a friend must sting."

"I'm glad you get me," Suri said. "Listen Lee, I'm not one for sappy Friendship sayings but, I'm glad you've been such a good friend to me, Loyalty is hard to find in this city, and I know it's only been a few days but you've stuck by me from the moment we met, and I thank you for that."

"Of course Suri," Martin said.

"I feel like I could tell you anything too, it's such a relief," Suri said. "Not sure if you feel the same way yet. I hope I can hear more about your past."

"It...was not a pleasant one," Martin admitted. "I don't want to alarm you with any truths."

"Hey whatever happened, it's in the past, okay?" Suri said. "But I won't pester you, everypony probably has some regrets they're not comfortable discussing, I hope one day you can tell me all you can."

"One day, perhaps," Martin said, worry lingering in his voice.

"Wow, you look more bummed than I was just now," Suri said. "Look, for being a good friend, how about I treat you to a drink. I don't do this for just anypony either, so consider yourself lucky."

"I would like that, thank you," Martin said. "Perhaps one day, we can mend your broken Friendship with that Coco girl."

"I doubt it, but I know how optimistic you usually are," Suri said, leading Martin to a nearby diner for their drink.

---

Later in Ponyville, Peter was grabbing food for Twilight, having left the market with bags and bags of it. "Probably the last time I'll need to buy this much food for Twilight, hopefully the baby comes soon."

"Peter," came the voice of Zecora, the zebra trotting over to the hero.

"Hey Zecora, what brings you here?" Peter asked.

"A quick trip for materials to brew, quite a surprise to run into you," Zecora said.

"Same, you don't really come out of the Everfree Forest much," Peter said. "Must be interesting living alone, I mean I never have, I usually lived with either my aunt, my roommates and now Twilight, not that I'm complaining. Must be nice to have some alone time."

"Alone time does not cause fret for me," Zecora said. "But even I occasionally get lonely."

"Well you know you're welcome to come to our place, maybe you can even teach at our school, show a little bit of Zebra culture to our students," Peter explained.

"An interesting offer you propose to me," Zecora said. "To enlighten your school about Farasi."

"I don't think I've ever actually been there, think you can show me around sometime?" Peter asked. "Have any friends from there?"

Zecora looked a bit surprised, trying to remember those she knew. "Yes, of course. Medley, Crystal, Dust Devil, Cactus Rose, and my closest friend, Marini."

"Did...did you just speak without rhyming?" Peter asked.

"Did I?" Zecora said, shaking it off. "Uh, perhaps. I was at a loss for words, I have not seen my friends in years. We had a disagreement and things have gone downhill for us."

"Oh, well what was it about?" Peter asked. "Uh, if you don't mind telling me that is."

"Well, I once yearned to learn magic, it was my foalhood dream," Zecora explained. "My friends however, they found such an idea strange, how can a Zebra like myself learn magic? For a while I believed them, until I read about a pony known as Mage Meadowbrook."

"Did you just say 'Mage Meadowbrook'!?" Peter asked. "Twilight and I wanted to learn more about her, she was one of Starswirl's Pillars."

"It is an interesting tale, one of an Earth Pony who learned magic," Zecora said. "If you wish, I can accompany you back home and explain what I know to Twilight."

"That would be awesome, thanks!" Peter said. "Let's hurry back!"

As the two started going back home, they unknowingly passed by Rumble, who walked by with a baby Felicity on his back.

"Was that Zecora with Peter? Wonder what that was about?" Rumble said.

"Petah?" Felicity said.

"Yes Peter, your mommy's former crush," Rumble joked.

"Cute," came Felicia's voice, her presence spooking Rumble.

"Felicia? What are you doing here!?" Rumble asked.

"I patrol Ponyville squirt," Felicia said, taking note of Felicity. "So you have my daughter today?"

"Yeah, Thunderlane is training in Canterlot and since I'm your daughter's uncle, I figured I could watch over her today," Rumble explained.

"Well it's good that Thunderlane told you about our daughter, he seemed pretty reluctant for a while," Felicia said.

"Well he did have a foal with a mare who, supposedly, is not really into stallions," Rumble said.

"Is it that hard to believe?" Felicia asked.

"From what Twilight's told me about you, kind of," Rumble said. "You crush on Peter for years, and suddenly you're into mares? I mean if you liked both that's one thing but suddenly realizing you don't like a gender is strange."

"Hey you discover things about yourself along the way, like ever wonder if you're actually into stallions?" Felicia asked.

"Not really, I know I like mares, I got a marefriend, and she's smokin' hot," Rumble said. "Years of apple bucking really toned up the finer parts of her body too. Plus aside from her, I see other pretty girls like Sweetie Belle and Scotaloo, even Wanda Maximoff looked good to me. I would never cheat on Apple Bloom but boy was I tempted."

"Wow, you sound so proud of yourself," Felicia said, sounding bemused.

"You had a kid with my brother and broke off with him with some bullcrap 'I'm into mares' excuse, so you don't get to judge me," Rumble said.

"Well what if I'm not into just mares? Maybe I am into both, and your brother just couldn't cut it for me," Felicia said, then gently stroked Rumble's chin. "You look kind of cute, maybe you'd be a better guy for me."

Rumble took a step back, "I don't think so. I mean, you're pretty hot yourself, but you're also my brother's age. Plus like I said, I'm taken, so I'd appreciate if you didn't play homewrecker."

"Well I do hope that Apple Bloom girl feels the same, I've seen her with some other colt, one that is apparently teaching her to dance, along with Wolverine's clone," Felicia said. "He looks pretty sexy, he might be after both girls."

"Hey stop trying to get into my head!" Rumble said. "Look I really don't care if you prefer the plug or the outlet, just keep me out of this. I am not getting with my brother's ex-girlfriend."

"Shame, with a face like yours, you'd satisfy both curiosities," Felicia taunted.

"I'd...what!?" Rumble shouted. "Just buzz off!"

"Fine, have it your way," Felicia said, then pat her daughter on the head. "Mommy loves you, bye honey."

As Felicia left, Rumble angrily stomped off, "What a tramp. I hope you never grow up to be like your mother Felicity. Imagine, thinking I would cheat on Apple Bloom, or she would cheat on me." As Rumble walked, he did consider what he just said, and how he seems to be around other girls. He shook it off, "Nothing wrong with looking, as long as I don't act on my desires. And I trust Apple Bloom not to act on hers."

---

At the Parker-Sparkle home, Zecora was seen explaining the story of Mage Meadowbrook, "It was stated that her first major accomplishment was curing what was known as the Swamp Fever. A dangerous disease that could cause tree branches to grow on you. She used honey from Flash Bees to make the cure and from there she was known as the ultimate potion master. She was a wise shaman who kept many cures in her Journals, along with many other experiments, ones I hope to find for myself someday."

"Amazing, do you know what happened to her?" Twilight asked.

"I do not I'm afraid," Zecora said. "She disappeared one day, no one has seen her since."

"Just like Starswirl and the others," Twilight said. "All that leaves is Sonambula."

"We'll figure that out later," Peter said. "At least we're one step closer to figuring out what happened to Starswirl."

"Why are you so concerned again?" Trixie asked.

"I want to know what could have defeated such powerful ponies, and the odds of it coming back," Twilight said.

"We'll figure it out, and if whatever the danger is does return, it's nothing that the heroes of two worlds can't handle," Peter said.

"If it does come soon, maybe you should consult with Future Sweetie Belle," Trixie said.

"Huh? What for?" Peter asked.

"If this thing does come soon, wouldn't Future Sweetie Belle know about it? I mean, we still haven't reached that future," Trixie said.

"That's a future caused by me disappearing, I'm still here, so things are already different," Peter said.

"Are they? I mean you still have Chrysalis as an enemy, just because some Changelings turned good doesn't mean they all did," Trixie said. "Maybe it's that power that allowed Chrysalis to take over."

"That's actually a good point," Peter said. "I have been meaning to go back to that future soon too, so it works out."

"You miss Sweetie Belle?" Twilight bitterly asked.

"Huh?" Peter couldn't help but detest some venom in Twilight's voice. "No, that's not it, I just wanted to check up on...things."

"Right, Sweetie Belle did become a mother, wonder who the dad could be?" Twilight said.

"Twilight..." Trixie lightly scolded. "Not the time..."

Zecora looked uncomfortable, "Am I missing something?"

"Don't worry about it," Peter said. "You should head back home, we got some things to discuss."

"Uh...alright," Zecora said.

"And one more thing, maybe go back to rhyming, it sounds weird when you don't," Peter joked.

Zecora couldn't help but smile, Peter had his quirky ways, "Well of course I could still rhyme, even if I don't all the time."

"That's my Zecora," Peter said. "I'll see you soon, maybe we'll plan that trip to Farasi."

"Luxury or business?" Trixie asked.

"Luxury, I don't think any of them care about being part of The Accords," Peter said.

"Do you think it is wise?" Zeocra asked. "Or has Tony Stark told lies?"

"Tony is always honest, with me at least," Peter said. "But I can't promise it's the best idea, we in Equestria are still struggling."

"Very well, I take my leave," Zeora said as she walked out. "We'll test the bonds that we all weave."

It wasn't that long after Zecora walked out that Twilight immediately rushed over to hug Peter, "Sorry for that outburst, I guess I'm still in shock over what Sweetie Belle told me."

"It's fine, I know you're just a little stressed," Peter said.

"Just knowing that you probably got Sweetie Belle pregnant, knowing you had a baby with another pony, it just...irks me," Twilight said.

"Hey you don't know if that was Peter's baby, I mean that Leon Kennedy guy was in the future, maybe it's his baby," Trixie said.

"I doubt it," Peter said. "It was probably me, and I do want to see that baby, I feel responsible for it."

"Just don't let it get to you," Twilight said. "Whatever happens, we'll figure it out together."

Trixie shrugged it off, "Such unusual problems. I wish you both the best."

---

Later in Canterlot, Tony is running his paperwork by Spitfire, Luna, Celestia and Steve. "So Rain Shine is still considering my proposal, she wants to interview some heroes for the position. I'm expecting to hear back from the Dragons soon as well, they're a little later. But we definitely got Thorax's approval, I'll be sending some heroes there soon."

"Who do you have in mind?" Steve asked.

"I was thinking, Jen Walters," Tony said.

"She-Hulk?" Steve asked. "You think she'd go for it?"

"I could ask Bruce to help me in recruiting her, but I think it can work," Tony said. "Maybe I'll tell her Logan's in Equestria, that will pique her interest."

"Logan's married Tony," Steve bluntly reminded.

"Yeah, bad joke, I know," Tony said.

"All you know are bad jokes," came Janet's voice as she walked in with Spike. "Sup Steve, Luna, Celestia?"

"Didn't expect to see you here Janet," Tony said.

"Ember sent us, she's down for this Accords thing," Janet said. "Hercules got through to them."

"Oh, he actually made it work?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, though to prove himself, he had to fight a bunch of them, and I think he gained their respect," Janet said.

"They don't just respect Hercules, they love him," Spike said. "He's like this super big deal for them now."

"Well glad old muscle head pulled through," Tony said. "So I trust the two of you to help protect The Dragons."

"Well we can protect ourselves too, but we don't mind Hercules around," Spike said.

"One step closer to total world unity at least," Spitfire said. "And thanks to Rainbow Dash and Johnny Storm, we might have the Griffons on our side."

"Good thing she has connections," Tony said. "That's a great quality in someone. Maybe she can even convince Daring Do to come aboard."

Spitfire shook her head in annoyance, "Don't even, she's already asking about that, personally I do wonder if those adventures are real or just some publicity stunt to sell her book."

"You never know," Tony said. "Anyway Janet, I appreciate you coming by and letting me know this. I know out boy Hercules probably has a grip on this but maybe I can think of any other assistance he needs, I mean even Superman needs help running The Justice League."

"Think he has any to spare?" Janet asked.

"I already considered that, but we can't even access another world," Tony said. "Shame because Steve told me that Goku's son was a superhero, I bet he'd make an interesting addition to our squad."

In the Dragon World.

"Achoo!" came the sneeze of Son Gohan.

"You alright Gohan!?" Came the voice of his significant other, Videl.

"I'm fine, just a strange occurrence," Gohan said. "Why do I have a sudden urge to go see another dimension?"

Back In Canterlot.

"Let's keep the Saiyans in their world for now," Steve insisted. "Or should I remind you that Goku did cause a lot of structural damage to the castle."

"You know, speaking of other worlds, we never resolved that issue with those other villains," Janet said. "Like Loki, Sephiroth and The Storm King. Shouldn't we be trying to go after them? I mean they could just show up again out of nowhere."

"I'm also kind of worried about Sunset Shimmer and Thor," Spike said.

"Sunset Shimmer has Ryu protecting her, and she's happily exploring these other Dimensions," Tony said. "Thor is capable of protecting himself, and he doesn't want our help anyway."

"I hope he's successful in stopping Ragnarok," Steve said.

"Can't you send someone to check on him Tony?" Celestia asked.

"Hey I'll contact Star-Lord and see if he and his A-hole buddies can have Thor's back, now let's not lose focus here," Tony said. "We still need to-"

"Janet?" came a voice all to familiar to the girl. She turned her attention to the stallion who just entered the room. "Is that you?"

Janet's eyes widened in the shock and realization of who was standing there. "Hank?"

Spike also turned to the man turned stallion in question, "No way..."

---

While this was going on, Discord had gathered a few villains around in Tartarus, ready to present something to them.

"So, what's going on Discord?" Shocker asked. "Why did you want us gathered here?"

"Is it regarding the plans?" Adagio said. "Any chance you moved up this invasion? Kind of itching to go kick some flank."

"Not yet, though Adagio, I may have something for you and your friends relatively soon, keep your eyes open," Discord said. "Now this is about potential new recruits for us, but I'm changing things up a bit. Instead of sending them out there to potentially get beat up and lose, I'll open the portal here and let you bunch test out their abilities, before deciding if you want them in our team."

"For real?" Electro asked. "We get to fight?"

"Of course, it's also a good chance for you to be battle ready," Discord said. "Now all in favor?"

"Of course!" Electro said, charging himself up. "Bring them on!"

"I could use a bit of practice," Adagio said.

"Excellent, I shall fetch them," Discord said, opening up the portal to Earth and quickly teleporting two villains out.

"What in the world!?" one asked.

"Hey what's the big idea!?" the other said.

"Those of Earth might remember these two, might," Discord emphasized. "But to those in Equestria, I present to you, Scorcher and Wizard!"

The two now ponified villains stood before the Sinister Squadron, unsure of what was happening, but they knew to be ready for anything.

"Ready for this Electro?" Adagio asked, stepping forward.

Electro stretched his limbs, "You bet, let's charge in!"

A battle in Tartarus was about to begin.

Author's Notes:

Sorry if the conflict seems slow building, but it's coming.

Troubles of the Past, Present and Future

In Canterlot Castle, the awkward reunion between Janet Van Dyne and Hank Pym continued, with others awkwardly standing there, except Spike, the Dragon looking ready for a fight.

The others present in the room felt the awkward tension as well, especially both Steve and Tony, who knew something like this could happen. Luna and Celestia were able to read the room as well, knowing that something potentially uncomfortable was going down.

Spitfire however seemed very curious and got somewhat impatient during the stare down, wondering what was happening. "So... what gives here?"

“This, Spitfire, is my ex-husband Hank Pym, whom I have not seen since my divorce several years ago,” Janet explained.

“Oh…that would explain the awkward silence,” Spitfire said.

“Janet, I know you must be a bit surprised to see me…” Hank began.

“Oh I’m, very surprised,” Janet said.

“Yes, of course,” Hank said. “You see, Tony contacted me recently because he had a spot for me on this little idea of his.”

“He got you for The Accords huh?” Janet asked. “I’m almost surprised, I didn’t think he would actually bring you over.”

“I was just as surprised, none of The Avengers really kept much contact with me, given my past mistakes, such as Ultron,” Hank said.

“That’s not your only mistake,” Janet quickly reminded.

“Yes, I am aware of that,” Hank shamefully admitted. “That’s why I’m here, to make up for all my past mistakes.”

“I know this might be awkward for you Janet, but Hank has a lot to offer as our ally,” Tony said. “But at the very least, your interaction with him will be minimal, if not non-existent.”

“Fine by me Tony,” Janet said. “Now if that’s done, I should get to Ponyville, Twilight’s due any day, so Spike and I would like to be present for when she gives birth.”

“Hopefully it’s as soon as possible, poor mare got sick yesterday,” Steve said.

Spike immediately grew worried for his sister’s condition. “Sick? How badly sick? Is there anything we can do!?”

“She just threw up, very common among pregnant women,” Tony said. “Though you should know since you got Janet pregnant years ago.”

“He did what?” Hank asked.

Janet started to feel awkward, “You don’t know that I remarried, do you?”

“Tony did say you moved on, I don’t think he clarified marriage,” Hank said.

“Well, I’m married,” Janet gestured to the dragon beside her. “And Spike’s my husband, and the father of my child, our daughter Hope.”

“Hi…” Spike weakly greeted.

“Uh, nice to meet you spike,” Hank said, feeling even more awkward. “So you two have a daughter?”

“Yes, I’d introduce you but she’s with Ember who is on her way to Ponyville,” Janet said, turning to leave. “Spike and I just came here on business, which is currently wrapped up, so if you don’t mind, me and Spike are leaving now.”

“See you later,” Spike said, walking quickly to catch up to Janet, though not without one brief glare to Hank as he muttered, “Or not.”

The two had left for Ponyville, leaving Hank in a feeling of confusion. Tony sensed his worries and quickly tried to ease them, “It’s going to take some time but I think you and Janet can make amends.”
“Yes, even if she found love elsewhere, there’s nothing saying you can’t be friends,” Luna said. “I mean, it’s better than nothing, isn’t it?”

“I guess…” Hank said. “I just…I regret so much, bad as making Ultron was, I did make a bigger mistake than that, I should not have treated Janet the way I did.”

“Hank, what matters is that you want to make things right,” Tony said. “That’s why you’re here, a new beginning. Equestria is the land of second chances, just start over and be the hero we know you can be. Remember, you’re one of The Avengers. I mean, say the word and I’ll help you get your suit back from Scott Lang, you’re the original and far superior Ant Man after all.”

“Thanks, but if I’m going to start over, I’m making a new hero identity,” Hank said. “I am Ant Man no more, it’s time for me to evolve.”

“Well, that’s good to know, I think,” Tony said. “Well let’s get you to work, I detect big things for the future. Spitfire, mind joining me?”

“You got it Mr. Stark,” Spitfire said, following after Tony and Hank.

As the three left, Celestia turned her attention toward Steve, “This is nothing to be concerned about, correct?”

“Hank’s a good man, but it would be better to keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn’t slip up,” Steve said.

“He and Janet seem to have a really not so pleasurable past,” Celestia said.

“It’s quite the shame really, Hank and Janet were such a great couple, when The Avengers needed assistance, we could always count on the amazing teamwork of Ant Man and The Wasp. But, sometimes mistakes happen, and things aren’t the same as they once were.”

“It must have been terrible for them,” Celestia said.

“I know what it’s like when you can no longer be with the one you love, it gets lonely, and seeing her with another, he hid it well but I can tell it broke his heart,” Steve said. “No one wants to see the person they love and admire with someone other than themselves.”

As Steve said this, all Luna could think of was how she could have had Peter if she said something sooner. Her situation may not be the exact same but similarly to Hank Pym, she lost out and has to live with that regret. If she could, she’d make things right for her, and get her happy ending.

---

Outside Janet is seen walking to the train station, a lot on her mind during her travel. Seeing her ex-husband was not on her list of things to expect for the day. She honestly never believed she would see him again, but there he was, ponified and once again working with The Avengers. Part of her was upset at Tony for bringing Hank in, but she knew that despite their past, Hank is a valuable asset to the team. Though she did hope that Tony would have been just fine with Reed Richards and Doctor Hooves.

“Hey Janet, are you feeling alright?” Spike asked.

Janet shook her head, “Truthfully, I’m not. Seeing Hank after all this time just brings up bad memories. I really thought the two of us were unbreakable as a couple, for our relationship to fall apart the way it did put quite the damper on my views of trust.”

“I’m sorry you feel this way Janet,” Spike said. “I mean, I wish I could relate so I can understand better but-“

“You don’t want to relate to me Spike,” Janet said. “Be happy you’ve never had to go through what I’ve gone through.”

“Well truth be told, if I hadn’t met you, I think I would have gone through that heartache when Rarity got with Bobby Drake,” Spike said.

“Pfft, seriously Spike!?” Janet bluntly remarked. “I actually went through a wedding with Hank, believing we’d be happy together only to end up divorced after the terrible things he’s done, especially to me. You just had a silly crush that went nowhere, it would not have been the same!”

Spike looked taken back and surprised by his wife’s outburst, feeling a little guilty about setting her off the way he did, “Sorry Janet, I didn’t mean to upset you. I just wanted you to know how much you meant to me, I know it is a silly crush but I really would have been hurt by Rarity’s choice if I hadn’t already started falling for you.”

Janet started feeling like a jerk for the things she said. “No, I’m sorry Spike, I shouldn’t have gotten mad at you just because you’re trying to understand my pain. It’s what makes you a good husband, all a girl needs is for her man to be there for her, and that’s what you do for me every day.”

“Of course, I love you Janet,” Spike said.

Turning to kiss the Dragon, Janet replied, “I love you too.” She gestured away, “Let’s hurry, everyone’s going to be waiting for us.”

Spike quickly followed his lovely wife to the train, hoping to reach Ponyville fast.

---

Meanwhile at the School of Friendship’s library, the Student Six and Cozy Glow were catching up on their studies. The filly in question was off on her own, reading out of a book, looking almost annoyed as she couldn’t shake off what Peter told her about her being more similar to Spike, basically liking her to that of a sidekick who has a minor following in her eyes.

“There’s so much to research,” Gallus said. “Like does anyone even fully remember the history of Friendship?”

“I can’t even remember if King Sombra’s return was before or after Spider-Mane first arrived,” Silverstream said.

“Before,” Cozy Glow said, getting Silverstream’s attention. “Sometime after King Sombra and The Crystal Empire came back, Princess Twilight summoned Spider-Mane to Equestria.”

“Oh right, and which Earth was he a part of?” Silverstream asked.

“Marvel,” Cozy said. “When you think of the superheroes, you think how ‘Marvelous’ they are, it makes it easier to remember.”

“Ooh! Good one Cozy!” Silversteam said. “This should make it all easier to remember.”

“Guess we can all count on our special little assistant,” Gallus teased, Cozy casting a glare. “She really is our Spike, huh?”

“Come on Gallus, don’t be like that,” Sandbar said.

“Hey it’s a compliment, everyone could use an assistant,” Gallus said. “Not like I’m telling her to get me a donut.”

“Hey just because Peter compared you to Rainbow Dash doesn’t mean you have to be as arrogant as she is!” Cozy Glow said.

“Wow you’re sensitive, can no one take a joke?” Gallus asked. “Silverstream, you’re the Pinkie Pie of our group, what do you make of this?”

“Well, Professor Pinkie Pie would say that jokes are alright, as long as no one’s feelings get hurt,” Silversteam said. “Of course, Mr. Deadpool would insist that a joke is just a joke.”

“Let’s stick with Professor Pinkie Pie’s methods for now,” Ocellus said. “Gallus, I know you’re not trying to be mean but you are upsetting Cozy Glow just a little bit, would you mind dialing it back?”

“Fine, sorry Cozy Glow,” Gallus said, almost half-heartedly.

“Sure thing,” Cozy Glow said, not fully believing him.

“Look, let’s just focus back on our studies, we still have a test coming up and I’d rather not flunk,” Gallus said.

“I do need to brush up on some of my Superhero Philosophies,” Ocellus said. “Like, what does the term ‘With Great Power comes Great Responsibility’ mean to the rest of you?”

“That the more power you have, the busier you are because there’s more to do?” Smolder asked.

“I think it’s that I you have the ability to do something, you should do it,” Sandbar said.

“Something like that, maybe it also means that you have more to do when you’re a superhero, you have more creatures to protect and those with the power should protect them,” Silversteam theorized.

As everyone thought it over, Cozy Glow started thinking about what that meant to her, to have all that power and what it meant to be responsible.

“Maybe those with power have the responsibility to maintain that power, by any means,” Cozy muttered to herself. She began to smirk almost sadistically, “Those with great power, must know how to control it, it would be irresponsible to let that all go to waste. If only I had that power, then we’ll see who the ‘Spike’ is.”

“Who you talking to Cozy Glow!?” Yona asked.

“Oh! Uh, sorry, just thinking out loud!” Cozy nervously said, hoping no one heard her.

“You know you can come join us,” Sandbar said. “You’re our friend after all.”

“Yeah, we want you here with us,” Ocellus said.

“Uh, alright, if you don’t mind,” Cozy Glow said. She trotted over as both Sandbar and Ocellus made room for her to sit between them.

“There, that’s better,” Sandbar said. “One rule of Friendship is to always make others feel included.”

“I appreciate that, you’re really nice,” Cozy Glow said.

“Maybe you can help us too, you seem to really know your stuff, you must study on your own a lot,” Silverstream said.

“Of course, I do want to stay in this school, so I work hard,” Cozy Glow said. “It helps that Jubilee is really helpful too. She always gives me tips and life experiences. She’s really amazing.”

“Oh totally,” Sandbar said, a blush appearing on his face. Once he noticed everyone starting, he quickly tried to cover it up, “Yeah, she’s really friendly, same with Professor Wagner.”

“Got that right, he’s the best,” Silverstream said.

“He’s so relatable too, I mean he grew up with everyone hating him, just like what happened to a lot of us,” Ocellus said. “Especially me, being a Changeling and all.”

“Ironic that his mother can change shapes too,” Gallus said. “Still, you’re right about his past, I mean, no kid deserved to be treated that way.”

“Bad as it was though, he said that it just made him stronger, sometimes you need to have your morality tested, it shows what type of person, or creature you are in the end,” Ocellus said.

“Does Professor Wagner have any philosophy stuff?” Silverstream asked.

“Most of his philosophies comes from a book he read on Earth called ‘The Bible’,” Ocellus said. “I know he mentioned how tricky it was for him to refer to that book since it’s a basis of his Religion, one not common in Equestria.”

“Well maybe he can give us some private sessions, I’d like to learn more about his religion,” Sandbar said.

“Me too, it could be fun!” Silverstream said.

“Alright, we’ll make plans to see him later, for now let’s focus on what we need to study,” Ocellus said.

“You got it,” Sandbar said, everyone turning to their notes. Cozy Glow looked over her own notes, while at the same time, inching closer to Ocellus. Of all the students here, she was the one she felt the most comfortable around, and one she hoped would be her friend forever. A good friend like her is sure to help give her the magic she desired for her ultimate goals, and she could use someone to be side by side with when she enacts them.

---

As the day grew late, Rumble was on his way to Twilight’s library where he promised to meet his brother so he can drop Felicity off. On the way there, he spotted Rainbow Dash and Johnny Storm talking with two somewhat familiar ponies. An Earth Pony stallion with a Daring Do type shirt and a Pegasus filly that was holding a Buck Ball.

“Where have I seen them before?” Rumble wondered, trotting over to the group.

Johnny noticed Rumble from nearby, gesturing the boy over. “Yo Rumble! Over here!”

Rumble trotted over to the quartet, “Hi Johnny, Rainbow Dash.”

“Sup Rumble, you ever met my friend and fellow Daring Do fan, Quibble Pants?” Rainbow Dash said, gesturing to the Earth Pony in question.

“Oh so you’re Quibble,” Rumble said. “I think I’ve seen you around once or twice for fan conventions.”

“I attend many conventions, of course my favorite is Daring Do,” Quibble said. “But it’s a pleasure to formally meet you Rumble.”

“Likewise,” Rumble said, then turned to the filly. “And who might you be?”

“This is my step-daughter, Wind Sprint,” Quibble introduced.

“Nice to meet you,” Wind Sprint said. “So who’s the baby on your back? Your daughter?”

“Actually she’s my niece, I’m watching over her while my brother is in Canterlot trying out for The Avengers.”

“The Avengers!?” Wind Sprint asked. “Your brother is with The Avengers!?”

“Yeah, if it goes well, he can be a member of the Equestrian Division,” Rumble said.

“That’s quite fascinating,” Quibble said. “I hear to be an Avenger is the highest honor.”

“Aside from The Fantastic Four that is,” Johnny said. “We do just as much dangerous stuff as Cap and his buddies, the times we’ve faced off against Galactus is almost as massive as he is.”

“Have you met any of The Avengers?” Wind Sprint asked.

“Yeah, I’ve seen pretty much all of them, I even sat near some Superheroes during the Marvel vs Capcom Tournament back in Canterlot,” Rumble said.

“Ah yes, I remember that one,” Quibble said. “Spider-Mane put out quite a good showing, especially at the end against that Ryu guy.”

“I used to live with Spider-Mane and Princess Twilight, I was their adoptive son,” Rumble said.

“It’s true, they really treated him like family,” Rainbow Dash said. “Their daughter loved him a lot too.”

“Wow, that’s really neat,” Wind Sprint said. “You sound like a really lucky colt.”

“Yeah, so what about you? I see you have a Buckball, you play?” Rumble asked.

“Yeah, my father was a big Buckball star,” Wind Sprint said. “So, in a way, I’m honoring his Legacy.”

“She’s really great, she was the star at her school, she might be close to going pro,” Quibble said.

“Funny, I was playing Buckball with some friends the other day, and I’m expecting a rematch, if they accept, I’d like to have a star player on my team,” Rumble said.

“Sounds good to me, I could use extra practice,” Wind Sprint said. “Are these friends any good?”

“They’re alright, some of them are mostly talk though,” Rumble said. “We’ll talk it over later, I have to drop my niece off to my brother.”

“Sure thing, see you around then,” Wind Sprint said, the others waving bye as well while Rumble made his way to the Golden Oaks Library. “He’s kind of cute.”

“He’s also taken,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Bummer, oh well, at least I can practice more of my Buckball,” Wind Sprint said.

“What’s important is that you’ll probably make some new friends,” Quibble said.

“That’s a plus too,” Wind Sprint said. “Hey Rainbow Dash, Johnny Storm, think you two might want to attend the game if there is one?”

“If we’re not busy,” Rainbow Dash said. “Somepony’s gotta help keep Equestria safe.”

“How many more heroes are coming?” Quibble asked.

“I don’t think we’ll get that many more, which is why the Avengers training is a thing in the first place, Tony Stark wants to create heroes right here in Equestria,” Johnny said.

“Once there’s enough, some of the Marvel Heroes might not need to patrol here much more,” Rainbow Dash said. “Plus being fully prepared for villain Invasions is a plus. Both in this world and outside of Equestria.”

“There’s no sign of those villains from Canterlot either, is there?” Quibble asked.

“None, they escaped with Loki,” Rainbow Dash explained. “Thor went to find them, and we’re hoping that Sunset Shimmer might find out some information of her own while traveling with Ryu and his buddies.”

“Then there’s those other villains, including that creep known as Sephiroth, and that Storm King guy, two relatively unknown villains,” Johnny said.

“The Storm King huh? I feel like I’ve read about something like that recently,” Quibble said.

“Hey if you ever want to talk to Twilight, be our guest,” Rainbow Dash said. “She’s trying hard to find out some other information, including details about Starswirl and his Pillars.”

“Starswirl? Pillars?” Quibble said.

“I already told her about Flash Magnus,” Rainbow Dash said. “She mentioned some others but, I don’t know much about them.”

“Oh, I’ve read tons about them, I can go talk to Princess Twilight right now if you’d like!” Quibble Pants said.

“You research ancient heroes or something?” Johnny asked. “Eh, guess guys like you are good.”

“Knowing about the past can shape the future,” Quibble Pants said.

“Sounds like something Reed would say, but sometimes looking up old heroes is kind of cool,” Johnny said. “It’s how I got my hero name, I’m not the first to call myself ‘The Human Torch’.”

“Well what are we waiting for!?” Quibble said. “Let’s go see Princess Twilight.”

“Sounds good to me,” Rainbow Dash said, then focused her attention to Wind Sprint. “Wanna join us?”

“I guess, at least Rumble will be there,” Wind Sprint said.

“It works out for us all, now let’s go,” Quibble said, everyone making their way to the Golden Oaks Library.

---

In Manehattan, Coco Pommel was getting ready to close up shop at the Stark Industries building located in that city. It was quite the busy day for her, like it normally is. After each day she goes home to soak up in a nice bath as she relaxes into the evening. Maybe see if her coltfriend had sent any letters her way during his travels.

On her way out, she was surprisingly greeted by a pony unknown to her. “Miss Pommel.”

Coco turned to see Martin standing nearby, curious by his presence, “Uh, hello. Do I know you?”

“I don’t believe you do, unless you have heard of my growing business, but we’ve never met formally,” Martin said. “I am Lee, I am a business partner of your former boss, Suri Polomare.”

“Oh, I think I’ve seen you two around,” Coco said. “It’s nice to formally meet you Lee, is there a reason you wanted to speak to me?”

“Just a business proposition, I know my business is barely getting off the ground but I think a pony of your skills is just what my company needs,” Lee said. “I’ve heard talk of how well you manage this building, one that belongs to a member of The Avengers. You might be just the pony I need to help my own business grow.”

“Do you really think so?” Coco asked. “Well I’m flattered but I’m very happy working for Mr. Stark, I don’t think I’ll be changing jobs.”

“It’s not because of Suri, is it?” Martin asked, getting an uncomfortable reaction from Coco. “I know you two had a falling out, but isn’t this world all about second chances?”

“I suppose so, but…” Coco felt conflicted. “I just can’t leave Mr. Stark’s company, it just seems so wrong, I’m not just an employee after all.”

“I see no reason to worry, a successful man like Tony Stark will make do,” Martin said. “But, I suppose this is sudden, and it’s something you should think about. In the interest of fairness, I will give you some time to think about it, I’ll get back to you in a day or two, depending on how progress of my own company is going. But I’d really love to have you working with me, and who knows, if you do well enough, you can quickly become manager at my company. You’d be just below myself, and possibly Suri. But this time, I don’t think you’ll have to do so many coffee runs.”

Coco suddenly had bad memories of her time with Suri, and for some reason she started to feel angry, unaware of Martin’s powers taking effect on her, “I should hope not, I’m a designer, not a barista.”

“And a remarkable designer you are,” Martin said, trotting off. “I will see you around Miss Pommel, and I do hope you accept my offer.”

In the midst of her frustrations, Coco suddenly shook her head, trying to rid her mind of her troubles, “That was strange.”

Not wanting to dawdle, Coco started making her way home, unaware of a trio of the Demon gang ponies watching from a distance, looking ready to mobilize. Their orders were clear, don’t hurt her too badly, but at least put a scare into her.

As they got close to Coco however, one of them got whacked on the head with a Skateboard, surprising his two allies.

“Gonna need you to stay away from that nice mare, if you don’t want an impromptu visit to the dentist,” Night Thrasher warned, taking a pose back on his skateboard.

“Get him!” the two ponies tried to attack but Night Thrasher had sidestepped and stomped his skateboard to hit a gang pony in the face, then ducked the other and hit him with an uppercut.

As this was happening, Coco turned around and saw the commotion in the background, “What in Equestria?”

This distracted her from a big brute sneaking up behind her, one that Night Thrasher noticed in the midst of his fighting, “Ma’am! Watch out!”

“Huh!?” Coco turned around and found herself being grabbed by the bigger pony. “Put me down!”

“Dammit!” Night Thrasher knocked a guy out the way and skateboarded over to the brute. “Hey pal! That ain’t no way to treat a lady!” He kicked flipped off the skateboard into a kick to the brute’s face, forcing him to release Coco.

“How dare you!” the brute tried to punch down on Night Thrasher but the skateboarding hero dodged out the way and used his skateboard to add pressure to a jump kick to his face, knocking him back. Night Thrasher finished it off by riding in and doing one final kick and then aiming his wrist and firing what looked like a type of taser to knock the big brute out.

“Fall back!” a gang pony said, everyone quickly retreating.

“Shit, they’re getting away!” Night Thrasher said, then activated his radio. “Elektra, Daredevil, spotted more of those gang ponies, I took one out a block down of the Stark Industries building but his friends are escaping.”

“On it, any victims we should know about?” Elektra asked.

“One mare, nearly got taken hostage but she’s safe now,” Night Thrasher said.

“Good work, Elektra and I will track down the thugs, we’ll get back to you,” Daredevil said.

As Night Thrasher put the radio away, he turned to Coco, “You feeling alright ma’am? Need me to escort you home?”

“If you don’t mind, that’d be great,” Coco said. “You’re another hero from Earth right?”

“Yeah, call me Night Thrasher,” The hero introduced. “Lately I’ve been working during the day though, kind of throws me off whack but a city as big as this one needs all the active heroes it can get. I’m hoping Stark sends more.”

“I think he’s having trouble, at least that’s what he told me last time he was here,” Coco said.

“You know Stark?” Night Thrasher asked.

“I work directly under him in his building here, I’m Coco Pommel, Stark Industries manager,” Coco said.

“Wow, big shot, probably why those guys were after you,” Night Thrasher said.

“Not the first guys after me, before this I was talking with a man named Lee who wanted to hire me for his new business,” Coco said. “I almost didn’t even get a chance to take him up on his offer.”

“Lee huh?” Night Thrasher found that a bit suspicious. “Funny…”

“Huh? What’s wrong?” Coco asked.

“Nothing, don’t worry about it,” Night Thrasher said. “Come on, let’s hurry to your place.”

Night Thrasher escorted Coco home as Daredevil and Elektra maintained pursuit of the Demons, hoping to be one step closer to finding out who’s in charge.

---

Back in Ponyville a bit later in the evening, Rumble was waiting at the Library, talking some more with Wind Sprint while Mayday and Felicity sat near them. Bobby and Rarity were also present with Spike and Janet, as well as Rainbow Dash and Johnny, the three couples taking while. Hope Van Dragon spent some time with Snow Gem. Peter, Starlight Trixie stayed to the side, both conversing and discussing various things.

Quibble meanwhile was talking with Twilight about the pillars, the Princess getting him up to speed on what she’s already figured out about the Pillars.

“I’ve studied Starswirl my whole life, so I’m very familiar with him,” Twilight explained. “All my friends told me about the other Pillars, except for Somnambula.”

“Well lucky for you, I’ve done research on her,” Quibble said. “Her legend began when an evil Sphinx began stealing crops from her town. She did everything she could to help her town, even selling her valuables to buy food for the villagers, but that wasn’t enough. She had to go and face the monster, and it tried every thing she could to stop her, first with a simple riddle.”

“A riddle? Do you remember what it was?” Twilight asked.

“Someone mention riddles?” Peter asked, making his way over with Trixie and Starlight.

“It’s a riddle from Somnambula’s days, Quibble’s about to explain it,” Twilight said.

“If my memory serves me correct, and it usually does,” Quibble joked. “The riddle was this, ‘I am there but unseen, it costs nothing to have me but it will cost you everything to be without me. What am I?’”

“Wow, that’s a tricky one,” Trixie said. “Peter, Starlight, any ideas?”

“Uh, I’m thinking…patience,” Starlight said.

“Responsibility for me, mostly speaking from personal experience though,” Peter said.

“Both great guesses, but the answer is ‘Hope’,” Quibble explained.

“Hope?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, she had such a strong believe in Hope that she took on one of the challenges blindfolded, and because of the faith she put in, she was successful and eventually drove the Sphinx away,” Quibble said.

“That’s amazing,” Starlight said. “Wow, the power of Hope.”

“Sounds familiar to me, Hope is especially great if you’re a space warrior fighting an evil Empire,” Peter joked, getting no reaction from the others. “No one gets it?”

“Should we?” Quibble asked.

“Peter likes referencing things from his world, even if nopony in Equestria understands it,” Twilight said.

“Is it a hero from your world?” Quibble asked.

“Pfft, I wish, I don’t think they actually exist,” Peter said.

“Nopony thought Daring Do actually existed, until a few years back that is,” Twilight said. “Maybe these warriors of yours exist too.”

“I doubt it…” Peter said.

Meanwhile in a Galaxy Far, Far Away…

A warrior with a green Light Saber looked into the distance beside a two-foot-tall blue and white robot by his side, “I sense someone who wishes to believe in the power of The Force…but where could that person be?”

Back in Equestria.

“Well that’s the story of Somnambula, and fun fact, the town she’s from is said to be where Daring Do lives and has many of her adventures!” Quibble said.

“Oh, that’s so neat!” Twilight said. “I’d love to go there personally one day.”

“We’ll make that a vacation spot,” Peter said. “Still, the idea of Hope saving the world. That’s actually a great message, seems like each of these Pillars had something they fought hard to achieve. Rockhoof achieved Strength when it seemed unlikely for him, but just when his village needed it. Mistmane’s true Beauty shined when she gave up her physical beauty for the sake of others. Mage Meadowbrook defied odds and achieved magic despite being an Earth Pony, and Healing those who needed her the most. Flash Magnus showed incredible Bravery when going against a Dragon with nothing but a shield, and on his own too. Somnambula is all about that Hope and how it can be a tool for survival. Then there’s Starswirl, master of Sorcery. In a way, they kind of mirror the current Elements.”

“Yeah you’re right…could The Elements of Harmony be successors to Starswirl and his Pillars?” Twilight wondered. “I have to look into this more, hopefully find out what happened to them.”

“It’s funny, I was just telling Sandbar and his friends how they reminded me of you and your friends, Twi,” Peter said. “Sandbar is like you, Silverstream is like Pinkie, Ocellus is like Fluttershy, Smolder is like Rarity, Gallus is like Rainbow Dash and Yona is like Applejack.”

“You think it means anything Peter?” Starlight asked.

“Possibly, maybe they’re meant to be your apprentices or something,” Peter said. “What do you think Twilight?”

“They’re remarkable students, but it’s too soon to tell,” Twilight said.

“Well it’s nothing you should worry about right now, you’ve still got plenty of good years ahead of you as an Element of Harmony, unless you’re ready to retire,” Trixie said.

“Not quite,” Twilight answered. “But it’s nice to have the option.”

“Maybe I should find a sidekick,” Peter said. “If I’m lucky I’ll find another up and coming hero with Spider powers.”

“What are the odds of that though?” Trixie asked.

“I am not sure,” Peter said. “I just think it’d be neat.”

During this talk, Rumble was making his way over with Wind Sprint and the fillies, not in full audio range of their conversation.

“But still, I thought that Rumble and his friends would be the successors as Equestria’s protectors,” Trixie said, confusing Rumble

“Huh? What does that mean?” Rumble asked, Wind Sprint shrugging.

“Well counting Rumble and The Cutie Mark Crusaders, there’s only four,” Starlight said. “Sandbar has five friends.”

“Six, Cozy Glow’s there too,” Peter said. “But I see her more as the group’s ‘Spike’.”

“That’s adorable, she already is a great little helper,” Twilight said. “If she and Sandbar mirror the relationship that Spike and I have, I’d say it’d come along naturally.”

“Sandbar?” Rumble said. “Wait, are they…”

“Still, I think Rumble hoped to one day be in that light, a protector of Equestria,” Trixie said. “But maybe he can be if he becomes your sidekick Peter.”

“I did consider that once, but he needs to work on his combat abilities, and not rush into things like he’s been doing recently, like with Magneto,” Peter said.

“I don’t rush into things, I go in and protect others, like a stallion should do,” Rumble said. “I can totally be a protector of Equestria.”

“I think you can be too,” Wind Sprint said.

“Thanks, good to have support,” Rumble said. “Still, Sandbar and the others as the new Elements? If all me and the girls need are two more then I can find two more. Wind Sprint, you want to be one of my Elements?”

“Uh, sure, I guess,” Wind Sprint said.

“Awesome, we just need a sixth pony, and a Spike,” Rumble said.

“Can I be Spike?” Mayday asked.

“You’re too precious to be Spike, you can be our Peter, that’s way better,” Rumble said.

“Me? Like daddy!?” Mayday asked, her eye sparkling. “I would love to be like daddy, he’s the best pony ever!”

“She’s adorable,” Wind Sprint said, then remembered the other filly with them. “What about your niece?”

“Too young to be anything,” Rumble said. “Anyway, I can ask Dinky Doo, I bet she’s decent with magic, if Sweetie Belle takes after her sister, we’d need magic and Dinky would be just as good.”

“Well you have your Elements, what’s next?” Wind Sprint asked.

“First we need to win the honor from Sandbar, and that’s where Buck Ball comes in,” Rumble said. “We challenge them to a game, winners become the successors.”

“That’s neat, I guess,” Wind Sprint said.

“Then it’s settled, we’ll show everypony just who the true Elements are,” Rumble said. “We can even go beyond, maybe The Avengers will see so much potential in us, we can be in their group. The Avengers of Harmony! That’s what we’ll be called! It will be glorious! Nopony can stop us!”

Rumble began to laugh in an almost sinister way, unaware that he was now attracting attention from everyone present, all of them staring in confusion.

“Yo, Rumble, having fun over there?” Peter asked.

Rumble stopped immediately, blushing in embarrassment, “Uh…I heard a joke?”

No one believed that, but they didn’t care, they just figured it was Rumble just being weird and they went back to their own business.

“Hey, Rumble, love your enthusiasm, but dial it back a bit,” Wind Sprint said.

“Right, sure thing,” Rumble said. He continued to wait for his brother, and make plans to take down Sandbar and his friends.

---

Speaking of Hope, in another timeline of The Dragon World, one boy was seen sharpening his skills with his sword. While his time had enjoyed relative peace from The Androids, he still had to be on guard, especially after having encountered a wizard and his henchmen trying to revive an ancient demon.

This boy was of course Trunks, the son of Vegeta. It was thanks to him that in another timeline, his friends and family are safe, and thanks to them, he has reached the strength he needed to go beyond his current capabilities.

Unbeknownst to him, evil still lurked in the distance, only he did not know where, or when it would come from. The Land of the Kais, despite being a holy and majestic place, had its evils, especially when one such evil has grown quite curious of a certain mortal by the name of Son Goku.

“No mortal should have that power,” the Kai Zamasu said. “I must rectify this at once.”

A mission had begun, that of the ultimate survival, a Godly encounter could affect not only the timelines, but different dimensions.

---

Meanwhile in Tartarus, a showdown was underway as most of the villains watched on as Electro and Adagio began their spar against Scorcher and Wizard, the latter two using an interesting method.

“You’re going down!” Elector shouted, sending a blast their way, but Wizard had blocked with a forcefield.

“Scorcher, set the ablaze, I will assist you from here!” Wizard said from within the forcefield.

“You got it!” Scorcher rushed out and began blasting the two with his fire. “You’re both going down!”

“This is your plan?” Adagio asked as she dodged, “Send your teammate to fight alone?”

“Poor strategy!” Electro shouted, zapping Scorcher back. “We’ll take him down and focus on you!”

“A true showman makes things entertaining in battle,” Wizard said.

“Can’t argue that logic,” Mysterio said. “Of course, I doubt that fire one will be able to carry this show on his own.”

“Don’t you underestimate me!” Scorcher said, tossing fire at the duo of Electro and Adagio.

“At least this will make good practice against The Human Torch,” Adagio said, then rushed in to tackle Scorcher back.

“Torch’s flames burn hotter than this poser,” Electro said, readying some electricity. “We’d be better off trying to find and recruit Pyro!”

As Electro began zapping again, Sonata turned her attention to Discord. “Are you going to recruit the Brotherhood?”

“I want to, I really do, but it’s out of my hands now,” Discord said. “If I go near Wanda, she’ll likely try to erase me, she is still not in a good mood about this whole thing.”

“That girl is way too emotional to be in our group anyway,” Shocker said. “No way we can trust her.”

“You have a lot of trust issues Herman,” Discord said.

“Hey pal, in New York you don’t trust anyone, if you’re not careful, you could get crushed, and I am not letting that happen to me,” Shocker said.

“Don’t you trust us?” Sonata asked. “We’re your friends.”

Shocker turned away in annoyance, he won’t admit it but he at the very least likes Sonata a little bit better than the others. “Eh…”

“You also trusted Lightning Dust when she was your teammate,” Discord said.

“And where did that get me? She betrayed us for Spider-Man,” Shocker said. “But I can’t blame her, Vega and I were thought to be dead, she had to protect herself somehow.”

"Maybe you can see if she wants to come back to us,” Sonata said.

“No way, she won’t give up what she has now with Wolverine and his family,” Shocker said. “Just forget her, it’s in the past.”

Scorcher got in another blast, knocking Electro back. “Still think I can’t take you on!?”

Electro got up and sent volts of electricity at Scorcher, sending shockwaves through his body and knocking him back again.

“Step aside Scorcher, it’s my turn,” Wizard said, placing Scorcher behind a protective field. He readied his own electricity, “Take this!”

He sent a blast at the two, both easily dodging out of the way.

“You can’t hurt me! I am the embodiment of Electricity!” Electro said. “Allow me to demonstrate my superiority to you, Free of Charge!”

“Lame!” Aria said.

Electro was about to attack when suddenly he felt strange, the villain holding his head, “What’s happening!?”

“Hey Max, what’s with you?” Adagio asked.

Wizard used his helmet in an attempt to mind control Electro, “Fall to my command, use your powers for my gain, use them to destroy this puny little horse.”

“Horse!?” Adagio asked, somewhat offended. “Buddy, I’m a siren!”

She then used her singing to do her own mind control on Wizard, the villain trying to resist. “It’s no use, I will not succumb to your alluring call.”

“~Oh, now it seems like you can’t tell~” Adagio said. “~That you’ve fallen right under my spell~”

“Oh no, you’ll fall under mine!” Wizard said as he tried to direct his mind control on Adagio, the two struggling for dominance.

Unfortunately for him, Electro had recovered and used his electricity to destroy Wizard’s helmet, stunning him enough for one final blast that knocked him out of the fight.

The forcefield was down, Scorcher was ready to make a quick surprise attack. “Time to burn!”

Just before he could strike, Adagio stepped in and began to transform, to the surprise of everyone around.

“What’s she doing?” Shocker asked, looking just as surprised as everyone else.

“Reverting to her true form,” Aria explained. “What we really look like when we’re not resembling ponies or humans.”

Appearing before them was the monstrous Adagio, the beast lifting Scorcher up and slamming him down a few times before finally punching him toward a wall and ending the fight.

“My, what a spectacle!” Mysterio said. “Our allies put on a five-star performance.”

Adagio transformed back, taking a quick breath, “Whew, I need something to eat. Those guys probably feel the terrible sting of defeat, maybe I’ll snack on their shame.”

“Save some for me!” Sonata said, trotting over with Aria by her side.

“I could use a little power myself,” Tirek said, going over to steal some of their energy.

“Looks like I won’t be recruiting those two,” Discord said.

“I can’t believe you considered them in the first place,” Green Goblin said, making his way over with Chrysalis and Annihilus by his side. “Wizard I could understand, even if our allies already have what he has, between the electricity, the mind control and that showman personality, but Scorcher? You can do better. We have plenty of guys you can work with, I mean look for Ultron, or Doctor Doom. If you really want damage done to this world, find Dormammu.”

“I could Norman, but I need people we can trust,” Discord said.

“You can trust them, we all have a common goal,” Goblin said. “You’d be amazed how well villains can work together when we have an enemy to crush, though teamwork isn’t my favorite thing, I’m willing to work with whoever I can to defeat Spider-Man, as long as I get the final blow.”

“Funny you should say that, see I had someone in mind but I wasn’t sure if you’d be thrilled with the idea,” Discord said.

“I’m a flexible guy, I mean who did you get that you thought I wouldn’t like?” Goblin asked. “The Hobgoblin? If anything, I can show him up, let him see what a true Goblin can do.”

“No, not him,” Discord said. “He should be here momentarily, in fact I see him coming down the halls now.”

“Oh good, I’ll greet him personally,” Goblin said, making his way past Tirek and the Dazzlings as they stole the magic they needed. “Now where is…wait, YOU!? But how!? I thought I-“

Suddenly Goblin found his neck wrapped by a large metallic tentacle, surprising the others nearby.

“Hey what’s-“ Adagio was grabbed as well, same with the Sirens as Tirek quickly got away. Soon all four were dangled in the air by four separate tentacles as one mysterious pony made his way over, walking on the latter two.

“He’s alive!?” Electro asked. “But how!? I was there when he bit it!”

“I’m not one to be held down by something as minuscule as death,” the man said.

Shocker was in awe for a second, then realized something troubling. “Sonata!” He ran over to the man. “Otto, put Sonata down! You’re gonna hurt her!”

“I would prefer if you put all of them down Mr. Octavius,” Discord said.

The nefarious villain himself, Otto Octavius, better known his world as Doctor Octopus, obliged by gently placing the Sirens down, but aggressively tossing Goblin out of the way.

“Forgive me, I was just a bit excited,” Octavius said.

Shocker checked up on Sonata, “Hey, are you hurt!?”

“I’m fine,” Sonata said, Shocker helping her up. “Thanks Herman.”

“Uh…” Shocker realized he showed too much concern and tried to brush it off, “Don’t get the wrong idea, I’d rather not lose a teammate, at least not one that’s somewhat useful.”

“Growing soft Herman?” Octavius asked.

“What are you even doing here? How are you alive?” Shocker asked.

“Seems like I have a fair bit of explaining to do,” Octavius said, a sinister smile etched on his face.

Author's Notes:

Don't take the Star Wars part too seriously. Inching closer to the conflict, but sometimes you gotta plant a decent amount of seeds and see how each grows.

Big Game Time

In the depths of Tartarus, the former Earth Scientist, Doctor Otto Octavius had made himself comfortable as he began to explain his situation.

"As most of you might know, I had been thought to have been dead, thanks to a certain Goblin," Octavius said, gesturing an annoyed Green Goblin. "He had not only betrayed me, but he had even stolen away the Sinister Six I had spent quite some time trying to assemble."

"You weren't doing much with them anyway," Goblin said.

"After that unfortunate encounter, I decided to rebuild and start anew," Octavius said. "Of course, doing so was kind of hard given my untimely demise, fortunately I always have a backup plan. Before I died, I had managed to clone my body, with all of my memories intact, so once my original vessel perished, my new vessel would rise."

"You cloned yourself!?" Adagio asked.

"So, this body you have, it isn't your original body," Electro theorized.

"Correct Electro, that's how I'm here, I am Doctor Octavius reborn," the doctor said. "Of course it took time for me to get readjusted to my new body, and a lot of careful planning. Once I had come to, I heard of a grandiose battle that took place in New York City, involving Spider-Man and some magical creatures."

"The Harmony Avengers," Discord said, getting a few states. "What? That's what they called themselves."

"Shocker, Electro…Osborn…you three were a big part of that battle, do you remember much from it?" Octavius asked.

"I remember getting sucker punched by some blue haired woman," Shocker said.

"Yeah, that chick sent me to the moon, then I ended up in this place shortly afterwards," Electro said.

"I remember that woman that was with Spider-Man had tried to kill me," Goblin said.

"Tell me, who was with Spider-Man that day?" Octavius asked. "Electro, you mentioned a blue haired woman."

"I think her name is Luna or something, one of this world's Princesses," Electro said.

"Princess of the Night to be precise," Chrysalis clarified. "She is the younger sister of Celestia, Princess of all of Equestria. They take turns running the country, Celestia during the day and Luna at night."

"Fascinating, tell me more," Octavius said.

"There was also that one girl who briefly worked with me, Sunset Shimmer," Goblin said. "After she got taken down by Spider-Man, she immediately switched sides, such lack of Loyalty."

"I remember a Dragon," Electro said.

"Wolverine was there too," Shocker said. "He beat the crap out of Kraven."

"There's also that Cat Burglar lady," Goblin said.

"Oh right, Black Cat," Shocker said. "She's always been enamored with Spider-Man."

"Last but not least, there was that purple haired woman, Twilight Sparkle," Goblin said.

"The wife of Spider-Man," Discord said.

"So, he has married," Octavius said. "Well good for him, I'm almost surprised but it sounds like our little spider is all grown up. So was that all?"

"I remember Venom being around, think he lost that suit of his though," Shocker said. "The Avengers were a big part of this as well."

"I had them under my control, that was until that foolish Hulk behemoth showed up and helped ruined that," Goblin said.

"Wasn't Deadpool there too?" Electro asked.

"Ugh, don't remind me, that guy was such a pain in the ass," Shocker said. "Why did you even hire him Osborn?"

"Guy might be a nut, but there's no denying what he can do," Goblin said. "If anything, I could have erased him from existence."

"You sound confident in yourself, could you really have reversed a spell placed by Thanos himself?" Discord asked. "Oh that reminds me-"

"No!" Shocker shouted. "Do not bring that guy here too! Bad enough Osborn suggested Dormammu."

"Hey if Doctor Strange is around, then Dormammu would have vested interest in our plans as well," Goblin said.

"Do we even need more allies?" Adagio asked.

"Well we are going against The Avengers, we just need to find guys we can trust," Electro said.

"Pfft, as if there's such a thing as a trustworthy villain," Shocker said.

"Villain? Who says we're villains?" Adagio asked. "I've done nothing wrong, everything I did was to stay alive."

"I concur," Chrysalis said. "All I wish to do is feed my hive, to be labeled as evil is just terrible."

"I didn't ask for these powers, moment I get them society treated me like a freak, so how am I the villain!" Electro pointed out.

"We've all been wronged, and are seeking our own justice," Mysterio said. "What has Spider-Man and his superhero allies done so differently? They've taken the law into their own hands, what makes them the protagonists of this story?"

"Alright, alright, didn't mean to start some bullshit philosophy banter," Shocker said. "Call us what you want, there are those that are loved by the public, like Spider-Man, and those hated by the public, us. The only people who probably hated Spider-Man was that crackpot newspaper company."

"Oh yeah, didn't that place nearly go out of business because Spider-Man was gone for like four years?" Electro asked.

"Even I pitied Spider-Man, he was too good for the citizens of New York," Octavius said. "Beyond that, he was too good for that world."

"Moving on, how and why are you here?" Adagio asked.

"Well I never really planned to come here, I hoped to stay back on Earth and finish my agendas," Octavius said. "Our friend Discord here contacted me, offering me one more chance to see Spider-Man, and perhaps fulfilling my ultimate goals."

"Are you joining our Squadron?" Shocker asked.

"Perhaps, I would not mind reuniting the Sinister Six," Octavius said.

"Sorry pal, but that's my goal," Goblin said. "Shocker, Electro and Mysterio work for me, and if things go well, so with Mr. Negative."

"Mr. Negative, is he in this world too?" Octavius said.

"He's in this world's equivalent to Manhattan," Mysterio explained. "Manehattan if you will."

"And the rule is this, to join us, you got to beat us," Goblin said.

"We can make an exception for him," Shocker said. "Besides he did slam you against that wall."

"He took me by surprise that time," Goblin said, grabbing his grenade bombs. "He won't do it again."

Before a fight could break out, Tirek quickly got their attention, "While I admire your eagerness Norman, for the time being, let us welcome Mr. Octavius, it sounds like he is very well renowned in your world and if he can help us bring down Spider-Mane and his wife, then I say we find a common ground."

"Think about it Osborn, Otto has connections and he has the tech that can give us an edge," Electro said. "You two can sort out your rivalry after we kill Spider-Man but let's just roll with it."

"Eh…" Goblin thought it over. "I'll go along with this for now, but don't expect us to be the best of friends or anything."

"We'll be professional co-workers," Octavius said. "But I must say Discord, you assembled quite the group here. If only Rhino and Kraven were here as well. Perhaps even a symbiote ally."

"Rhino is in this world, but he is contained in a dungeon alongside other old," Mysterio explained.

"Can't tell you where Kraven is though," Shocker said. "I haven't seen him since those Capcom guys showed up on Earth a couple of years back."

"As for the symbiote," Discord sinisterly grinned. "Well time will tell."

"Ah yes, Capcom Earth," Octavius said. "They made quite the spectacle when they teamed up with Doctor Doom. I do believe I had spotted the one known as Albert Wesker in New York a few times, along a boy with a blue jacket and sword, as well as a young girl with yellow robots."

"Sounds like Vergil and Tron Bonne," Shocker said.

"I have been trying to contact them, but what are they doing in New York?" Discord asked.

"I cannot tell you, I did not approach them about it," Octavius said. "Wesker has always seemed like a man of few words, and not one to let others in."

"Spot on, guy wasn't that talkative to me when I joined him in invading this world," Shocker said. "I spent most of my time traveling with Vega and a pony named Lightning Dust."

"Refresh my memory, who is Vega?" Octavius asked.

"One of Bison's Shadowlaw guys, he should be here too, but he barely talks to anyone," Shocker said. "Guy got killed in a fight with Spider-Man, then got resurrected, placed here, and permanently scarred on his face. Given how much of a narcissist he is, something like that would definitely leave him feeling like crap."

"Where is Bison, is he around as well?" Octavius asked.

"Pretty sure he's dead, but from what Vega told me, he's into cloning extra bodies, kind of like you, so I wouldn't be surprised if he popped up again," Shocker said.

"And I look forward to that," Discord said. "Now you may all make your plans, I must attend to my own. Seems like my good friend Zamasu is on the move, and I want to keep track of what he's planning."

"And I have to see if I got a letter from my Pen Pal from Ponyville," Tirek said.

"Hey you're not telling her too much in your letters, are you?" Adagio asked. "Last thing we want is Spider-Mane or his wife finding out about our plan too soon."

"Do not worry, she is very good at keeping secrets, and no one would doubt her, she's too adorable to them," Tirek said. "Plus, it's a good way to gather information on Iron Stallion's Accords."

"This reminds me," Electro said. "Otto, I gotta get you up to speed on certain Equestrian Lingo."

"Funny, I was about to inquire myself," Octavius said. "Let's make our plans."

"Wait!" Came Wizard's voice. "Please, let me join you."

"Uh, didn't you and your friend lose?" Aria asked. "If you couldn't win here, what makes you think you can be of use to us?"

"Now, now, there may be use for them," Octavius said. "Our friend Wizard is quite intelligent, maybe he was thrown off by his new form."

"Yes, Scorcher and I promise to do better next time," Wizard reassured.

"Sure, let them join, they seem eager enough," Tirek said.

"Fine, one more chance," Adagio said. "Do not make us regret this."

"You won't madam," Wizard reassured.

---

The following day was yet another ordinary day for most, with the exception for the heroes of Manehattan who were still following leads on the identity of the leader of this gang of ponies, aside from one tip that Night Thrasher had given to Daredevil and Elektra.

"Do you really believe this has to do with that new business that just opened up?" Daredevil asked.

"Hey you know as well as I do that it lines up," Night Thrasher said. "The business starting, these gangs suddenly popping out. I asked around too, according to a lot of the residents, none of this trouble started until that business started booming."

"I've tried asking a lady there, and she insists nothing is going on," Daredevil said.

"And she was being truthful?" Elektra asked.

"I couldn't detect a trace of deception, her heart rate was normal," Daredevil said. "At least as normal as someone who is frustrated would be."

"Either that or she's a good actress," Night Thrasher said. "That mare I talked to last night told me that mare opening the business is a very dishonest pony, she's apparently tried stealing ideas and passing them off as her own."

"Bad as that sounds, that may not equate to gangs showing up," Daredevil said. "I still need a little more evidence."

"Come on, let's just go in and demand some answers, a mare like that is probably hiding something," Night Thrasher said.

"I'm with Dwayne on this, she seems very suspicious," Elektra said.

"We have to do this by the book, if we cause trouble word will get back to Iron Man," Daredevil said.

"Since when are you concerned about what Iron Man thinks?" Elektra asked.

"Normally I'm not but he did trust us, not only him but the Princesses of this land, keep in mind that if this goes south, it could affect both of our worlds," Daredevil said.

"Sounds like the worst that can happen is that the portals get shut off or something," Elektra said. "It does not affect us."

"Think of who it could affect," Daredevil said. "Look I get you two want to bust some heads, I do as well."

"Then do it!" Elektra said. "Come on, where's the Daredevil that would crash a meeting held by The Kingpin!?"

"Think of the lives we could be saving here," Night Thrasher said.

Daredevil thought this over, he did want this resolved and the Accords method was taking quite some time. "Alright, but not during the day, we operate by night."

"Sounds good with me," Elektra said.

"Same, I work better at night anyway," Night Thrasher said. "Hey maybe we should stop by that Ponyville place and see if Spider-Man wants to join, I know you and him had a wild time kicking ass back in Manhattan."

"Spider-Man has his own duties back home, including a pregnant wife who's due any day," Daredevil said. "Maybe next time though."

---

Later in Ponyville, The Student Six joined by Cozy Glow took a stroll through town, taking note of the heroes on patrol, seeing Firestar flying overhead, Jessica Jones near some stands, and Black Cat seemingly flirting with Carrot Top.

"Does anyone else find it a little strange seeing some of these heroes all over Ponyville?" Gallus asked.

"Not really, we see heroes all the time," Silverstream said. "Half of our professors are heroes."

"I'm kind of with Gallus, I mean I've lived in Ponyville my whole life and I've never seen so many patrolling heroes," Sandbar said. "I still remember when the only hero around was Spider-Mane."

"Well they're nice to have, it keeps ponies feeling safe," Ocellus said. "And we have the Iron Stallion to thank, he's the one getting heroes from Earth to come and protect us."

"As long as they're from Marvel Earth, then that's fine with me," Smolder said.

"You still mad that those guys from Capcom beat up your brother?" Sandbar asked.

"Of course, who wouldn't be?" Smolder said. "They hurt my brother!"

"Oh, come on now Smolder, those guys seem really nice, maybe it's just a misunderstanding," Silverstream said.

"What kind of misunderstanding leads to those jerks beating up my brother and his friends?" Smolder asked.

"Maybe Garble started it," Cozy Glow suggested, almost regretting it once she earned herself a glare from Smolder.

"What was that!?" Smolder looked ready to single Cozy's mane.

"Hey easy now," Ocellus said, getting between the two. "Look, Smolder, you know we like you and we would never want to say anything bad about you or your family but, your brother has caused trouble for Princess Twilight in the past."

"Even you know your brother can be a little unkind, especially toward ponies," Sandbar said. "He probably picked a fight with them, and they happened to win."

"Garble told me they came out of nowhere and started attacking," Smolder said.

"That's his side of the story, but what about those other guys?" Sandbar asked. "You really should try forgiving that, they're good friends of Peter after all, and he's a good judge of character."

"Still, don't they have a reputation for being jerks?" Smolder asked.

"One of them saved my dad's life," Ocellus said.

"Let's ask Jubilee if she has any stories about them soon," Silversteam suggested.

"Sound good," Yona said. "Plus, they almost interesting. They sound strong."

"They should be strong, they rival the Marvel Superheroes," Sandbar said.

"I hope we can see more soon, maybe Iron Stallion got more to come over to our world," Silverstream said.

"Me want Thor to come back, like him a lot, he strong, and handsome," Yona said.

"He'll come back once he finds his evil brother," Silverstream said. "Hopefully he'll drag the Storm King back too, make him pay for his sins."

"Professor Wagner's mother was with him too; do you think Thor can bring her back?" Ocellus asked. "Reuniting with her son could help her."

"If she's not too evil to change," Gallus said.

"Too evil?" Cozy asked.

"Come on, let's try to stay positive here," Silverstream said.

"Fine, no use debating this anyway, we'll find out for sure once Thor returns, hopefully in one peace," Gallus said.

"Thor strongest superhero, even stronger than Spider-Mane, he will win," Yona said.

"Stronger than Spider-Mane? How?" Gallus asked.

"Well I heard he beat up someone that even Peter had trouble with, and Professor Sparkle," Sandbar said.

"You mean that Saiyan guy? The one that nearly destroyed all of Canterlot with some freaky magic beam?" Smolder asked.

"I don't think it was magic," Silverstream said. "But I do believe that's who Sandbar was talking about."

"If Thor can beat him, Thor can be anyone!" Yona said. "Thor best hero!"

"You're pretty confident in him," Gallus said. "Of course, he is one of The Avengers, so it makes sense that he's pretty strong. Though I'm surprised he's with them if he's that powerful, I mean if you're strong then you can do everything yourself."

"Even the strongest person needs friends and allies," Ocellus said. "There are talents that each member of The Avengers is capable of doing, just like how Professor Sparkle is stronger than her friends but she still needs them too. There's power in teamwork, and the Magic of Friendship can help any creature overcome any task."

Cozy Glow relished in the sound of that statement, reminding her ever so much that those around her can help her accomplish her own goals. "Golly, you think we can be like The Avengers one day?"

"We're already like The Elements of Harmony, at least according to Peter," Ocellus said.

"Except you of course, you're our little Spike," Smolder said, earning a giggle from Gallus and bothering Cozy Glow.

"Smolder, be nice," Ocellus said, Cozy's ears perking at the sound of her best friend coming to her defense. "Spike is just as important to The Elements. Besides isn't he training with Ember?"

"Yeah, I'll give Spike credit there, I don't think Cozy Glow could handle training with the Dragons, or with anypony at all," Smolder said.

"Can so!" Cozy said. "I bet I can do a better job training with The Dragon Lord than you!"

"Yeah, ok," Smolder said, brushing that off.

Ocellus shook her head in shame, if it's not Gallus it's Smolder, those two seemed to enjoy picking on Cozy Glow, possibly still holding a grudge over the accidental trouble she caused in the city.

"Let's just drop this," Sandbar said. "Come on, we're burning daylight, let's find something we can do, that doesn't revolve around studying."

Silverstream took a moment to think of something, "Well we could play a game together."

"I like the sound of that," came a familiar voice.

"Was that Rumble?" Smolder asked.

"Sure was," came Rumble's voice again, the colt walking over from the side, and he was not alone. "Sup?"

"Hi Rumble!" Silverstream greeted. "I see you're with friends."

"Yes, my posse if you will," Rumble said, gesturing to three familiar fillies. "You of course know the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Scootaloo, the badass scooter girl who can ride her way into the hearts of anypony."

"Heh, sure can," Scootaloo said, flexing her foreleg.

"Sweetie Belle, the prettiest unicorn in Ponyville with the most adorable voice," Rumble said.

"Wow, thanks for that intro Rumble," Sweetie Belle said with a blush.

"And Apple Bloom, the sweetest apple from Sweet Apple Acres, who makes for a find treat herself," Rumble said.

"Uh, thanks?" Apple Bloom said, feeling a bit shy and awkward from that intro.

"Yeah, we know them, they're the younger sisters of our professors," Smolder said.

Rumble gestured to the two fillies beside him, "Well how about these girls? First there's Wind Sprint, daughter of one of the greatest Buckball players in Equestria."

"My dad was top level," Wind Sprint boasted.

"And Dinky Doo…uh, she's pretty neat," Rumble said.

"Hey you can do better than that?" Dinky said. "I'm Dinky, adopted daughter of Derpy Hooves and genius inventor Doctor Hooves."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, I guess," Sandbar said. "What brings you here?"

"We're here for a challenge!" Rumble said. "My team vs yours, in Buckball!"

"I'm sorry, but what?" Gallus asked.

"It's time somepony knocked you six off your pedestals, that's where the six of us come in," Rumble said.

"You probably think you're so great, being called a new generation of The Elements of Harmony," Dinky said.

"That title was once ours you know," Scootaloo said. "Everyone thought it would be me, The Crusaders, and three other ponies."

"I was usually pegged as one of those three," Rumble said.

"I'm sorry, but what?" Smolder said. "Listen I don't know what's gotten into the lot of you but we're not out to be the new Elements of Harmony."

"Yeah, we're just six friends who like hanging out with each other," Silverstream said.

"Ahem…" came Cozy Glow's voice, Silverstream blushing from the mistake.

"Sorry, seven friends," Silverstream said.

"Wow, guess Cozy really is your Spike, so underappreciated," Rumble said, Cozy looking even more annoyed.

"Look, we'd love to stay, chat and figure out what's going on in that head of yours, but we have things to do, things that don't involve being around all…this," Gallus said.

"Not so fast, you still haven't accepted our challenge," Scootaloo said.

"Yeah, what do you say?" Wind Sprint asked, showing off her ball. "You got the guts to go against us, or are you all chicken?"

"Bwak, bwak, bwak!" Scootaloo mocked.

Smolder gestured toward Scootaloo, "We're being bwaked at by a flightless Pegasus, can you say ironic?"

"Smolder!" Sandbar scolded.

Rumble did an exaggerated gasp at the sound of Smolder's remark, "Mocking Scootaloo's inability to fly, oh you really need to get your butts kicked now. We're going to defeat you and take our spot as the new Elements of Harmony."

"First off, that's not how Elements are chosen," Gallus said. "Second, this is a waste of our time, go be jealous somewhere else."

"Hey if you don't have the guts, just say it, we'll take our rightful spots as Equestria's future protectors," Rumble said.

"You fools probably don't have what it takes to beat us anyway," Dinky said.

"Got that right," Wind Sprint said.

Apple Bloom started to look uncomfortable, "Uh…"

"You're starting to tick me off," Smolder said. "You want a game, we'll bring it to you."

"Smolder, don't encourage this," Gallus said. "Let's just go home and-"

"Chicken!" Rumble shouted.

"Alright that's it, we'll play a game if it will shut you up," Gallus said. "But when you lose, we don't want to see you around again."

"Hey come on, let's not give into this, they're clearly just trying to get under our skins," Sandbar said.

"Wow, so you got a brain in there, huh pretty boy?" Scootaoo asked.

Apple Bloom winced, "That sounded a bit harsh."

"Hey, no be mean to Sandbar!" Yona warned, stepping up to the six. "You apologize!"

"Make me Miss Third Pony, or Third Yak," Scootaloo said.

"No third yak, Yona only yak!" Yona said.

"Do all Yaks talk like this?" Dinky asked. "Or is she a special case?"

"Dinky!" Apple Bloom scolded.

"You're just being bullies now," Sandbar said. "That's really not cool."

"Yeah, we don't like bullies," Silverstream said. "You are so on with this Buckball game of yours!"

"Just what we'd like to hear," Scootaloo said.

"Alright fine, Buck Ball it is then, my team against yours," Sandbar said. "If we win, you drop this whole thing and apologize to my friends."

"And when we win, you can't lay claim to being the new Elements of Harmony," Rumble said.

"Whatever dude, now leave us in peace," Sandbar said.

"Oh, that won't be any trouble, we wouldn't want to breathe in any Loser Fumes before the big game," Rumble said, trotting off with four of the five fillies immediately following. "Peace out!"

Apple Bloom shook her head in shame as she turned to The Student Six, "I'm really sorry about all that."

"At least one of you still has a sense of decency," Smolder said. "Tell your coltfriend that he better watch himself, we're bringing our A game."

"Uh right, sure," Apple Bloom said, trotting off to find Rumble.

"What in the world was that all about?" Ocellus wondered.

"Foals being jeaouls," Smolder said.

"What do they have to be jealous about though?" Silverstream wondered. "Seems a bit silly."

"I guess it's because of our Professors," Gallus said. "Maybe he heard about us being compared to Professor Sparkle and her friends and wants that for himself."

"He probably still thinks he's special too since he used to live with Professor Sparkle and Peter Parker," Smolder said. "What a disgrace, how would they feel if they knew that colt was acting this bratty."

"Disappointed," Sandbar said. "What about this game they challenged us to? We didn't even get a date or location."

"Stupid kid probably didn't even think that through," Smolder said. "Should we tell Professor Sparkle about this?"

"I guess," Gallus said. "Cozy Glow, take a letter."

"Dude!" Sandbar scolded.

"Just trying to lighten the mood," Gallus said.

Cozy angrily turned away and muttered to herself, "Meanie…"

"Let's just tell her ourselves," Smolder said.

"Better idea, let's get going," Sandbar said, leading his friends to the Golden Oaks Library.

---

Meanwhile at the Library, Peter was catching up with Derpy and Susan while Mayday worked on a glider while Franklin sat by her, helping her out if she asked.

"So, does your daughter do anything besides build little inventions?" Susan asked.

"Well she practices flying and the two of us play games, sometimes checkers, sometimes chess, but building and inventing things seems to be her favorite thing to do," Peter said. "Which is great, if she can do stuff like this now, just wait until she's older."

"Doc told me he was the same way as a colt, he loved to build and invent all kinds of neat things," Derpy said.

"It also sounds like Reed, he's always cooking something up," Susan said. "And like Reed, she really puts the rest of the world out of her focus."

"Yeah, now that I'm looking at it, she really can be too into her work," Peter said, noticing just how single minded focused his daughter was. "Guess Johnny and Twilight weren't that far off about their worries."

"I don't suppose you're willing to lock away her gear long enough for her to want to make friends," Derpy said.

"No way, if I did that then she's be really ticked off and it might make things worse," Peter said. "She needs to want this or it'll just backfire."

"Well she might not want it unless you take some measures to ensure that she considers it," Susan said. "Sometimes you have to a little tough with your child."

"Being tough is hard, and the times I try to be tough, she usually sees right through me," Peter said. "Other times she just gets annoyed and nothing really gets resolved. If anything, Twilight handles most of the discipline."

"That can backfire, you leave it to one parent, they flock to the other," Susan said.

"Plus, I don't think Twilight likes being the Villain Parent," Derpy joked.

"Yeah she's told me, a lot," Peter said. "I'm just trying to tread lightly, you know, I don't want to make this uncomfortable for her."

"In the end, it's your call," Susan said. "Just make sure it's the right call."

Peter rubbed his temple, thinking everything over, "Being a father is way harder than being a superhero, I have an easier time fighting supervillains than I do making sure I'm doing right by my family."

"I feel the same way," Susan said. "But for me, the difference is that I love being a mom more than being a superhero."

"Same, er just replace 'mom' with 'dad'," Peter said. "Which is why I really need to make sure I make the right calls with my daughter."

"Well maybe you don't need to worry too much," Derpy said, gesturing to the kids. "Check it out."

From what Peter and Susan could see, Mayday looked to be explaining something about her invention to Franklin, looking happy doing so. They could see that Franklin was taking it in as well, looking quite interested in what Mayday had to say.

"Guess there isn't too much to worry about, this could be their bond," Peter said.

"Mayday probably just needed to warm up at her own pace," Susan said. "It's a good start at least."

"Peter!" Came Twilight's voice as she came downstairs, using her wings for added support.

"We're over here Twilight," Peter said, gesturing his pregnant wife over.

"Sunset Shimmer's on call," Twilight said, using her magic to show off the image of Sunset on screen.

"Sunset, hi, how's exploration going?" Peter asked.

"It's amazing, I got back from Kamiki village not too long ago, it's a really lively place, which is amazing considering what had happened to it quite some time ago," Sunset said. "Call it a mixture of when Twilight found The Crystal Empire and a bit of Discord's magic."

"That sounds like quite a story," Peter said. "Is Ryu nearby?"

"Yeah, he and Ken are training right now, they're going to meet with the King of Fighters warriors, they're really eager to introduce me to some friends they made there, and probably get in a fight or two," Sunset said. "Ryu speaks really highly of this world, says it's his second favorite place to visit, aside from your world."

"Wow, sounds prestigious," Peter said. "You haven't run into anything dangerous, have you?"

"A little, when I went to the city Mega Man lives, some guy named Wily was causing trouble, but Ryu kept me safe while Mega Man went to pursue him," Sunset said. "It should be fine, according to Ryu, Mega Man deals with this guy and an almost weekly basis."

"Sounds like me back in New York," Peter said. "At least Rock only has one guy to worry about."

"Well Wily has his own robots, or at least ones he stole from Doctor Light, so it's not an easy feat for Mega Man," Sunset said. "Plus, you'd be amazed how often we pass by demons and an occasional B.O.W., Dante and Chris have really busy schedules. Not to mention that Ryu is always keeping a lookout because he's worried about something called S.I.N."

"Sounds worrying, are you sure you still want to be in that world?" Peter asked.

"I survived your world, didn't I?" Sunset said. "And some of this stuff is nothing compared to Equestria. Of course, even Equestria doesn't have the tech this world has. I mean there's so much stuff here that would look amazing in Equestria. You should see the phones people have, they can do anything! You can watch things, listen to music, search the internet! There's so much data on the internet."

Mayday had overheard this part, her ears perked up to listen into the conversation.

"We have stuff like that in our world too," Susan said, pulling out a smart phone. "I know what you're getting at."

"But it should be possible soon, shouldn't it?" Derpy asked. "That's why we have Tony Stark here, maybe he can bring all the cool Earth tech to our world!"

"I'm not sure Equestria is ready for that type of technology, plus I can't see ponies using Smart Phones," Peter said.

"It can't be that hard," Twilight said "Later we can run this by Tony Stark, I think he mentioned bringing this technology to Equestria, hopefully he took enough time away from The Accords to do that."

"That would be so amazing," Mayday commented to herself.

"How are The Accords going anyway?" Sunset asked.

"So far, pretty well," Peter said. "Since you left the only strange thing that's been happening is some gang forming in Manehattan. Oh, and Cap's friend Bucky Barnes showed up under mind control."

"That's concerning," Sunset said. "But the heroes in Manehattan took care of it, right?"

"Well they saved Bucky with help from Cap and his friend Sam, though I heard that the two caught an attitude from Captain Marvel about it, since they technically weren't allowed to do hero work," Peter said.

"Wait really?" Sunset asked.

"That's what Thunderlane told me, he overheard some of The Avengers discussing that," Peter said. "But this Accords stuff is still new, so maybe it's just kinks that need to get worked on. But I am concerned about the gang in Manehattan, I'd go look but technically it's a need to know basis thing, and since I don't live nor work there, I'm not in the need to know part. Unless Thunderlane can overhear more, I'm pretty much in the dark."

"Is that a good thing? Lack of proper communication can backfire," Sunset said.

"Well the only thing I can do is trust Daredevil, and he's a great hero so I'm not that worried," Peter said.

"I say we should swing by the city one day, just to be safe," Susan said.

"I technically can't though, it's not in my jurisdiction," Peter said. "When I signed on with Tony, it was to keep Ponyville safe."

"Peter you're way too much of a beloved hero to be stuck in one city," Susan said.

"Plus, aren't you a Knight and a Prince?" Derpy asked. "Doesn't that override anything?"

"Exactly, isn't it a knight's duty to protect a Kingdom?" Susan asked.

"Never thought of it like that," Peter said. "Spider-Mane is relegated to Ponyville, but Prince Peter Pony Parker isn't."

"That's quite the tongue twisted," Sunset joked.

"Alright, I'll go for it," Peter said. "And I'll be as respectful of the rules as possible. I mean I see nothing wrong with checking up on a friend of mine."

"Sunset!" came Ryu's voice from the distance.

"Oh, I should get going, Ryu's calling," Sunset said. "Good luck figuring the Accords out, and really think about the tech thing."

"See you later Sunset," Peter said, others waving bye until the image went blank.

"Well she looks like she's having fun," Susan said.

"Oh, she definitely is, I can see it in her eyes," Peter said. "Plus, she's always been fascinated with other worldly travel."

"I'm so eager to see what else she can discover," Twilight said. Moments later she heard a knock on the door. "Who could that be?"

"Maybe it's Thunderlane or Felicia asking us to do foalsitting," Peter said.

"I hope it's Thunderlane here if that's the case," Twilight said.

"I'll do the talking," Peter said, getting off the couch. He opened to the door to see Janet, Spike and Hope. "Oh, you two are back, have a nice walk through the park?"

"Sure did, nice to walk somewhere that has grass and pretty flowers and not just boiling hot lava," Spike said.

"Anyway, what's the reason for knocking? You two know that you don't need to knock, even if you've been away this is still your home," Peter said.

"The knocking isn't for us," Janet said, gesturing back to reveal the Student Six and Cozy Glow.

"Hey Peter, may we come in?" Sandbar asked.

"Sandbar? Kids? What are you doing here?" Peter asked.

"Can you please stop calling us 'kids'?" Gallus said. "We're really not that much younger than you."

"Gallus, be nice, in addition to being a hero he is technically royalty too," Ocellus remined.

"It's fine, really," Peter said. "Did you kids need to see Twilight?"

"Who's there?" Twilight asked.

"Sandbar and his friends," Peter said. "Should I send them in?"

"Yes sure, that's fine," Twilight insisted.

Peter gestured into the house, "You heard the mare. Come on in."

"This won't take long," Sandbar said, making his way inside the home, taking note of the other company. "Hi Derpy, Hi…uh, do I know you?"

"I'm Susan Storm, Johnny Storm's older sister," Susan said.

"Oh right, think I saw you around," Sandbar said.

"It's nice to meet you Miss Storm," Ocellus said.

"Technically it's Mrs. Richards since she's married," Peter said.

"Or you can just call me 'Sue', it's a lot easier, and my preference," Susan said.

"Sue used to be a teacher, she thought about coming to the School of Friendship," Derpy said.

"That'd be neat. Wait are you a Superhero too?" Sandbar asked.

"Yes, I am the Invisible Woman, or Invisible Mare as I'm called in this world," Sue said.

"Invisibility!? That's so cool!" Silverstream asked. "Can you make other things invisible!? Or just yourself?"

Before Susan could answer, Twilight interjected. "I hate to interrupt, but is there a reason you kids needed to see me?"

Ignoring the kids comment, since he didn't care like Gallus did, Sandbar proceeded to explain, "Right, so here's the thing, that boy Rumble challenged me and my friends to a game of Buckball."

"Oh, that's nice, a fun, friendly game of Buck Ball always sounds like a treat," Twilight said.

"Here's the thing though, according to him, the winning team becomes the New Elements of Harmony," Sandbar said.

"The new Elements of Harmony, huh?" Twilight seemed pretty confused by this statement, understandably so given how little sense it made to her. "Uh, what gave Rumble the idea that Elements can be chosen that way?"

"No clue really, he just showed up with five fillies and demanded a game to prove that he and his group are more suited for The Elements of Harmony," Sandbar said.

"Five fillies?" Peter asked. "Uh, were three of them The Cutie Mark Crusaders?"

"Yeah, Scootaloo was really into this idea as well," Sandbar said.

"She was acting so rudely about it, saying that she's superior and junk," Smolder said.

"That's unusual of her," Peter commented. "So, who else was there?"

"A filly named Wind Sprint, she said her dad is a Buck Ball legend," Silverstream said.

"Wind Sprint? That's the girl who was here yesterday," Peter said. "I did see her hanging around Rumble."

"And the last filly was who?" Twilight asked.

Sandbar awkwardly turned to Derpy, "Uh, you're probably not gonna like this answer."

"Don't tell me…" Derpy lamented.

"Yeah, the last filly was Dinky Doo," Ocellus said.

"She wasn't mean, was she?" Derpy asked.

"Sorry to tell you, but she kind of was," Gallus said. "In fact, the only one who seemed to have common sense at the time was Apple Bloom."

"Sounds like they're all pretty worked up about this Elements of Harmony stuff," Susan said.

"I'll straighten this out," Twilight said. "The Elements of Harmony cannot be decided on just because a pony wants it, it's something that must be earned through actions."

"That's what we thought too," Sandbar said.

"Do you want Twilight and I to call off this Buckball game?" Peter asked.

"No way, they'll just keep calling us 'chickens'!" Gallus said. "Plus, when we beat them, they'll hopefully drop this idea of us taking their spot."

"Rumble said if he and his friends become the new Elements, I can be the Peter of the group," Mayday said. "That means I'd get to be like daddy."

"I'd rather you be yourself Mayday, that's way more special," Peter said. "Though thinking about it, this might be my fault. Maybe I shouldn't have made those comparisons between these seven students to Twilight and her friends."

"It was all in good fun Peter, it's not like we took it seriously," Sandbar said.

"Well mostly," Cozy Glow added.

"Hey I told you I was joking about that letter thing," Gallus said.

"Uh-huh, sure," Cozy Glow said.

"Cozy you really shouldn't be so upset about it," Silverstream said.

"Yeah, friends mess with each other, don't be so sensitive," Smolder said.

"Smolder!" Ocellus scolded.

"She shouldn't be!" Smolder said.

"Settle down please," Peter said. "Hey Cozy, I'm sorry if me calling you 'Spike' hurt your feelings."

"Excuse me?" Spike commented.

"You seven are your own ponies, and yak, and dragon, and griffon, and hippogriff, and changeling," Peter said.

"It's fine, being compared to great ponies was an honor for me and my friends," Sandbar said.

"Aw, how sweet, I appreciate that," Twilight said. "While I agree that being your own selves is special, even we start off trying to emulate those we admire. For me it was Princess Celestia and Starswirl."

"For me it's Iron Man and Captain America," Peter said.

"For me it's Superman!" Franklin said.

"Superman? Which hero is that?" Silverstream asked.

"He's from a different Earth than I'm from," Peter explained. "Point is, just be yourselves."

"Will do," Sandbar said. "Well thanks for your time, guess we got a Buck Ball game to practice for."

"When is this game?" Twilight asked.

"We don't know, Rumble just laid down a challenge and never followed up," Smolder said.

"I'll go talk to him whenever I can and ask him more about it," Peter said.

"While you're all here, would you like to stay for dinner?" Twilight asked. "Trixie should be back soon and we're already cooking a large amount since Derpy, Susan and Franklin are joining us."

Sandbar turned to his friends, "What do you all say?"

"Sounds good to me," Gallus said.

"Yona like idea," Yona said.

"I would love to," Cozy Glow said.

"Then it's settled, make yourselves comfortable," Twilight said.

While this was happening, Rumble, Scootaloo and Windy had gone over to see Rainbow Dash and Johnny while they were playing host for Quibble Pants and Clear Skies.

"A Buckball game?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yeah, a big one, with a lot on the line," Rumble said. "The future of Equestria in our hooves."

"We're playing on behalf of your honor Rainbow Dash," Scootaloo said. "Yours and your friends."

"Honor huh? Sounds neat," Rainbow Dash said.

"Which is why we want you to book us a big stadium, we figured it could be the one in Appaloosa," Rumble said.

"Appaloosa huh? That's quite a big place to play a game," Rainbow Dash said.

"Well they did say it was for the Future of Equestria," Quibble said. "Maybe that's the reason?"

"It totally is, we want a big crowd there, invite as many ponies as you can!" Wind Sprint said.

"I'm not too sure, what makes this game so big anyway?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"The winners get to be the new saviors of Equestria," Rumble said. "We'll be like The Elements of Harmony!"

"And The Avengers too!" Scootaloo added.

"We need this Rainbow Dash, it's huge! Really huge!" Wind Sprint said.

"And it can't be too hard for you to get it for us, I mean, you're freaken Rainbow Dash, top level Wonderbolt and savior of Equestria," Rumble said.

"The Element of Loyalty," Scootaloo said.

"And your husband is a superhero, one of the elites," Wind Sprint said.

"She's not wrong," Johnny said. "I say we go for this Dashie."

"Alright, I'll try," Rainbow Dash said.

"Maybe Braeburn can help," Scootaloo suggested.

"Yeah, I'll have a word with him, I can't make any promises though," Rainbow Dash said.

"All that matters is that you try, if you can't get that stadium, we'll just build our own," Rumble said. "Not sure how but we'll figure it out."

"Just let us know when it's ready, until then, we gotta practice if we're gonna stomp Sandbar and his friends into the ground!" Scootaloo said.

"Let's go run some drills right now!" Rumble said, heading outside with the two excitable fillies.

"Huh, a Buckball game, that sounds pretty awesome," Johnny said.

"Wind Sprint looks so excited though," Clear Skies said. "She has the same look in her eyes her father had."

"Well even if it's not a stadium, I look forward to seeing her in action," Quibble said. "Plus, it's great that she has a new group of friends to spend time with."

"Dash, do you really think you can get them that stadium?" Johnny asked.

"It might take some convincing, they really seem to want it though, and they're really making it into a big deal," Rainbow Dash said.

"Hey if anything, treat it like a fundraiser," Johnny said. "Could put those bits into good use. I mean Canterlot is still trying to rebuild after the Storm King's invasion, plus some places in Ponyville and Manehattan could use a little fixing up. It'd be faster than relying on taxes and junk."

"Good idea," Rainbow Dash said. "Alright, let's get to it!"

---

In the Capcom world, Sunset has her belongings, making her way to the portal destination within Interpol, eager to see the world of SNK.

"I'm so excited, a whole new world to explore!" Sunset said. "Still feels like there's so much I haven't seen here though."

"There will be plenty of time," Ryu reassured.

"Yeah, you're right, plus I'm eager to see all these martial artists, especially that Terry Bogard guy I've heard so much about," Sunset said.

"He's a great fighter, so are Kyo and Mai, and you might find one other girl there interesting, an Athena Asamiya," Ryu said. "Forewarning, she is a mind reader, but I doubt she'll invade your privacy without reason."

"Noted," Sunset said.

The two arrived at a portal area, where many of the Capcom warriors were, mainly the Street Fighters. Ken, Chun-Li, Cammy White, Guile, Dhalsim, Laura, Rashid, Makoto, Ibuki Blanka, Sakura and Dan were all patiently waiting alongside Chris, Jill, Dante, Mega Man, Spencer and Strider Hiryu.

"Wow, big turnout," Sunset said.

"You know it," Ken said. "Ready to see the world of SNK?"

"More than ready," Sunset said.

"You might need to wait a second though, we're expecting more," Guile said.

"Who else is coming?" Ryu asked.

"That would be me," came the voice of Morrigan Aensland, who made her entrance alongside the cat girl, Felicia. "I heard you were going back to SNK, and I wouldn't mind getting in on that action again."

"I'm going for moral support!" Felicia said, jumping up and down in excitement. "It's gonna be fun!"

"Oh, Ryu I see you've brought your Equestrian friend," Morrigan said, gesturing to Sunset Shimmer. "So nice to see you again dear."

"Hi Morrigan, hi Felicia," Sunset greeted.

"Is this everyone?" Ryu asked. "If that's the case we should-"

"Wait for us!" Came another familiar voice. It was Tifa Lockhart, making her way over with Cloud, Barret and Squall. "Hey, we're coming too."

"When did Square get here?" Sunset asked.

"They passed by yesterday, just to give us a status update on Sephiroth," Chun-Li said. "Among other things."

"We're hoping to try the Marvel world soon, since he was with Loki," Cloud said. "If anything, we can try to rendezvous with Thor."

"I figured they could use a little break and come with us to SNK," Chun-Li said.

"Have you ever been before?" Sunset asked.

"No, but I know someone who met the King of Fighters founder at the King of the Iron Fist tournament," Cloud said.

"I find it so ironic that these tournaments are organized by crooks," Chun-Li said. "S.I.N. once hosted a World Warrior Tournament, then you have places like the Howard Estate and the Mishima Zaibatsu who create these tournaments, just to fuel their own egos."

"Isn't the Mishima Zaibatsu mostly legit these days?" Ken asked. "I mean old man Heihachi lost his power to his grandson."

"Well Jin Kazama isn't exactly a saint," Chun-Li said. "But I suppose he's better than his grandfather was."

"Is that old man even alive?" Guile asked. "I keep hearing that he bit the dust but then I hear that he's still around."

"He probably cheats death more than Bison does," Cammy said. "Say what you will about Heihachi Mishima, but there's no denying just how powerful he can be."

"Uh, who are these people exactly?" Sunset asked.

"You'll find out when we go to Namco, but please, watch out when you get there," Ryu said.

"For that Heihachi guy?" Sunset asked.

"It's not just him I'm worried about, it's his son Kazuya," Ryu said, clenching his fists at the memory of the former King of Iron Fist winner. "I have not seen such impurity in a martial artist since Akuma."

"Point is, watch out for the entire Mishima bloodline," Ken said. "They're proof what money and power can do to corrupt people."

"Power is a good test of one's mortal character, which is why I respect Spider-Man for choosing to only use it responsibly," Ryu said.

"How is Peter actually?" Chun-Li asked. "Sunset, have you spoken to him?"

"Yes, he's doing well, getting used to Tony Stark's Accords," Sunset said. "Those two are turning Equestria into a better place."

"It was already pretty great before," Chris said.

"Yeah, if anything, Tony Stark is making it better," Chun-Li asked.

"Well there's flaws in the system so far, but Peter and Tony are trying to figure it out," Sunset said.

"How bad are the flaws?" Ryu asked.

"It limits what a hero in that world can do, just the other day Captain America got into hot water for fighting a villain outside his designated town, which is kind of silly," Sunset said. "But maybe it's because some of the buildings got messed up."

"Collateral damage can't be helped, Captain America being there shouldn't change that," Dante said. "If he got the job done, that's all that matters."

"Well like I said, they're working out some kinks," Sunset said. "Assigning heroes to towns could be a better way to keep track of how a certain hero handles an area and see how damage can be minimalized."

"Sounds kind of bogus," Dante said.

"It hardly is Dante, keeping order can be a big help in the end," Chun-Li said. "I don't see any harm in trusting Tony Stark."

"Uh, did you forget what we said about money and power corrupting?" Dante asked.

"Tony Stark is nothing like Heihachi Mishima or Geese Howard," Chun-Li said. "He saves lives Dante, power will not corrupt him."

"Even heroes can follow a dark path," Cloud said. "Sephiroth wasn't always evil, he used to be a savior."

"Do you know that for sure? Or was he just faking it?" Chun-Li asked. "Chris thought Albert Wesker was a good guy once."

"Kind of have to agree with Chun-Li on that, Sephiroth is probably as good of a faker as Wesker was," Chris said.

"Hey my brother was a good guy turned evil too, so I'm with Cloud," Dante said.

It wasn't long before the warriors started voicing their opinions, debating good vs evil, and even some questioning if Equestria was truly going to be alright with the Accords.

"Excuse me!" Ryu called. "This is fascinating and all, but we're going to be late. We have warriors to battle against and Sunset wants to spend time in this world."

"Sorry, you're right," Chun-Li said. "We'll worry about Equestria later, I mean Peter's there and he has a good sense of character."

"Does Peter know you respect him this much?" Sunset asked.

"I've mentioned it to him, a lot," Chun-Li said, bashfully rubbing her head. "He's a good guy with a pure heart, and he's close with Tony Stark, that's why I feel confident."

"I think most of us can say we trust Peter's judgement," Ryu said. "For now, let's enjoy ourselves."

"I could use a little entertainment," Cloud said. "You ready Sunset?"

"Yeah, oh and Cloud, think I can go back to your world soon? I kind of want to see more, and learn more about it's past," Sunset said. "Twilight is doing so with our world and I want to do that with all the worlds I visit."

"You're really eager to visit new worlds huh?" Cloud asked. "Guess you fit right in with Capcom."

"I guess, I mean I'm not in it to fight others, I just want to see if I can make new friends," Sunset said. "I know you probably think it's dorky of me to say that though."

"Not really," Cloud said. "I know a kid who does something just like you're doing. Traveling between dimensions, making friends along the way, he's seen pretty amazing stuff. Helps that he has the perfect Key to unlock the portals into these other realms."

"He's pretty strong too, a lot stronger than he looks," Squall added.

"This sounds fascinating, can you tell me more?" Sunset asked.

"Sure, personally I think you two would be really good friends if you met him, honestly he'd feel right at home in Equestria," Cloud said. "And I wouldn't mind telling you about my world's past, there's some really amazing stuff."

"SNK has amazing stuff too, just wait until you hear about their legendary Samurai," Chun-Li said.

"Oh, remind me later to tell you about Sega," Mega Man said.

"Don't worry, I have a list of where I want to go," Sunset said. "Now let's hurry."

As everyone piled into the portal, Cloud took a moment to approach Ryu, "By the way, did you happen to get a certain letter invitation recently?"

Ryu nodded, "Yeah, Mega Man got one too."

"Guess they've started their recruiting, at least we won't be invited late this time," Cloud said. "Question is, who else will be there?"

"We'll find out soon enough," Ryu said. "Let's hurry."

The two made their way in last, the world of SNK awaits.

---

Meanwhile Thor had indeed returned to Asgard briefly, his father's heatlth had gotten worse, but the Skyfather of Asgard wasn't going down without a fight. Of course, to make matters worse, Thor had the impending Ragnarok event to worry about, plus he still could not locate his brother's whereabouts.

Watching from an image was the brother in question, that being Loki. "You won't find me on your terms brother, but fret not, I'll be sure to be around just in time for our dear father's final days."

"So when are we invading?" Asked the nearby Storm King. "Because I'm ready to go! I want to get my hands on that sweet Asgardian magic!"

"In due time," Loki said. "Your men and mine must continue their training if they are to last against Asgard's best. As it stands, half of them could probably fall to Lady Sif on her own. But if Tempest continues her training with Mystique, that will put us at a good advantage."

"Tempest has this, she's got some pretty good potential, plus it helps that she doesn't ask too many questions," Storm King said. "The girl is so driven by her ambition, she's blind to everything else."

"Yes, indeed," Loki said. "I find that admirable, she'll make a worthy ally."

"Speaking of allies, what about those other two guys? Think we can trust them?" Storm King asked.

"I don't know…" came Sephiroth's voice. "Can you?"

"Ah!" Storm King quickly turned around. "Hey, what's going on Seph? Mind if I call you Seph?"

Sephiroth looked bemused, "I'd rather you- "

"So Seph," Storm King accidentally interrupted. "That talk earlier, it was just me trying to ease Loki's worries than my own."

"Beg your pardon?" Loki said.

"I just want us to be on the same page, you get me?" Storm King asked.

"Sure, I 'get' you," Sephiroth said, then turned to the God in the room. "Loki, I confirmed it with Akuma, he will be taking part of our invasion, but only to test his own power against Asgard's strongest, don't expect him to follow orders."

"Fine, if anything maybe he can perish along with those other fools, even if I have to make sure of it myself," Loki said. "Let us oversee Tempest's training, the sooner she's ready, the sooner we can invade."

"And in return, I expect you to assist me with my goals," Sephiroth said.

"Yes, yes, the Lifestream and Jenova," Loki said. "Not sure how much I can help with that last one though."

"You leave that part to me, I just need the Lifestream, then I can fix my world and all it's flaws," Sephiroth said. "And maybe dispose of Cloud along the way."

"That boy is quite strong, according to Akuma, he did battle with a Saiyan to a draw," Loki said. "Of course, I heard my brother did the same thing. Amazing what strength creatures like that hold."

"Yeah it's freaky," Storm King said.

"I am not concerned," Sephiroth said. "Let us go."

"Right," Loki said, following Sephiroth alongside Storm King.

---

Three days had passed in Equestria, and fortunately for the Buckball participants, Rainbow Dash had kept her word. Appaloosa's Buckball stadium was available for use and both teams were set to use it.

Somehow it ended up being a decent turnout, thanks mostly to Rainbow Dash. She and Johnny Storm had spread the word far and wide, getting ponies excited for this upcoming game.

Despite their Royal Status, Peter and Twilight sat in the crowd like normal civilians, as they would prefer, alongside Mayday, Trixie, Starlight, Janet, Spike, Hope, Aunt May, Shining Armor, Cadance and Flurry Heart.

"Didn't expect you three to leave The Crystal Empire for this," Peter said.

"Flurry really wanted to come, plus Captain Marvel insisted our Empire was safe while we were away," Cadance said.

"How has she been doing as your city's guardian?" Twilight asked.

"Well there isn't much for her to do, so she occasionally flies elsewhere to see if she's needed," Cadance said.

"Can she do that? Because I'm pretty sure one of the Accord's rules are that she has to stay in one town," Peter said.

"Well she made some type of deal with Tony Stark, she can check on other cities if she's willing to help The Avengers pick out the best heroes to guard those cities," Shining Armor said.

"So, she's basically a recruiter," Peter said. "Makes sense."

"Her sidekick is really nice," Flurry Heart interjected. "She let me play jump rope with her stretchy legs."

"That's nice of her," Twilight said.

"Hey Twilight!" Came Susan's voice. She, Derpy, Franklin and Ben Grimm were making their way over, Ben trying to be careful as he navigated through the crowd.

"I hate making my way through crowded places," Ben remarked.

"You're doing fine," Susan said. "We're almost there."

"Hi Sue, Hi Derpy, Hi Ben!" Twilight greeted.

"Hey Princess, how's life treating ya?" Ben asked.

"So far, so good," Twilight said, rubbing her stomach. "Soon it will be even better."

"Where are Reed and Doc?" Peter asked.

"You know Reed, he can never be pulled away from his work," Susan said.

"And Doc's really busy too, he won't even tell me what he's planning," Derpy said. "He says it's top secret stuff."

"Whatever Tony's got them working on must be huge," Peter said.

"Gotta say though, this secrecy stuff has me worried," Ben said. "What's so big that Stark doesn't want anyone to know? Or even if it's Stretch's choice, why wouldn't he want anyone to know?"

"Reed's usually like that," Susan said.

"Oh, I'm aware of that, and sometimes when he does this secrecy stuff, it usually ends with you, me and matchstick helping him clean up whatever mess he made," Ben said. "I mean, I don't mind helping he guy out, but sometimes even he can get in over his head with this stuff."

"Well he's not alone this time, he has Derpy's husband helping him," Susan said.

"I know what you mean though, Doc can be a bit nuts about his inventions too, but with two intelligent guys working together, I don't think we have anything to worry about," Derpy said. "They'll keep each other in check."

"If they need a third pony to help them, they know where to find me," Mayday said.

"Heh, got ourselves a little genius huh?" Ben asked. "I'd bet Stark would love having an intelligent young girl on his payroll."

"He's already looking into it," Peter said, playfully annoyed.

"Speaking of Tony Stark," Trixie said, then gestured to the stands. "Isn't that him over there? With Princess Luna and Steve Rogers?"

"Whoa really?" Peter looked across and spotted the trio in question. "They're here to see the game too?"

"Looks like it," Twilight said. "I'm almost surprised that they made time for it though."

"Yeah, how hype did Hot Head and Skittles make this game out to be?" Peter wondered.

"Johnny is really good at making a big deal out of things," Susan said.

"And with Scootaloo in this game, Rainbow Dash probably went the extra mile to promote it," Twilight said.

"Rumble did say it's to decide the new Elements of Harmony, maybe that had to do with the hype?" Trixie theorized.

"There's no way that's what's going on," Twilight said. "Even Rainbow Dash knows The Elements are not decided that way. Me and my friends didn't set out to be The Elements of Harmony, we unintentionally earned that title."

"Well maybe she'll explain it now, here she comes," Starlight said.

In the center of the stadium, Rainbow Dash held out a mega phone, "What's up Appaloosa!?" After a cheer from the crowd, Rainbow Dash spoke up again. "Alright! Who's ready for some Buckball!? This game is said to be a huge one! Young players inspired by the legendary feats of not only The Avengers, but of me and my friends, duking it out to show who truly is our country's future!"

"It's gonna be wild for sure!" Came Johnny's voice as he flew into the arena. "Before the big game though, we have a special treat for all of you."

"A flight show, held by a team that's probably not as prestigious as The Wonderbolts," Rainbow Dash said.

"But they're just as good," Johnny added.

"Give it up for Lightning Dust and The Washouts!" Rainbow Dash announced, gesturing to an oncoming Lightning Dust, alongside her teammates Rolling Thunder and Short Fuse.

"Yeah! Lightning Dust!" Laura cheered from the crowd, the girl having come with Limestone Pie, not too far away from both the Howlett Family of Logan, Fluttershy and Rina, as well as the Pie Family of Pinkie, Maud, Marble, Deadpool and the twins, Elanor and Lil' Cheese.

"Before anyone asks, yes, Pinkie Pie named our son after Cheese Sandwich, even though they're not together in this continuity," Deadpool said. "Is it lazy? Maybe. Does anyone care? I should hope not. It's just a story, one that doesn't have to make that much sense. But if you want to be technical, even Peter put his ex-girlfriend's first name as his daughter's middle name, and even in other timelines, he's done something similar. Alright that's all for this random exhibition, back to the chapter!"

Also in attendance were the family of Rarity, Bobby, Snow Gem, Hondo Flanks and Cookie Crumbles, all there to show support for Sweetie Belle.

"Somehow I expected this place to look a bit more like Yankee Stadium," Bobby commented.

"Does it not?" Rarity asked.

"Looks bit minor league, though this is a world of Little Ponies so maybe it's big enough for that," Bobby said.

"Go team!" Hondo loudly cheered.

"Easy honey, the game hasn't even started yet," Cookie said.

"Right, sorry, just getting excited," Hondo said.

The Apple Family of Applejack, Remy, Oliver, Cheerilee, Big Macintosh, Little Macintosh, Granny Smith, Babs and Braeburn were also present. Also present was the very recently born daughter, Becky Apple-Lebbau.

"Really great of you to help Rainbow Dash get this stadium, Braeburn," Applejack said.

"It wasn't anything hard, we in Appaloosa were happy to help out a friend of mah cousin's," Braeburn said.

"To think, Apple Bloom's going to be in a big game today," Applejack said. "Pretty exciting, huh Remy?"

"It is, but, is she excited?" Remy asked.

"What are you getting at?" Applejack asked.

"She didn't look too thrilled about the game, in fact she seems kind of worried," Remy said.

"Oh yeah, she did look a bit down," Applejack said. "Wonder why though? She's never really had a problem with sports, and it can't be that she's nervous to paly in front of a crowd."

"Think it has to do with this Future of Equestria thing that Rainbow Dash mentioned?" Braeburn asked.

"Possibly, still don't know what that's all about though," Applejack said.

"Mama, can I get a snack?" Oliver asked.

"Sure, anything you'd like?" Applejack asked. "Ah can go and get it fer ya."

"I can get it," Remy said. "You shouldn't move too much, you just had a baby the other day."

"It ain't nothing ah can't handle," Applejack said. "Gotta work off the baby fat somehow, especially given how late mah little girl was born."

"Even some pies need a little more time in the oven," Babs joked.

"You can work out with Apple Bucking, later on," Remy said. "I'll get something for Oliver."

"I can come as well," Cheerilee said. "Get something for my own little foal."

"I want caramel," Little Macintosh said.

"Honey for me," Oliver said.

"You got it," Remy said, then gestured to Cheerilee, "Let's hurry before the game starts."

Also attending was Martin Li and Suri Polomare, the two taking some time off from work for this.

"Why are we here again?" Suri asked. "Buckball isn't my thing."

"It's good to take a break and rest your mind," Martin said. "Plus, I heard that this event is special."

"Yeah, special, just a bunch of kids playing some stupid sport," Suri said. "Though it does have a nice turnout, could be good to promote our own thing. I think even Spider-Mane is here."

Martin smirked deviously at the confirmation of his enemy's location, "How exciting."

Meanwhile Quibble Pants finally made his way into the crowd, alongside Clear Skies. The two found seats near Thunerlane, Felicity, Flitter and Cloudchaser.

"Looks like they're warming the crowd up with a Stunt Show," Quibble noted. "Seems like an odd placement for a Buckball game."

"Whatever gets the crowd alive, though I would have preferred a concert," Flitter said. "I would have loved to see Coloratura."

"A stunt show is better," Cloudchaser said.

"I'm surprised you like them CC, I mean The Washouts are basically rivals to The Wonderbolts," Thunderlane said.

"Barely, the way I see it, it's two different audiences, one who like the extreme stuff, and one who likes the normal areal formations," Cloudchaser said. "Plus, who says I can't be a both Wonderbolt flyer and a Washout fan?"

"Being a fan of multiple things is never really bad, it's good to keep your mind open," Quibble said. "I belong to many different fandoms outside of Daring Do. Even anything that might be her 'rival' so to say. Why pick sides? You can just be happy with both."

"Yeah Rumble's the same, he thinks Daring Do is cool, and he likes those Power Pony comics," Thunderlane said. "When he lived with Peter, he got to see more stuff from his world, you should consider asking Peter about his world's comics and books."

"Movies too," Flitter said. "And something called anime."

"Oh, I couldn't really impose, I don't know Spider-Mane that well, at least not on a personal level," Quibble said.

"Peter's always up for making new friends, you should give it a try," Cloudchaser said.

"Rumble and I can help, especially seeing just how quickly he became friends with Wind Sprint," Thunderlane said.

"Plus you're friends with Rainbow Dash, and she's super close to Peter," Cloudchaser said.

"He's really friendly, you've seen for yourself that he's very laid back as far as being a huge deal in Equestria goes," Flitter said.

"I suppose you all make valid points," Quibble said. Then he, along with others in attendance, got immediately startled when staged mini explosion by Lighting Dust went off, the mare having done what she called a 'sick move'.

"That's why I'm the best!" Lightning Dust boasted after the move. "Come get your autographs and pictures after the show! I'll be waiting!"

"Great showing out there, Washouts!" Rainbow Dash said as ponies came in to clean up and ready the field. "Now onto the main part of the show!"

Outside Cheerilee seemed to be a bit anxious, "The show's starting, we should hurry Remy."

"I got it," Remy said, getting what he needed. "Good, now let's- "

"Get your apple cider here! Freshly farm picked!" Came a voice. Remy's ear twitched and saw twin ponies in showman type clothes.

"You can't get any better deals than this!" A mustached one said.

"Remy what's…" Cheerilee noticed the two men. "Is that Flim and Flam?"

"Flim and Flam? Applejack mentioned them before, said something about them being charlatans," Remy said.

"They have been a thorn on the side of the Apples for quite some time," Cheerilee said. "Looks like they've even stooped so far as to sell Apple Cider. I mean after what happened the first time they met the Apple Family, I'm a bit surprised."

"Well even if they're selling it, I doubt it's any good, no one grows apples like The Apple Family," Remy said. "Still, we should probably let Granny Smith know."

"I agree, let's hurry, Apple Bloom is about to play," Cheerilee said, making her way back to the stands.

In the center of the arena, Rainbow Dash began introducing the contestants, "First up on my right! Please welcome the students of The School of Friendship! Sandbar, Gallus, Yona, Silverstream, Smolder and Ocellus!"

The six students in question made their way out into the field, joined by Cozy Glow and Jubilee, the latter using her powers to create some fireworks to celebrate their entrance.

"Good luck out there!" Twilight called.

"You can do this!" Pinkie cheered.

"Yay!" Came support from Fluttershy.

"Thanks for that Jubilee!" Johnny said. "Now for the other team, half Crusaders, half…something else. The team of Rumble, Dinky Doo, Wind Sprint, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle!"

The six ponies in question came out with no fanfare, just cheers.

"Go Rumble!" Thunderlane encouraged.

"You can do this Wind Sprint!" Quibble cheered.

"Yay Apple Bloom!" Applejack called.

Rumble made his way over to the center, looking a bit annoyed, "Wow, so you six get a member of the X-Men hyping you up, and we're treated like an afterthought."

"Also, what's with her?" Dinky asked, gesturing to Cozy Glow. "Is she on your team too? You need a one pony advantage over us?"

"She's just here to escort us, that's all, she's not really on our team," Gallus said. "Cozy you got to escort us, now you should head to the stands now."

"I wouldn't want to play with you anyway," Cozy Glow said, stomping off immediately after.

"Cozy Glow!" Ocellus called, then turned to Gallus, glaring right at him. "We've asked you to be nicer to her!"

"I wasn't even trying to be mean!" Gallus said. "She needs to stop overreacting."

"Cozy Glow need to work on thick skin," Yona commented.

"I'm kind of with Gallus and Yona, he just said she wasn't a teammate, and she does need to go to the stands," Silverstream said. "We don't want to look like cheaters, having seven teammates."

"Though having Cozy on our team is a disadvantage, she can't play well," Smolder said.

"Wow, she really is your 'Spike' huh?" Rumble joked.

"Easy there Rumble," Rainbow Dash warned, before setting the rules. "Alright, the game is simple! Usually Buckball is played with three player teams, but since there's six on each side, the rules have been adjusted as such. There are still three players active on each team, players may swap between plays, not in the middle of one. Failure to acknowledge the rules will result in point deduction, too many and you forfeit the game. There is a sixty-minute time limit, maximum of ten goals! Game starts when I throw the ball and ends when I blow the second whistle! You have two minutes to choose your starting team!"

"Good luck out there," Jubilee said, making her way out of the stadium, leaving the student Six to form strategy.

"Let's start strong," Gallus said. "Yona you can be our attacker, Sandbar will go defense and Silverstream can hold the basket."

"You're not going first?" Sandbar asked.

"I'll come in later, it's about pacing yourself after all," Gallus said. "Rumble seems like the type to rush into things, so this is where we outwit him."

"Actually, that makes sense, we'll keep a steady formation for now, switch when we need to," Sandbar said.

"Let's show those wannabes who the true team is," Gallus said as the six held their hooves, claws and talons in. "And break!"

Meanwhile Rumble was discussing his strategy with his own team, "Alright, traditionally the Earth Pony is the Attacker, the Pegasus is the Defender and Unicorn is the Catcher. But given the odd numbers here, we'll have to switch it up so that Apple Bloom isn't constantly on the offense."

"Since I can't fly well, I can switch with Apple Bloom if need be," Scootaloo said.

"Alright, you can go up first too, I know with your energy you can last the whole game but I'd rather not leave anyone out," Rumble said. "We'll switch periodically, it would keep the other team from getting too comfortable. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo can take the attack position, Wind Sprint and I will trade the defense position, and Dinky and Sweetie Belle can trade the catcher position. So first it will be me, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle out there."

"Sounds good to me," Wind Sprint said.

"Yeah, let's do this," Dinky said.

"We'll win this!" Sweetie Belle said.

"Alright, Crusaders on Three," Rumble said, holding out his hoof, the others doing the same. "One, two three!"

"Crusaders!"

"Alright, if everyone's done…" Each pony got into position. "Then here we go!" Rainbow Dash threw up the ball, signaling the start of the game.

In an instant, Scootaloo rushed in and headbutted the ball right into her team's basket, taking the Student Six by surprise.

"One point!" Scootaloo cheered.

"Yeah! Great start Scootaloo!" Rumble cheered.

"But…how!" Gallus asked. "We're not even a minute in!"

Sweetie Belle levitated the ball out of the basket and tossed it back into the field, "Try to give us a better challenge!"

"Alright! Show no mercy out there!" Smolder demanded.

The game resumed, the Student Six putting up a slightly better defense at first, but quick movement from Scootaloo got the ball into the basket again.

"Two points so far for the Crusaders!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Scoots! Switch out for Apple Bloom!" Rumble said.

Scootaloo tossed the ball to her friend, "You got this."

"Sure thing," Apple Bloom said. The game resumed again, this time Yona managed to get the ball away from Apple Bloom and knocked toward her team's basket, but Rumble flew in and kicked the ball hard toward Yona, the yak girl immediately jumping out of the way in worry, something Sandbar found pretty low.

This moment still provided Apple Bloom a chance to buck kick the ball right into her team's basket.

"That's three!" Johnny announced.

"Come on!" Smolder angrily shouted. "We gotta do something!"

"Smolder, why don't you come in! Take Yona's place!" Sandbar suggested.

"Good idea Sandbar," Gallus said. "Hey Yona! Take five!"

"Five what?" Yona asked, this resulting in a round of laughter from the Crusaders, sans Apple Bloom.

"Just take the bench!" Gallus said. "Smolder, go get'em!"

Once Smolder stepped in, Rumble turned his attention to Dinky. "Hey, think you can handle Smolder?"

"I'll do my best," Dinky said.

"Yo Sweetie Belle! Dinky's up!" Rumble called.

"Alright!" Sweetie Belle said, switching positions with Dinky.

Sandbar quickly rushed over to Smolder, "Earlier Rumble tricked Yona into thinking he was going to hit the ball right at her, don't let him do that to you."

"I won't," Smolder said.

Smolder and Scootaloo faced off, both vying for the ball when Smolder side stepped Scootaloo and kicked it toward the goal. Rumble intercepted and tried whacking the ball back the way he did to Yona, but Smolder whacked it back toward Rumble, knocking him out of the air, and then leapt up once more to knock it into her basket.

"Sandbar's team finally scores!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Hey she knocked me out of the air! That should be a foul!" Rumble said.

"You tried hitting her first, it's defense dude!" Sandbar said.

"He's got a point!" Rainbow Dash said. "And that point lets them have his team's!"

Wind Sprint flew over to Rumble, "I'll take over."

"Good idea," Rumble said, trotting out of the field.

Everyone continued to look on as the game resumed, many of them looking quite intrigued by how well both sides were playing. Despite their rough start, The School of Friendship really started to catch up, thanks mostly to Sandbar coming up with different plays.

However one play that could have gotten another point was thwarted when Gallus took matters into his own claws. After some provoking from Rumble, Gallus tried to rush his ball into the other team's basket.

"Gallus! Aim carefully!" Sandbar warned.

Unfortunately, Gallus barely missed his shot, especially when Rumble 'accidentally' walked by and tickled Ocellus with his wind. Wind Sprint took advantage and made a tornado style toss toward Scootaloo, who knocked her ball into the team's basket.

Rainbow Dash blew the first whistle, "Fifteen-minute Intermission!"

"For the love of…" Gallus groaned in annoyance. So much for their chance to tie the game, now they're down by two and need to score six points.

Rumble looked pretty thrilled, "You're doing great out there team, I'm proud of you."

"Thanks Rumble," the girls said.

As he led them inside, he noticed a somewhat sad looking Cozy Glow sitting next to Jubilee and Nightcrawler. The boy quickly flew over to her, getting her attention. "Mind if I talk to you a second?"

"Uh, alright," Cozy turned to the two. "Can I?"

"Sure, that's fine," Jubilee said.

Cozy and Rumble flew up out of earshot, Cozy curious by Rumble's presence. "Did you need something?"

"I just noticed you were sad and I felt bad for you, I hear you get teased for being the group's 'Spike' and I really think that's a terrible thing to do. I would never treat a filly like you that way," Rumble said.

"Well thanks for that Rumble, it's not that big of a deal, at least Sandbar and Ocellus are really nice to me," Cozy Glow said.

"They probably should step up more, if you were in my group, I would not allow someone to talk to you in such a manner," Rumble said. "If you were in my group, you wouldn't even be the 'Spike', I personally see you more of a 'Sunset Shimmer'. You know her right?"

"Of course, she's Celestia's former pupil and travels dimensions," Cozy Glow said.

"She was also part of the Harmony Avengers, and did some really amazing things!" Rumble said. "I mean, Spike was a member too but from what I heard, he got beat up really bad once and went flying back to Equestria while Peter, Twilight and their team did the rest of the hard stuff. Point is that Sunset is really powerful and really valuable to the Elements of Harmony, way more than Spike is."

"She is really strong, and she's so much cooler," Cozy Glow said. "I appreciate you thinking that."

"You just gotta stand up for yourself, show them who's boss, if they can't see you as their 'Sunset Shimmer', then you should find a group that can," Rumble said. "Anyway, I should get back to the girls, I'll catch your pretty face later."

Cozy Glow blushed as Rumble flew back to his team, the girl thinking over a lot of things at the moment.

"Damn intermission, the game was really getting good too," Laura said. "Rumble and his little harem are doing a lot better than I thought."

"They're really talented girls, especially Wind Sprint, she looks like a natural playing this game," Lightning Dust said.

"Wouldn't be surprised if they ended up winning," Laura said. "Kind of hope so, Rumble's so much cooler than those other six lame-Os."

"Oh totally, they don't even know what they're doing out there, I can't imagine anyone cheering for them," Lightning Dust said.

Meanwhile with the Royals.

"I hope Sandbar can turn this around," Twilight said.

"You're actually cheering for Sandbar? What about Rumble?" Trixie asked.

"I wouldn't mind cheering for him, in fact I'd be glad to," Twilight said. "But he's acting so uncharacteristically unkind that it makes it a bit harder to."

"A loss might deflate that ego he's developing," Peter said.

"I don't see it as ego, more like a newly developed confidence," Trixie said.

"Nah, it's definitely ego," Spike said. "He has that same smug grin that Garble has."

"I personally want to see Smolder win," Janet said. "She's one cool girl."

"Dragon cool!" Hope said.

Janet rubbed her head, "Yes, Dragon cool."

"Hey Flurry, who are you cheering for?" Peter asked.

"I'm cheering for Rumble, he's cute," Flurry said.

"Uh, Flurry, that's nice and all, but not really the point of the game," Peter said.

"She's not wrong daddy," Mayday said. "Rumble is cute, and if he wins, he and his friends will be The Elements of Harmony."

"Mayday, that's not now it works!" Twilight said. "Rumble can't just decide he wants to be an Element, he has to earn in."

"Well he's cool and talented, soon the Elements will beg him to take them," Mayday said.

"Then he'll be on top of the world," Flurry said.

"Honestly, he doesn't seem that great," Franklin said.

"Put a lid on it!" Mayday and Flurry shouted.

"Mayday/Flurry!" both Twilight and Cadance scolded.

Peter groaned in annoyance, "Good grief."

"You said it," Shining Armor said.

Tony also seemed impressed by the show so far. "Boy that Rumble kid is really showing some great leadership skills."

"He knows his team, but so does Sandbar," Steve said. "He seems to be coaching his friends pretty well, and he's doing so with a cool head."

"That's nice and all, but Rumble just has that energy to him," Tony said. "Plus at least he's the sole leader, looks like one of Sandbar's guys isn't listening. An uncooperative teammate can lead to disarray."

"Nothing they can't work out," Steve said.

"I do agree with you Steve Rogers," Luna said. "But I am also with Tony Stark, Rumble controls his team better than Sandbar does. If their team doesn't act as one, it will be over for them."

Suri tapped her chin in curiosity, "So, you think that Rumble kid is going to win? Or that other team?"

"Oh, you're invested?" Martin asked.

"I'll invest something alright, my stocks on the winner," Suri said. "Whoever wins is going to have some really good publicity, perfect for our business."

"Always thinking like an entrepreneur, I must admit, that's good business tactics," Martin said.

"Oh yeah it is," Suri said.

At Sandbar's side, the lead Earth Pony was wiping his head with a towel when he was offered a bottle of water from Cozy Glow.

"Tough out there, huh?" Cozy asked.

"Totally," Sandbar said, chugging down the water. "Thanks Cozy, I needed that."

"Of course, and it's a favor as a friend, not an assistant," Cozy Glow said.

"I know Cozy, don't worry, I don't see you as a 'Spike'," Sandbar said. "But if I did, it wouldn't be the Assistant Spike, it would be the little sibling Spike. Remember, Spike means everything to Twilight Sparkle, and you mean a lot to me."

Cozy Glow blushed from the compliment, "Thanks Sandbar, I wouldn't mind being like Spike, if it meant spending time with you. Both you and Ocellus have been really kind to me, and, well I really like the two of you."

"We like you too," Sandbar said.

"Hey Sandbar, we're up," Gallus said, then saw Cozy Glow with him. "I thought you went to the stands?"

"Sandbar needed water, so came to give him some," Cozy Glow explained.

"Not as an assistant though," Sandbar clarified.

"Yeah, yeah, wow she really is sensitive about that, even the others find it kind of annoying," Gallus said.

"Come on dude!" Sandbar said.

"No, it's alright Sandy," Cozy Glow said. "Gallus is just trying to be friendly in his own way, maybe I shouldn't overreact."

"Uh, right, it's all in good fun," Gallus said.

"Also, to show you that I'm not bothered by what you say, I brought you some water too," Cozy Glow said, offering Gallus a bottle.

"Oh, thanks I guess," Gallus said, chugging the water. "That hit the spot. Alright, let's go."

Sandbar went out with Gallus as Cozy Glow sinisterly grinned, "Oh, it'll hit a spot alright."

Meanwhile Rumble was hyping up his own team, "Come on, we've almost got it, we'll be another great team of Six! Just like The Elements of Harmony! Just like the founding members of The Avengers! We can do this!"

"You got it!" Scootaloo said.

"I'm all in!" Sweetie Belle said.

"Let's win this!" Wind Sprint said.

"Hell yeah!" Dinky said.

"Those losers won't know what hit them!" Rumble said. All the girls cheered, except for Apple Bloom, which Rumble noticed. "You alright Apple Bloom?"

"Games are supposed to be fun fer everyone, but you're all taking this too far," Apple Bloom said. "Ah mean, all this talk about being like Twilight or Peter, or anypony else, plus you're all treating Sandbar and his friends like they're enemies."

"Oh, come on Apple Bloom, it's just for fun," Scootaloo said. "It just has a little more riding on the line, but it's all good fun."

"Ah know, but still…" Apple Bloom said. "Ah feel like we're even being mean to them."

Sweetie Belle seemed to pity Apple Bloom, she has noticed how intense everyone was acting, maybe this is getting uncomfortable, "Maybe we can dial it back, what do you say team? Treat this as friendly as possible?"

"To be fair, they're not friendly either," Dinky said.

"Then let's be better," Sweetie Belle said. "It will mean a lot to Apple Bloom," Sweetie Belle said.

Scootaloo was the first to speak up about it, "We can try, if that will make Apple Bloom feel better."

"What do you say Rumble?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Rumble thought about it a moment, he didn't want to upset Apple Bloom, even if he didn't care much for the other team. But so long as he wins, then he'll do what feels right, "Ok, we'll dial it back. But we're still gonna go out there and win."

"Yeah, we're not going easy on them," Wind Sprint said.

"I make no promises, especially if they start to piss me off," Dinky said.

"Fine with me, now let's go!" Rumble said, everyone marching out there, Apple Bloom hoping for a friendlier game.

Once the teams were out and Rainbow Dash tossed the ball, the game resumed, and this time Sandbar's side was doing better. They got in a few extra goals, getting up to eight points to the seven that Rumble's team had.

"Looks like we're getting a turnaround!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Dang, this isn't good," Rumble nervously said. "Can't lose out here."

"Come on, we got…" Gallus started feeling sick. "Oh, my stomach."

"Gallus, you alright?" Sandbar asked. He called to Rainbow Dash, "Hey timeout"

Rainbow Dash stopped the game so they could check on Gallus, the griffon looked incredibly sick, all his teammates worried.

"What's wrong Gallus?" Smolder asked.

"My stomach's in pain," Gallus said. "I just feel- "

Suddenly Gallus felt the urge to throw up, though held it back, not wanting to soil the field, or embarrass himself.

Suddenly Nightcrawler teleported over, with Jubilee by his side, the girl looking worried. "Gallus, you look terrible!"

"I feel worse," Gallus said.

"Dude, you need to sit out the rest of the game," Sandbar said.

"I can't do that! We're winning!" Gallus said.

"We're just two points away, we'll be fine without you," Sandbar said. "Your health is more important."

"But…but..!" Gallus pleaded.

"No 'buts' unless it's yours out this stadium Gallus," Jubilee said.

"Golly, what's going on?" Cozy Glow asked, flying over to her friends.

Gallus angrily glared at her, "YOU!"

"Huh?" Cozy Glow feigned confusion.

"What did you do to me!?" Gallus asked. "I know you had something to do with this!"

"Gallus, what's gotten into you?" Ocellus asked.

"Try asking Cozy Glow! She gave me some water that…Oh I bet that had to do with it!" Gallus said.

"What is he saying? I didn't do anything to Gallus!" Cozy Glow insisted.

"I'm with Cozy Glow, she gave me water too and I feel fine," Sandbar said.

"I just wanted to help," Cozy Glow said, looking sad. "Why are you being so mean to me Gallus?"

"That's a load of baloney!" Gallus angrily shouted. "You're still mad about that whole Spike thing! Well guess what! You're no Spike! You're a Discord! You deceiving little traitor!"

"Dude, that's enough!" Sandbar shouted. "Just go get checked up! Maybe your brain is messing with you!"

"I'll take him," Nightcrawler said, immediately teleporting away with Gallus.

Cozy wiped some tears from her eyes, "Why is he so mean to me? I just wanted to be his friend!"

"I got you Cozy Glow," Sandbar said, bringing her in for a hug. "Gallus is just cranky, once he feels better he'll apologize, I'll make sure of it."

"You pwomise?" Cozy Glow asked.

"You bet," Sandbar said.

"This is cute and all, but now we're down a player," Smolder said.

"We can win with five players, can't we?" Silverstream asked.

"Isn't it against the rules to not have a complete team!?" Dinky asked.

"Dinky…" Apple Bloom said. She didn't want unnecessary conflict.

"They have enough players for the field, it's just more of a handicap for them," Rainbow Dash said.

"Can I fill in?" Cozy Glow asked.

"No way! You're not good at this game!" Smolder said. Of course, this resulted in more tears from Cozy Glow, and a few angry glares her way. "Well even if we were alright with it, what does the rules say!?"

"Yeah, what do they say!?" Scootaloo asked.

"Scootaloo…" Apple Bloom scolded.

"It's a fair question!" Scootaloo said.

"Well…I think I can make an exception, I mean Sandbar's team should have the same advantages if they can," Rainbow Dash said.

"Oh, that would make me feel so much better!" Cozy Glow said.

Before the Crusaders team could protest, Rumble huddled them together, "Cozy Glow is a really bad player, if anything this is a disadvantage for them. They'll probably just not play her anyway."

"Fair point," Wind Sprint said.

Rumble turned to Rainbow Dash, "We're fine with that team having a replacement."

"Alright, then it's settled, welcome aboard Cozy Glow," Rainbow Dash said.

"I'm on the team!" Cozy Glow said, looking very happy. No more 'Spike' for her, now she's within the main six.

"Alright! Game on!" Rainbow Dash said.

The team continued forward, Rumble's team getting two more scores to get nine out of the ten points. They were close to the winning goal when Sandbar stepped in and played a great defense against Apple Bloom.

In a haste, she buck-kicked the ball, but Sandbar jumped in to block, but did so awkwardly and hurt his hind leg. This still gave Yona the opening to make the score for her team, tying it up 9-9.

"Last point wins!" Rainbow Dash declared.

Sandbar limped back, Cozy Glow immediately checking on him. "Is it bad? Anything broken?"

"No, but I am going to need a few minutes to recover."

"The clock is running down though," Smolder said.

"That's fine, I can step in," Cozy Glow said.

"Uh, no, I'll go on the defense, you stay here," Smolder said.

"Oh come on! Let me be part of the team!" Cozy Glow insisted.

"You'll cost us the game!" Smolder said.

"Come on Smolder, it's just a game, let Cozy Glow have fun," Sandbar said.

Smolder looked confused, "But if we lose- "

"Then we lose, no big deal," Sandbar said. "I don't want Cozy left out, she's our friend, let's treat her like an equal."

This of course brought great joy to Cozy Glow's heart, and gave her another reason to admire Sandbar. Smolder looked frustrated but relented.

"Fine, have it your way," Smolder said. "Cozy, you're in."

"Yay!" Cozy flew into the field.

"Yona, switch with me!" Smolder said. "Ocellus, you stay put!"

Rumble gathered his team quickly, "Scootaloo, you're up as our Attacker, Dinky, you're our Catcher."

"Got it," both girls said.

"Wind Sprint, how are you feeling?" Rumble asked.

"I think I'm ready to step aside," Wind Sprint said. "I trust you're feeling well rested."

"Sure am," Rumble said. "Too bad, thought you might appreciate being part of the last goal."

"Hey, a win is still a win, we all put in work," Wind Sprint said. "Go make us proud, be the Element you want to be."

"You got it," Rumble said. "Scoots, Dink, let's go!"

The final play was ready, Rainbow Dash threw the ball and it was on. Smolder and Scootaloo fought hard for the ball while Cozy and Rumble stuck to the air. Surprisingly Cozy did a good job of playing defense, a lot better than Smolder through. Granted she had a flew slips but nothing game ending. Though Smolder's slips dragged on as well as the clock counted down.

"Time's almost up, gotta get to it!" Scootaloo said, nearly getting her ball in but Smolder her kicked it up into the air.

"Not so fast!" Smolder knocked it toward her goal but Rumble managed to stop it. He eyed Cozy Glow, the filly looking ready to block. "Cozy Glow! We're close to winning! Don't screw up!"

Cozy Glow scowled at Smolder a second before focusing on Rumble, the boy keeping the ball balanced with his wings. Surprisingly, he noticed her winking. Taking his chances, he kicked the ball over himself, Cozy looking like she was going to catch it, but somehow 'missed', taking Smolder and Ocellus off guard, the two were sure Cozy would stop it.

This distraction allowed Scootaloo to kick the ball into the basket, getting the game winning goal for Rumble's team.

Rainbow Dash then blew her whistle, "Crusaders win!"

"Yes! We did it!" Rumble cheered, his team running in for a group hug as the crowd cheered. "We're the champions!"

"Dammit!" Smolder punched the ground. "We almost had it!"

"Hey it was a close game at least," Silverstream said. "And Cozy Glow actually did better than we thought."

"We should have won that though!" Smolder said.

Quibble looked pretty satisfied, "Wind Sprint looks so happy."

"Yes, she does, she must really feel proud of herself," Clear Skies said. "And her friends."

"Rumble should be proud too, he led them to an amazing victory," Thunderlane said.

"He's so cute when he's happy," Flitter said.

Laura looked satisfied as well, "The right team won! Rumble rules!"

"Oh hell yeah," Lightning Dust said. "Rumble's got a nice career ahead of him, I can see him as a Washout, Wind Sprint too. I might even consider Scootaloo, she's got nice skills."

"Apple Bloom really did great out there," Applejack said. "At least she's happy now."

"I'm happy for her too," Remy said. "We should do something nice for her, but first thing's first."

"Right, gotta check on Flim and Flam, make sure they ain't pulling some scam," Applejack said.

"Oh my Sweetie Belle's a star!" Rarity said. "I knew she had it in her to be a success."

"Who would have guessed it would be sports?" Bobby said.

"She probably gets that from me," Hondo Flanks said. "I was quite the athlete in my day."

"Yes you were father," Rarity said, humoring the older stallion.

Twilight looked a bit concerned, "Unfortunately Sandbar lost, but it was really kind of him to let Cozy Glow play on his team after Gallus got sick."

"Wonder how that even happened?" Janet said.

"And why would Gallus blame Cozy Glow?" Trixie wondered. "That seemed rather uncouth."

"We'll get to the bottom of that later," Twilight said.

Tony Stark looked satisfied himself, "Rumble rules! He is the perfect leader."

"Sandbar did good too, don't sell him short," Steve said.

"Well Sandbar should probably keep his team in tighter Harmony, like Rumble," Tony said.

"Disagreements happen, doesn't change that they tried their best despite that," Steve said.

"You Steve, it's kind of worrying to hear you say that," Tony playfully glared at Steve. "Wonder what that says about you?" The moment Steve glared back, Tony playfully laughed it off. "Just joking."

"Uh-huh," Steve said. He just focused back on the winners.

Rainbow Dash took the Mega Phone, "That's the game folks, I hope you were proud of these players, I know I am." She rubbed Scootaloo's mane, Johnny doing the same. "They have a few words too! Go on kids!"

Sweetie Belle stepped up first, "Thank you all for coming here, and supporting me and my friends! I especially want to thank my mom, my dad, my sister, my brother-in-law and my niece for their support."

"We love you Sweetie Belle!" Rarity said.

"I love you all too!" Sweetie Belle said.

"That's nice, now your turn Scootaloo," Rainbow Dash said.

"Thanks," Scootaloo took the mega phone. "Wish my parents were here, but they're busy discovering cool stuff and finding cures for diseases, they may not superheroes like The Avengers, but they're just as cool! I am using my win to honor what they do for Equestria!"

"Not all heroes wear capes," Steve commented. "Good on Scootaloo for noticing that."

"That's a confusing statement though," Luna said. "Since you, Tony, Peter and many of your friends don't wear capes. Only Thor seems to wear a cape, and Stephen Strange."

"It's just an expression Luna," Steve said. "Point is a hero doesn't have to look like me, Peter or Tony, a hero can be anyone. Like Scootaloo's parents."

"Oh yes, I agree with that," Luna said. "I suppose it is a nice sentiment."

Dinky was next, "Yo! Derpy! You out there?" She saw her adoptive mother in the crowd. "Hey! Hope you're proud of your little girl! That win was for you and Doc! You're both kind of strange sometimes, but you're really awesome parents!"

"Thanks Dinky!" Derpy called out.

Next came Wind Sprint, "First, I gotta say. I really wish my dad were alive to see this, but I know he's watching down from above! I hope I'm as good of a player as he was! That's why I'm so grateful to have my mom with me, here and being supportive! But they're not the only ones I do this for. Quibble!" She turned to the stallion, "Thanks for being there for me! Even if I miss my dad and nopony can replace him, I still love you just as much for being just as good of a father figure."

"I told myself I wouldn't cry," Quibble wiped his eyes with a napkin. "I have failed on my promise."

Apple Bloom was next up, "Well thank you to mah family sitting here. My brother Big Macintosh, my sister Applejack, my nephew Oliver, my new baby niece Becky, my brother-in-law Remy, my sister-in-law and former school teacher Cheerilee, Granny Smith, my city cousin Babs and my cousin from Appaloosa, who helped us get this Stadium, Braeburn!"

"That's my little cousin!" Braeburn said. "A real winner, like a true Apple!"

Rumble took the stands, "First, shout out to my brother Thunderlane, my niece Felicity and two of my favorite mares who are like big sisters to me, Flitter and Cloudchaser!"

"We love you Rumble!" Flitter called.

"Heh, thanks," Rumble said with a blush. "I'd also like to thank and honor this victory to my other family, the Parker-Sparkle family!" Rumble turned to the group in the crowd. "Trixie, you know you'll always be Great and Powerful to me."

"And you'll always be a star to Trixie!" the mare said.

"I love her third pony talk," Rumble said, this somehow frustrating Sandbar's team, given how they teased Yona about this a few days prior. "Mayday, you'll always be my sweet and darling little sister."

"Thanks Rumble!" Mayday said.

"Hey! Rumble!" Flurry called. "I'm a fan of yours too! You're the best!"

"Thanks Princess Flurry Heart!" Rumble said.

Flurry giggled in excitement, "He knows my name!"

"Everyone does Flurry, you're a Princess," Mayday said.

"Still, so cool!" Flurry said.

"Peter, you will always be my biggest inspiration, and I hope I can be a hero like you! I'll carry the Spider-Mane name if I have too. I mean, I think I have the skills to do so," Rumble said.

"Kind of need Spider powers!" Peter said.

"I'll just find a spider to bite me, not hard," Rumble said.

"That's…not how it works though," Peter said.

"And Twilight," Rumble said, focusing on the mare. "I hope I…no, that we six made you proud. I also want you to know that I am ready to become an Element of Harmony. Just make it official, and the six of us will carry the Legacy of your friends."

Twilight had no immediate reaction, she just flew down to Rumble, giving his team the impression that something was going to happen.

"What's she up to?" Tony asked.

"Something big is about to happen," Applejack said.

"Hm, this should be interesting," Martin stated.

"Where's the damn popcorn guy?" Deadpool wondered.

Twilight stood before Rumble, the colt bowing to her, expecting some form of praise.

"Rumble…" Twilight began, Rumble eagerly listening to what she had to say next. "You are so misguided."

That took a weird turn for Rumble, "Huh?"

"The Elements of Harmony isn't just some title that can be handed over, especially not after winning a game of Buckball," Twilight said. "I mean, what does this sport have to do with being an Element?"

"It showed teamwork," Rumble said. "And friendship too. My friendship with these girls got us the win, something Sandbar and his friends failed in."

"I didn't see failure on Sandbar's team, they worked well together and Sandbar even put in a player who wasn't as skilled, that takes good, genuine friendship," Twilight said.

"But the six of us were harmonic," Rumble said. "We didn't fight, we didn't argue, we worked together."

"That's good, but it's not enough," Twilight said.

"Then what is enough!?" Rumble shouted, losing his patience. "Twilight! You're always about friendship and harmony, and that's something the six of us have shown, the Crusaders showed it when they were fillies, even more so when they got their Cutie Marks at the same time! I mean, yeah, Cutie Marks are dumb and pointless, but that had to mean something shouldn't it?"

"Oh sweet Celestia," Thunderlane said, worried about how downhill this was going. Didn't help that many ponies found Rumble's statement about Cutie Marks slightly offensive. One exception being Laura, who just grinned at the boldness.

"Not only are they friends, I joined their group some time ago, Dinky is somepony we knew and were acquainted with, and Wind Sprint just became my new best friend after a few short days!" Rumble said.

"Aw, I'm your best friend?" Wind Sprint asked.

"See, that made her happy!" Rumble said. "My friendship is making her happy! Just her friendship makes me happy, and the same with Dinky and The Crusaders! I am literally dating one of them! That's like the ultimate in Friendship! Even your friends don't date each other, and I heard really strong rumors about Rarity and Applejack once!"

Remy turned to Applejack, "What rumors!?"

"Ah have no idea," Applejack said, kind of surprised.

Bobby turned his attention to Rarity, "So…Applejack."

"Don't even," Rarity said. "If I wanted Applejack, I never would have married you."

"Fair point," Bobby said.

"Rumble…" Twilight said. "By your logic, anyone with friends should be an Element, including Sandbar."

"But he lost!" Rumble shouted. "We're better than them! Peter called them the new Elements, and we still beat them! We're better!"

"Rumble this is hurting your point, right now you're saying mean things, and that's not what an Element does," Twilight said.

"Hey even you snap at other ponies!" Rumble sassed.

"Rumble!" Peter leapt down. "You gotta cool your temper when talking to Twilight."

"Peter, you always saw potential in me and The Crusaders! You can see that same potential in Dinky and Wind Sprint! Come on! You know I can be an Element! That we can be Elements!" Rumble said. "We've worked hard for this! I've worked hard! I've faced off against villains! I put my safety on the line for Equestria! We deserve this!"

"Rumble, you're embarrassing yourself," Peter said. "You're freaking out in front of an entire stadium! You have a nice win, just leave it at that!"

"But this had a purpose!" Rumble said, almost sounding heartbroken. "We did this to impress you! I did this to impress you! I did this because I want to carry the burden you carry so you and Twilight can rest easy into your older years while ponies like me step up!"

"Rumble, it's nice that you want to be a protector of Equestria, and you can be," Twilight said. "But you can't just be made an Element of Harmony. It's not just some title that can be passed down. I became an Element because I helped save Princess Luna, not because I was given to it after a team event. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"…Yeah, I understand," Rumble said. "I just have to save Equestria then, right?"

"Huh?" Twilight said. "N-no, that's not- "

"I just gotta find some villain and beat them with my friends! Just like you defeated Nightmare Moon!" Rumble said. "That's how we become The Elements! How we can cement our legacy in Equestria!"

"And he's losing his mind," Bobby said. "So maybe we don't let Sweetie Belle hang around him for a while. Hoping to avoid a Vega situation."

"Tempted to agree," Rarity said.

Thunderlane groaned in annoyance, "I gotta get through to Rumble before he does something stupid, and drags Wind Sprint and the other girls into it."

"Rumble, you can't go out and fight a villain," Twilight said.

"Hey I'm not going alone, I'm going with my friends!" Rumble said, then turned to the others. "Right girls!? Ready to be heroes!?"

"Sure why not," Dinky said.

"Dinky!" Twilight scolded.

"Hey I think I can pull it off, shouldn't be too hard," Dinky said.

"Yeah, we're tough, aren't we?" Scootaloo said.

"And we have hearts as strong as horses," Sweetie Belle said.

"Uh girls, maybe we should listen to Twilight," Apple Bloom said, Twilight grateful at least one of them was showing common sense.

"Alright look," Johnny said, stepping in. "This is fun but maybe you should continue your conversation elsewhere, like not in front of a stadium full of ponies who probably feel awkward now. You kids can't go against villains, Scootaloo, you nearby bit the dust when you had that encounter with Annihilus."

"He got lucky, I can take him down if I wanted to now," Scootaloo said. "I've gotten stronger."

"We're all strong!" Rumble said. "And we're ready to take on any villain that comes our way!"

"That's good," came a voice from above. Everyone looked to see Wizard floating above the stadium. "Let's see how you match against my power!"

"What in the world!?" Peter said.

"Is that The Wizard!?" Susan asked in worry.

"Shit…" Logan stood up, ready for a fight. "This ain't something we need right now."

Martin rubbed his chin curiosity, "What do we have here now?"

Wizard looked down at The Crusaders team. "Ready for a battle, child?"

Rumble confidently grinned at the sight of the Wizard. "Bring in on!"

Time for a certain group to either prove a point, or learn harsh humility.

Author's Notes:

Didn't expect this chapter to be so long.

Post Game Showdown

What started as a game between two young teams was now on the verge of being a potential villain battle, the first big one since the start of The Accords.

Rumble and his team looked ready for a fight, except for Apple Bloom. She knew they wouldn't have a chance against villains such as these.

"So, you ready to lose to us!?" Dinky asked. "We're pretty tough, wouldn't blame you for turning tail and running!"

"Dinky! Get out of the stadium!" Derpy ordered.

"I got her," Susan said, floating out to the field, joined by the other heroes in attendance, as well as Spike, Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust.

"Luna, go clear an exit, the ponies are going to need a quick evac," Steve said just before going down as well.

"Yes Captain," Luna said, flying off.

Twilight wanted to go down as well, but she was more worried for the ponies in her group, especially her daughter. "Everyone, follow me quickly."

"But what about Dinky?" Derpy asked.

"Peter will protect her, right now I have to protect you, come on," Twilight said. "Ben can you help me?"

"Sure thing Twilight," Ben Grimm said.

"Thanks," Twilight said, leading away her friends. "Everypony else! Single file out of the stadium, quick!"

Down below, the heroes stood ready for a fight, but so did Rumble's group, with the exception of Apple Bloom, who was ready to book it.

"Kids, make a run for it!" Peter warned. "This is not safe!"

"Oh come on Peter, let us fight with you!" Rumble insisted.

"Rumble, this isn't a game, Wizard is pretty tough," Peter said.

"Of course, all of us together can take him out," Johnny boasted. "I've even solo'd this guy on occasion."

"What occasion?" Bobby joked, getting an annoyed reaction from Johnny.

"Real funny dude, Wizard was my rival first!" Johnny said.

"Seriously though, I'm ready to go," Bobby said, readying his ice.

"Same, time to go all in," Remy said, twirling his staff.

"Alright, curb the enthusiasm here," Tony said, readying his suit. "Gambit, keep in mind that you're not fully authorized to fight any villains."

Remy raised his eyebrow in confusion, "Excuse me mon ami? What do you mean I can't throw down with dem villains?"

"You never signed on with The Accords, legally you can't fight a villain, you can help the other ponies, but I can't allow you to engage in combat," Tony explained.

"You can't be serious," Remy said. "I've been doing hero work for years without issue!"

"I'm kind of with Gambit there Tony, he's been protecting Equestria for a long time, does he really need The Accords?" Steve asked.

"Law says he does," Tony said. "Nightcrawler, Jubilee, Logan, Deadpool, Laura and Lighting Dust, that goes for the six of you as well."

"You can't really mean that Tony!" Jubilee said.

"Yeah, you need our help!" Lightning Dust said.

"Whatever then," Deadpool said, putting his swords away and trotting off to find the Pies, he'll at least keep them safe.

"There's plenty of heroes here, or rather there's me and Steve since we're the only ones authorized to work other towns," Tony said.

"You can't be serious," Logan said. "How is this helpful!? You have an army to take him down!"

"We don't need an army, less is more," Tony said. "Better to use a hammer than a wrecking ball."

"Poor heroes, doesn't work so well when the laws you fight to uphold works against you," Wizard taunted. "Such is the fate of the self-righteous."

"Is this guy serious?" Bobby said. "Dude you're still going against two of The Avengers, they're more than enough to kick your ass!"

"Steve and I can handle this on our own, the rest of you keep the crowd safe," Tony said.

"It would be foolish to underestimate me," Wizard said. "Your Accords will be your downfall."

"We'll see about that," Tony taunted. "Peter, I trust you in leading the others to escort the ponies to safety."

"Oh, they're have to do more than just escorting," Wizard said, gesturing outside of the stadium.

Suddenly fireballs rained down, taking all the ponies by surprise as they frantically tried to avoid the heating blaze.

"What's happening!?" Johnny asked.

"Johnny! Absorb that fire! Quick!" Peter ordered.

"Sure thing Pete!" Johnny said, trying to keep the fire under control.

"Good thinking Peter," Steve praised. "The rest of you should find whoever's doing this and make sure you escort the ponies to safety."

"Looks like Twilights' already on it," Peter said, gesturing to his wife and her friends getting the ponies to safety.

"Follow her lead," Tony said. "Those of you signed with the Accords, I deputize you to detain that villain. Gambit, Jubilee, Nightcrawler, you do what you must but avoid combat."

Remy groaned in annoyance, "Fine, you do what you want, I'll go check on my family." Remy trotted off, muttering to himself, "And confirm something for myself."

"Remy wait, I'll come with ya!" Apple Bloom said, trotting after her brother-in-law.

"Kurt, Jubilee, why don't you help my wife, make sure everyone's safe," Peter said. "You can start by getting Rumble and his friends out of here."

"No way! We want to help!" Rumble said.

"Rumble, you're not even on the Accords either!" Peter pointed out.

"I don't need the Accords," Rumble said, eyeing Wizard. "I'm an Element of Harmony!"

"Rumble you're not an Element, you're a kid who's in way over his head!" Peter scolded. "Now get going!"

"But-!" Rumble again tried to plead.

"Let's just go, you don't want to make him mad," Dinky said, then whispered to Rumble. "I heard rumors of what he's like when he's mad, and I know you've heard them too."

Rumble does seem to remember stuff he's overheard from Lightning Dust, while he knows Peter is not one to normally be overly violent or aggressive, he'd still rather not get on his bad side. "Alright fine, let's go ladies."

"With you Rumble," Sweetie Belle said, then turned to her brother-in-law. "Good luck Bobby!"

Sweetie Belle led her friends away, Dinky looking back at Wizard with a mistrustful gaze. She wished she could do something, especially knowing it would validate herself and her friends as an Element, perhaps in the future.

"Time to put the glory of my plans to work!" Tony said, flying in with his suit. "Take this!"

As Wizard blocked and clashed with Tony, Peter and company began leading the ponies away to safety.

"This way! Follow us!" Peter said, gesturing towards the exit. More fireballs rained down, but Susan was quick to put up a forcefield to protect the ponies from harm.

"We gotta find out who's doing that," Bobby said.

"I'll do it!" Rainbow Dash said, flying toward the direction of the fire.

"Should we help?" Bobby asked.

"Rainbow Dash is fast, she can handle it for now," Peter said. "If she needs help then she'll let us know."

---

When Rainbow Dash arrived at the source of the fire, she spotted The Scorcher spreading his fire everywhere. "Found our guy." She landed beside him, getting his attention, "Hey Chump, you got a lot of nerve throwing fire around, didn't anyone tell you that fire is dangerous?"

"Oh gee, I'm so sorry," Scorcher fake apologized. "Maybe I should stop-NOT!" Scorcher tried blasting Rainbow Dash, but she was quick to move aside. He continued spreading around, trying to blast her out of the air.

Rainbow Dash quickly flew in and kicked him back. It wasn't long before she noticed everything else on fire. "Johnny's gonna have a lot of work cut out for him."

---

As Peter and friends continued to lead the ponies, among them was a bit of trouble. In the midst of these ponies was Martin Li, and the Demon leader was eager to cause a little chaos. Though he would have to be careful, Suri was here too, and he would rather she not get hurt.

"What's the point of having heroes here if their villains are going to follow?" Suri commented. "More trouble than they're worth honestly."

"Hey! We heard that!" Bobby said, not too far off.

"How great, your hearing is working," Suri said. "Just do your job if you're so insistent on playing hero, okay?"

"Now Suri, let us be appreciative of our heroic allies," Martin said. "Their job is hard enough as it is, what with the villain attacks and the panicking ponies."

"Yeah, that guy gets it," Bobby said. "Thankfully nopony here is panicking."

Martin grinned sinisterly and started spreading his negative energy to some nearby ponies. It wasn't long before a few of them started acting strange, something Peter's spider sense picked up on.

"Something's happening!" Peter turned and saw that a few of the ponies were scrambling around in fear. "Hey! Get back in formation!"

"We're gonna die! It's not safe!" a pony shouted, trying to shove through. "Out of my way!"

"Hey watch it!" another negative ponies said, knocking the first pony back. It wasn't long before these ponies started fighting amongst each other.

"Oh crap, everyone's fighting!" Bobby said, trying to get in the middle of them. "Yo, I need you all too-"

One pony blasted Bobby back with his unicorn magic, something Suri found some humor in.

"Oh come on!" Peter went to restrain a few, despite them trying to fight him off. "Stay focused!"

"And now they're freaking out, what a bunch of weirdos," Suri said. "Spider-Mane, you can just knock them out right?"

"I'm trying to save ponies!" Peter said, dodging some magic. "Not hurt them!"

"Peter!" Twilight flew over, using her magic to detain a few ponies and teleport them away.

"Twilight! You need to get to safety too!" Peter urged.

"I'm fine, I'm more worried about everypony else," Twilight said. Though as she said that she felt some pain in her stomach. "Nothing I can't power through."

"Twilight, please, think of Benjy," Peter urged.

"But what about-" Twilight was then nearly rammed into by a negative Pegasus when Logan punched it out.

"The hell is with these ponies?" Logan wondered, then turned to Twilight. "Look Twi, I get yer worried fer yer subjects, but Parker's got a point, you need to take better care of yourself. Plus, look around, things are getting bad."

"Hey! Snap out of it!" Laura shouted, prying two ponies apart.

"Back off!" Trixie warned, zapping at the hooves of a pony

Twilight hated having to leave, but perhaps it was better that she got to safety and wasn't potentially in everyone's way. "Alright." She turned to find Spike, the young dragon fending off a couple of ponies, "Spike! Mind sending a letter to Celestia!? Let her know what's happening."

"Uh sure," Spike said, hoping to find a paper to write on.

Peter turned his attention to Wolverine, "Hey Logan, I hate to burden you, but would you mind keeping Twilight safe?"

"You call that a burden?" Logan replied, smirking a bit. "I'll keep an eye on her."

"I owe you," Peter said.

"This one's on me," Logan said, quickly trotting toward Twilight, "Let's hurry."

Logan led Twilight away while the heroes tried to calm the panicking ponies. However, Martin continued to use his powers on other nearby ponies, this eventually leading into a massive riot across the stadium.

---

Tony and Wizard continued to battle in the air, the armored hero sending a beam at his opponent, Wizard blocking and zapping Tony back.

Steve tossed his shield toward Wizard's direction, knocking him back a bit, allowing Tony to fly in with a punch.

Wizard shook it off, but rather than immediately fight again, he took note of the riot below, seeming satisfied. "Looks like the ponies are rightfully fearful of my presence."

"Huh?" Tony saw all the ponies freaking out, many of them destroying the stands, others getting into fights, plenty of magic beams shooting through the air. "What the hell's happening down there!?"

"Don't be so surprised Iron Man, after all, it's not the first time the public has lost faith in The Avengers," Wizard taunted. "Perhaps this world is no different than Earth, just another lost cause of a population."

"Oh don't even, I know this has to do with your mind control tricks," Tony said. "I'm not unfamiliar with you or your Frightful Four buddies."

"You misunderstand Iron Man, you see, I had not even had the chance to cause this," Wizard said. "If it were my control, I would have them fight for me. This is their doing."

"Spare me your crap," Tony said, readying a beam. "I'll knock you out and break their control."

"A futile hope," Wizard said, clashing once again with Tony. Steve was about to help but found himself surrounded by ponies.

"All of you, out of the stadium!" Steve ordered. One by one however, each of the ponies tried to attack him, but Steve niftily dodged each attack. "What is wrong with you ponies!? Is this really The Wizard's doing!?"

---

Just outside the Stadium, Sandbar and his friends were waiting with Jubilee for Nightcrawler to come outside with Gallus.

"I hope Kurt got to the infirmary just fine," Jubilee said.

"Why is it taking so long? He can teleport!" Smolder said.

"He just went inside Smolder, and he's probably making sure Gallus isn't too sick to move," Silverstream said.

"What could have happened to him?" Ocellus wondered. "Was it something he ate?"

Cozy Glow placed her hoof on Sandbar's side. "You're not sick, are you?"

"I'm fine Cozy, this had nothing to do with you giving us water," Sandbar reassured.

"He probably caught a stomach flu or something," Silverstream said. "I just hope he's able to move to safety in this chaos."

"We'll make sure he-" Jubilee then noticed some ponies making their way toward them, very menacing like. "Uh, can we help you?"

The ponies lunged in, ready to attack, but Rainbow Dash showed up and kicked them all aside. "That was close."

"Rainbow Dash, what just happened?" Jubilee asked.

"I'm not sure, all the ponies just started freaking out all of a sudden," Rainbow Dash said. "Might be the doing of that one guy here."

"Did you see who started throwing that fire?" Silverstream asked.

"Yeah, some guy, never got his name though," Rainbow Dash said.

"Scorcher!"

"Scorcher, well I knocked him..." Rainbow Dash's eyes widened when she saw the villain in question nearby.

"Time to burn!" He sent a huge gust of fire in the direction of Rainbow Dash and company, everyone quickly dodging out of the way.

"Jerk!" Jubilee was about to attack when Rainbow Dash stopped her.

"Remember what Iron Man said, you can't engage a villain," Rainbow Dash said.

"You wouldn't last against me anyway," Scorcher said.

"Hey you!" Smolder shouted, stomping toward Scorcher. "I don't know who you think you are but coming at a dragon with fire earns you a one-way ticket to pain!"

"Smolder, I don't think you're allowed to fight either," Sandbar said.

"Yeah kid, don't want to break the law, would you!?" Scorcher then blasted more fire at the group.

"Alright, that's it. "Law or no law, I have a right to self-defense!" Jubilee rushed in with her fireworks to knock Scorcher off balance.

"Eh, Tony doesn't have to know," Rainbow Dash said. "Go get'em Jubilee!"

Jubilee continued her attempts at attacking, sending more firework attacks Scorcher's way, the villain returning with more fire, scattering around the area, and causing everyone to lose track of what was happening.

It wasn't long before everyone got separated, Rainbow Dash flying up to try and get a bird's eye view of each friend's location. "This isn't good, all this fire is causing too much of a smoke screen!" She glanced around, hoping to find Johnny, though he likely had his hooves full of other fire to stop, she quickly had to think of another alternative. "Wait, I got it!"

Using her speed, she started assembling clouds together, though for her plan to work, she needed a decent amount, and there weren't too many clouds nearby. Fortunately, she had confidence in her speed to get everything she needed to know.

"None of you can escape!" Scorcher taunted as he continued to spread the fire. "You're just a steppingstone to bigger plans!"

Smolder stood close to Ocellus and Yona, the three separated from their allies. "Sandbar! Silverstream! Jubilee!"

"Smolder!?" Jubilee called, the girl close to Sandbar and Silverstream. "We're safe!"

"Jubilee! I'll follow your voice!" Smolder said, about to progress.

"No!" Jubilee called, coughing a bit from the smoke. "It's not safe! Stay where you are!"

"Hey, is Cozy Glow with you!?" Sandbar asked.

"Sandy!?" Came Cozy Glow's voice.

"Cozy Glow!?" Sandbar quickly looked around to find the filly, coughing a bit as the smoke passed through. "Where are you Cozy Glow!?"

"I'm over here!" Cozy called from beyond the fire.

"Should we fly up?" Silverstream asked, coughing from the smoke.

"Might be too dangerous, just stay low," Jubilee said. "With any luck, Rainbow Dash should be handling the situation!"

"We can't wait for her, I gotta do something!" Smolder said, charging through the fire. "Hey, Scorcher guy! Come and get me!"

"Smolder be careful!" Jubilee warned, trying to wave off the smoke. "Rainbow Dash, hurry up!"

---

Meanwhile Remy and Big Macintosh were making their way through a panicking crowd, the card dealer hoping to find who he spotted before, "I know they around here somewhere."

"And you're positive you saw them?" Big Macintosh asked.

"Of course, Cheerilee was there too, she can vouch," Remy said.

"Well ah do trust the both of ya, but what are the odds they'd still be here with all this chaos?" Big Mac asked.

"You're right, they ain't still in town," Remy said, gesturing to the two fleeing the scene, making their way out of town. "Come on, let's catch up to them."

The two trotted after the escaping brothers, both hoping to get out of harm's way.

"What a day," Flam said, gesturing to the air battle between Tony and Wizard. "Things are getting pretty serious."

"I don't get why some ponies find fights like these exciting, it's dangerous stuff," Flim said. "What a shame too, this seemed like the perfect spot to sell our cider."

"Your Cider!?" Remy called, making his way over with his brother-in-law.

"Oh boy," Flim said. "Let's get out of here!"

The two brothers hoped to trot away with their cart, but Remy had tossed some cards nearby, far enough not to hurt them but close enough to give them a scare.

"Stay where you are," Remy warned.

Flim looked a bit nervous at first, knowing the consequences he might receive, but he hoped to play this off with his charm. "Hello gentlemen, may we help you?"

"Big Macintosh, have you gotten stronger?" Flam asked. "You look like you've been hitting the gym."

"Don't try flattering me," Big Macintosh said. "We want to know about that cider you're selling."

"High quality stuff, farm raised apples too," Flim said.

"Farm raised?" Remy asked. "Which farm may I ask?"

"Oh just something local," Flim said, using his smooth talk skills to hide anything suspicious.

"Funny you say that, lately our farm has been missing a few barrels and crates of apples, and here you are selling Apple Cider, a specialty of my wife's family," Remy said. "You wouldn't happen to have taken some apples, would you?"

"That’s quite the accusation," Flim nervously said. "I can assure you that me and my brother would not do something so tactless."

"Somehow I doubt that" Remy said. "I wasn't too different from y'all growing up, I can smell a con a mile away."

"Con? My good stallion, you insult our character," Flim said. "Our work is purely honest. We made the cider ourselves and have been selling it at a marketable price."

"Fine, how about a sample of this cider then?" Remy asked.

"Sorry, no free samples," Flim said. Remy got in closer, trying to intimidate Flim, and as he did so, made the stallion back up and knock a barrel off the twins' wagon.

"Huh?" Big Macintosh looked at the barrel in question. "Property of...Sweet Apple Acres!?"

"So you were nabbing our apples then!" Remy shouted in annoyance. "Y'all still messing with my wife and her family after all these years!?"

"Oh that barrel, it's just an old souvenir from our time in Ponyville," Flim nervously insisted.

"You serious?" Remy sarcastically asked. "Look pal, it's like I said, I know a con when I see one. You don't survive as long as I have without picking up on this type of mindset."

The twins quickly huddled together, hoping to come up with a compromise. Once they finished, Flim turned his attention back to Remy. "Let's make a deal my good man, we'll give you a cut of our profits, and we'll call it even, deal?"

"Here's a better deal, two of you are gonna put a stop to this cider business and leave this market to the professionals," Remy said.

"Make the right choice here," Big Macintosh warned.

"Oh, is that really necessary?" Flim nervously asked. "Why think of all we can accomplish, all we can-"

A minor explosion had startled everyone present, though while Remy was distracted by the nearby chaos, Flim and Flam attempted to make a run for it in their cart.

"They're getting away!" Big Macintosh noticed.

"No they ain't!" Remy said, tossing another charged card at their cart, destroying it's while and knocking everything over.

"Forget the cart! Just run!" Flim said, running off with his brother.

"They're getting away!" Big Macintosh said.

"I'd go after them," Remy said, then turned around. "But we should go check on the family. Last I saw they were heading to the train station with other ponies." He faced the cart again, "First thing's first though. “Using his powers, Remy activated his Kinetic energy on the cart, the whole thing turning pink. "Start running!"

The two quickly dashed away before the explosion, leaving nothing left of the cider stand.

"That's one way to put a stop to that business practice," Big Macintosh said.

"Come on, let's hurry!" Remy urged, the two dashing back to the stadium.

---

Meanwhile Rumble and his friends had gone somewhere to hide from the fire and this newly formed riot, the boy looking quite irritated from how things turned out.

"Dang it! This was supposed to be our big moment!" Rumble said. "Why did that stupid villain have to show up!?"

"At this point it's hardly a surprise," Dinky lamented. "So many guys from Earth want revenge on these heroes, including Spider-Mane."

"They won't even let us fight, this is so bogus," Rumble said.

"Rumble, we ain't exactly superheroes," Apple Bloom said. "That's why we have actual superheroes to do this for us."

"But we're trying to be Elements of Harmony, part of that means fighting bad guys," Rumble said. "You remember what Twilight said, we need to take down a villain."

"She didn't actually say that though," Apple Bloom said. "You just made that up right now!"

"It's about reading between the lines babe, a skill every great leader has," Rumble boasted.

"Well, it's not like it matters," Apple Bloom said. "You heard what Mr. Stark said, only registered superheroes can fight, and yer not registered."

"We can be sneaky about it," Dinky suggested.

Apple Bloom groaned in annoyance, "Just mah luck that ah got separated from Remy in this chaos. Fire everywhere and ponies losing their minds."

"It is kind of strange that they're acting this way, maybe something's up," Sweetie Belle said.

"Probably has to do with the guy that Iron Stallion is fighting," Dinky said. "I don't suppose anyone here knows about him."

"No, sorry," Rumble said.

"Never heard of him," Sweetie Belle said.

"I don't know much about any of the heroes' villains, even some of the ones that came here," Wind Sprint said.

"I think I do actually, I heard his name from Johnny once," Scootaloo said. "I think this is one of his enemies actually, he was part of some group called The Frightful Four."

"Frightful Four? Like the Fantastic Four?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Wait, so there's more of them!?"

"Maybe that's where the fire is coming from," Dinky said. "But wouldn't that mean there's two more around here?"

"Better keep an eye out then," Rumble said, looking into the crowd. "Hope my brother's alright."

"He should be fine, I mean he's trained to fight villains, isn't he?" Dinky asked. "He even has experience."

"Yeah, he fought some monsters and robots years back, but he hasn't done much since then," Rumble said. "Well aside from fighting some Storm King guards but he left most of that to the heroes."

"Still, he's a tough guy," Scootaloo said. "Johnny's out there too, and so are Bobby, Logan, Twilight and especially Peter."

"Wish ah could count Remy, apparently he ain't allowed to fight, like what's up with that?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Rules of The Accords," Rumble said. "Preventing me from fighting too."

"You'd lose," Apple Bloom bluntly stated.

"Wow, been getting lessons from your sister in being honest?" Rumble joked.

"Cute," Apple Bloom looked around. "Ah hope mah family's alright, I'm worried about my nephews and niece."

"I'm worried about mom and Quibble," Wind Sprint said. "Ugh, I can't just stay here, I gotta do something."

"It's dangerous and against the rules!" Apple Bloom said.

"Hey, you were the one saying that you want your brother-in-law to fight," Wind Sprint said.

"Doesn't mean I want him breaking the rules, or any of us," Apple Bloom said.

"You know what, you stay here if you want, I'm going to find Quibble and my mom," Wind Sprint said.

"I gotta find Derpy," Dinky said.

"And I gotta find Flitter, CC and my brother," Rumble said. "I'm not letting some itty bitty fire stop me!"

"That fire is not 'Itty Bitty'!" Apple Bloom shouted. "Rumble, don't you dare go-"

"Follow me fillies!" Rumble declared, completely ignoring Apple Bloom as he along with Dinky and Wind Sprint sped off to find their families.

Apple Bloom shook her head in annoyance, "That boy, I swear." She turned to her friends, "Let's just stay here until it's safe, with any luck, Iron Stallion and Captain Equestria should be able to put a stop to that guy. Maybe Peter too if he's allowed to."

"Actually, I kind of want to go out and see if I can help too, maybe Rumble could use the back-up," Scootaloo said.

"Same here, just to keep him out of trouble," Sweetie Belle said.

"You two can't be serious! It's dangerous out there!" Apple Bloom said.

"We're not gonna get into a fight, I wouldn't want to ruin things for Bobby," Sweetie Belle said. "It took a lot of convincing from my sister to get him to sign on, and I want this to go smoothly for him."

"Plus, there's no law against helping ponies stay away from danger," Scootaloo pointed out. "Come on Sweetie Belle, if we pull this off, it'll keep up our momentum after winning that game!"

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle dashed off, leaving Apple Bloom behind, the filly looking annoyed. "Things have changed way too much."

Rumble, Wind Sprint, and Dinky arrived back in front of the stadium, though they had to huddle together to avoid all the oncoming ponies. To their surprise, a few of the ponies seemed to be fighting each other and the heroes trying to escort them.

"Geez, this riot is really bad if the heroes are struggling," Rumble said. "Gonna be hard figuring out how to help without 'breaking the law' or whatever."

"Hey if things get really bad, they will have to deputize us or something," Dinky said. "But first thing's first, let's try to find out families and make sure they're safe before we make further plans."

"Hey watch out!" Wind Sprint said, the trio quickly dodging a blast from a unicorn.

"What the heck dude!?" Rumble shouted. "Hey if I attack him, is that considered breaking the law? He tried attacking first and I think I have a right to self-defense, I mean-"

"More!" Dinky shouted, the trio avoiding several magic beams, most not even aimed at them, but it did not stop them from nearly getting caught in the crossfire.

"This is ridiculous!" Wind Sprint said. "Should we leave!?"

"Uh..." Rumble darted his eyes, he hoped to find Thunderlane and then see if there's a way he could save the day, but given how bad this riot looked, he wasn't sure if there was anything he could do.

"Rumble! Make a choice or I will!" Dinky said. On pony got knocked toward her, nearly falling on top when she used her magic to shove him away. "It's getting way too hectic."

"Yeah, guess you're right," Rumble said, looking ready to call it quits. He then heard his name called.

"Rumble!" It was Scootaloo, with Sweetie Belle right by her side.

"Girls! Change of plan, we gotta go!" Rumble said. "This place is too wild, if we stay we might get hurt!"

"Huh?" Scootaloo looked a bit disappointed. "But what about being heroes!?"

"We'll have other chances, let's just get out of here," Wind Sprint said. "Would really like to find my mom and Quibble, if only this crowd wasn't such trouble."

Not too far off, Martin had taken note of the five ponies. These same ponies reeked of negativity earlier, so much pride and arrogance too, it was too good for him to resist. "If you desire power over this stampede of ponies..." Martin began using his powers, slowly affecting their minds. "Then I shall grant it to you."

---

Nearby Smolder was still going after Scorcher, trying to find him in the fire. She had to be fast since it was really starting to spread. She hoped Johnny was fast enough to absorb the fire, though he always seemed confident about his speed.

Speaking of which, she really wished Rainbow Dash would hurry up with whatever she was doing. "Hey show your face Scorcher guy!"

"Right here!" Scorcher shouted, trying to attack from behind, but Smolder whacked him back with her tail.

"Gonna have to do better than that!" Smolder breathed fire in his direction, the villain dodging out the way.

"Nice fire kid, appreciate the assistance," Scorcher taunted.

Smolder quickly clamped up, realizing her slip up, "Dang, can't make this worse!"

"Oh don't be shy now!" Scorcher taunted, sending more fire her way. "Sometimes you gotta let things burn!"

"I'll start with you!" Smolder said. She was tempted to attack with fire but in her worry, she hesitated, not wanting to risk anymore damage.

"Shy are we, allow me to demonstrate!" Scorcher was about to attack, but Nightcrawler had teleported in and kicked the villain in the face.

"There will be no more damage from you!" the teleporter said.

"Try to stop me!" Scorcher tried attacking again but Nightcrawler teleported and kicked the villain on the sides.

"With all due respect, I don't think I will need to try that hard," Nightcrawler taunted. He teleported around, kicking Scorcher at several angles, leaving the villain open to one more attack.

"I got this one!" Jubilee rushed over and blasted Scorcher with some fireworks, knocking him over the fire.

"Nice one Jubilee!" Smolder said. "Now we just gotta round up our friends."

"Don't let your guard down just yet," Nightcrawler warned. "The danger isn't over."

"It's nothing we can't handle," Smolder confidently said. "We'll find him and beat him up!"

"Get away from me!" came Cozy Glow's voice.

Jubilee gasped in worry, "Cozy Glow!"

Scorcher was cornering Cozy Glow, looking ready for his next evil scheme, "Sorry girl, I'm gonna need some leverage, and you just happened to be in the most opportune place."

"You'd be smart to back off! Do you have any idea who I am!?" Cozy Glow shouted.

"Yeah," Scorcher grabbed the girl and held her captive. "My hostage!"

Nightcrawler teleported over, seeing Cozy Glow at the mercy of Scorcher. "No!"

"Stay where I can see you, if you know what's good for this girl," Scorcher warned. "The moment you teleport, I burn her. Think you're fast enough?"

"Look friend, tell me, do you honestly believe you could live with yourself if you caused harm to a child?" Nightcrawler asked. "Is it that worth it!?"

"You do what you gotta do to survive," Scorcher said. "Plus I do have a job to pull off, can't let you hero types get in the way of my work."

"Who are you working for? Wizard?" Nightcrawler asked.

"Sorry, can't tell you, I'd lose big time trust," Scorcher said. "Just keep your distance and I'll let this kid go when I'm far away enough."

"You think we'll trust you!?" Jubilee shouted, jumping over to Scorcher's location. "You put Cozy Glow down this instant!"

"Cozy Glow?" Scorcher said, as if the name sounded familiar.

"You don't want to upset a friend of mine, do you?" Cozy Glow whispered to Scorcher.

The villain barely had time to process as suddenly rainfall came pouring down, courtesy of the clouds that Rainbow Dash was putting together.

"That should take care of the fire," Rainbow Dash said. "Now for the villain."

"Dammit!" Scorcher held his hoof out, trying to back away. "Keep your distance, all of you!"

Suddenly Sandbar had rammed him from the side, knocking him over and freeing Cozy Glow. "That's for taking my friend hostage!"

Cozy shook the cobwebs out, then turned her attention to Sandbar, "My hero!" She flew up and planted a big kiss on his cheek, getting a blush from the young stallion. "You're so brave!"

"And so dead!" Scorcher tried to stand but Rainbow Dash flew down and kicked him in the head, knocking him out cold.

"Not so tough without a screen of fire to protect you," Rainbow Dash said.

"Took you long enough to get those clouds," Jubilee sassed.

"Hey it was hard at first to tell cloud from smoke, and I needed a lot of clouds to put the fire out," Rainbow Dash said. "At the very least this should free Johnny up. Now the rest of you need to amscray, things are going downhill fast."

"Rainbow Dash is correct," Nightcrawler said. "The ponies are gathering at the train station, Princess Luna is keeping watch over them and making sure the trains leave properly."

"Wait, what about Gallus?" Smolder asked.

"He's with the other ponies, I saw Spike and Janet Van Dyne boarding the train, he should be out of town hopefully," Nightcrawler said. "Now let's hurry."

"I'll go help Peter," Rainbow Dash said, flying off. "Stay safe!"

"You'd think she'd escort us since she's a registered hero and we're technically civilians," Smolder said.

"It just means she has faith in us, or at least in Professor Wagner and Jubilee," Silverstream said.

"Silverstream, I've told you before, you may call me Kurt outside of school," Nightcrawler said.

"Sorry, force of habit," Silverstream said. "You just seem so professory, even outside of school."

"Yeah, yeah, all friends, now maybe we should head to that train station before another villain shows up," Smolder said.

"I hope Wizard didn't bring a friend," Jubilee said. Though as they were about to approach the station, the group was suddenly blocked by Rumble, Dinky, Wind Sprint, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.

"Huh? What are you five doing here?" Smolder asked.

"You don't seem happy to see us, of course given how ashamed you must be after getting your butts kicked, I don't blame you," Rumble taunted.

"Listen you!" Smolder said, angrily stepping forward before getting stopped by Sandbar.

"Not the time," Sandbar then turned his attention to Rumble. "Look dude, this isn't the time for you to be all high and mighty. In case you forgot, there's a villain here, and he is not sight-seeing."

"I'm aware of our visitor, but he's not the one you should be worried about," Rumble said, he and his team getting into a threatening position.

"Are you out of your mind or something?" Sandbar asked. "We need to get to safety!"

"Ladies, let's show these losers what happens when you mess with the best," Rumble said.

"Rumble, this is not a-" Jubilee's lecture was cut off when some civilian ponies tried to attack her.

"What in the world!?" Nightcrawler said, before getting attacked himself.

"Hey what's happening!?" Sandbar shouted, then took a headbutt to his face, courtesy of Rumble.

"Sandbar!" Smolder shouted in worry, then found herself lifted by Sweetie Belle's magic.

"Bye-bye dragon!" Sweetie Belle said as she flung Smolder away.

Dinky used her magic to zap at Yona, Wind Sprint flew in and rammed into Ocellus while Scootaloo rushed over and kicked Silverstream.

"What's going on!?" Sandbar said, trying to locate Rumble. The boy was pretty fast and got in a few strikes to Sandbar.

"Sandy!" Cozy Glow shouted on worry. "This isn't good, I don't want Sandbar to get hurt, but I can't fight Rumble, he's cute!" She turned toward the Changeling of the group. "I don't want Ocellus to get hurt either." She saw Smolder flying back, wanting some payback on Sweetie Belle, but got blasted back again. "Eh, couldn't care less about her, or that stuck up Griffon, hope he's puking his guts out."

Sandbar got knocked to the ground by one of Rumble's kicks, the Pegasus standing tall over him. "Had enough? Admit that I'm better."

"Well you are better at being a jerk," Sandbar said. "But I'm not done!" Sandbar got a punch to Rumble, then rammed him against a tree.

Wind Sprint continued to attack Ocellus with flying kicks, the Changeling did not want to have to fight, but she was left with little choice, "That's it!" She used her magic to turn into a Timber-Wolf and whacked Wind Sprint back, knocking her against a bench. Once she changed back, she noticed the girl was out of it, "I hope I didn't overdo it, I don't want to actually hurt her."

Wind Sprint shook it off, glaring at Ocellus, "Lucky hit."

"What's going on with you? I know you've been a bit bratty but this is too much," Ocellus said.

"It's about superiority!" Wind Sprint said, some negative energy emanating from her.

"Wait a minute, of course!" Ocellus looked around. "Everypony here is being mind controlled by something, that's the only way this makes sense!"

"Take this!" Wind Sprint shouted as she tackled into Ocellus, the two continuing their brawl.

---

Not too far away, Logan had led Twilight and his family toward the train but took note of the brawl between Rumble's group and Sandbar's. To make things worse, it looked like Jubilee and Nightcrawler were preoccupied by the rioting ponies.

"One thing after the other," Logan lamented.

"Now Rumble's acting like this!?" Twilight asked. "It has to be The Wizard's doing, I hope Tony stops him soon."

"I'm not sure that's it though," Logan said. "Wizard is good at mind control but I don't think he would be this fast. Plus something about these ponies feels off."

"If it isn't Wizard, who could it-" Twilight felt a pain in her stomach. "Ow..."

"You alright?" Logan asked, checking over the girl. "How are your stomach pains?"

"They're getting really bad..." Twilight nearly fell over with Fluttershy and Laura being quick to help her maintain her balance. "My stomach really hurts."

"Hey, you're not going into labor are you?" Laura asked. "This is a really bad time to do so!"

"We need to get her to the Hospital," Fluttershy said. "Logan, you go help Peter, Laura and I will-"

"Wait!" Twilight urged. "I'm sorry but, I really want Logan here, I'd feel safer if he were around."

"Wow really?" Laura asked.

"Laura!" Fluttershy scolded, then focused back on Twilight. "I don't think Logan minds staying then, right dear?"

"Not like he can do anything," Lightning Dust said. "He's not registered."

"Like that would stop me," Logan said. "But for Twilight's sake, I'll stick around."

"Alright, Logan, you go with Twilight, I'll go check on Rumble, see if I can get him and his friends to snap out of their funk," Laura said.

"Do what you have to, just don't cause trouble," Logan said, helping Twilight onto the train, hoping to find some room for her to sit as it prepared to leave.

"I'll do my best," Laura sinisterly said. "Dust, let's go!"

"On it!" Lightning Dust said.

---

As Sandbar's group continued fending off Rumble's, Cozy Glow stood to the background, contemplating her next choice of action.

"Something strange is happening, could it be Wizard? Or is it something else?" Cozy Glow looked around, seeing all the ponies rioting. "Seems strange that he would hypnotize them like this, I feel like he would want to get them on his side, but everypony is acting too wild and crazy. Is this Discord's doing? Did he mind control them? Or did he send someone that not even Wizard knows about?" She turned back to Sandbar, who had just caught Rumble with a buck kick to his ribs. "Regardless, I really should try to stop this before my friends get hurt. Forgive me for this Rumble."

As Rumble flew back to attack Sandbar, Cozy Glow tackled him down, taking him by surprise, "Hey! Get off!"

"Not until you stop attacking Sandy!" Cozy Glow shouted.

"He deserves it! He's one of the punks that treat you like garbage!" Rumble said.

"Quite the opposite, he's really nice to me, and as much as I like you, I can't let you keep hurting him!" Cozy Glow said. "Now snap out of whatever's messing with your mind!"

"Messing with my..." Rumble felt a surge of a headache, almost as if hearing a voice in his head, ordering him to keep fighting. "Not until I prove my superiority! I'll prove I'm more worthy than he is to succeed Twilight and her friends!" He used his wing to push Cozy away. "Now stay out of this, right now it's between us!"

"Dude, you're fighting me for a title I don't even want," Sandbar said. "You want to be an Element, then go for it. I couldn't care less about succeeding Twilight, that's not even my goal."

"Not your goal huh? So, Peter just called you the new Twilight for laughs?" Rumble asked.

"Look if it bothers you that much, take it up with him, I'm not interested in being Princess Twilight, I'm more focused on my own future," Sandbar said. "All of my friends are, we're not striving to be like anyone else, because we're all comfortable enough in our own skins. It sounds like you're the one who needs the vindication of being compared to someone great."

Rumble's eyes widened in shock, thoughts processing through his head. Though quickly as they came, he shook them out, glaring back at Sandbar. "Don't you look down on me you jerk!"

"I'm not looking down at you! I'm just trying to get through to you!" Sandbar said. "You really need to-"

Suddenly he was lifted and tossed away by Sweetie Belle, the filly looking quite satisfied with herself, "I don't really care much for stallions who are all talk."

"Sandy!" Cozy Glow shouted in worry.

"Nice work Sweetie Belle," Rumble said. "Took care of that bothersome dragon?"

"Not yet!" Smolder shouted, flying in and breathing fire at Sweetie Belle, the filly quickly jumping out the way. Rumble flew around and kicked Smolder toward where Sandbar was.

"That's no way to treat a lady," Rumble said.

Sandbar pulled himself up while assisting Smolder, "You way that as you kick a girl."

"You know, it's really hard to tell that Smolder's a female," Rumble said.

"Like you're one to talk!" Smolder shouted in annoyance.

"Hey at least I'm attractive," Rumble boasted.

"Sure are," Sweetie Belle said, planting a kiss on Rumble's cheek.

"Aren't you dating Apple Bloom!?" Smolder asked.

"Eh, what she doesn't know, won't hurt her," Sweetie Belle said. "And I know you wouldn't want to hurt her."

"No, but I'll hurt you!" Smolder shouted, breathing more fire at the two, both quickly dodging toward Cozy Glow. Smolder breathed fire again, while Rumble and Sweetie Belle dodged, Cozy Glow quickly ducked as the fire came her way, the flame leaving a singe on her tail.

"Watch where you're aiming you klutz!" Cozy Glow shouted.

"Hey don't call me a klutz, you're the one who lost the game for us!" Smolder said.

"Not important!" Sandbar insisted.

Nearby Jubilee had finally gotten free and dashed over to the fighting foals, "Hey snap out of it!"

"Stay back!" Sweetie Belle warned, blasting some magic at Jubilee, knocking her back.

"Jubilee!" Smolder shouted in worry, then proceeded to run over and kick Sweetie Belle away. She went for a punch to Rumble, the colt dodging and trying a punch of his own, though hurt his hoof against Smolder's tough skin.

"What are you made of!?" Rumble asked, then took a punch to the jaw from Smolder, knocking him to the floor.

"Tougher stuff than you," Smolder said. She saw that Ocellus had grabbed Wind Sprint in a magic spell and that Silverstream had knocked out Scootaloo, the hippogriff looking a little regretful.

"I didn't think I hit her that hard," Silverstream said. "I hope she's not injured.

"Oh she might be worse than that, jerk," Wind Sprint said from her position.

"Hey, no more out of you," Ocellus scolded.

"Well that's four, where's Yona and that Dinky girl?" Smolder asked.

"Get pony off me!" Yona shouted, the yak being ridden rodeo style by Dinky.

"I can stay on all day!" Dinky cheered, pulling on Yona's fur.

"Don't want you on!" Yona shouted, running around in circles. Fortunately, Smolder was quick to fly over and kick Dinky off her friend's back. "Thank you Smolder."

"My pleasure," Smolder said.

Sandbar shook his head in shame, he really did not want to get aggressive, but Rumble and his friends left him with little choice. "Let's just get these kids to the train where it's safe."

"Good idea," Nightcrawler said, having gotten free himself. "Things are getting worse, I fear there may be a sinister force awaiting us."

"Should we try finding their families?" Ocellus asked.

"Yeah, I can't wait to tell my mom and Quibble how you beat us up!" Wind Sprint said.

"Yeah, yeah, go cry to your momma," Smolder said.

"Smolder, please don't make it worse," Jubilee said. "And you Wind Sprint, you need to dial down this attitude of yours."

"I'm not taking that from some wannabe hero!" Wind Sprint said.

Sandbar glared at the little filly, his patience wearing thin, "Watch yourself, don't disrespect Jubilee."

"I'll go find her parents, hopefully I can find Thunderlane too," Nightcrawler said, teleporting off.

Jubilee turned to the stadium, "It's all up to you now Iron Man."

---

Tony and Wizard continued to do battle, taking their aggression across the skies in viscous combat.

"Who sent you here anyway!?" Tony asked. "Does this have to do with that Discord guy!?"

"Oh you would love to know for sure, wouldn't you Stark?" Wizard taunted.

"It's never a straight answer with you villains," Tony said, sending a blast at Wizard's chest. "I'll make you talk one way or another!"

"Always so confident you heroes are," Wizard said, flying up and out of the way of a punch from Tony, blasting him to the ground.

"Tony!" Steve tossed his shield, but Wizard blocked and tossed a disc like device at Steve's chest, levitating the hero off of the ground.

"What in the world!?" Steve struggled to remove the device from his chest, allowing Wizard to fly in and zap Steve across the air, sending him crashing down.

"Hey, try that on me and see what happens!" Tony said, flying in and sending blasts at The Wizard, narrowly missing.

"Gladly!" Wizard tossed a few discs at Tony, the hero blasting each of them out of the sky before they hit him, but it just left him open for a blast strong enough to cause minor short circuiting in his suit.

"Crap, not good!" Tony said, quickly landing to figure out a quick fix. "Guy's tougher than I gave him credit for."

Above, Wizard was checking his hooves, feeling satisfied with himself, "My new body has adjusted well to this world, I feel my strength returning to its full glory. Once I wipe out The Avengers I can begin turning the world of Equestria into my domain." He readied some of his electricity, "Time to end this, Iron Man will be no more!"

Tony could see that Wizard was preparing a big attack, he had to get ready to fight otherwise he'd be toast. Just before Wizard's attack could land, Peter had webbed Tony and pulled him out of the way.

"Tony, are you ok?" Peter asked.

"I'm fine, thanks for the save though," Tony said. "My suit's a little fried, gonna need a second to readjust things."

"Spider-Man!" Wizard called. "Have you come to try your luck!?"

"Hey Tony, I know I'm not authorized for this town," Peter began. "But it looks like you're gonna need help. Any chance you can deputize me?"

"Sure, here," Tony waved his hoof as if he were casting a spell. "There, deputized. Now go kick the crap out of that guy."

"You got it!" Peter jumped into the center of town. "Alright Wizard, time to send you back to your Emerald Castle!"

"Ah, Spider-Man, I know a select few who wish for your destruction!" Wizard shouted, sending a blast Peter's way, the hero easily dodging. "Show me why you're this world's great savior!"

"Don't gotta ask me twice!" Peter said, propelling off the wall and ramming into Wizard, knocking him back.

Wizard rebounded and hit Peter with an electric blast, hoping to keep him down long enough to attack again, but Peter webbed his face, blinding him for a second. Peter then webbed Wizard and slammed him down once, then again towards a wall.

"Go Spider-Man!" Tony cheered as he continued fixing his suit.

"Mr. Stark!" came the voice of Spitfire, the Wonderbolt leader landing nearby. "I came as soon as I could!"

"Hey Spitfire, wait how'd you know about this?" Tony asked.

"Spike sent a letter to Princess Celestia, and since I was around, she asked me to come and check on things," Spitfire said. "She also sent some of my squad to The Crystal Empire to get Captain Marvel."

"That might have been a bit unnecessary, but I know how much Celestia worries," Tony said. "She's gotta remember why I made these accords, too many heroes and things get hectic and clustered, but thankfully all the heroes here are keeping order. Somewhat at least."

"Is there anything I can do?" Spitfire asked.

"Just make sure the trains are running and ponies are safely getting on," Tony said. "Just be careful, there was fire before, I mean it looks like it's been sorted out but keep an eye out just in case."

"Sure thing Mr. Stark!" Spitfire said, flying off.

Tony focused back on the fight, and it looks like Peter had lost his advantage, the hero was blasted back by Wizard. "You can do this Peter!"

Peter pulled away from the wall, jumping over and trying to web Wizard, though the crafty villain had dodged and sent a blast at Peter, the hero using his webs to pull himself to safety. He propelled off the wall, going for a punch but Wizard side stepped and sent a blast at him, knocking him through a wall.

Wizard flew in, ready to attack again, but just as Peter was about to counterattack, Steve's shield had whacked Wizard on the sides, leaving him open and distracted enough for Peter to go for a kick.

"Thanks for the assist, Cap," Peter said.

"It's no trouble Spider-Man," Steve said. "Come on, let's bring this villain to justice!"

"I think not!" Wizard sent a blast that knocked both back, Steve dropping his shield. Wizard rushed to attack Steve first, blasting him again into a wall. He focused on Peter, the hero quickly grabbing Steve's shield and using it to block the attack.

Peter then tossed the shield at Wizard's head, then jumped up to kick him down, stunning him long enough for Steve to slide over and grab his shield. "CHARGING STAR!" Steve rammed the shield right into Wizard, knocking him across the ground.

"Did you just yell out your attack name?" Peter asked, trying to stifle a laugh.

"It's oddly satisfying," Steve sheepishly admitted.

"Yeah, you're right," Peter said, then jumped over to The Wizard. "ULTIMATE WEB THROW!" He latched onto Wizard, spun a few times, and then tossed him into the stands.

"Great work Spider-Man, very easy to see why you're such a beloved hero in this world and our home world," Steve said.

"It's nothing, just doing my job," Peter said. "I really appreciate you guys being here. I don't think I would have lasted by myself."

"Nonsense Peter, you've kept this world safe on your own for five years," Steve said. "Twilight's told me about your battles against King Sombra, and I remember your battle on Earth against Goblin's forces. You've even survived a Dystopian future."

Peter turned away in shame, "I'll never forget that future, it was probably the darkest time for me."

Peter still seemed lost for a second, something that worried Steve, "Peter?"

The boy snapped out of it, "Sorry, you were saying?"

Steve looked a bit worried, figuring that Peter had probably been through a lot in that world. He would discuss this later, now was not the time. "Just consider this Peter, her spell did say the Greatest Hero in the multiverse, and given how big that is, the fact that you were chosen says something."

"I still don't get why I'm this great hero though, what makes me better than someone like you? Or someone like Tony? Or Thor? You guys are The Avengers," Peter said. "Me, I'm just regular old Peter, I was only nineteen when that spell chose me, I still can't figure it out what it saw in some scrawny kid like me."

Steve chuckled a bit, "Peter, if you want a scrawny kid, you should see pictures of me in my youth, that's scrawny. Still, you did a lot of amazing things during the four years on our world that you took up The Spider-Man mantle, between your battles against Doctor Octopus, Venom and especially The Green Goblin, I'd say you earned the merit to being the best. Something tells me you've done more that even I don't know about."

"Would you believe me if I told you I fought Thanos and beat him?" Peter asked. Suddenly he started to feel strange and foolish. "Actually, never mind that."

"No, I believe you, mainly since Luna told me you did," Steve said. "I've confirmed this with Twilight, her friends, even Logan and Johnny Storm since they all looked into your memories. I know you used the Infinity Gauntlet to stop his plan, and I know it made it so that his plan never happened. No one remembers your feat, and it's a shame because that’s something I wish I could remember, but it really shows the type of person you are, you're not in this for the glory, you just want to keep people safe. You saved many realities, not just this world or ours, but all of them. Everyone owes you a thanks."

"It's nothing really," Peter said.

Steve started chuckling at Peter's humility, "Only someone like you would be so modest about saving the multiverse. If that's not proof of how great a hero you are, I don't know what is." Steve placed his hoof on the spider hero's shoulder, "I'm really proud of you Peter."

"Wow, thanks sir," Peter said, feeling a little elated. His inner fanboy was rejoicing at the praise he received from one of his favorite heroes.

During this, Wizard had recovered, injured but still ready to fight. "I'm not done yet." He was about to attack when Tony intercepted.

"SMART BOMB!" Tony sent a blast that sent The Wizard flying. This got the attention of Peter and Steve. "Yeah those fight loving jerks got to me as well."

"Looks like they did," Steve said.

"So Peter," Tony said, getting his attention. "What's this about you defeating Thanos?"

"It's nothing, you don't have to make a big deal out of it, I mean it technically never happened," Peter said.

"Still, I'm proud of you too, you showed guts and heart, especially today," Tony said. "Peter, I think it's time we made it official. I want you to join The Avengers."

"Me!? An Avenger?" Peter asked.

"I'm with Tony, you have what it takes," Steve said.

"I...I don't know about this guys," Peter said. "I mean I'm-"

"Clam it, you did great, and I can tell this is only the start," Tony said. "I've seen you grow both in this world and ours, and in my honest opinion, you're long overdue for this. I want you in The Avengers."

"Wow, if you insist...sure," Peter said, trying to contain his joy. "I won't let you down!"

"I know you won't" Tony said. "Now let's wrap this up."

"Aw, how cute," Came Discord's voice. The trio turned to see the Draconequess with a box of tissues. "Enough to bring a tear to these old eyes."

"You again?" Peter said.

"Is that anyway to great an old friend?" Discord asked, tossing the box of tissues away. He poofed up a picture of himself and Peter happily posing for a camera. "I thought we were pretty tight-knit."

"Never posed for that!" Peter pointed out.

"What do you want Discord?" Steve asked.

"Nothing really Captain, just came to give a personal congratulations," Discord said. "I mean, you triumphed over The Wizard! That's...alright I guess. Probably not much to congratulate."

"How about we triumph over you," Tony said, aiming his blaster.

"Oh I'm not here to fight, I'm just here to grab an old friend," Discord said, snapping away The Wizard.

"No!" Steve shouted, then turned to Discord. "Bring him back!" He leapt to attack but Discord had snapped a rope around Steve, binding him up for a moment.

"You can have the other one if you want, fair trade," Discord said. "I should hurry, I know that rope won't hold Celestia's little eye candy for long."

"Excuse me!?" Steve asked in frustration, and slight embarrassment.

"What are you planning Discord!?" Tony asked. "No more riddles!"

"But riddles are fun," Discord said. "Just like chaos, and I do love me some chaos. Alas, I shall take my leave for now, and I hope you do something about this riot, seems like ponies can be so 'Negative'."

Discord quickly snapped away just as Tony and Peter attempted to blast and web him respectively.

"Shit, he got away," Tony said.

Steve stood up and powered out of the rope, looking a bit annoyed, "We'll find him." He turned to Tony, "By the way, Language!"

"Don't start that crap with me again!" Tony warned.

Meanwhile Peter was tapping his chin, thinking over what Discord said. "Negative?"

---

Outside the stadium, Martin casually passed by the rioting ponies, hoping to reunite with Suri. She had already gotten on a train and left to a nearby town, but he wanted to wait a bit before leaving, see if there was more he could do.

"Martin," Came Discord's voice, getting his attention. "The game's over, I advise you turn everypony back to normal for now."

"If you insist," Martin said.

"We'll be keeping in touch," with that, Discord was fully gone as Martin began reversing his negative effects on anypony he could reach. It wasn’t' long before rioting came to a halt, many ponies not sure what had happened.

Even Rumble and his friends seemed to be normal again, though still felt a little beaten up after all that happened. Once the rioting fully stopped, ponies began to board the trains properly and were escorted to the same nearby town that Bobby, Janet and Spike were temporarily guarding.

Twilight was sitting against a tree, trying to relax herself with some breathing while Logan sat by her side, gently rubbing her stomach. He hoped that Twilight could wait til they got to the hospital, fortunately Fluttershy was searching for one nearby.

"I got you Twi," Logan said, hoping to reassure the mare.

"Thanks, I'm sorry to be a burden," Twilight said.

"You ain't a burden, yer like family to me, and I protect my family," Logan said.

Twilight looked around, "Where's Mayday?"

"She's with Shining Armor, Cadance and Aunt May, same with Franklin and Flurry," Logan said, turning to the trio of kids. Flurry seemed to look a bit frightened, but Franklin was doing his best to comfort her, as was Mayday.

"Oh good," Twilight said. "I hope that villain got stopped."

"Me too," Logan said.

Gallus was not too far away, trying to contain his stomach pains, "This sucks, how long am I gonna be sick!?"

"You'll be fine," Bobby said from nearby. "Luckily there was a nurse on that train, and she said it's just an upset stomach, so you'll live. Might need to just puke it all out."

"Not very reassuring," Gallus lamented.

"Gallus!" Came Silverstream's voice, the hippogriff running over with her friends.

"Hey everyone, looks like you..." He took note of Cozy Glow. "Oh no, it's you!"

"Dude, enough, Cozy was not trying to make you sick," Sandbar said.

"It's true," Cozy said, trying to look cute.

Gallus groaned in annoyance, he did not believe Cozy Glow, but at the moment he had no energy to argue this. "Just...fine, whatever."

Jubilee knelt beside him, "Maybe you need some ginger ale, that's always good for stomach problems."

"Nurse said it would be gone soon, hopefully by tomorrow," Gallus said. "Things really got bad back there huh?"

"It got real bad," Silverstream asked. "Villains attacking, ponies rioting, we even got into a fight with Rumble and his friends."

"Those six jerks attacked you?" Gallus asked.

"Five, Apple Bloom wasn't there," Ocellus said.

"The only one that has any common sense," Sandbar said.

"They might have been mind controlled though," Jubilee said. "Hopefully the other heroes have an explanation."

"Here they come now," Silverstream said, gesturing to Peter, Tony and Steve, the trio making their way through the crowd.

"First thing's first! Is anyone here missing any friends or family members!?" Peter asked, getting some hooves raised. "Alright, we'll help you find them, there's still at least one more train that is being supervised by Princess Luna, we hope to reunite you with your loved ones!"

"What happened with those villains!?" Trixie asked.

"Well Scorcher has been apprehended and will be taken to Canterlot Dungeon," Peter confirmed. "Wizard got away unfortunately, so we're going to be in alert for now."

"You let one escape!?" Suri shouted. "I thought you were competent!"

"Hey can it lady!" a mare shouted.

"Yeah, Spider-Mane did his best!" a second mare shouted.

"Don't be such a prude," came the voice of a stallion.

"Easy ponies, I appreciate the concern, but she does have a right to be upset, we should not have let him escape," Peter said. "We will search the entire country and beyond to find him, as well as his accomplice, Discord."

"Discord?" Twilight said. "So he was there too?"

"Figures," Logan said. "When I find that guy, I'll give him hell."

"Heroes will be continuously stationed across Equestria, we'll be there to keep you all safe from harm," Tony said. "I will personally search for this villain as well, along with my fellow Avengers, Captain Equestria and Spider-Mane!"

"Avenger?" Logan said. "So he got the promotion."

"I'm so proud of him!" Twilight delightfully stated.

"Excuse me, but when can we go home!?" Suri asked.

"Soon, once everything is accounted for," Peter said. "We have to make sure everyone's alright, both physically and emotionally, get the families reunited, and get to the bottom of certain other things."

"How long will that take?" Suri asked.

Peter rolled his eyes in annoyance, "As long as it needs to."

With a groan, Suri stomped off, “This is a waste of my time, okay. I have a business to run!"

"That mare..." Peter said, hopping off the train.

As he made his way through the crowd, mostly to look for Twilight, he took note of the stallion that was next to her, and for some reason or another, his spider sense went off. Something about this stallion was very familiar, and it didn't help that the stallion seemed to be eyeing him.

Peter quickly made his way over to Johnny, who happened to be nearby, trying to find Scootaloo. "Hey, Johnny."

"Yeah bro?" Johnny asked.

Peter stealthily gestured to Martin, "Keep an eye on that guy, he seems a bit suspicious."

"Uh, you got it," Johnny said, trying not to look directly at Martin.

Of course the crime lord in disguise had a feeling that Peter was onto him. He decided to take his leave, hoping to find Suri, and continue his own plans.

"Of course Suri Polomare is being uncouth about all this," Rarity commented, regarding the mare's earlier outburst. "Like Peter's job isn't hard enough."

"It'll happen," Bobby said. "As long as most of the ponies are cooperative."

"Also what business is she talking about?" Rarity asked. "Coco mentioned it as well in a letter she sent. Plus I believe Jubilee mentioned it as well."

"Probably trying to start over," Bobby said. "As long as she isn't doing anything she shouldn't, I think it's best we don't pay much mind to it."

"Yes, of course," Rarity said.

"Big first day on the Accords for me," Bobby said. "Wish I could have done more."

"You've done plenty dear, soon you'll be regarded for your talents as a superhero, you deserve it after all," Bobby said. "I'm so glad you signed up."

"Wish I could get Remy to sign up too, he doesn't really trust this though, he said it reminds him of a similar registration we mutants had to do on Earth," Bobby said.

"Well, this isn't Earth, this is a world that will accept his talent, and he has a chance to make great use of his powers, and follow Peter's wonderful little phrase, 'With Great Power comes Great Responsibility'," Rarity said. "But I believe in time he will come to realize that."

"Don't count on it, Remy's great but can be stubborn as hell," Bobby said.

"Maybe I can talk with Applejack about this and see if she can help him come to that sense," Rarity said.

It wasn't long before the final train came, everypony accounted for finally in one location. Ponies began reuniting with their families, including Rumble and his friends reuniting with Thunderlane and the other guardians.

There were many injuries though, either from the rioting or the fires. Once the full reports came in, Tony would know for sure the damage, and if any lives were lost this time around. However, there was more to be addressed, something Carol had to address with Tony.

"That so? Well I'll sort this out," Tony said. "Mind rounding up the ponies in question? Meet me near the station entrance."

"Sure thing," Carol said, flying off.

"Tony, is anything wrong?" Luna asked, making her way over to the stallion.

"Some violations with The Accords, gotta set some things straight," Tony said.

"Sounds unfortunate," Luna said.

"My plans still need a lot of work, it's just difficult getting heroes to come to Equestria, I'm basically asking them to leave their homes," Tony said. "Which is why I'm hoping the Equestrian Avengers initiative works out, to create home grown heroes. Fortunately the training is going well, Steve told me of four ponies who have gotten increasingly better."

"Is it those four ponies from Starlight Glimmer's village?" Luna asked.

"Those are the ones, in time they can join our ranks and be able to keep parts of Equestria safe as well," Tony said. "Plus it seems like Steve is close to getting Sam and Bucky to fully sign on, but we're still negotiating the some details, nothing I can't handle."

"Well, after today, are you interested in anyone else? Like the winning team today for example?" Luna asked.

"They got potential, and I can definitely see them as Avengers, at least when they're a bit older," Tony said. "But it's not just Rumble's team, that other team did pretty well today too. They put up a good fight, not to mention some of them seem to be close to their village's leaders, and I do have a good start on help outside of Equestria. I already have The Dragons as allies, thanks to Wasp and Spike, and a bit of help from Hercules. Dragons respect strength and from the sounds of things, he's already made a few friends."

"At least we still have access to one God from your world," Luna said.

"Two if Thor comes back in time," Tony said. "Of course, he is a bit stubborn."

"My sister and I can reason with him if need be," Luna said. "I do worry about his ventures to Asgard."

"Yeah, me too, I thought about asking Banner to go check up on him, if we can find out where he is," Tony said. "Loki can be anywhere, especially with those friends of his by his side. Speaking of which, have you learned anything new about this Storm King?"

"Not so much, we just know that he wanted Queen Novo's pearl to further his domination of Equestria," Luna said. "However, there may be a lead in Klugetown."

"Klugetown, that run down old place that Black Cat went to?" Tony asked.

"Yes, she believes she saw the Storm King's logo around there," Luna said. "If you wish to learn more, you may need to send some heroes to that location. But be warned, it's a terrible run-down place with shady creatures, mostly aquatic."

"Aquatic? Like fish?" Tony asked.

"Something like that," Luna said. "Pirates are known to make deals there as well, so be sure to send capable heroes."

"I can come up with a few," Tony said. "Bobby just joined The Accords, this could be his next mission, I'll let him pick a team. Maybe I'll send Spike and Janet as well, see what they can figure out."

"That sounds like a great idea," Luna said, then took note of the oncoming ponies. "Are these the ponies in question?"

"According to Carol, yes," Tony said as the hero in question brought over Remy, Big Macintosh, Jubilee, Nightcrawler, Cozy Glow and the Student Six, minus Gallus.

"What's this about Tony?" Remy asked.

"Hey, remember earlier when I asked you not to cause trouble?" Tony asked.

"You said not to engage dem villains, so I didn't," Remy said.

"But you still caused trouble, according to Carol, a pair of salesmen said you and your brother-in-law here threatened them," Tony said.

"You mean Flim and Flam?" Remy asked. "Those guys stole our family's apples and tried to sell them for their own profit!"

"Eeyup," Big Macintosh confirmed.

"Just ask Applejack who they are, ask anyone," Remy said. "Luna, you heard of them?"

"I do remember my sister having to clarify something with Twilight Sparkle once, after an unusual letter from Applejack, bragging about being right about something," Luna said.

"She sure was proud of herself that day," Big Macintosh said.

"I'll look into these guys, but you can't go and blow up their stuff," Tony said. "Did you forget the fires!? Or Wizard's attacks?"

"Nopony was there," Remy said. "In fact it was out of town."

"Still, don't do something like that again, I'll let you off for now but if you mess up again, I am going to have to crack down on you," Tony said.

"You kidding mon ami?" Remy asked. "What we did was justice, we-"

"Remy," Big Macintosh interrupted, then stepped forward. "It won't happen again Mr. Stark."

"You can't be serious Big Mac," Remy said.

"He's just being smart," Tony said. "And we know how smart of a stallion Big Macintosh is."

"It ain't about smarts, I'm just watching out for my brother-in-law," Big Macintosh said. "Ah just ask that you do yer part and deal with those con artists so mah family does not have to be inconvenienced by this. This is not something we need shortly after the birth of mah niece."

"Will do big guy," Tony reassured.

"Remy! Big Mac!" Came Applejack's voice, the mare making her way over with Cheerilee. "Everything alright?"

"This doesn't concern you mares," Carol said.

"It's mah husband and brother, it concerns me very much," Applejack said.

"I concur, we as their wives have a right to know what's happening," Cheerilee said.

"It's all good ladies," Remy said. "We were just explaining to Stark here about Flim and Flam, and how they should not be messing with our family."

"And we were telling your husband not to cause destruction," Carol said.

"Hey whatever those charlatans did, they probably deserved what happened to them," Applejack said. "Where are they anyway?"

"Last I saw they were distancing themselves away from the chaos, I offered them a lift but they turned me down," Carol said.

"Well if yer done, mah daughter wants her daddy back," Applejack said.

"Sure, go be daddy, just make sure daddy doesn't give us a reason he can't see his daughter until she's ready for school," Tony said.

Both Remy and Applejack cast a fierce glare at Tony, even Big Macintosh and Cheerilee looked displeased by that statement.

"Let's go," Applejack said, walking off with her family.

"That's taken care of, for now," Tony said, then turned to Jubilee and Nightcrawler. "As for you two, it sounds like you came into direct contact with Scorcher."

"He attacked me first," Jubilee said. "I was not going to take that."

"She should have a right to protect herself," Nightcrawler said.

"I...can't argue that, which is why I'll let you two off as well, but next time, just make a run for it and get someone authorized to handle this," Tony said.

"But we can handle it just fine," Jubilee said.

"If you want to handle it, then sign on with The Accords," Tony said. "It's pretty flexible."

"I came to Equestria to get away from this registration nonsense, I'm not signing up just to protect myself and my friends from a villain," Jubilee said.

"Watch your tone," Carol said. "Tony, you need to crack down more."

"I got this Carol," Tony insisted. "Look, just avoid this, I don't want to have to send you to the dungeon as well."

"Send me to the..." Jubilee shook her head in shame. "You know what, fine, have it your way, see how well this works out for you in the end."

She immediately stormed off, leaving the others behind. Nightcrawler looked a bit worried himself, somewhat vocalizing this to Tony, "Are you positive about these Accords?"

"We could use a guy like you," Tony said. "Consider it, unlike Earth, this helps you save lives."

Nightcrawler looked to the skies, almost as if hoping for some divine guidance, "I'll think about it, but I still worry how limiting this feels."

"We got it under control Kurt," Tony said, then focused on the students. "Now, as for what you've all done. Is it true you fought the villains?"

"Like Jubilee said, he threatened us first," Smolder said. "I had to teach him a lesson."

"Still, like I told the others, that's not permitted, you need to get licensed," Tony said. "I can't let you five do something like that."

"It wasn't all of us sir," Sandbar said. "Just me and Smolder."

"What he said," Smolder said. "Ocellus, Yona, Silverstream and Cozy Glow stayed out of trouble."

Tony turned to Nightcrawler, "Is this true?"

"Jubilee would know more, but I trust Sandbar, so yes," Nightcrawler said.

"Excuse me, Mr. Stark," Cozy Glow said. "Sandbar only attacked that villain because he took me hostage, he just wanted to protect me."

"That is admirable," Luna said.

"So you can't be mad at him, he saved my life," Cozy Glow said.

"What about Smolder?" Tony asked.

Cozy shrugged it off, "Eh..."

"Cozy..." Sandbar scolded.

"I wouldn't have tried to save you anyway," Smolder said.

"Smolder!" Nightcrawler scolded.

"Look, I'll let this slide too, but you kids need to be especially careful, you're somewhat representing your countries, and I know you don't want to make Neighsay look like he was in the right about you," Tony said. "I'm glad that Yona, Ocellus and Silverstream didn't do anything that they shouldn't, that way I won't have to hear it from Rutheford, Thorax or Novo. Thankfully Gallus wasn't involved at all either, less of a headache from Gruff. But you, Smolder, remember that Ember wants you on your best behavior, the Dragons just joined us, don't blow it."

"Ugh, fine," Smolder said.

"But...if you are ever interested in signing up for this, I can arrange something," Tony said. "You kids seem pretty tough, and you handled yourselves well. There's always room in the Equestrian Avengers for those with your heart."

"Sandbar would be amazing, he's really strong!" Cozy Glow said. "And Ocellus can change shape, that's super handy!"

"Oh I'd love to get Ocellus and The Changelings in on this," Tony said. "Has Thorax given any more thought?"

"A little, if you ask him, he might be willing to meet with you again," Ocellus said.

"Good," Tony turned to the others. "What about the rest of you?"

"Queen Novo doesn't want anything to do with this, sorry," Silverstream said.

"Prince Rutheford don't think heroes can protect town as well as Yaks can," Yona said.

Tony groaned in annoyance, "What a pain in the neck. Well there's still Farasi, if Zecora can get through to them. I also gotta figure out what to do regarding that Kirin place."

"Oh, that reminds me, my sister recently got into contact with The Abyssinians if you wish to try your luck with them," Luna said. "The Dog Kingdom might be open for discussion as well, same with Saddle Arabia."

"Sounds great to me," Tony said. "I just hope one of them agrees. Alright if that's all-"

"Wait a minute," Carol said. "These students also got into a fight with another group at the Stadium, including the little sister of Rarity."

"They attacked us first, also they're not villains!" Smolder said. "Well not officially at least. They should be here too!"

"They were under mind control, they barely recall what happened," Carol said. "I got this information from Laura Kinney."

"Who?" Smolder asked.

"Wolverine's clone, or daughter, or whatever she is," Tony said. "Look that sounds like a personal squabble between them, I won't even give them a warning about that, that's more Twilight's jurisdiction anyway."

"I really hate those freaking kids!" Smolder said. "If I could get my claws on them again..."

"Smolder," Nightcrawler interrupted, hopefully before she made things worse for herself. "Don't let them get under your scales, I know you're better than that."

"But Kurt!" Smolder insisted.

"It's ok to be angry, you have the right to be, mind controlled or not, Rumble was not very professional, and I will be discussing this with his brother, same with Wind Sprint's parents, Dinky's parents, Scootaloo's aunts and Sweetie Belle's sister and parents," Nightcrawler reassured. "But please, promise you'll dial back your anger, I don't want it to consume you. A pretty face like yours should show more happiness than resentfulness."

Smolder blushed a little at the compliment, though did her best to hide it, "Don't call me pretty, I'm too tough to be pretty."

"Who says you can't be both?" Nightcrawler teased. "Still, promise me."

Smolder sighed in annoyance, "Fine, only for you Kurt."

"I thank you," Nightcrawler said, then turned to Tony. "I will be seeing you."

Nightcrawler left with the students, leaving Tony in thought, "You know, later, I should ask Gallus to join too, he has a ton of potential."

"Are the Griffons joining?" Carol asked.

"They're... quite stubborn but Rainbow Dash is helping with that by talking with her friend Gilda," Tony said. "If I can get through to Gallus, that would help as well."

"It's all coming together," Luna said. "Thanks to your hard work."

"Well it's nothing without my fellow Avengers, especially Peter," Tony said.

"Peter? You recruited Spider-Man?" Carol asked.

"Of course, Peter deserves it, he's a well-loved hero and I think he's earned a spot on The Avengers," Tony said. "Not only is he strong, but he’s also smart too, and he knows ways of resolving conflicts non-violently if he has to. Plus with him as an official Avenger, he can also be like the poster child for The Accords, it's a great way to keep this country safe, after Equestria, comes Earth. Together we'll fight for a better tomorrow."

"Peter is a one of a kind individual, he has that personality that's irritatingly charming," Luna said.

"He certainly does," Carol said.

"Peter is going to have a similar clause to myself, Steve and Carol here, and The Wonderbolts to an extent. Being able to do hero work in any city aside from his home city," Tony said. "He's got the power for it. I can assign missions that only he can handle."

"Maybe bring him to Canterlot to train some recruits too," Carol said.

"Excellent idea," Tony said. "Luna, you and Peter are pretty close, maybe you can be his official partner."

"Me?" Luna asked.

"Well yeah, I heard you two make quite the team," Tony said. "Especially on Earth. Plus you two are best friends already, you're the Godmother of his child, and you're usually there for him. I'd ask Twilight to join but given that she's due any day, I imagine that she's going to be busy, especially after her baby is born."

"I would be more than happy to assist Peter," Luna said.

"Awesome, maybe I'll send you both to Klugetown instead," Tony said. "If you're up for it."

"I'm up for anything," Luna said.

"Wait, is Luna properly registered?" Carol asked.

"Carol, Luna's a Princess of Equestria, that's enough of a registration," Tony said. "I dare say she and her sister are higher than me and Steve, you too of course."

Carol looked a little unhappy by that remark, but she relented, "Well as long as she and Spider-Man get the job done."

"They're more than capable," Tony said. "Now, let's get this wrapped up so we can get everyone home."

While they spoke, the students along with Nightcrawler hoped to reunite with Gallus and Jubilee, Smolder still looking a little upset.

"Hey you're not still mad are you?" Sandbar asked the dragon.

"Today was a wreck, losing that Buckball game, getting attacked by villains, getting into a fight with Rumble and his herd, then having Iron Stallion chew us out, today was bogus," Sandbar said.

"There are still other days," Sandbar said. "Just take a chill pill, everything will be fine."

"Yeah," Silverstream said, going up to Smolder. "Remember what Prof-I mean Kurt said about your pretty face."

"Stop calling me pretty!" Smolder said.

"But you are, you're adorable," Silverstream said. "Right Sandbar?"

"Uh..." Sandbar began to blush, not sure how to react. "Right?" One look from Smolder caused him to panic, "I mean, I'm just saying that as a friend, I mean friends can call each other pretty right? I think all you girls are pretty."

Not only was Smolder blushing, now Silverstream, Yona, Ocellus and Cozy Glow were blushing too, Sandbar feeling awkward right now, even Nightcrawler could sense it.

"Wow...um, that's nice of you to say," Silverstream said.

"Yona like compliment," Yona stated.

"You're quite the charmer Sandbar," Ocellus teased.

"You really know how to make a filly feel special," Cozy Glow bashfully admitted.

"Pfft, flirt," Smolder said.

"Uh-huh...glad that's settled," Sandbar said, hoping to move past this ASAP.

Nightcrawler felt for the boy, but at the same time, he was relieved that situation was handled well, though he does have to wonder if the dynamic between them would change, or if they would just brush this under the rug. Most likely the latter.

From a distance, Rumble, who was observing with Dinky and Wind Sprint, observed with a scowl on his face, "When I saw Captain Marvel round those losers up, I thought she'd have them thrown in a dungeon or something."

"Guess it's not time for that yet," Dinky said. "Still, they're probably under warning for violating the accords."

"They should be, I mean, we held back, and we totally would have thrashed that Wizard guy, along with whoever started that fire," Rumble said. "I mean, what do we have to do to earn a little respect!?"

"Join The Avengers," Wind Sprint said.

"Easier said than done," Rumble said. "Ugh, if only Twilight just made it official with us, I mean we've earned it, haven't we?"

"We'll get through to her," Dinky said. "Just be patient."

"In the meantime, let's stay on top of our game!" Wind Sprint said. "We already have some fame for winning that Buck Ball game, let's maintain our momentum."

"Then, we rise to the top, where we belong," Dinky said.

"You girls are right, if anypony can do it, we can," Rumble said. "We have the skills and determination, with the Cutie Mark Crusaders by our side as well, we're unstoppable!"

"You're one confident kid, aren't you?" Laura said, making her way over to Rumble.

"Sup Laura, need something from us?" Rumble asked.

"No, but I may have something for you," Laura said. "I saw you kids going toe-to-toe with Sandbar and his punk friends, and you did well at first, until the fight turned around against your favor. Still, you have good potential, and I bet with some training, I can make you all better, be the ponies worthy of respect, like you deserve."

"That's great, can you help us with that?" Rumble asked.

"You bet," Laura said. "It ain't gonna be easy though, but I think I can pull something off for you. I mean, I'm helping to train Fluttershy to fight, if I can manage with her, I think I can manage with you kids."

"That'd be amazing if you could help us," Wind Sprint said.

"Sweet, we'll work something out after we get home," Laura said, then trotted off. "Catch you kids later."

"Heh, this is gonna rule," Rumble said, a sinister smile forming on his face, the two fillies having a similar grin.

Not too far off, Rainbow Dash and Johnny were reporting their success to Spitfire.

"I managed to take care of most of the fire, it became easier once Rainbow Dash gathered up the rain clouds," Johnny said.

"After that, I knocked out the villain," Rainbow Dash said.

"Good work, you two are doing well so far," Spitfire said. "Come by the Academy tomorrow, there's a couple of recruits I want you both to train."

"Training huh? Sounds good to me," Rainbow Dash said.

"We won't let you down," Johnny said.

"Also, think you can keep an eye on Lightning Dust?" Spitfire asked. "She and her Washouts group are becoming a bother for The Wonderbolts."

"Uh, sure, I guess," Rainbow Dash said. "What's she doing exactly?"

"Trying to run us out of business," Spitfire said. "She's been booking shows left and right, and it's getting harder for us to book shows."

"Does it matter?" Johnny asked. "I mean, The Wonderbolts are allied with The Avengers, do we really need to do these fancy shows?"

"These shows allow a Pegasus to show off their skills and honor our ancestors," Spitfire said. "It's a proud tradition, and I don't want Lightning Dust messing that up for us. Plus the last thing we want is for even Tony Stark to prefer her group over us."

"Didn't take you for the competitive type," Johnny said.

"I'm a Wonderbolt captain, I thrive on competition," Spitfire said. "Think of this as a respect thing, just keep an eye out and let us know what she's planning as far as booking goes. Anyway, you're both dismissed."

Without another word, Spitfire flew off, leaving Rainbow Dash a bit confused, "Strange..."

"Eh, it's no big deal, I mean I don't know what she wants us to do with Lightning Dust though," Johnny said.

"Guess we gotta figure it out or something," Rainbow Dash said. "Worry about it later, I really want to get home, I miss our daughter."

"Bad time for her to get sick, she would have loved the show," Johnny said. "Until this crap happened, still, I'm glad your parents were able to foalsit."

"You know my parents, always there for us," Rainbow Dash said. "Can't wait to tell my dad what happened though."

Things were starting to settle down, everyone got their bearings together after a hectic day. Peter was able to check on Twilight again, she really needed to go to a hospital, fortunately Logan and Fluttershy were there to assist her. The Apples discussed what had happened regarding Remy and Big Macintosh nearly finding trouble with The Accords, Nightcrawler had a nice chat with the guardians of Rumble and his friends regarding his actions and Gallus received assistance from Jubilee, his friends, and a reluctant Cozy Glow. Suri and Martin were getting ready to return to Manehattan, where Daredevil, Elektra and Night Thrasher continued to bust his on the Demon Gang in that city.

---

Meanwhile in Tartarus, Wizard had come to, finding himself surrounded by Shocker, Electro, Mysterio and The Dazzlings.

"Hey, welcome back," Shocker said.

Wizard looked around to observe his surroundings, "I'm back in Tartarus?"

"Discord brought you here after your fight against Spider-Man, Iron Man and Captain America," Electro said. "That's pretty impressive."

"You're a lot better than I thought, guess you just needed to get used to your pony form," Adagio said.

"Perhaps," Wizard said. "What of Scorcher?"

"He didn't come back, I think he's been caught by the heroes," Shocker said.

"Not like we need him or anything," Aria said.

"His performance left a lot be desired," Mysterio said. "You however, have made our main cast."

"Do you always talk like you're in a movie or something?" Aria asked.

"It's his thing, just ignore him," Shocker said.

"Excuse me, I resent that," Mysterio said.

"But he is correct," Discord said, appearing beside Wizard. "Welcome to our group, we're excited to have you joining us."

"I am delighted," Wizard said.

"I think we're just about done, the start of our plan is almost a year away, but I can't help but feel like we need to stir some things up a bit more," Discord said. "The Avengers will still be trouble, though their new plan could work against them with some careful tweaking, especially with assistance from our dear friend, Martin Li."

"He already did a lot in town today," Adagio said. "Stirred up quite the riot."

"So there was another there, Wizard said. "Made things really interesting."

"Who else are you going to bring over?" Sonata asked.

"I'm thinking to either fill this world Doom, or expose it to Dread," Discord said.

"Preferably not the latter," Shocker said.

"Why are you so worried? The Avengers are gonna do the fighting, not you," Electro said.

"Yeah, we just sit back and watch," Adagio said.

"You won't be sitting back for long, I have a few quests for some of you to embark on," Discord said, getting their attention.

"What type of quests?" Shocker asked.

"Oh my good friend Herman, I'm really glad you asked," Discord said, ready to reveal more of his plan to them.

The Accords, Ragnarok, so much to worry about in the future, little did the heroes know, things were going to take some drastic turns.

Cracks and Flaws

The following morning, Peter had just gotten up from bed. This time he was alone though since Twilight was admitted to the hospital, her baby likely to be due very soon, hopefully that same day.

He had gone downstairs where everyone else was either eating breakfast or had just finished.

"Hey Peter, food's ready," Janet said, gesturing to some flapjacks. "Hopefully I cooked enough for your giant appetite."

"That looks good, thanks Jan," Peter said, taking a seat. "Got any plans today?"

"Spike and I are taking the day to ourselves, tomorrow we gotta report to Ember in the Dragon Lands," Janet said.

"Spike's pretty much done with his training, isn't he?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, it was hell, but he pulled through," Janet said. "What about you? Got anything you gotta do?"

"Tony needs to see me about something, says it can lead to some information about The Storm King," Peter said.

"Oh right, that guy's still out there, not in this dimension though," Janet said. "I'm hoping Thor can deal with him if he finds Loki."

"Well, if he doesn't and ends up back here, we gotta be ready," Peter said.

"Actually, speaking of The Storm King, Trixie mentioned overhearing something about some Unicorn he was with, one that had a broken horn," Janet said.

"Broken horn?" Peter remembered Tempest Shadow, somepony he did battle with that day. "Oh yeah, she tried turning ponies into stone. Took forever to turn Lyra back, Bon Bon was not happy."

"She said that while she was in town, two ponies who were apparently from Canterlot were talking about her, saying how she looked like somepony they once knew and figured it could be her," Janet said. "Not a lot of Unicorns have a broken horn after all."

"Did she get any names?" Peter asked.

"No, I don't think she did," Janet said. "Might need to ask around."

"If anything, I can ask my friends too," Peter said, digging in.

"Think Susan and Derpy will be here?" Janet asked.

"Susan, probably, Derpy, not sure," Peter said. "She had a big scare yesterday with Dinky, Thunderlane and Quibble were also worried about Rumble and Wind Sprint."

"Well it's not the first time Rumble's been in a messy situation," Janet joked.

"Something's up with that kid though, he's gotten way too arrogant lately," Peter said. "I should have a nice chat with him, make sure everything's alright."

"It's probably puberty, I mean Rumble's gonna be 18 soon isn't he?" Janet asked. "He's transitioning into adulthood."

"That is a rough time for boys," Peter said. "I'll never forget puberty, having spider powers certainly made it unique too. Still, seems pretty late for this, I mean The Crusaders already went through something like this when they were a bit younger."

"Girls mature faster than boys," Janet reminded. "So you're likely to experience this early with Mayday and later once your son is born."

"I hope I can handle Mayday when that day comes," Peter lamented. "She's already kind of feisty as it is."

"You'll be fine, you're a great father, and Mayday really loves and respects you," Janet said. "All a daughter needs the most is her father by her side through whatever troubles she's going through. Plus how bad can it get with Mayday?"

"Don't jinx it," Peter teased. "But you're right, I'm worrying too much, guess it's kind of my thing."

"We can't predict the futue Peter, it's one big mystery," Janet said. "We just have to hope for the best."

"Not to be that guy, but time travel does exist," Peter said. "Strange has used the Time Stone to look into the future."

"Well even so, even Strange admits there's tons of possibilities, it's still up to us which comes true," Janet said.

That did give Peter quite a bit to think about, of course he knows about the branching timelines. Given the fact that he had been to an alternate future ruled by Chrysalis that is obviously not going to come true. Goku himself had mentioned his world having multiple timelines as a result of a boy time traveling to stop some Androids, or technically Cyborgs.

---

Later on in the day, Peter had made his way to Canterlot, having arrived in the castle throne room where Tony, Hank, Spitfire, Luna and Celestia were working on some plans, and confirming more Accord information.

Given the disaster yesterday, and the irreparable damage caused, they needed to fix things up and fast.

"Have you obtained more allies Tony?" Luna asked. "More heroes for our cause?"

"Sure have, I just got into contact with an old ally named Tigra," Tony said. "She's fully on board with helping out the Accords, she's hoping it could benefit our home world too."

"This ally of yours, is she powerful?" Luna asked.

"Well she's not like The Hulk or anything, but she's very capable," Tony explained.

"As long as she can fight, I'm fine with her," Spitfire said.

"What helps is that since she's originally from Chicago, she might put in a word to another ally of ours, Moon Knight," Tony said. "Bit of a long shot though, he's a very capable warrior, but he is not too well in the head."

"If that's so, wouldn't it be a bad idea to recruit him?" Spitfire asked.

"Hey we need all the help we can get, I'm even willing to give Deadpool a chance," Tony said. "At the very least, I just want enough until we can perfect the defense here, the heroes protect Equestria while we properly train ponies here to protect this world, same with the other creatures, once that happens, we can slowly send the other heroes back."

"How long would that take?" Spitfire asked.

"Can't say, so I'm gonna keep trying," Tony said. "Hopefully we'll have plenty at our disposal."

"Too bad some of those guys we captured are evil," Spitfire said. "Imagine if that Taskmaster guy was on our side, I heard he can mimic any move he sees."

"He can," Tony said. "But unfortunately, he wouldn't want to join us, not that we could even trust him or any other villain."

"What if we mind controlled them?" Hank asked.

"That sounds a bit immoral," Celestia said. "Evil or not, they are still living beings, controlling them would make us no better than them."

"Plus Steve would kick my ass if I even considered that," Tony said. "He's still not too happy about some stuff regarding yesterday."

"Is he that upset about the invasion?" Spitfire asked.

"More like he's upset because I had to get tough with those kids, again, as well as Nightcrawler, Jubilee and Gambit," Tony said. "I'm trying to be nice too, this is the second time I've warned them about not violating the Accords, if they do so again, I may need to take action."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Celestia said.

"Well speaking of Steve, is Falcon joining or not?" Hank asked. "Seems like he's been back and forth on a decision."

"I'll get him to answer today, same with Bucky," Tony said.

"It's fine if they don't want to, they can at least continue training our potential recruits," Celestia said.

"Exactly," Tony said, then took note of Peter, who had stepped into the throne room. "Hey Peter, glad you could join us!"

Spitfire turned her head to the hero, "Sup Pete? Been a while."

"Hi everyone," Peter said. "So, getting more prepped up for the Accords? Everything going smoothly?"

"Smoothly as they can," Tony said. "At the very least, Tigra is coming. You remember her right?"

"Yeah, we went on quite a few missions together, I remember that one time we teamed up with Logan and Luke Cage to find The Leader," Peter said. "Fun times."

"I figured we'd get her stationed in Baltimare," Tony said. "Jen Walters agreed to be of assistance, she'll be staying in Fillydelphia."

"That's neat, hope they don't mind coming here," Peter said.

"They're fine with it, they can take shifts too, that way if they get homesick, they can leave Equestria for a few days and come back when they're ready," Tony said. "Maybe if things go really well, they can get their own portals."

"Big maybe," Celestia said. "Remember, opening too many portals will weaken the dimensional barrier, making more invasions easier."

"Seems like it's still weak enough that villains from Earth are still showing up," Spitfire said.

"Unfortunately that is correct," Celestia said. "To make matters worse, I cannot pinpoint the exact location. If this is Discord's doing, it looks like he's being extra cautious about it."

"Where exactly does this guy live?" Tony asked.

"His own dimension, as you may know, he is capable of traveling through various planes of existence," Celestia said. "Pinpointing and tracking him down is almost impossible."

"You could ask Doctor Strange to help, this seems like his area of expertise," Peter said.

"He has tried before, even he admits that Discord is slippery," Celestia said. "But he continues to offer assistance."

"Sweet, oh is he going to sign with The Accords?" Peter asked.

"No, he told me he has more important things to worry about," Tony said. "If he doesn't sign though, technically I can't allow him to do hero work here. I mean I know the sorcerers are their own thing, but rules are rules."

"You can bend them, can't you?" Peter asked.

"If I bend the rules for Strange, I have to bend them for everyone," Tony explained.

"He's not wrong Peter, we cannot allow too many exceptions," Celestia said.

"I get that, but finding Discord is important," Peter said. "Plus this is less hero work and more sorcerer work."

"It's still a pain in the neck, I mean it's not hard to sign a piece of paper promising you'll follow a few rules," Tony said. "You're still able to do hero work, but this ensures that everything is in order and things are easy to keep track of."

"It's just a change for some of the heroes, give them time and they'll soften up," Peter said. "Anyway is there a reason you needed to see me today?"

"Yes, uh question, are you familiar with Klugetown?" Tony asked.

"I remember Felicia mentioning it once," Peter said, thinking back to a prior conversation with the cat burglar.

"Apparently there are rumors about some allies of The Storm King around there, I was hoping you and Luna could go and check it out," Tony said.

"Me and Luna huh? That sounds neat," Peter said. "Is that alright though?"

"Of course, remember, you're deputized for any town," Tony said. "It's easier sending you than most of the town registered heroes, that would require more paperwork."

"Don't rule it out though Tony," Celestia said. "If this is a chance to get information on The Storm King, it is worth sending a few extra heroes if we can spare any."

"Alright, I think we can work something out," Tony said. "Alright, let's-"

"Hold on Mr. Stark, wouldn't it be a problem given that Klugetown hasn't exactly signed on for this?" Spitfire asked. "They're technically not in Equestria, this could be seen as an invasion of sorts."

"Uh...yeah you're right about that," Tony said. "If Peter and Luna get their covers blown, things could really go down the drain for us."

"Just do what you did with Felicia," Peter said.

"That was before the Accords, back when we could take that chance," Tony said. "Hey Celestia, who runs that place anyway?"

"Truthfully even I am not sure, Klugetown is not a typical city, there are hardly any laws. I wouldn't be surprised if it did not have any governing officials at all," Celestia said.

"Well this is a pickle," Tony said. "So what do you think we should do then?"

Celestia took a moment to think things over, hoping to come up with a rational solution. "I could try to get into contact with the Governing officials there, but even I can't make any promises. Klugetown is beyond my jurisdiction."

"Why do you even have one? You're literally a Goddess, you raise the sun every morning," Peter said.

"Well I do not really consider myself much of a Goddess, but regardless it is not my duty to control Klugetown, or any Kingdom outside of Equestria," Celestia said.

"That'd probably be like if Thor went to our realm and started barking orders," Tony said. "Or Hercules for that matter."

"Thinking about it, trying to even talk to them about getting some help in would be risky," Spitfire said. "Place could be pretty corrupt, the whole town could be in league with The Storm King."

"Alright, we might not have a choice here then," Tony said. "Peter, Luna, you two are going to have to go under cover and get the information we need."

"Wait, like some secret infiltration?" Peter asked. "That sounds really shady Tony, like Nick Fury level shady. You want me and Luna to do what The Avengers did going to Latveria?"

"I know that was risky, and I don't want to have to ask this of you, but if this helps us figure out anything regarding The Storm King, it would be a big help," Tony said.

"I mean, I get it, but what if I get recognized?" Peter asked. "What if this somehow endangers people?"

"Ponies are not common in Klugetown," Luna pointed out. "Someone's bound to get suspicious of our presence."

"You're making this really difficult," Tony lamented. "Peter, why don't you go talk with Felicia, see how she handled it."

"Great idea, I wouldn't mind her joining the mission either," Peter said.

"Excuse me Peter, but wouldn't Twilight be displeased by that notion?" Luna asked.

Peter groaned in annoyance, "Yeah that's right, but Felicia could really help us out if she came along."

"I'm with Luna on this Peter, leave Black Cat out of this mission, if something goes wrong that's an even bigger headache," Tony said. "Sending you and Luna is enough of a gamble right now."

"Luna is more my gamble than yours, Mr. Stark," Celestia said. "Regardless, it is the same risk. Peter, consult with Felicia, but leave this mission to you and my sister."

"Alright, if you say so," Peter said. "So is that all you need from me?"

"Business wise, yes," Tony said. "But since you came all the way out there, there's no reason for you to leave right away. Why don't you come into the courtyard, Steve's training some recruits, and I'd like you to see our four rising stars."

"Sure, sound fun," Peter said. "Lead the way."

Tony and Luna led Peter away, Hank, Spitfire and Celestia following right afterwards. The group made their way to the Balcony over the courtyard where Steve was running some drills with the four mentioned stars.

Starlight's village residents of Double Diamond, Party Favor, Sugar Belle and Night Glider. The two unicorns were practicing their magic while Night Glider did some flight drills, and Double Diamond did some combat training with Bucky.

"There they are," Tony said. "For a group of random villagers from Starlight's old village, they turned out to have a lot of great potential. Double Diamond is quick and agile, helps that he was big into skiing, which attributed to his mobility."

"Night Glider is talented in the skies, she'd make for a great Wonderbolt," Spitfire said.

"Sugar Belle and Party Favor, while having rough starts, really improved their magical capabilities," Luna said. "While nowhere near the level of Twilight Sparkle, or Starlight Glimmer, their unique talents with magic can come in handy, even if a bit unorthodox."

"I'm still surprised they even wanted to become Avengers," Peter said. "They seemed like such ordinary ponies."

"We all start out ordinary Peter, I wasn't born as Iron Man," Tony said.

"And I wasn't born Captain of The Wonderbolts," Spitfire said. "Sometimes it just takes a little motivation to really reach new heights."

"After that showdown in Starlight's village, these four decided they did not want to be in a position like they were, at the mercy of someone else," Tony said.

"So they focused that energy in becoming capable warriors," Luna said. "Very admirable."

"Yeah, totally," Peter said. "It's amazing to see them step up like this."

As Sugar Belle continued to train, she noticed Peter observing from the balcony. "Hey everypony! It's Spider-Mane!"

"Whoa really!?" Night Glider said as she came to a halt in her flying. "So cool!"

"Don't get distracted!" Steve ordered. "Night Glider, keep practicing your formations! Sugar Belle, concentrate on your magic!"

"Yes sir!" both mares said as they continued their training.

"Someone's popular," Hank said to Peter.

"Guess my presence is a bit distracting," Peter said. "I should leave."

"It's not that bad, might be good training for them too, practice keeping focus," Tony said.

"Couldn't help but notice that only the mares seemed distracted," Spitfire said. "You really are quite the stud, aren't you Peter?"

"Come on, I get enough of that from Johnny," Peter said. "How has he been lately? Not causing too much trouble is he?"

"Of course not, though he could stand to be a little less sarcastic and cool it with the snarky remarks," Spitfire said. "But Matchstick isn't too bad, he and Crash make for great recruits."

"Right, the nicknames," Peter said. "I'm still more partial to Skittles as far as Rainbow Dash goes, since she hates Crash."

"She's a grown mare, she can handle it," Spitfire said.

"Hey Spider-Man!" Bucky called. "Want to come down and spar with me and Double Diamond?"

"Hey Jimmy! Ready to sign the Accords?" Tony asked.

Bucky was quite bemused by Tony Stark, for several reasons, "Do not call me 'Jimmy'!"

"Doesn't Logan have a son named Jimmy?" Peter said.

"Probably, Logan has more kids than a pair of bunny parents," Tony quipped. "Anyway, looks like you were offered a challenge, do you accept?"

"Sure, why not," Peter said, leaping onto the courtyard, coming face to face with Bucky and Double Diamond.

"Uh, Bucky, cool as it is to see Spider-Mane up close, he's probably out of my level," Double Diamond said.

"Are you saying you're in my level?" Bucky asked, freaking Double Diamond out.

"Sorry, I didn't mean-" Double Diamond's apology was cut short by Bucky's laugh.

"Sorry, pulling your leg," Bucky said. "Spidey here will hold back."

"Of course, I always hold back, otherwise I could seriously hurt someone," Peter said.

"Let's make this interesting," Bucky said. "Night Glider, Sugar Belle, Party Favor! Time for all of you to get in on this."

"Bucky, that might not be a wise move," Steve warned.

"It's good training for them, I mean at least I'm not sending them against Wolverine or anything," Bucky said.

"Whoa, are we gonna fight Spider-Mane!?" Night Glider asked, excitedly flying in. "Awesome!"

"Not awesome," Sugar Belle said. "What if we get hurt? He's really strong remember."

"He said he would hold back, so maybe it won't be so bad," Party Favor said.

"Yeah come on, this is a big moment for us, a chance to move up the ladder toward being Avengers!" Night Glider said.

"Great enthusiasm, you're gonna need it," Bucky said. "Alright Web-Head, show them what you can do."

"Yeah! Go all out!" Night Glider said, landing before Peter. "Show us why you're the Amazing Spider-Mane!"

"You're really full of life, you almost remind me of Rainbow Dash, must be the competitive Pegasus spirit," Peter said, then got into his spider stance. "Well if you think you're ready, then go for it."

Party Favor trotted beside Sugar Belle, "Let's try to surprise him with our magic."

"Think it will be that easy?" Sugar Belle asked.

"Worth a shot," Party Favor said. "We just need an opening."

Almost on cue, Night Glider started circling around Peter, trying to move fast enough to surprising him with a sneak attack. Once she felt like she had enough speed, she made her move and went for a kick, but Peter had seen her flying in, immediately blocking her strike, then webbed and flung her aside.

This is when Party Favor and Sugar Belle tried restraining Peter with their magic, hoping to give an opening to Double Diamond.

"I got this!" The skier had tried punching Peter, but the hero stiffened up enough to at least cause some pain to Double Diamond's hoof without breaking it. "Ow!"

"Not a good idea to attack Spider-Man head on, I know from experience," Bucky said.

"Let's slam him!" Party Favor said, he and Sugar Belle lifting Peter up, but the hero quickly webbed them both in the face, causing them to drop their magic. In one swift movement, he knocked the two Unicorns over, careful not to hurt them.

Double Diamond shook off his injury and tried to attack Peter from behind, the hero quickly grabbing his foreleg and flipping the Earth Pony over.

"That's three, just one left," Peter said, eyeing a recovered Night Glider.

"You won't get lucky again!" She flew into attack, going for several strikes that Peter nimbly dodged and then elbowed the Pegasus in her gut, not too hard but enough to make her feel it. He then webbed her back, leaving her stuck against a wall.

"Alright, I think we're done here," Bucky said. "Thanks for the assistance Spidey."

"Sure thing," Peter said, surveying the field. "Hope I didn't rough them up too bad."

"I think they're good, should toughen them up a bit," Bucky said. "They have potential, but they need a bit more battle training. Would help if you or your buddies from Ponyville would stop by more often."

"Oh, could we go to Ponyville some time?" Sugar Belle asked. "We haven't really been there much, and it seems like such a nice place."

"It is, decent town with friendly ponies," Peter said. "I think you'd like it there."

"Might be cheaper than moving to Canterlot," Double Diamond said. "We're already commuting from our village here, staying in Ponyville can give us easier access to Canterlot for our training."

"Hey I thought we were going to get registered as Avengers to protect Our Town?" Party Favor asked.

"You really want to stay there?" Double Diamond asked. "I mean, you do you, but it just reminds me of the time we lived under Starlight's rule, I kind of want to start fresh again somewhere."

"Me too," Sugar Belle said. "I think we can get a better start in Ponyville, or Canterlot, whichever works for us."

"Doesn't Starlight live in Ponyville right now?" Night Glider asked.

"Yeah, she usually bunks with me and Twilight, or she stays at the School of Friendship's dorms," Peter said. "But, Double Diamond, she really is regretful of what she's done, I hope you're not holding a grudge."

"Well..." Double Diamond scratched his head. "It's just...I felt so lied to, for so long I really thought she had my best interest in mind. To tell you the truth, I once had a thing for her, I thought we could have hit it off."

"Hey the option's still open, for now," Peter said. "She gets awfully chummy with Sunburst, and there seems to be more than just a friendship brewing."

"I'll think about it, but right now, I need to adjust," Double Diamond said. "Anyway, I can handle living in town with Starlight, mainly since she has no control over me there, and in time I can come to forgive what she's done."

"Forgiveness is hard, take all the time you need," Bucky said. "Anyway we can talk more about you all visiting Ponyville later, I still want to run a few drills with you. You showed some promise in your, very brief spar with Spider-Man, you just need to work some kinks out."

"I'll stick around a bit longer, but I have to be back in Ponyville soon, Twilight's in the hospital, she might be giving birth soon," Peter said.

"That's so sweet, congratulations," Sugar Belle said.

"Must be nice being a father," Party Favor said. "I hope I can meet the right mare someday."

"I know that feeling, I hope I can settle down with the right pony too," Sugar Belle said.

"Keep at it," Peter said, webbing back onto the balcony. "See ya soon!"

"What a nice guy," Night Glider said. "Really humble despite his strength."

"That's how a hero should be," Steve said, trotting over. "A good hero is a friend to all, something Peter strives for. It is hardly any wonder how he adapted so well into this world. He set an example for all heroes coming here to follow."

"That's amazing," Sugar Belle said.

"Now let's get you four readied up for more," Bucky said.

---

Meanwhile at Sugarcube Corner, Jubilee had taken Yona, Smolder, Ocellus and Cozy Glow for some milkshakes, ones delivered to their table by Pinkie Pie.

"Enjoy!" Pinkie said, trotting back to the kitchen area.

"Thanks Pinkie," Jubilee said, taking the shake. "Nothing like a girl's day out to clear your mind."

"You said it, it's good to finally have a chance to enjoy ourselves again, especially after how chaotic yesterday was," Silverstream said.

"You mean the Buck Ball game or the villain invasion?" Smolder asked.

"You're not still mad about losing are you?" Jubilee asked. "You did your best, nothing to be ashamed of."

"We should have won though," Smolder said, then held out her claws a centimeter apart. "We were this close to winning too!"

"Winning isn't that important," Jubilee said. "What matters is that you tried your best."

"Exactly, we did what we could and we came up short," Ocellus said. "On the bright side, they only beat us by one point."

"Yeah, it would have been super embarrassing if they got ten to zero on us," Silverstream said.

"But still, what could have made Gallus sick?" Smolder asked.

"According to the doctor there, he just had a really bad stomachache," Jubilee said. "Doctor said he had something his stomach didn't agree with."

Silverstream turned her attention to Cozy Glow, "That really was water you gave Gallus right? Not something else you grabbed by mistake?"

"I gave Gallus the same thing gave Sandy," Cozy Glow insisted.

"Are you sure? I mean, where did you even get those water bottles?" Smolder asked. "Did you even check if they were water?"

"Of course I did, I wouldn't risk giving Sandy something that could make him sick," Cozy said. "Whatever I gave him, I gave to Gallus. You can ask Sandy himself, he'll tell you it was only water, so I don't know what made Gallus sick."

"Maybe he's allergic to water," Ocellus suggested. This got her weird looks from Yona, Smolder and Silverstream. "It's possible."

"Not likely," Smolder said.

"Let's just wait and see, Gallus promised he would keep track of what he eats and let us know if he got sick," Jubilee said.

"I really hope it's nothing severe," Silverstream said. "He's not hiding some illness he never told us about is he?"

"If he was sick, the doctor would have told us," Jubilee said. "Or rather the doctor would have told Kurt, and he said there wasn't anything to worry about."

"Well if Kurt says it's nothing to worry about, then we shouldn't worry," Ocellus said, taking a sip from her milkshake

"Well said bestie," Cozy Glow agreed, sipping her own milkshake. "Let's just move on and stop worrying over nothing."

"So, now that we're all here, there's something that's been on my mind for a while now..." Jubilee said. Her serious demeanor did unsettle the other girls at the table, each of them wondering what the X-Man had in mind to say.

"What is it?" Yona nervously asked.

Jubilee's serious demeanor quickly turned into a cheerful one, "Which boys do you think are the cutest?"

This was a bad time for Silverstream to have taken a sip from her milkshake, as the shock of the question caused her to spit it out, getting it all over her friends.

"Silverstream!" Yona shouted in annoyance.

"What the heck are you doing!?" Smolder shouted.

"Come on..." Ocellus said, wiping herself off.

Cozy Glow just looked infuriated, fortunately for Silverstream, she maintained her composure, at least for now.

"Sorry girls, that just took me by surprise," Silverstream said, turning the X-Men member. "Did you really just ask that Jubilee?"

"Sure did, I want to know what boys have caught your eyes recently," Jubilee said.

"Uh...well..." Silverstream nervously turned to her friends. "Girls? Anything?"

"This is so embarrassing, no boy has caught my eye," Smolder said. "I don't even think I like boys much."

"Oh, do you prefer girls?" Jubilee asked.

"N-no, not saying that!" Smolder said, hiding an angry blush. "I'm just not into this romance stuff."

"Come on now, you seemed really flattered by what Sandbar said yesterday, about you being really pretty," Jubilee said.

"Come on, I don't want to be pretty, I'm a dragon!" Smolder said.

"Dragons can be pretty too," Jubilee said. "I bet a lot of dragons think you're pretty."

"You really shouldn't be afraid to show your more feminine side," Silverstream said. "I mean, tough or not, you are a girl, it's alright to be called pretty."

"I just don't like pretty things," Smolder said, trying to hide her blush. "I'm not a sissy."

"Alright, if you don't want to take part, then that's fine, I won't make you," Jubilee said. "Though I would kind of like hearing your opinion on Sandbar."

"He's, alright," Smolder said. "Really nice guy, great friend to have."

"He's way more than alright to me," Cozy Glow said. "He's really charming and so friendly, if I were a bit older I wouldn't mind being his marefriend. But I'll settle for being like his little sister."

"So, you seem to have a crush on him, but you want to be his little sister," Smolder said. "That's a bit of a weird thing to say."

"Golly Smolder, I thought you didn't want any part of this," Cozy Glow playfully sassed.

"You know what, you do you," Smolder said. "I'm not gonna try figuring out how your brain works."

"Be nice Smolder," Jubilee politely warned, unaware of Cozy's brief yet smug grin.

"I think Sandbar is really nice too, wouldn't call him a coltfriend, not that he wouldn't make a good one," Silverstream said. "But I would proudly call him my friend."

"Sandbar really nice, and handsome," Yona said, trying to hold back her own blush. "Sometimes Yona wonder about him."

"Ooh, now this sounds interesting," Jubilee said. "What about you Ocellus?"

"I never really thought about it," Ocellus said. "Boys are kind of a weakness for me too, not the same reason as Smolder but...it's difficult to talk about."

"You should have the least to worry about when it comes to boys, being a Changeling, you can take any form you want to look pretty," Smolder said. "Ideally, you're the perfect girlfriend."

"Oh, you really think so?" Ocellus asked.

"Sorry, but I have to disagree here," Cozy Glow said, earning some curious glares. "Ocellus transforming into a pretty girl is kind of useless."

"Wow...that was harsh," Smolder said. "Here I thought you liked Ocellus."

"Well clearly, I like her more than you," Cozy Glow said. "Ocellus doesn't need to transform to be pretty, because she's already really pretty. She's the prettiest Changeling in existence, she's even prettier than a lot of ponies."

Ocellus blushed at Cozy Glow's compliment, "Wow, uh, thanks Cozy..."

"That was really nice of you to say Cozy," Jubilee said.

"I agree too, Ocellus looks fine as she is, no changing required," Silverstream said.

"Now that we've established that, maybe I can get more opinions now," Jubilee said. "So let's talk Gallus, what are your opinions on him?"

"He's not bad on the eyes," Silverstream said.

"Yeah, good looking Griffon," Yona said.

"He's alright, but he really needs to work on his personality," Cozy Glow said. "It doesn't matter how handsome you are if you're not being as nice as you can be."

"I don't disagree," Jubilee said. "But I think Gallus is a really nice guy, he's a little moody sometimes, but we all have bad days."

"He did take some getting used to, but I admire his willingness to speak his mind," Smolder said. "Plus you can't blame him too much for being this way, he did have a rough life growing up."

"Too bad he doesn't like talking too much about it, opening up would really help," Ocellus said.

"These things take time, sometimes it's hard to talk about such things, brings back painful memories," Jubilee said. "Kurt can relate, he had a hard life too, spending his childhood criticized for looking like a demon, thankfully he met that nice man who saw Kurt not as a monster, but a child who needed comfort."

"It's terrible how humans like you and Kurt were treated, just because you were born with powers," Silverstream said. "I mean, shouldn't that be a good thing? Don't humans like Superheroes?"

"Usually, I mean, there are those who don't mind mutants, and treat them like they would treat anyone else, some even advocate for mutant rights, so it's not all that bad," Jubilee said. "It's just that we were an unknown to them, if we're not using our powers to actively do good, some might think we're up to no good. It's very easy for a mutant to say, rob a bank, because with our powers, it's hard to stop us."

"I can imagine," Smolder said.

"As kids, we have to register as mutants and let society know who we are and what our powers can do, basically putting ourselves in the public eye, even trying to limit what we can do, just to make us fit in with society, like a bunch of equals" Jubilee said. "The main reason I don't want to sign up for Tony Stark's Accords is because I don't believe I should be limited in how I use my powers, it's a natural part of me, like breathing, seeing or hearing. Being told I can't use my powers freely to protect my friends in whatever town I want and only with permission is not how I want to utilize my gifts."

"So you're against The Accords?" Silverstream asked.

"Put simply, yes, I am, I don't think they're a good idea," Jubilee said. "I imagine most of the X-Men feel the same way."

"Isn't Professor Rarity's husband one of the X-Men?" Ocellus asked. "He signed up for The Accords."

"That surprised me, could be a few reasons why," Jubilee said. "My main guess is that Rarity talked him into it. That or Bobby just wants to be a Superhero the same way Peter is, and try to gain a little respect."

"He always struck me as the show-off type, maybe he just wants to brag about being part of The Avengers or something," Smolder said. "I always wondered what Professor Rarity saw in him, he seems like a goof."

"He is a goof, but he's a really nice guy, it's not too hard to figure out why Rarity had a thing for him, one that led to their marriage," Jubilee said. "Speaking of which, let's try to get back on topic when it comes to boys."

"Who else do you have in mind?" Silverstream asked.

"Well...how about Rumble?" Jubilee asked.

"Hard pass," Smolder said.

"No like," Yona said.

"He's physically attractive but not really a nice pony," Silverstream said.

"He could be a bit better personality wise," Ocellus said.

"I think he's dreamy," Cozy said.

"Dreamy? He's a total jerk!" Smolder said. "Major whiner too!"

"Oh he's not so bad, besides with looks like those, we could ignore his minor personality flaws," Cozy Glow said.

"Excuse me!? You complained about Gallus having personality flaws yet you're fine with Rumble's?" Smolder asked.

"Of course, I mean Rumble is much more handsome than Gallus, it's not even a contest," Cozy Glow said. "Plus he knows Spider-Mane on a personal level, they're practically best friends."

Smolder shook her head in shame, "You're so hypocritical."

"I kind of have to agree with Smolder Cozy, your reasoning is a little...flawed," Silverstream said. "Plus saying Rumble is that much more handsome than Gallus seems like an overstatement too."

"Yes, Gallus handsome griffon, like Sandbar handsome pony," Yona said.

"You're only siding with Rumble because he's only nice to you, probably wants you in this herd he's building," Smolder said.

"Come on Smolder, let's not spread rumors," Jubilee said.

"Hey you've seen how he parades around with those fillies who are practically at his hooves," Smolder said. "Rumble's the type of guy who would want as many girls to mess around with as possible."

"Doesn't he have a marefriend though?" Ocellus asked. "He's dating Apple Bloom."

"Didn't stop Sweetie Belle from sneaking a kiss on him yesterday," Smolder said.

"To be fair, they were being mind controlled," Ocellus pointed out.

"To what extent?" Smolder said. "Face it, Rumble's just some hero wannabe who uses fillies as a form of pleasure."

"That's enough now, it's terrible to assume such a thing, not just for Rumble, but for his friends," Jubilee said.

"Hey his friends are just as bad, that Dinky girl really ticks me off with her smug attitude, and then there's Wind Sprint, who came out of nowhere and is acting like she belongs," Smolder said.

"I think she and her family recently settled in Ponyville, she was probably a bit too eager to fit in somewhere," Silverstream said. "It's probably no real surprise she made friends with Rumble since her step-father knows Rainbow Dash and Rumble has a lot of interaction with her given his desire to be a Wonderbolt. Plus Rainbow Dash has been helping with Rumble's older brother getting settled back into Ponyville life."

"Wasn't his brother a troublemaker too?" Smolder asked.

"I don't think I know the full story; we'd need to ask one of the Professors, or Peter," Silverstream said.

"Ask them what?" Came Deadpool's voice, the ninja merc appearing beside the, startling them for a moment.

"Please don't sneak up on us like that," Jubilee said.

"Sorry, couldn't help but overhear some stuff," Deadpool said. "Sounds like you all still hate Rumble and his friends for beating you in that Buck Ball game."

"He got lucky, Gallus got queasy, and Sandbar made the choice to put our worst player in out of sympathy," Smolder said.

That of course offended Cozy Glow, "Hey!"

"I don't know why you're so mad, it's just a game, it didn't really decide who the new Elements were gonna be," Deadpool said. "Seriously, how the hell does winning a Buck Ball game make you the new Elements of Harmony? That'd be like deciding the new Avengers in a Hockey Game. And why did it get so much advertisement? I'm just amazed by how much attention some random game got, Rumble's team isn't special and you six are just regular students from Twilight's school, an event like that could have been held at a nearby field or something."

"Rainbow Dash and The Equine Torch were the ones who hyped it up," Smolder said. "Probably because of Scootaloo."

"Makes a little more sense, I'm guessing even Dashie and Torchie thought this would help Scootaloo, so ridiculous. I mean, I can probably buy that the original CMC trio were going to be big but Rumble lately just serves to get his ass whooped by villains, Dinky has not done anything remarkable the last few years and Wind Sprint just showed up and asserted herself, not that impressive." Deadpool said, then checked the watch. "Oh, I should get going, I have a meeting with Iron Man."

"You're meeting with Iron Man? What for?" Jubilee asked.

"Oh, I'm signing up for The Accords," Deadpool nonchalantly explained, surprising Jubilee and the girls.

"Mind running that by me again, because it sounded like you said that you're signing up for The Accords," Jubilee said.

"You heard me right," Deadpool said. "I'm going to join The Accords and protect this town."

"It's just...you never seemed like the type to abide by laws, I can't see you joining The Accords," Jubilee said.

"Well, I thought about it, and the fact is that I have a family to protect, I don't want anything bad happening to my wife or my kids," Deadpool said. "Plus there's also my in-laws and The Cake Family to protect as well, plus I never get to do much these days and I'm bored as hell, so I want to sign up and be something."

"That's very admirable of you Mr. Deadpool," Ocellus said.

"Please, call me Wade," Deadpool said. "Well I should be off, let Pinkie know if you want any refills, or holler at the Cakes. Peace."

Deadpool trotted off, leaving the girls is a state of surprise, especially Jubilee. "Deadpool is going to be part of The Accords, he's going to be officially responsible for keeping people safe."

"Maybe it won't be so bad," Silverstream said. "I mean, he'll probably take this job seriously."

"Or we're all doomed," Smolder said.

As they thought this over, more guests had arrived, and to the dismay of some of the girls at the table, it was the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The first to notice this group was Apple Bloom, who politely waved at the girls. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle took note, but did not seem too thrilled given Scootaloo's smug scowl and Sweetie Belle rolling her eyes, something the farmer filly took note of.

"Hey come on, be a bit friendlier," the girl pleaded.

Reluctantly the two girls waved but with barely any enthusiasm, a point of annoyance for the girls at the table.

"Aren't they friendly?" Smolder sarcastically remarked.

"Seriously, what is with them?" Silverstream asked. "I normally don't like to be negative but this is really getting on my nerves."

"Well at least Apple Bloom is friendly," Ocellus said. "Maybe we can see if she can help figure out this rivalry business."

"Good idea," Silverstream said. "We should give it a go later. I just hope this plan works."

As the Crusaders placed their order, Apple Bloom took a moment to speak up, "So why don't you two like them girls again? They're really nice and I think we could all be friends with them."

"You heard Rumble, they're our rivals," Scootaloo said.

"Rivals how? You mean in this whole Elements of Harmony thing?" Apple Bloom asked. "We've literally never cared about that before, why start now? We're already our own thing, The Cutie Mark Crusaders. We specialize in helping ponies with their Cutie Marks, leave the Elements thing to somepony else."

"But Apple Bloom, they're getting more attention than us, all our years of hard work and we're being ignored in favor of them," Sweetie Belle said.

"What? Ignored by who!?" Apple Bloom asked. "Y'all are confusing me. Nopony has ignored us or treated Sandbar and his friends better than us."

"Well tell me, who's in the School of Friendship?" Scootaloo asked. "They are."

"And who's not in?" Sweetie Belle asked. "We are."

"Well, yeah it'd be nice to join but there's lots of other ponies at that school, it's not like they took up the last six spots or anything," Apple Bloom said. "Besides, that school is about Friendship, which we already kind of figured out."

"But it's so much more fun than regular school," Scootaloo said.

"Regular school ain't so bad," Apple Bloom said.

"You're just saying that because Miss Cheerilee is your sister-in-law, she probably turned you into an egghead," Scootaloo said.

"First off, you both wanted her to hook up with mah brother as much as I did, you were happy enough to be flower fillies at their wedding, much like a bunch of other weddings we've been to," Apple Bloom said. "Second that has nothing to do with this, being in the School of Friendship would be neat but it's not a requirement, we were happy before Rumble filled our heads with this nonsense, we can be happy after."

"Rumble's your coltfriend though, shouldn't you be on his side?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Just because we're dating, don't mean ah have to agree with everything he says, it's actually mah job as his marefriend to point out when he's wrong about something," Apple Bloom said.

"Sounds bossy," Scootaloo said, offending Apple Bloom.

"Uh, no! It just means ah care enough to make sure he don't do anything stupid, just like Twilight does with Peter and what Applejack does with Remy," Apple Bloom said.

"My sister pretty much goes along with what Bobby wants," Sweetie Belle said.

"Well good fer her, maybe Bobby don't do as many stupid things, or the roles are reversed in that relationship," Apple Bloom said.

"Just what's that supposed to mean?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"This is getting out of hoof, ah just want everypony...ah mean, every creature, to get along and be friends," Apple Bloom said.

"We'll do that once Peter takes back what he said about that one pony being like Rainbow Dash, what makes him more of a Rainbow Dash successor than me?" Scootaloo asked.

Apple Bloom face planted on the counter, she was really worried about how ridiculous her friends were being, pulling herself up, she glared at her friend "Scootaloo...that, don't, MATTER!"

"You're fine with not being the 'Applejack' of our generation?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yes! Because I am not mah sister! I am mah own mare!" Apple Bloom said. "Look ponies, creatures, everyone gets compared to someone else, don't mean they're who that someone else is! Peter probably got compared to Tony Stark in his time, don't mean he's Tony Stark though, he's Peter Parker! Granny Smith told me that Applejack acted as tough as her hero Rockhoof, probably got compared to him too, but she grew up to be Applejack. Do y'all really want yer identities to be the next Rainbow Dash and Rarity? Or the first Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle?"

Scootaloo tapped her chin, really thinking it over, "You know...you have a really good point Apple Bloom. I mean, if those losers need to be compared to our sisters and friends just to feel important, than that makes us so much better than them!"

"You're right Scootaloo, I don't need to be my sister, I need to be better, meanwhile Smolder can try but there's no way a moody dragon like her can be generous," Sweetie Belle said.

"And Gallus would probably ditch his friends the first chance he gets, bet he faked that stomach ache yesterday just to avoid looking like a fool," Scootaloo said.

Apple Bloom shook her head in shame. She grabbed her sweets the moment they arrived and began leaving, to her friends' concern.

"Where are you going!?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Ah gotta be away from you two," Apple Bloom said. "Y'all for sure ain't acting like the next Rarity and Rainbow Dash, yer more like the next Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon."

The two fillies looked a little bothered by that statement, unable to believe what their friend just said.

"Us? Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"There's no freaking way we're anything like those two were," Scootaloo said. "They picked on everypony that crossed their eyesight, we just don't tolerate disrespect from those other six."

"Yeah, exactly!" Sweetie Belle said, then started thinking things over. "But, what if we are being a little unfriendly, I mean, we got mad at Babs once and nearly became bullies, what if it's happening again?"

"Come on, don't you remember what Johnny and Bobby said about that?" Scootaloo asked. "A couple of years ago?"

Flashback to two years ago at a picnic hosted by Peter and Twilight, the Elements, their husbands and a few friends were present.

"I don't think you were bullies, you were just standing up for yourselves," Johnny said. "Just maybe not in the best way, but Babs shouldn't have treated you like that."

"Yeah, even if how you went about it wasn't correct, that's not what makes you a bully, Babs started it by picking on you, but next time it is better to either tell an adult, or just stand up to her," Bobby said. "It's three against one, bullies tend to cower the moment they feel threatened, especially when they're outnumbered. So you girls are good."

End Flashback, return to Sugarcube Corner Present.

"We weren't being bullies, we were just standing up for ourselves," Scootaloo said. "It only felt that way because Applejack said Babs got bullied too, not that it makes what she did right."

"But what about what Remy said?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Flashback again

"Just make sure you don't let your anger get the better of you, it could turn you into something you're not," Remy said. "Even if you weren't technically being 'bullies', it could have led you on that path if you really did retaliate that way. I'm proud of you girls for doing the right thing in the end, and I'm glad Peter further straightened our Babs after that whole ordeal, really did sound like she got off too easy. I'm surprised even Applejack didn't say much, guess she felt too sorry for Babs. Just promise you won't act like terrible ponies."

"Sure thing Remy," The Crusaders said.

Present again

"Remy told us not to behave like this, and maybe we are going a bit too far," Sweetie Belle said.

"Hey you do what you want, but I'm not taking anyone's crap," Scootaloo said, grabbing her treat and leaving. "See you later."

"Sure," Sweetie Belle said, after thinking things over a bit, she too started to leave, not before passing one final glance in the direction of the girls. Part of her did feel bad about making enemies, but she also felt like they were starting to take a lot from her, a spot in the school, her sister's legacy, even Peter's attention. Maybe she needed to think things over a bit.

Cozy Glow noticed some uncertainty with Sweetie Belle, whatever just happened with the Crusaders seemed like some shaken resolve, and that piqued Cozy's curiosity.

---

Elsewhere Nightcrawler is strolling through the park with Gallus and Sandbar, the former looking to be in a not so pleasant mood.

"Hey, you feeling alright there Gallus?" Sandbar asked.

"You're not still feeling sick are you?" Nightcrawler asked.

"No, not totally at least," Gallus said. "I'm just still trying to wrap my head around how I could have gotten sick. I know the doctor said it's nothing to worry about and maybe I just had an upset stomach but it's still so confusing."

"Just keep tabs on what you eat, that's the first step," Nightcrawler said.

"Already on it since last night," Gallus said. "Of course it was still hard to keep anything down, thankfully it was better this morning."

"That's good to know," Nightcrawler said. "I trust your friends were there to keep an eye on you."

"Yeah, I stuck around for him, we all did," Sandbar said.

"Silverstream practically hovered over me," Gallus said.

"She was just worried, all the girls were," Sandbar said. "Smolder kept to herself about it, but the others were there and ready for anything, especially Cozy Glow."

"I still say she had something to do with this," Gallus said.

"Come on Gallus, you gotta let that go," Sandbar said. "If you keep on it, you're going to end up hurting Cozy's feelings."

"Right, wouldn't want any more of her fake tears," Gallus said, this statement earning a disappointed glare from Sandbar.

"Why do you think Cozy would do that anyway?" Sandbar asked.

"I don't know, maybe because she can't handle a little teasing?" Gallus said. "I mean Kurt, what do you make of this?"

"I will admit, teasing isn't always kind, but it is something friends do," Nightcrawler said. "I've seen it a lot during my time the X-Men, especially if Bobby Drake is involved."

"Exactly! It's all in good humor," Gallus said.

"Teasing isn't for everyone though, and Cozy Glow seems to be a bit more sensitive to the subject, I know you meant no harm but she may not see it that way," Nightcrawler said. "I doubt she'd let it get to the point where she would get you sick but she probably is pretty bothered by how you've been treating her."

"Alright fine, I'll lighten up on her," Gallus said. "I mean, much of a pain she is, I'd definitely take her over Rumble and his goons."

"I've already had a nice chat with Rumble's brother about his behavior last night, same with the other foals' siblings, parents and guardians," Nightcrawler said. "But there lies a lesson that all thirteen of you need to remember."

"What would that be?" Sandbar said.

"You are your own selves," Nightcrawler said. "I know this all started because Peter compared you seven kids to Twilight Sparkle and her friends, and Rumble desired that comparison. However you must not strive to be a copy of another person, rather you must find your own identity. Rumble should not focus on being the next Twilight Sparkle, or Rainbow Dash, or even Spider-Man, he needs to be his own pony, forge his own identity."

"This feels like something that could be a good lesson for the school," Sandbar said. "Set the fact straight with other ponies and creatures who are struggling with being themselves."

"That is a great idea Sandbar," Nightcrawler said. "Might even make time to explain this to Rumble and his friends."

"Speaking of which, there they are," Gallus said, gesturing to Rumble as he walked by with Dinky and Wind Sprint, the trio talking among themselves.

"What is Doc doing anyway?" Rumble asked.

"You know I can't tell you, he barely tells me anyway, I have to see for myself," Dinky said. "He and Dr. Richards are working on some top secret stuff for Tony Stark."

"I would so love to see it for myself," Rumble said.

"Me too," Wind Sprint said.

"Hey how you adjusting to Ponyville, really nice place right?" Dinky asked.

"Very nice place, I can see why Rainbow Dash likes it here," Wind Sprint said.

"It's great living above it, just a quick fly down here and-" Rumble noticed Gallus, Sandbar and Nightcrawler. "Oh it's them."

"Ignore them," Dinky said. "They're not worth talking to."

"Yeah, we beat them yesterday, we've got nothing to prove to them," Rumble said, trotting off with the two mares.

Nightcrawler could sense the brief tension a moment ago, he knows this can't continue, he had to do something and soon.

"Glad we didn't have to hear their mouths," Gallus said.

"For now at least," Sandbar said.

"I'd be fine never hearing their mouths again, especially Rumble," Gallus said.

"Come on now, don't assume you will always be at odds," Nightcrawler said. "With luck, perhaps you can put your differences aside."

"A lot of luck," Gallus said.

"Hey should we head back? I kind of miss the girls," Sandbar said.

"You mean you miss Cozy Glow," Gallus teased. "Or is it Jubilee?"

"Hey I like all the girls equally!" Sandbar insisted, trying to hide his blush.

"Yeah, because they're all pretty," Gallus said, earning a glare from Sandbar. "Heh, too bad Yona can't keep a secret, I just wish I could have heard that personally."

"Grow up dude," Sandbar said, getting a laugh from his friend and a slight chuckle from Nightcrawler.

---

In the city of Manehattan, Suri was putting up some signs for her store's Grand Opening, eagerly anticipating all the profit she would make with her hard work, and assistance from her entrepreneur partner.

She finished up and made her way back toward her store when she spotted Elektra across the street, the mare leaning against the wall and keeping an eye on everything while holding out her sai, much to the annoyance of Suri.

"Don't these so-called heroes have anything better to do than wait outside my business?" Suri muttered to herself as she went inside.

Elektra placed her sai away, trotting away from the store, but still keeping an eye out. She knew there was something suspicious, especially after the warning from Johnny the previous night when he stopped by Manehattan after the events of yesterday.

Speaking of whom, the hero had landed nearby, getting Elektra's attention. "So you came."

"Yeah, I talked to Spitfire, she's cool with Dash and I patrolling around here for a bit, If at least to assist you" Johnny said.

"The information you gave us could be of great help," Elektra said. "It could lead us to whoever is behind this newly formed gang."

"The sooner the better, that way the ponies here can continue to live in peace," Johnny said. "Can't believe a gang formed here, just like back on Earth when The Kingpin was running business, hope that guy didn't show up in this world."

"Someone like that might be hard to miss," Elektra said. "But what about the one pony Spider-Man mentioned? You think he might be an Earth villain in disguise, or just some pony that rose to power?"

"I might have a few theories, but I'm gonna need to explore this city more and get some intel from these ponies before I draw a conclusion," Johnny said.

"Alright, why don't you come with me and I'll show you the places they seem to gather the most," Elektra said. "According to Night Thrasher, they seem to usually be around Stark tower, he worries they might be keeping an eye on a mare that works there."

"Do you know her name?" Johnny asked.

"Coco Pommel, apparently she's one of Tony Stark's best assistants," Elektra said.

"Oh I think I recognize that girl, she's one of Rarity's friends, I've seen her in Ponyville a few times," Johnny said. "I think she helped Rarity open a store here too. Looks like she's doing well here."

"According to Night Thrasher, she's the building's manager, and the first time she was targeted, she mentioned having gotten an offer from a pony named 'Lee'," Elektra said.

"Lee huh? That might put a few more pieces together," Johnny said.

"You can explain everything once we catch up to Night Thrasher, Daredevil and Rainbow Dash," Elektra said. "Assuming she's on her way."

"She'll be here, she had to check in with some new recruits she's going to be training, with her speed she'll be here lickety-split," Johnny said. Suddenly the two heard someone yelling and saw some of the gangster ponies causing trouble for a young couple. "That ain't good, let's hurry!"

Johnny and Elektra made their way to put a stop to the troubles, but their presence did not go unnoticed by Martin, who had been observing from his building.

"Looks like The Human Torch has graced us with his presence, or is it Equine Torch now?" Martin said.

"He should have realized, leave a fire too close to a fuse, and things go out with a bang," Mr. Negative said.

---

Back in Tartarus, Discord is seen going over a checklist with members of his team, who have officially elected to call themselves, The Sinister Squadron, much to Discord's disappointment, but they will always be his deviants.

"Alright, we're just about one year away from our grand debut, and now would be a good opportunity to make the final preparations," Discord said. "First off, you're going to need power, a lot of it, especially seeing as how there are many other superheroes to consider."

"How do we get this so-called power?" Adagio asked.

"You're going to find it," Discord said. "Somewhere hidden in this world, you will find an artifact known as Grogar's Bell."

"Who is this Grogar?" Wizard asked.

"This fine creature right here," Discord said, creating an astral projection image of the creature.

"...Is that goat?" Shocker asked, some of the other villains looking confused as well.

"Yes, but he's also a legendary evil who has plagued Equestria eons ago," Discord said. "He was defeated by an ancient group of heroic ponies, and has not been seen since then. Only his legendary Bell remains."

"This is interesting and all, but why do we need his bell?" Electro asked.

"Much of his power remains in that bell, and it can be used to make all of you much stronger," Discord said. "Tirek especially needs that power, to get closer to reaching his full glory."

"Soon you will see why I was once Equestria's great evil," Tirek said. "Even Grogar couldn't compare."

"Hey you already look more intimidating than a goat, I mean...how?" Shocker asked.

"Oh your world has strange things as well, besides Doctor Strange himself," Discord said. "Why, Grogar actually resembles an old legendary evil from The Dragon World."

Shocker shuddered a bit, "Just hearing about that place freaks me out."

"That's a shame, because I was hoping to send a few of you there," Discord said. "There's someone I've been hoping to recruit for our little Crusade."

"Who exactly?" Shocker asked, feeling a little unease.

"Wait, is it that Kai person or whatever?" Adagio asked.

"Yes and no, he's gone through a few changes and right now he's recently started some plan of his," Discord said. "Of course, I did consider him back when I thought Thor would be trouble, or anyone from the other worlds, including The Dragon World itself, but if Celestia has locked the portals, we may not even need him. However, I like to take just a tiny bit of precaution, just to keep the playing field even."

"Alright then, what's your plan?" Shocker asked.

"I was hoping The Dazzlings could recruit him," Discord said.

"Wait, us?" Adagio asked.

"Precisely, he's going to need real convincing and you lovely sirens are the best when it comes to that particular talent," Discord said.

"A chance to go to a human world? To be human again, even if for a bit?" Sonata asked. "Sounds fun!"

"Wait hold on, is this safe?" Shocker asked.

"If you're worried, you can join them," Shocker said. "Though given his dislike of mortals, you might not be able to protect yourself, at least not as well as The Dazzlings."

"First off, never said I was worried," Shocker insisted. "Second, what dislike of mortals? Third, is this guy even trustworthy!?"

"If he becomes too much trouble, I can send him away," Discord said. "You have my word on that."

"You sound confident, if you expected him to help us against the likes of Thor, that must mean he's pretty strong," Shocker said.

"Actually, I was more hoping for his healing properties, truth be told, Zamasu really isn't that strong, I'm willing to bet a full powered Tirek could take him down, though I am no power scaler," Discord said. "Of course, he has gone through some changes, so he could indeed help us power wise."

"You're being too cryptic, we need details," Shocker said.

"You'll get them soon, right now I still have my list," Discord said. "We're also going to need the Alicorn Amulet."

"The Alicorn what-now?" Electro asked.

"Powerful artifact, it can really boost the magic of a pony, especially a Unicorn," Discord said. "For example Electro, someone like you could really benefit from having something like that to make your electric powers stronger."

"Stronger is good," Electro said, sparking some electricity.

"Or it could theoretically make Mysterio into an actual wizard," Discord said.

"I'm already a Wizard, regardless of the status of my abilities," Mysterio insisted.

"Someone's cocky," Discord said. "Well that's two, I will confess, having something like The Crystal Heart or Queen Novo's Pearl would also do wonders, getting either one would be a chore however."

"When we start our invasion, we can pick those up personally," Adagio said.

"Excellent," Discord said. "The only other thing that would make this world well is if we still had Queen Chrysalis's throne."

Wizard turned to Chrysalis, "What's special about your throne?"

"It's capable of cancelling out magic, aside from a Changeling's abilities to transform," Chrysalis said.

"Impressive," Wizard said. "Would you know if that includes magic on Earth?"

"I have not had the opportunity to test it, it may work just the same but I cannot promise that," Chrysalis said.

"Is this everything Discord?" Goblin asked.

"Mostly, I am still hoping for some extra recruits," Discord said. "I mean, I think we're fine at the moment, we have some incredibly powerful allies. With someone like you Norman, along with Octavius and your old Sinister Six buddies, we have plenty who can go against Spider-Man. With allies like Annihilus and Wizard, we have an advantage over The Fantastic Four, with Chrysalis, that's our advantage over Twilight and the Elements of Harmony. Plus the unknown threat of The Dazzlings and Lord Tirek, perhaps this is enough for our invasion."

"I'd say it is," Adagio said.

"Hell yeah," Electro added.

"We shall bring them to their knees," Wizard said.

"But...having an ally like Doctor Doom could prove useful," Discord said. "He has powerful abilities in his own right, and would be an even greater help against The Fantastic Four."

"Doom is a very prideful man, but I believe I can try to convince him to join our side," Wizard said.

"Then there's Dormammu, with his experience fighting Doctor Strange, and with said doctor around, we're going to need someone like him who is used to magical abilities," Discord said.

"I don't think this is a wise move Discord," Octavius said.

"I'm with the doctor here, some guys are better suited for their own realm," Annihilus said. "Though, if you can offer something of value to him, he may consider joining our side, having his forces would help, but I would also practice extreme caution."

"Noted," Discord said. "Oooh, and then there's Ultron, a powerful entity indeed."

"I believe I can possibly convince him, but I may require back-up," Mysterio said.

"I got you on that, Beck," Electro said.

"I would also like to check on Loki and his team, but until Ragnarök is over, I'd rather not bother him," Discord said. "I just hope he and his allies survive."

"Even that Storm King guy?" Shocker asked. "He seems so useless, wouldn't be surprised if he bites it out there."

"What a shame," Discord said. "Also, last but not least, there's our friends from the Capcom world, oh how they would love a chance at revenge."

"Those guys are up to something, aren't they?" Adagio said.

"Yes, and they won't let me in on their plan, so terrible," Discord said.

"If you find their location, tell me," Goblin said. "Perhaps I can convince them, after all, they and I do have one big thing in common. Our dislike for Spider-Man."

"Then it's settled, first thing's first, we must find the magical artifacts, in a few days time, I will be sending out groups," Discord said. "Practice extreme caution though, do not draw attention to yourselves."

"Sure thing Discord," Sonata said.

"I might even ask Martin for help, along with our little friend in Ponyville, let her prove her true loyalty to our mission," Discord said.

Shocker looked a bit unsure about this, he knows who Discord means and something about this just didn't seem right to him, "Hey, do we really need her? I mean, this just feels...immoral."

"Immoral? We're villains Herman," Adagio said.

"Even villains have a code, and I just don't feel comfortable dragging that filly into this," Shocker said.

"I'm actually on Herman's side," Sonata said. "Why are we contacting her again?"

"Hey, she wrote to me first," Tirek said. "I don't know how she found out about my existence though, no one has heard of me in about a thousand years."

"She probably read your name in a book or something," Chrysalis said. "But that little filly seems to desire power."

"And now you get to meet her up close, this should be fun, such budding friendships," Discord said.

Shocker and Sonata exchanged worried glances, this was not sitting well with either of them, even Octavius seemed a bit uncertain, but he wasn't going to get too into that bit of trouble. The villains' plans were moving forward, the countdown to their arrival was ticking.

---

Back in Ponyville, later in the day, Peter is seen walking around with Bucky and the Village Four, the hero playing tour guide.

"Over there is Sugarcube Corner, one of the best bakeries in Equestria, and the home of my friend Pinkie Pie," Peter said. "Oh, and Deadpool lives there too."

"Deadpool lives in a bakery?" Bucky asked.

"Well he has to, his wife lives there," Peter said. "I don't know why they didn't move, maybe it was easier for Pinkie to live where she worked, maybe Deadpool just liked living there, never really asked him. The family who runs it love Pinkie Pie though and they're happy to have her around, and they seem to like Deadpool as well, at least their children do."

"Deadpool seems nice, plus he seemed to be on the way to the castle to sign up for The Accords," Sugar Belle said.

"Guess having a family changed him," Bucky said.

"For the most part it did, Deadpool's not as bad as he once was, maybe he did just need to find true love," Peter said. The group continued their tour as Peter passed by another familiar stop.

"There's the Carousel Boutique, where my friend Rarity works," Peter said. "She's a seamstress, she actually helped design my suits, and the suits of my friends, including her husband Bobby."

"Bobby's the guy with the ice powers right?" Double Diamond asked.

"Yes, he's also a member of the X-Men," Peter said. "Actually, he and I along with our friend Angel did hero work together for a while, mostly toward the end of high school and my first year in college."

"That sounds Amazing," Night Glider said.

"Sure was," Bobby called, stepping onto the railing. "Hey Peter, I see you have some friends."

"Yeah, I'm showing them around Ponyville, along with The Winter Solider," Peter said.

"Yo Solider, we should team up some time, I mean I have ice powers, you're named after winter, it works so well," Bobby said.

Bucky whispered to Peter, "Is he for real?"

"Probably not," Peter replied.

"Bobby right?" Double Diamond asked, getting a confirming nod. "Have you signed up for The Accords?"

"Sure did, it was my wife's idea, I got this amazing power, I think I could use it to save the world," Bobby said. "I mean, not to brag but um, I'm pretty dang strong. Plus it'd be nice to do hero work alongside Peter and Angel again."

"I hear about you three, but where does The Human Torch fit in?" Bucky asked. "Aren't you guys friends too?"

"We are, Johnny's a close buddy of ours, but Angel and I were the first to bond with Peter, Johnny came a bit later," Bobby explained. "He could always join with us, be a new Fantastic Four."

"Gonna be hard to live up to the original, even with Johnny," Peter said.

"Well speaking of Four," Bobby gestured to the village four. "I seem to remember you being from Starlight Glimmer's village."

"We're training to be Avengers," Night Glider said. "We're gonna help save the world."

"Awesome, could use more heroes, I think Tony's running out," Bobby said.

"He is, I don't think he can bring anyone else over," Bucky said. "Plus a lot of them gotta stay back on Earth, myself included. I come by to train recruits but duty remains on Earth."

"Too bad most of the X-Men don't care for this, they'd make great allies," Bobby said. "Feels like I'm the only one who considered."

"Maybe we can at least get Logan to join," Peter said.

"Logan? You mean Wolverine?" Bucky asked. "He doesn't seem like the type to want to join, too rebellious."

"Maybe you can convince him?" Double Diamond suggested.

"We don't get along too well, plus Logan is not one to follow orders anyway," Bucky said.

"We'll figure something out, right now I gotta keep showing them around and get them back to Canterlot, hopefully Stark will have that mission for me sorted out then," Peter said.

"Oh! Going on a mission? Need help? I'd totally have your back," Bobby said. "I could even see if Angel wants to join, reunion time!"

"That's fine, Luna's coming with me," Peter said.

"Luna? Wait, is it just you two?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah, why?" Peter replied.

"Uh, no reason," Bobby said. "Anyway if Angel and I could come along, would you be against it?"

"No, but you'd need to ask Tony, he makes the calls," Peter explained.

"You got it, see you later," Bobby said as he slid off on his ice.

"Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends making a comeback huh? Sounds pretty neat," Peter said, leading his group away.

"That guy's pretty cool, not just because he has ice powers either," Party Favor said.

"I bet he could create some wicked slopes with that ice," Double Diamond said, imagining the jumps he could make on his skis.

Peter led his group further towards the market area where he spotted two more friends, "Applejack! Remy!"

"Here comes Peter," Remy said, having noticed the hero. "And he brought some friends along."

Applejack turned their direction, "Ah remember them, the four ponies from Starlight's village."

"Hey you two," Peter greeted. "Working hard or hardly working?"

"You'll never find one of us hardly working," Applejack said with a smirk. "Hey y'all, been a while since I've seen ya."

"You too Applejack," Party Favor said. "Looks like you're selling some apples."

"Sure are, it's our family business after all," Applejack said. "Not just apples either, sometimes we sell pies, tarts, and brown betties."

"Apple pie sounds good," Bucky said.

"Ah don't have any on me right now, but I can put you down for an order," Applejack said.

"You should try it Bucky, it's amazing," Peter said.

"Well Steve talks fondly about it, so why not," Bucky said.

"Great, also you mentioned Steve right?" Applejack asked. "You're Steve Rogers's best friend."

"Yeah, I'm Bucky Barnes," the hero said.

"It's an honor to treat a friend of Steve Rogers to some pie," Applejack said. "Our way of repaying you fer yer hero work."

"That's nice, but I don't mind buying it off you," Bucky said.

"Just think of it as a friend helping a friend, I'll send the pie to Canterlot and you can share it with Steve," Applejack said.

"I bet Sam would like it too," Peter said.

"All this talk of pie is making me hungry," Night Glider said.

"We can make you one too, just place it as an order," Applejack said. "Baking is our pleasure, we like doing it as much as Pinkie and The Cakes."

"As a baker myself, I can agree," Sugar Belle said.

Applejack turned to the side, "There's mah brother with some more apples."

"Do we really need more? It's nearly evening time," Remy said.

"It's just a small crate, plus it's not totally slow, ah could see Lyra and Bon Bon," Applejack said.

Bucky turned toward the two, recognizing the latter, "I saw one of those mares in Canterlot, though her name doesn't sound familiar."

Peter whispered to Bucky, "She's off duty, so she goes by Bon Bon when she's not with S.M.I.L.E. Don't bring too much attention."

"Hi Peter, hi everyone!" Lyra greeted.

"Hey Lyra, you're looking a lot better these days," Peter said.

"Thanks to Twilight and the Princesses," Lyra said. "Boy was that nerve wracking."

"What happened exactly?" Double Diamond asked.

"She got turned into stone by that Tempest Shadow mare, using some weird bomb thing," Peter said. "Twilight and The Princesses were able to reverse it with help from Doctor Strange, but it was harder than we thought."

"I've never been so worried in my life," Bon Bon said.

"Hey ladies, here fer an order?" Applejack asked.

"Yeah, could we get a dozen? Should be enough to last almost a week," Bon Bon said.

"You got it," Applejack said, grabbing a bunch.

Big Macintosh had placed down the crate, "This should be good enough." He turned his attention to Remy, "Has business stayed consistent?"

"It wasn't too busy but I'd say just about average," Remy said. "I can't see us finishing our stock today."

"That's fine, we seem to be making good profit as always, with any luck, Mr. Filthy Rich could end up needing a large supply, like he usually does," Big Macintosh said.

"That pony and his apples, but his family has been loyal to the Apples for generations, they're the reason his family has such a good life," Remy said.

"Eeyup," Big Macintosh said.

Night Glider looked kind of interested in what she saw, the mare nudged Sugar Belle, "That's quite a hunk of a stallion, wouldn't you say?"

"Uh-huh," Sugar Belle agreed, the mare blushing a bit.

"So, what brings you to Ponyville?" Lyra asked Double Diamond.

"Spider-Mane's showing us around," Double Diamond said.

"Oh you're friends with Peter? Awesome," Lyra said.

"Yeah, we're training to be Avengers and he's helping us out, same with The Winter Solider," Double Diamond said, gesturing to Bucky.

"Always good to have more Avengers," Lyra said. "That means you'll be signing with The Accords."

"That's the plan," Double Diamond said.

"Bonnie is really for The Accords," Lyra said, then turned to her significant other. "Aren't you Bonnie?"

"Yeah sure, we could have used something like that ages ago," Bon Bon said. "Good way to keep disasters under control."

"Well it hasn't been that bad, especially thanks to Peter," Lyra said. "The world has always been safe."

"Uh-huh, sure Lyra," Bon Bon said, taking the last of the apples and paying the farmer. "Thanks Applejack."

"Y'all come back now," Applejack said.

"Sure," Bon Bon trotted off. "Come on Lyra."

"Bye everypony!" Lyra said, trotting off with Bon Bon.

Remy looked very distrusting of Bon Bon, "Is it me, or did she not seem to confident about what Lyra said about Peter?"

"Bon Bon's always been a bit uneasy since this whole superhero thing started," Applejack said. "But she'll come around, hopefully. Ah mean, Thunderlane came around eventually."

"Never understood why he never liked Peter, was it really jealousy?" Remy asked. "You ever ask him Peter?"

"I never thought to, I was just grateful we became friends," Peter said. "He does seem really sorry for how he's acted, guess being a father changed him too."

"Then it gives us hope for Bon Bon," Applejack said.

"So, Remy," Double Diamond said, getting the hero's attention. "You've got superpowers too right? Are you with The Accords?"

"No, and it's staying that way, I ain't never signing up," Remy said. "Truthfully, I don't even know if the four of you should, Peter definitely never should have."

"Remy..." Applejack began.

"Hey you know as well as I do that this is gonna fail," Remy said. "So many heroes and Stark tells most of us to stand aside?"

"Well he had a point, you don't need that many heroes out there fighting, it becomes clustered," Applejack said.

"Even so, what if it gets worse?" Remy asked. "What if there's a dangerous villain and we're told to stand aside and 'Let the official heroes' handle it?"

Double Diamond turned to Peter, "Did something happen?"

"Yeah, the Wizard happened," Peter said.

"Some guy shows up and Stark tells me and a few others not to fight because we're not registered," Remy said. "Some other guy and starts setting everything on fire and we ain't allowed to stop him either. Two of my friends fought him anyway despite not being registered and they nearly got in trouble."

"I know it seems strange Remy, but it worked," Peter said. "Tony, Cap and I were able to take down The Wizard."

"Yeah, who ended up getting away," Remy said.

"That was beyond our control," Peter said. "Tony is just doing what's best for Equestria, we're aiming toward a better world with The Accords."

"Even if Wizard was stopped, why did it matter whether or not Jubilee and Nightcrawler took down Scorcher?" Remy asked. "Then there's them varmints, Flim and Flam."

"You were acting a bit out of line on that one, I mean didn't you threaten them?" Peter asked.

"I did no such thing," Remy said. "I questioned them without the need for violence and they kept denying until they were found out. Then they ran off with their tail between their legs."

"But what about their destroyed cart?" Peter asked.

"They were using it to sell stolen goods, I had a right to destroy it," Remy said. "Not like anyone got hurt. Point is I didn't threaten them, that's probably what they told Carol Danvers though."

"I can vouch for Remy, aside from the cart...which still has some of our apples by the way," Big Mac said, getting an awkward reaction from Remy. "My brother-in-law here did not do anything he should have, he handled it professionally. Ah don't think Tony Stark has a right not to tell Remy to confront those con artists about taking my family's products."

"And ah do appreciate you doing that fer me Remy," Applejack said. "But honestly, you should have told somepony official and let them handle it."

"Applejack, as your husband, it's my duty to defend your honor," Remy said.

"Ah know you feel that way, but consider it at least, more than anything ah don't want you doing something that's gonna get you taken away from me," Applejack said.

"I'd like to see Iron Man try to lock me up," Remy said.

"Dude, don't try your luck," Peter said. "Just listen to Applejack."

"Uh-huh, sure thing," Remy said, trotting off. "I'm going for a walk."

"Sure thing, sugar cube," Applejack said, then turned back to Peter. "He's still pretty upset, best to let him work it out, but I'm helping with that."

"I just hope he doesn't make any more foolish mistakes," Peter said. "I mean, if I knew Flim and Flam were there, I would have stopped them myself, save Remy the trouble."

"Ah appreciate you saying that," Applejack said. "Truth be told, I'm kind of happy he confronted them, it shows how much he loves me and mah family, and that ain't anything to be sorry fer. A husband defends his wife's honor, something you're quite familiar with."

"Still, rules are rules," Peter said.

"Would you have done anything different if you were in Remy's horseshoes?" Big Macintosh asked.

That did get Peter thinking, "Well...maybe not in that exact way..."

"Remy did nothing wrong," Bucky said. "The Accords are a bit flawed, but I trust Steve to help Tony sort them out, so hopefully these four ponies could find success in them."

"Right, The Accords are a work in progress," Peter said. "We'll figure it out, sooner rather than later."

"Yeah, ah trust you Peter," Applejack said.

"We'll get out of your mane, see you around," Peter said.

"Bye Applejack, I look forward to that pie," Bucky said.

"Ah look forward to you enjoying that pie," Applejack said.

"Bye Big Macintosh," Sugar Belle said, waving at the stallion with a flirty smile. "I hope I can see you around some more."

"Have a good day ma'am," Big Macintosh said as the group left.

"Huh, she sounded awfully enamored with you," Applejack said. "Think she's got a thing fer ya?"

"Shouldn't jump to conclusions, it don't matter anyway, this Apple if off the market," Big Macintosh said.

Applejack got a good laugh off that, "Yer too funny big brother. Anyway why don't you head back, I'll finish up here and wait fer Remy. Probably won't be long, it's starting to get a bit chilly."

"It's fine, ah don't mind waiting, there is something ah wanna discuss, it's about Apple Bloom, she seems to be in a less than thrilling mood," Big Macintosh said.

"Oh boy," Applejack said, having a feeling as to what's bothering her.

---

At Ponyville hospital, Twilight is still laying in her room, awaiting the birth of her child. Thought things were going a lot slower than she expected.

Upon hearing a knock, she saw that Logan was entering the room, the X-Man veteran having flowers, "Hey Twilight."

"Logan, this is a nice surprise," Twilight said. "Are those for me?"

"Yeah, Fluttershy says these are your favorite," Logan said, placing the flowers nearby.

"Thanks...uh, silly question but...these are for display, not eating right?" Twilight asked.

"I mean, I got them fer display but if yer hungry, I won't stop you from eating them," Logan said.

"I am a bit hungry but..." Twilight placed them aside. "I'd rather have them for decoration, thank you Logan."

"If yer hungry I can go get you a snack," Logan said.

"It's fine, doctor should be bringing me food," Twilight said.

Logan pulled a chair up beside Twilight, "How are you feeling?"

"Exhausted, I thought I was going into labor but the doctor told me that I'm having delays," Twilight said. "He said it's nothing to worry about, and that there's nothing wrong with my baby, but it's not making this situation any better for me."

"I think you'll be fine, at least you're in good company at this hospital," Logan said. "Did the doctors say anything more?"

"According to him, my body is completely exhausted, likely from all the excitement the last few days, plus some high stress levels," Twilight said. "Also, something about this baby really takes a lot of energy, something similar happened with Mayday. It's like they need more nutrients and energy, I don't know if it's because they're half human or because they're Peter's kids, Peter definitely needs to eat a lot."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that," Logan said. "I'm the same way after all. Fluttershy went through something similar to this, so I know you're not alone here."

"Is Fluttershy here by the way?" Twilight asked.

"No, she's back home training with Laura," Logan said.

"Oh right, I forgot she's training," Twilight said. "How is that coming along?"

"Slow, Fluttershy is not the fighting type," Logan said. "We asked her if she wants to call it quits but she's determined to get stronger. Seeing my old Weapon X buddies really fueled her desire to get stronger."

"How is Laura as a trainer?" Twilight asked.

Logan cringed at the question, "She really did not know how to hold back at first, remember that black eye Fluttershy had a while back?"

"Yeah, she said she got it trying to tame a bear," Twilight said.

"It was Laura, granted she didn't mean to but it did show her own lack of restraint," Logan said. "What has me worried is that she mentioned wanting to train Rumble and his friends."

"Rumble...Oh boy," Twilight said.

"What is with him and this whole Elements of Harmony thing?" Logan asked.

"I have no idea, seems like he and Sandbar's friends had one big misunderstanding," Twilight said.

"Well it resulted in one hell of a Buck Ball game at least, both sides did really well," Logan said.

"Yes, they both showed incredible teamwork," Twilight said. "Plus it's a good way to resolve conflict."

"Something tells me they'll need to resolve it more," Logan said.

"They'll figure something out, hopefully something that won't escalate to physical conflict," Twilight said.

"Ahem," came the voice of Nurse Redheart. "Sorry to interrupt but I have to check on Twilight's condition."

"Sure thing nurse," Logan said, he then gave a quick hug to Twilight. "Feel better."

"Thank you for being there for me," Twilight said, returning the hug. "You're the best."

"It's nothing," Logan said, trotting out of the room, leaving the nurse to do her job.

"You two seem rather close," Redheart said.

"Yes, I love Logan, he's like an older brother to me," Twilight said.

"That's sweet, it's good to have friends that close," Redheart said.

"Yeah, it really is," Twilight said.

---

Later on in the evening, Peter had led his group toward the gate, "Last stop on the tour, Twilight Sparkle's School of Friendship."

"Such a pretty school," Sugar Belle said.

"Does it really just teach Friendship?" Bucky asked.

"Totally, among a few other things, but mainly Friendship," Peter said. "It's a school of Harmony, teaches others to be close. This school also brings countries close since we have residents from The Dragon Lands, The Changeling Hive, Mount Aris, Griffonstone and Yakyakistan. With any luck we may get students from Farasi and Kirin village. Actually the Kirin leader Rain Shine was suppose to send someone here to check out Ponyville. I think it's sometime this week actually, I look forward to seeing him or her."

"Well you're still off to a good start," Sugar Belle said.

"Thanks, it wasn't easy though," Peter said. "Some guy had issue with the idea of these other creatures here."

"That was a huge mess, Steve was really annoyed about what happened, especially seeing how much it upset your wife," Bucky said.

"The X-Men were pretty upset too, reminded them about the harsh times they went through on Earth," Peter said.

"It's still surprising though, Equestria seems like such an accepting place," Bucky said.

"It wasn't always, according to Twilight, even the Unicorns, Pegusai and Earth Ponies were separated into different tribes, and it got really bad when their hatred led to the arrival of the Windigoes," Peter said. "Thankfully one day, six ponies came together, those ponies being two Unicorns, Princess Platinum, Clover the Clever; two Pegusai Commander Hurricane, Private Pansy; and two Earth Ponies, Chancellor Puddinghead and Smart Cookie. They were the Six Founders of Equestria, and they're the ones who brought everypony together as one."

"I love hearing that, knowing that ponies put aside their differences," Sugar Belle said. "I hope we never separate."

"Oh I can't see that happening," Peter said. "I mean, after all we've been through together, the idea of Equestria breaking up into three tribes again, separated for who knows how long, and even assuming each other to be enemies, I can't even imagine something that silly happening. That'd be like if Shang Chi suddenly got a sense of humor."

"Still, to hear that the three tribes got together and created an amazing country," Bucky said. "Reminds me of the origins of Wakanda, how several tribes got together and created the country."

"Wakanda? Is that one of your world's countries?" Double Diamond asked.

"Is there where you're from? Sugar Belle asked.

"No, I'm from America, but I've been to Wakanda, it's a nice place and I know their King, he's a strong hero named T'Challa, The Black Panther," Bucky said.

"He's a super cool guy, he's been to Equestria a few times himself, maybe one day you can formally meet him," Peter said.

"There's a lot of great heroes we hope you can meet, very inspirational ones," Bucky said. "So keep working hard until you're Avengers and maybe those heroes can help guide you and others who wish to keep the world safe."

"We will Bucky," Night Glider said.

"Hopefully we can hear more about your world too," Sugar Belle said.

"Yeah, maybe we can learn more about your Kings and other rulers too," Party Favor said.

"Are any of them as powerful as Celestia?" Double Diamond asked. "Is Thor as powerful as Celestia?"

"Well, yeah, he is," Peter said. "Thor's a God after all, and Celestia is like a Goddess."

"Who's stronger?" Night Glider asked.

"I'd...rather not answer that," Peter said, preferring not to say his opinion out loud. He knew the answer. He once dueled Celestia to a draw, yet had trouble against a guy that Thor beat within minutes. Of course things change over time but this was Peter's current hypothesis. "Thor is definitely stronger than Celestia."

"It's really hard to say anyway, I mean they're both strong," Bucky said. "I haven't seen Celestia fight, so I can't speak for her strength, but Thor has gone against very powerful beings. He might be able to go against Superman for all we know."

"Think he can beat any of The Eternals?" Peter asked.

"I know he can beat The Eternals, including Ikaris," Bucky said.

"Who are The Eternals?" Double Diamond asked.

"Beings who were supposed to protect Earth, their work can be disputed however," Bucky said. "I'll tell you what I can about them."

---

Not too far from Peter, Ocellus and Cozy Glow were taking a stroll together, enjoying the sights of the school, not without a few chills though.

"It feels cold," Cozy Glow said.

"I heard it's going to snow soon, we probably shouldn't stay out too long," Ocellus said.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Cozy Glow said. "Hey Celly, question."

"What is it?" Ocellus asked.

"The other students, do they not like me?" Cozy Glow asked.

Ocellus's eyes widened a second, "Is it because of Smolder and Gallus?"

"They're usually not very nice to me, and I sometimes feel like Yona and Silverstream are starting to not like me either," Cozy Glow said. "It kind of hurts my feelings."

"Silverstream and Yona like you Cozy, and I know Gallus and Smolder have mixed opinions, but I think they can like you too, but you need to put in an effort on your end," Ocellus said. "Sometimes you do say things you shouldn't."

"I know, but they make me mad sometimes," Cozy Glow said.

"It's fine to be mad, it's how you get mad that matters," Ocellus said. "Just be the good filly that you are with me."

"It's easier with you though, you're really nice and you don't make me feel so lonely," Cozy Glow said. "Maybe I'm just not cut out to be friends with all of you."

"Don't stay that, I think you are," Ocellus said, rubbing Cozy's head. "Just keep smiling, you have a smile that warms my heart."

"Aw, you're the best," Cozy Glow said, hugging the Changeling. "I'm glad we're friends, truthfully I was afraid of being alone like I was back home."

"Alone?" Ocellus asked. "Come to think of it Cozy, you never really told us where you're from or what your home life is like."

"It's nothing special," Cozy Glow said.

"Well I'd like to know more about my best friend," Ocellus said. "Could you tell me?"

"It's really sad, I don't like telling many ponies, I'd probably only tell you or Sandbar though," Cozy Glow said.

"Tell me what?" Came Sandbar's voice as he trotted to the girls.

"Sandbar, didn't expect to see you out here," Ocellus said.

"It's getting late, and kind of cold, so Kurt sent me to check on you two," Sandbar said.

"That's nice of you, I was just asking Cozy about her upbringing," Ocellus said. "She seems reluctant to tell me."

"If she doesn't want to, that's fine," Sandbar said. "Maybe its bad memories."

Ocellus knelt beside Cozy Glow, "No one was mean to you, were they?"

Cozy barely answered, this worried Sandbar, "Cozy?"

"Well, the caretakers at the orphanage where I lived were nice but the other orphans, not so much," Cozy Glow said.

"Wait, you're an orphan!?" Sandbar asked. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"It was...too sad for me," Cozy Glow said, holding back a tear. "I don't remember my parents, I just remember living in an orphanage where a lot of the other foals were just not really kind, I tried to keep smiling and being positive but, it just felt hard for me."

"I'm...I'm so sorry Cozy," Sandbar said, rubbing her mane. "I had no idea."

"Nopony did," Cozy Glow said. "It's really hard to talk about."

"I can't believe anypony would be mean to you," Ocellus said, feeling irritated. "It just makes me so angry, I hope the caretakers did something."

"Sometimes, but it wasn't enough," Cozy Glow said. "I made due, I found, other means, to vent my frustrations, usually in the form of reading old books and writing letters."

"That's good, get your anger out in a proper way," Sandbar said.

"Were those letters addressed to anyone?" Ocellus asked.

"No one in particular..." Cozy said, looking to the side. "But like I said, it really helped, in fact, it motivated me to coming to this school. I was still kind of scared during my first day, mostly because I thought I would meet more bullies. Silly to worry about since this is a school of Friendship but that's what my mind was telling me. Thankfully I met Peter and he helped me feel better."

"Is this why you get so bothered when Gallus teases you?" Ocellus asked.

"A little, he reminds me of some of the old bullies," Cozy Glow said.

"Well, know that Gallus doesn't mean to upset you like that, he's a really nice guy, he just hides it under his moodiness," Sandbar said. "Maybe if you opened up to the others, you can make peace with them, how does that sound?"

"I think that'd be neat," Cozy said.

"Alright, we should head inside now, I don't want you getting too cold out here," Sandbar said.

"Sure, also one thing Sandy," Cozy Glow flew over to kiss his cheek. "Thank you."

"Heh, sure," Sandbar said, blushing a bit.

Cozy flew over to kiss Ocellus on the cheek as well. "You too Celly."

"Aw, you're so cute Cozy," Ocellus said, returning the kiss to her friend's cheek.

Cozy bashfully flew off, super happy about this exchange as Sandbar trotted toward Ocellus. "Think she'll be alright?"

"I think so, we just have to be there for her," Ocellus said.

"Yeah, I really like Cozy Glow, she's really adorable," Sandbar said. "She reminds me of my little sister."

"I know that feeling, Cozy makes me think of my little brother and sister as well," Ocellus said.

"Helps being older siblings I guess," Sandbar said. "That makes the two of us perfect for the job."

"Well we're not the only one with siblings," Ocellus said. "Yona, Silverstream and Smolder know about that subject too."

"That could be our key to helping Cozy Glow bond with them," Sandbar said. "Alright, this is our Friendship Mission, make a bond as strong as say...The Professors."

"Peter did compare us to our professors," Ocellus said. "Even if that did lead to trouble."

"Speaking of Peter, I think I see him," Sandbar said, gesturing to Peter, Bucky and his group.

"So that's pretty much what I know about The Eternals, they're just as flawed as the humans they were meant to protect," Peter said.

"Hearing about them reminds me of why I don't care to join The Accords, I don't want to be some puppet," Bucky said.

"Puppet seems harsh, I mean they meant well, it's just that-" Peter noticed Sandbar and Ocellus. "Hey, good to see you both."

"Hi Peter, we were just heading inside," Ocellus said.

"Good idea, it's getting a bit cold, snow's coming, and according to Rainbow Dash, it should be in about three days, or four, she wasn't sure what the Pegasus schedule was, too busy being a Wonderbolt," Peter said.

"Controlling weather like that just seems kind of strange," Bucky said.

"You get used to it," Peter said. "Wish we could do that on Earth, then we'd always have a White Christmas."

"What's Christmas?" Ocellus asked.

"Earth's version of Hearth's Warming," Peter said. "Except instead of celebrating the unity of tribes, we're celebrating a very special birthday."

"That sounds fun," Sandbar said.

"Well I won't keep you if you're busy," Peter said. "Tell the others I said 'hi', and I hope Gallus is doing well."

"He's fine, still mad at Cozy Glow since he blames her but I'm working that out," Sandbar said.

"Cozy just confided some troubles with us, we're working to make sure she feels at home here," Ocellus said.

"That's really kind of you, and if you need help, just let me know, maybe you seven can come by for dinner one day and we'll work this out," Peter said. "Maybe my daughter will pick up some social skills from you, maybe it'd shut Johnny up about her social awkwardness."

"Will do Peter," Sandbar said.

"And, just to clarify something," Peter began. "I hope you're not taking me comparing you to Twilight and her friends too seriously, I mean you are as kind as them, but know that you're your own selves."

"Nightcrawler gave me this talk, but thanks Peter," Sandbar said. "It really was an honor to be compared to Twilight."

"You deserve it, keep it up and one day, people might be compared to you as the kind hearted stallion who helped a timid young Pegasus," Peter said. "Same with the cute as a button Changeling who didn't need her powers to take the form of a loving creature."

"You're so sweet," Ocellus said. "Professor Sparkle is so lucky to have a guy as nice as you as her husband, I hope I can meet someone with your charm."

"He might be closer than you think," Peter said, briefly eyeing Sandbar with a smug smile.

"Uh...we're just friends," Sandbar said, trying to hide his blush, same with Ocellus.

"That's how it always starts bud," Peter said. "Anyway I'm glad you're smart enough to know what I meant, looks like Rumble's the one who needs that pounded into his head. Can't help but feel like this is my fault, maybe he got spoiled too much when he lived with me and the family."

"Maybe he'll turn around," Ocellus said.

"Yeah, just use your Spider-Mane charm to help guide him," Sandbar said.

"Will do, see you both later," Peter said as the two groups went their separate ways.

---

Meanwhile in the Friendship Dorms, Cozy Glow happily jumped on her bed, thinking about the two friends dear to her heart. "I love Sandbar and Ocellus so much, I want to be with them forever. Add Rumble to that and I have my perfect group of friends, my best friends and my lover. Maybe I'll let Rumble's filly friends hang out with me too, I'd be surrounded by Friendship, and all the power that comes with it! That's just the start, soon I'll grow from being the true successor to the Element of Magic, to being head mare of this school, to being the new Princess of Friendship. I will have it all!"

"Cozy Glow?" Came a voice that belonged to Starlight Glimmer. "Is everything alright? I thought I heard you yelling."

"Uh...I'm reading a book! Guess I read too loud!" Cozy Glow said.

"I know that feeling! Try to keep it down, it might bother all the students, but have fun!" Starlight said, then left Cozy Glow to her business.

Cozy sighed in relief, "That was close, note to self, keep monologues of power to a lower volume." Suddenly a letter popped into the room, Cozy Glow opening it up, recognizing who it's from. "A mission to find some old bell? When am I gonna have time to do that!? Also who's Grogar?" She quickly began writing her own letter in response, hoping to get some answers.

---

Ponyville was having a peaceful night, and the citizens there seemed satisfied, however things were not going too well in Manehattan.

Daredevil, Elektra, Night Thrasher, Johnny and Rainbow Dash were on the rooftop across from the Stark Industries building across the street, the Fantastic Four member deducing what could be happening.

"That stallion who was with Suri, if my guess is correct, he might be Martin Li, leader of the Demon gang back in New York," Johnny said.

"The Demon Gang? Doesn't Mr. Negative lead them?" Night Thrasher asked. "He's here in Equestria?"

"It adds up, the way some of these ponies were behaving is similar the way the ponies yesterday were behaving during Wizard's arrival. It reminds me of how strange people acted when they encountered Mr. Negative and his mind control abilities. I knew it wasn't Wizard, his method of mind control is different than what Martin Li did," Johnny said. "It even adds up to how strange The Winter Soldier was acting not too long ago, Martin did something to make him act strange."

"So now we have Mr. Negative to worry about," Daredevil said. "He caused a lot of trouble back in New York when he, along with The Kingpin and The Hood were fighting for control of the city."

"Guess he doesn't have that worry here, before he showed up, there weren't really any gangs at all to rival him," Elektra said.

"You think Suri Polomare knows who he is?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I can't say for sure, he could be controlling her too, looks like we're gonna have to go and expose him ourselves," Johnny said.

"We have to be smart about it though, it may be difficult to prove who he is given his pony form," Daredevil said.

"Hey Stark should trust our word, we just gotta catch the guy in action," Johnny said. "Let's just stand by and-"

Suddenly there was a ruckus down below, many of the Demon gang ponies were causing trouble as they began forcing their way into Stark Industries.

"Looks like they're going full scale this time around!" Elektra said.

"We have to stop them!" Daredevil said.

Before he could move, Rainbow Dash called out, "Wait, something doesn't add up, why would they suddenly do something so big tonight, especially after the commotion yesterday?"

"Hard to say, but we have to act now otherwise ponies could get hurt," Daredevil said.

"Better hurry, I think they know we're here," Night Thrasher said, gesturing to a large number Pegasus ponies flying up to their location.

Once at the top, they attempted to attack the heroes, Elektra using her martial arts to knock a couple out, Daredevil fighting with his rod, Night Thrasher using a combination of his skills and skateboard melee attacks, Rainbow Dash fighting with her speed and Johnny using some heat powered punches.

"We gotta get to the building!" Daredevil used the rope from his rod to swing over to Stark Industries, crashing through a window on the first second floor, starling the ponies there. "Everyone clear out!" He rushed to the stairs where the Demon Gang were coming up, trying to fight them off.

"Daredevil's got the right idea," Night Thrasher said. "Let's go do what we gotta do!"

It wasn't long before Elektra and Night Thrasher were brough to the ground level, fighting off as many Demons as possible to make room for the others to safely evacuate.

Johnny and Rainbow Dash flew into the middle floor to intercept some Pegasus Demons. Dash used her speed to hit as many places as she could while Johnny saw to it that ponies were able to escape.

"Thankfully there aren't that many, maybe fifty at max," Johnny said. "Still, it's amazing how many ponies Mr. Negative has at his disposal." Suddenly he heard a pony screaming for help, "Oh crap!"

As Johnny went to find the pony, the other heroes were battling across the first floor, many of the Unicorn Demons trying to blast them with their magic. Night Thrasher rushed in and knocked a few out and kept going. "I'll try upstairs!"

"Be careful!" Daredevil said.

One of them tried to attack a couple of mares, but Elektra quickly elbowed him in the stomach and knocked him over. She spotted one trying to make a run for it, so she readied her sai, "You're not going anywhere!"

"Elektra!" Daredevil rushed in to deflect the sai toward a pipe with his rod just as she threw it, "We do not need to go that far!"

"You're too soft sometimes Matt," Elektra said, making her way toward the sai. "Have it your way."

Daredevil shook his head in shame, "I'm going to find Duane, you stay here, and don't kill anyone!"

Daredevil ran upstairs, unaware of the danger that lurked from another nearby Demon Unicorn.

Night Thrasher continued to fight off the Demons, using some tech to zap a few of the ponies, though one of the ponies he zapped got knocked toward a large computer, the circuit sparks starting a fire. "Crap, I gotta fix-"

One unicorn zapped a gas line, causing an explosion, knocking Night Thrasher back, nearly unconscious. As he sat up, he could see the damage caused, to make things worse, he could spot some ponies trying to run for safety. "I'll save you!" He had to move quickly, before it was too late.

Meanwhile on a higher floor, Johnny, unaware of some of the damage on the earlier floors, was running past a few ponies that were trying to escape enroute to the yell he heard earlier.

"Someone's got Miss Pommel hostage in her office, please save her Equine Torch!" a pony warned.

"Will do!" Johnny insisted. He finally made his way to where the yell originated, a fancy office run by Coco Pommel. The mare in question was cowering on the ground as a pony with a large naginata aimed at her stood tall.

"Mr. Negative!" Johnny called.

Indeed Martin was fully voided as his alter ego, Mr. Negative, "Johnathan Storm, what a pleasure to see you. It's been a while."

"So you're here in Equestria too, looks like Peter was right about you," Johnny said. "You're really that Lee guy from yesterday, guess the name should have given it away, not very creative."

"Lee? I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about," Martin said.

"Don't bullshit me dude, I know you two are one in the same," Johnny said.

"Hm, ma'am?" Martin turned to Coco. "Have you seen me before at all."

"Uh..." Truthfully Coco wasn't sure, he looked and sounded familiar, but she couldn't confirm if it truly was that Lee pony from before. "I..."

"It's fine, I suppose it is a silly question," Martin said.

"Look, whether you're Lee or not, it doesn't matter, I'm here to stop you, when I knock you out, then I'll expose who you truly are," Johnny said.

"I know you have no problems fighting me, Mr. Storm," Martin then used his powers on Coco. "But would you hurt a civilian?"

Suddenly she lunged to attack Johnny, the hero quickly playing defense, "Hey! Snap out of it!"

"I will fight for you Mr. Negative!" Coco said, throwing some punches, trying to get Johnny.

"Dammit, I guess I have no choice," Johnny parried a punch and karate chopped the back of her neck hard enough to knock her out. "Sorry about that, I owe you a drink or something." He looked around and saw that Martin was gone. "Hey get back here!"

He turned outside the room and threw some fire, unaware that Martin had burst a gas pipe, causing a big explosion, knocking Johnny back a bit.

That wasn't the only one, more huge explosions began to occur at different parts of the building, many of the ponies under Martin's control had used their powers to hit some gas lines, or used some of Tony's tech as makeshift explosions, in addition to the fires caused by Elektra's sais bursting pipes and Night Thrasher's accidental mishaps with his tech.

"This is terrible!" Johnny said. Moving quick, he picked Coco up from the floor and flew her to safety, placing her gently outside the building as he went back in to rescue other ponies, having gotten several out in the span of a minute.

One of the ponies he found in danger was his wife Rainbow Dash, an explosion had knocked her out and bent her wing. He picked her up, using his fire as a shield to protect them, before one final explosion shoved them out the building, landing hard on the ground.

Down below, Elektra, Daredevil and Night Thrasher had escaped, with a few ponies themselves in tow, but the damage to the building increased by the second. They weren't even sure if all the ponies were safely evacuated or not, but one thing they knew is that their plan seems to have failed. They didn't stop destruction, they caused it, it was truly a shameful moment for them.

Meanwhile Mr. Negative had safely exited the building by jumping a window onto another nearby building, using his weapon to safely travel across the sides until it was safe to land down. He looked up at the damage, feeling proud of himself and his work. This should be a good lesson to those heroes who dared to go against him.

Fading away back into Martin Li, his opinions had shifted, ponies were in danger now, and deep down, he felt remorse for his actions. He quickly got out of there as fire ponies quickly made their way to the scene.

Johnny slowly sat up, seeing the fires caused by the explosions as fire ponies quickly rushed to put them out. He turned to the side and saw his unconscious wife. "I still got work to do Dashie." He moved her to a sidewalk before flying back and trying to absorb as much fire as he could.

---

While many in Equestria did not know about this event yet, Discord did, having observed most of it from his crystal ball, joined by a few of the villains.

"Looks like Martin has made a really big impact," Discord said. "I am curious as to how The Avengers and Princess Celestia react to this, and the interesting developments that could emerge."

Getting Tangled

It was a shameful night for Johnny Storm, his wife got hurt, his allies were endangered, and a building was partially destroyed, many ponies having been injured, or worse. He felt like he failed.

He didn't know why Mr. Negative showed up, he didn't know what he wanted from this place. It could have been him trying to steal some technology, maybe he just wanted to send a message or at the very least, lure the Manehattan heroes into a trap.

He had to stop him, there was no more hiding. He would get any hero he could down here, especially Peter, given his own past with Martin and the Demons.

For now it was time to let Tony Stark and Spitfire know of his progress, and all the unfortunate damage caused by these villains. First chance he got, he flew on to Canterlot, where Luna was out watching over the night.

The Princess had spotted Johnny flying in, and she could tell he was in a hurry, "Johnny Storm!"

"Luna?" Johnny halted in his tracks, "Hey I'd love to chat, but I really gotta find Tony."

"I believe Tony Stark has returned to Earth for business, what's so urgent that you must see him right now?" Luna asked.

"There was trouble in Manehattan, his building was invaded by a gang of ponies," Johnny explained.

Luna's eyes widened a moment in surprise, "That is rather alarming, is anypony hurt?"

"A lot of ponies are hurt, including Rainbow Dash," Johnny said. "Truthfully, it's probably worse than just a few injuries."

"I am sorry to hear about Rainbow Dash, I hope it is nothing serious," Luna said. "I shall contact Tony right away."

As Luna flew to find Tony, Johnny took a deep breath, almost dreading the upcoming explanation. "Something tells me Tony's gonna be ticked."

As expected, Tony was indeed displeased when he heard about this, and had called an immediate meeting that also brought over Steve, Spitfire and Princess Celestia.

"I can't believe this! So my building got wrecked!?" Tony shouted “How!? Like how did this happen!?"

"We'll get answers Tony, right now getting worked up won't resolve the matter," Steve said.

"Those poor innocent ponies," Celestia commented to herself. "This is exactly what I have feared."

"Don't worry Celestia, we'll get to the bottom of this," Steve said.

"Oh we better, I'm ready to crack some heads," Tony said, still feeling a bit livid.

"I'm sorry this happened Mr. Stark, especially with two of my Wonderbolts present," Spitfire said. "They should have prevented this from happening."

"They likely did their best," Steve said. "This could have happened to anyone."

"The Wonderbolts are not just anyone, Captain," Spitfire said. "They're an elite group of warriors who should have handled this mess before it even began. I expected more from Johnny Storm and Rainbow Dash."

"Same here, might need to have a word or two with them, along with the three I trusted Manehattan's safety to," Tony said.

"Everyone has off days Tony," Steve said.

"An off day!?" Tony said, almost in disbelief. "Steve, an off day striking out during a little league game! Or forgetting your paperwork during the day of a board meeting! This...is beyond an off day!"

"Tony, I get this is frustrating, I'm worried too but we all mess up, even me and you," Steve said.

"Well I'm about to rectify some things," Tony said. "Anyway where is Johnny?"

"He'll be back, he just had to fly out to Manehattan to check on his wife," Luna said. "With his speed, it shouldn't take too long."

"Here he comes now," Celestia said, gesturing to the oncoming Torch.

"Hey Royals, Avengers, chief," Johnny greeted, landing down before them.

"Johnny, I need answers, what exactly happened in the city?" Celestia asked.

"Some ponies raided Tony's building and started wrecking it," Johnny explained. "Dash and I teamed up with Daredevil, Elektra and Night Thrasher to stop them but they had gotten the upper hand on us."

"Tony what's in your building that they could have wanted anyway?" Steve asked.

"Technology that would have been the future of Equestria," Tony said, this concerning Celestia a bit.

"You do not have portals there, do you?" Celestia asked.

"No Princess, the only active portal is right here in this castle, and it only goes to my Earth," Tony reassured, then focused back on Johnny. "Did they steal anything? Like what was their goal here?"

"Something was broken into on the 16th floor, we're not entirely sure what it was," Johnny said.

"I gotta look into that," Tony said, somewhat worried, then focused back on Johnny. "Anything else?"

"Well my best guess is that for the most part, Mr. Negative wanted you out of business," Johnny explained.

"Hold on, Mr. Negative?" Tony asked.

"You got a name?" Spitfire inquired.

"More than that, I saw him," Johnny said. "He held your assistant Coco hostage."

"Pardon me, but who is Mr. Negative?" Luna asked.

"A crime lord from Earth, he ran a gang called The Demons and they terrorized New York City along with a couple of other gangs," Johnny explained. "Peter usually dealt with them himself."

"So, another one of Spider-Mane's enemies came to Equestria?" Spitfire asked.

"I don't know how, but yes," Johnny said. "He's very dangerous too, he has the ability to manipulate emotions into making you a complete opposite of yourself. The nicer you are, the eviler the effects make you."

"That's rather alarming..." Luna said, worried about the possibility of that happening to anyone in this room, or any of their other allies.

"It's possible he was at the Buck Ball game the other day, Peter said he saw someone who looked familiar, and he seemed to be associated with a woman named Suri Polomare," Johnny said.

"Suri Polomare?" Tony said. "I know her, she's Coco's old boss."

"I don't know her involvement with The Demons, according to Elektra, she's been questioned constantly but she always denies knowing about anything like that," Johnny said. "Unfortunately, we can't prove if she's being honest or trying to pull one over on us."

"We'll leave that to the Manehattan heroes," Tony said. "For now, it looks like I'm going to have to assign a few more heroes there, clearly they need it the most if a villain is stationed there."

"I'll do what I can to help too," Johnny said.

"I think you've done enough Matchstick," Spitfire said. "You and Crash should stay put at the Academy for a while, we got some recruits you should train."

"That sounds important and all Spitfire, but I think finding Martin Li is a higher priority," Johnny said.

"Yes, and you're off that mission," Spitfire said. "You and your wife are staying put at the Academy until further notice."

"If you're worried about Rainbow Dash's health, I appreciate that, but I don't think she's going to want to sit back while Manehattan is under the thumb of The Demons," Johnny said. "Plus I'm itching for a little redemption after Martin tried making a fool of me."

"It's honestly not even about me being worried about Dash's health," Spitfire said. "To be blunt, I'm more worried about either of you causing anymore damage to the buildings of Manehattan. Sorry to say, but being part of the reason a building got hit with explosions is not exactly good for the image of a Wonderbolt, and I can't really have either of you going back out there and making things worse."

"Whoa, hold up there," Johnny said. "Are you saying that I'm a danger to the public or something?"

"What I'm saying is that maybe you should take some time off, control your fire a little better," Spitfire said.

"...You know who you're talking to, right chief?" Johnny asked. "I'm The Human Torch, Johnny Storm, I've had my powers for years, I have full control over what I can do. What happened earlier was just the result of an accident."

"Yes, and we want to avoid more accidents, especially to a high-profile building like Stark Industries" Spitfire said. "So until further notice, you're off duty and relegated to The Academy."

"Is this a joke?" Johnny asked.

Spitfire slowly removed her shades, looking Johnny in the eyes as she put it to him straight, "I'm one hundred percent serious Torch."

Johnny scowled at the Wonderbolts leader, turning away from her, "Fine, have it your way. See how well you do without my help."

Johnny sped off in a flash, leaving a slight fire trail behind him as he flew back to Manehattan, his main goal to be to check on the damage and his wife.

"He took that well," Tony said. "Anyway thanks for handling that Spitfire."

"Sure thing Tony, I'll whip him back into shape, and this little disaster will not happen again," Spitfire said.

"Spitfire, is it necessary to pull Johnny off for one mistake?" Steve asked.

"I know what I'm doing Cap," Spitfire said.

"Yeah, leave Spitfire to deal with The Wonderbolts," Tony said. "Meanwhile I gotta head to the city and see what needs fixing."

"I shall join you, Nighttime is my responsibility after all," Luna said.

"Appreciate the help," Tony said, gearing up his suit. "Let's fly."

The two started enroute to Manehattan to survey the damage and fix what needs fixing, and hopefully calm down any pony in distress.

"Gotta admire how hard of a worker Tony is," Spitfire said. "Well, I have my own reports to file, and some Wonderbolt Schedules to rearrange."

"Spitfire," Steve said, getting her attention. "Do what you must, but remember that Johnny Storm does more good than harm."

"Sure thing Cap, see you next meeting," Spitfire said, dashing off.

In spite of everything, Steve knew this was a really bad situation, the destruction of a Manehattan building is cause for alarm, he could only imagine what the damage was, and the innocents that have suffered because of this. What's more is that he could see this was really bothering Celestia.

"Are you fine Princess?" Steve asked, gently stroking her shoulder.

"I can't say that I am, I just don't know what's happening anymore," Celestia said. "For almost a thousand years, Equestria has seen peace, now lately it feels like the safety of my citizens is no longer a guarantee."

"I'm sorry you feel this way, I wish I could promise you that this won't happen again but...I'd be a fool to assume that," Steve said.

"Sometimes tragedy cannot be avoided, truth be told, I expected some dark times," Celestia said. "That's why I started molding Twilight to becoming a powerful Princess, I hoped she could become my successor someday. I knew she would have to one day stop Nightmare Moon, I knew one day she may have had to encounter King Sombra, and Discord. I knew there would even be danger that I wasn't aware of, such as Queen Chrysalis, or even The Storm King. But, I was not prepared for the danger that came from other worlds, even though I should have been."

"Not everyone can be prepared when it comes to invasions from other realms, Earth was not prepared for the likes of Loki or The Skrulls," Steve said.

"But I was aware of these other dimensions, I remember forbidding Sunset Shimmer from studying them out of fear of what they could bring," Celestia said. "I never imagined Twilight would summon a hero to this dimension."

"Peter mentioned it was a spell that was supposed to summon the greatest hero in the multiverse," Steve said. "He of course doubts that he's worthy of that title, as any humble man would do."

"I am curious about that spell, as much as I value Peter and I would never think less of him but, it does surprise me that he was chosen over actual Gods like Thor," Celestia said. "Maybe I can look into that spell myself, something about that night he was summoned here just does not sit well with me."

"When Peter and Twilight were on Earth years back, Twilight mentioned summoning Peter to fight a dragon," Steve said. "But shortly after Peter arrived, that dragon just left, Twilight even mentioned that book coming from seemingly nowhere."

"Are you theorizing anything?" Celestia asked.

"Perhaps...it may even tie into Discord," Steve said. "That creature's the one who has been summoning these villains to Equestria, but what is his ultimate agenda? Why is he so fascinated Earth? Is there a link between our worlds?"

"Discord is very hard to figure out I'm afraid," Celestia said. "A lot of his actions can be described as him just wanting to enjoy himself."

"Can it really be that simple?" Steve asked. "He seems to be going through a lot of trouble for the sake of having fun."

"That's Discord I'm afraid, he's always been trouble," Celestia said. "It took forever for me and my sister to do away with him, fortunately we had found The Elements of Harmony that allowed us to turn him into stone."

"Where did those Elements come from?" Steve asked.

"An old tree, if my memory serves me correctly, it is somewhere within the Everfree Forest," Celestia said

"Does Twilight know about it?" Steve asked.

"I doubt it, she's never had any reason to go there," Celestia said. "I don't think anyone has seen the tree in a thousand years."

"A thousand years? That's quite a long time," Steve said.

"For most ponies, yes, for me, it doesn't feel as long," Celestia said. "Time moves differently for me than it does for you."

"Thor has told me something similar," Steve said. "Immortal beings probably see the average mortal life as a quick blip in the radar."

"I try not to see it that way, whenever I meet a pony, I always do my best to make my time with them count," Celestia said. "I may have outlived many good friends, but I will always treasure their memory."

"Memories, that's all we can keep of those closest to us," Steve said. "Being frozen for decades, there are a lot of friends from my childhood that have gotten old, some have even passed on."

"It must have been quite a shock to go through that, to exist in one time period and wake up in another," Celestia said.

"Oh it was, I felt like a fish out of water," Steve said. "Everything was so new; I just couldn't believe it. I almost felt like an old man at times, I felt so out of touch with society. Thankfully Tony and the other Avengers helped me out, but the new era took some getting used to."

"Tony's a good friend," Celestia said.

"He is, his heart's always in the right place," Steve said. "Can't say the same for his mind half the time."

"Huh? What does that mean?" Celestia asked.

"Tony is a very intelligent man but, he's too much of a big picture guy, he looks too far into the future that he doesn't always see what's in front of him," Steve said. "He's a visionary to the extreme. Not a terrible quality, but it comes with its own risks."

Celestia grew a little worried, "This really does not make me feel too confident in The Accords. I mean, I apologize if this is pessimistic sounding but, sometimes it does seem like Tony is treating this more like an experiment rather than anything serious. I would rather he not use Equestria as some type of test run."

"Tony wouldn't do that," Steve reassured, though part of his began to wonder. "Would he?"

"I suppose he wouldn't actually do such a thing, I should try to have more faith in him, he's a good man after all," Celestia said. "Truthfully though, the idea of Equestria being a technology thriving place does worry me. I don't know how my little ponies will acclimate to Earth technology."

"Hopefully at a slow pace, it's rather refreshing to come here and see the same amount of technology I had growing up," Steve said. "Nowadays cellphones have turned into little TV sets! Ones people are now obsessed with, and they keep putting a number sign before every word."

"It sounds quite unusual," Celestia said. Truthfully she didn't really know too much of what Steve was talking about, but she imagined it's part of his own future shock.

"It is, I mean...maybe I'm just being and old man but I do worry people have gotten way too attatched to technology," Steve said. "I just hope Tony doesn't do the same with these ponies."

"I'll do my best not to allow that, of course I probably don't have many years left as a ruler," Celestia said. "I should hope that when Twilight succeeds me, she and Peter will keep Equestria on a proper path."

"How much longer until your retirement?" Steve asked.

"Maybe in a couple more years, Luna and I will pass Equestria down to Peter and Twilight," Celestia said.

"It's a big responsibility, I hope Peter and Twilight are ready for it," Steve said.

"In time, they will be," Celestia said. "For now, I must continue to guide them, the future of Equestria rests with them."

---

In the city, both Tony and Luna were surveying the damage caused by the Demon gang, the fires were being put out and many ponies were carefully evacuated from the area, but the damage was bad, and Tony knew that some ponies were not as lucky as others.

"I can't believe this," Tony commented, worried not for his building, but for the ponies who were affected, ponies who called him 'boss'. "How could it get this bad?"

"Our world is still not safe from the threat of villains," Luna commented.

"Mr. Stark! Princess Luna!" Came the voice of Coco Pommel, the pony quickly making her way toward Tony and Luna.

"Coco?" Tony quickly checked on the mare, looking for any possible sign of injury. "You don't seem hurt."

"I'm fine, I did feel a bit funny before, one minute I'm staring at this scary looking pony, the next...I have vague memories of attacking Equine Torch," Coco said, rubbing her head. "It was all so strange."

"Wait, scary pony?" Tony asked. "What exactly did he look like?"

"He was as black as a void with a bright white mane, pupils and outline," Coco explained. "He had this really weird blade too."

"Was he called 'Mister Negative' by any chance?" Tony asked.

"Uh, yeah, that's what Equine Torch called him, he accused him of being somepony named Lee," Coco said.

"Well Johnny's story checks out then, Mr. Negative is somewhere in Equestria," Tony said.

"Miss Pommel!" Came Daredevil's voice, the hero trotting over to the mare. "You shouldn't run off like that, everyone needs to stay together for just a bit longer."

"Sorry, I figured I'd let my boss know that I'm safe," Coco explained.

Daredevil could sense the presence of Tony and Luna, very curious by their sudden arrival. Of course Tony would come to check on his building, he figured Johnny explained everything to him, "I'll have a word, go and stay with the others."

"Yes sir," Coco said, trotting back to the group of worker ponies.

"Nice mare, hope she'll be alright," Daredevil commented, then focused his attention on Tony. "Quite a night this was."

"Bet it was, luckily for you, Johnny already gave me the run down, so I know what happened," Tony said. "What I would like to know is how this got so bad! I trusted you along with Elektra and Night Thrasher to keep this town safe! This is the opposite of safe!"

"We did what we could to stop them, but this attack was more planned out than we thought," Daredevil said.

"Do you at least know why these ponies showed up and annihilated my building!?" Tony asked.

"Unfortunately no," Daredevil said, this answer not sitting well with Tony. "This is probably the biggest thing I've seen this newly formed gang do."

"Did you at least capture some of their guys? Like hopefully they can tell us something, anything to confirm this rumor that Mr. Negative was behind this," Tony said, still feeling a bit irritated.

"I have no doubts that he is, a lot of the ponies here bear a similar mark to the Demons back in New York, they were definitely affected by Mr. Negative," Daredevil confirmed.

"Is there a reason you haven't caught on sooner?" Luna asked. "Haven't you captured any of these ponies before?"

"That's the strange thing, it's like once they're in our custody, their memory is mostly wiped, the only thing they can recall is some sinister pony giving them orders," Daredevil explained. "Mr. Negative did not want to leave any traces."

"Well he left one hell of a trace tonight," Tony said.

"We'll put a stop to this Tony, we already had one lead prior to tonight, and it looks like it's gotten stronger," Daredevil said. "If this Lee pony is Martin in disguise, we should be able to track him to his newly formed business and apprehend him there."

"Do you believe you can get him to admit such a thing?" Luna asked.

"This isn't the first time I've dealt with a crime lord, plus no one can hide the truth from me," Daredevil said. "I'm quite good at telling if someone's being honest or not just from the sound of their heartbeat."

"It's true, he's like a living lie detector," Tony explained to Luna.

"Wow, that’s quite fascinating," Luna said. "Is it that easy for you?"

"Sometimes people can be good at deception, but everyone slips up sooner or later," Daredevil said. "I will admit though, Mr. Negative is a bit unusual compared to other crime lords, but I have the confidence to put a stop to him."

"Just make it fast, I don't want another incident like this happening again, I'm trying to prove to Celestia that the Accords can keep ponies safe and letting these things happen is the complete opposite of my plan," Tony said.

"I will work as fast as I can Tony," Daredevil said. "Justice will be served."

"I hope so, otherwise I'll find someone else who can," Tony said. "Lives are at stake Daredevil, I need the ponies of this town to be safe, especially those under my employment."

"Everyone will be kept safe, we’ll try harder," Daredevil said. "With Elektra and Night Thrasher by my side too, we'll get the job done."

"We'll leave it to you Daredevil," Luna said, then turned her attention to Tony. "We should go back to Canterlot."

"Hey, any chance you can get Johnny to come back? We could use his help again," Daredevil said.

"Don't count on it, Spitfire was pretty pissed that this happened, Johnny's off duty for a bit and relegated to training new recruits at the academy," Tony said.

"Huh? Over one mistake?" Daredevil asked.

"This is one massive mistake, be glad she's not your supervisor," Tony said. "Same with Rainbow Dash I think, you should probably let her know when you see her."

"Tony, that doesn't make any sense, Johnny Storm and Rainbow Dash are more useful to us here than he is at an Academy!" Daredevil said.

"Rules are rules," Tony said, activating his suit again. "Remember, I'm trying to be the nice guy here, so I want to give you another chance, but that's all I can give you. This isn't New York, things are different now.”

Tony then flew off, Luna flying right behind him while leaving Daredevil in a state of disbelief. "This is ridiculous. I'll need a word with this Spitfire lady."

The following morning, word of what happened in Manehattan began to spread, this information reaching the Parker-Sparkle home with Peter having just been informed by Johnny himself.

"So Mr. Negative is here," Peter commented, the hero looking worried. "I was afraid of that."

"He caused big time damage at Tony's Manehattan building," Johnny explained. "A lot of ponies did not get out unscathed, for some it was worse."

"Still, why would Martin come here? Is he after me? Or is this just one of Discord's strange plans?" Peter wondered.

"Daredevil's gonna look into that with Elektra and Night Thrasher, they could use your help on this," Johnny said. "Tony deputized you to go to any town you want, so feel free to pass by."

"I will, first thing's first though, I gotta find Felicia and get some information from her," Peter said. "Tony wants me and Luna to go to someplace called Klugetown, but it's risky since it's not technically an Equestrian nation, sending an Equestrian Princess and an Equestrian hero who happens to be a Prince may raise some eyebrows. We'll need Felicia's help to be sneaky."

"Sounds like you're gonna be busy, same with me given that I'm relegated to training at the Academy," Johnny lamented.

"Huh? What happened?" Peter asked.

"Since I technically failed my mission, Dash and I got demoted, total bullshit," Johnny said.

"Demoted? You are two of her best flyers and heroes, that doesn't sound like Spitfire to demote you," Peter said.

"Tell her that," Johnny said. "I'm gonna raise hell about this but for now I gotta play it nice and safe."

"Sorry to hear about that," Peter said, then took note of some oncoming company. "Here comes your sister."

Johnny turned to see Susan along with Derpy and Franklin, "Hey sis."

"Johnny, didn't expect to see you here," Susan said.

"I had to let Peter know about an incident in the city," Johnny said. "Truthfully, I'm kind of worried about what might be happening in Equestria, so be extra careful Sue."

"I can take care of myself Johnny, don't you worry," Susan reassured.

"Yeah, guess you can keep a lookout," Johnny said, then turned his attention to his nephew. "Sup Franklin, having fun with Peter's daughter?"

"A little, she's at least talking to me more," Franklin said.

"Just keep at it, show her the joys of socialization," Johnny said.

"Hey Peter, are you ever going to send Mayday to the School of Friendship?" Derpy asked.

"Maybe when she's a bit older, right now Twilight and I are doing fine with her education," Peter said. "And Franklin covers the socialization at least."

"You might need a bit more, so I was thinking we invite the Cake Twins over," Derpy said. "That way she gets to hang out with more kids."

"If you say so," Peter said. "Well I should go now, gotta find Felicia, plus I want to visit Twilight, see how she's coming along."

"Tell her 'hi' from me," Johnny said, extending his wings. "I gotta head back to Manehattan to check on Dash."

Both heroes sped off in different directions, leaving Susan, Franklin and Derpy to themselves for the moment.

"Things have really gotten busy lately," Susan said. "For better or worse."

"I'm not worried about the worse, we have Peter and the other heroes keeping this world safe, plus with the help of both your husband and mine, I think we'll be fine," Derpy said.

"It's good to be optimistic, but too much could cause a being to lower their guard," Susan said. "Of course, too much of the opposite leads to extreme measures taken, the middle ground is often hard to find."

"I wish Mayday had more of a middle ground," Franklin said.

"She's getting there, go and find her,” Susan said.

"Sure thing mom," Franklin said, going inside to find the girl he hoped to befriend, a task difficult in its own right.

---

Meanwhile Peter had gotten close to the hospital, but on the way there, he spotted Rumble trotting with Wind Sprint and Dinky, the trio walking in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres, likely to at the very least see Apple Bloom.

"Hey kids!" Peter called.

"Huh?" Rumble turned around and spotted the hero he so idolized. "Hey it's Peter, neat." He led the mares over, "Hey Peter, what's up?"

"I'm off to see Twilight at the hospital, and hopefully find Felicia afterward," Peter said.

"Felicia usually patrols near the Carousel Boutique, mainly so she can window shop on the side," Rumble said. "But what's this about Twilight being in the hospital?"

"She's going into labor, it's taking a lot out of her since she's been super busy despite being pregnant," Peter explained.

"Hope she’s going alright," Rumble said, feeling worried for the mare.

"She'll be fine, Princess Twilight is the strongest pony in Eqestria after all, aside from Celestia," Dinky said. "At least among ponies born in Equestria, but she's still stronger than a lot of heroes."

"That's a bold claim," Peter said. "You have a lot of faith in Twilight."

"Well I've looked up to her for a few years, I never went all fangirl crazy like Scootaloo does with Rainbow Dash, but I still hold Twilight in high regard," Dinky said. "She's one of five Alicorn Princesses and has a lot more battle experience. Cadance isn't much of a fighter, Flurry is a toddler, and she surpassed Luna a few times, first time being when she was Nightmare Moon."

"Remember, Twilight had help from her friends on that one," Peter said.

"Yes, but she did well despite being just a Unicorn at the time, now she's an Alicorn, a strong one too," Dinky said. "I heard about her fight with that Saiyan guy, Goku. He defeated Luna but he fought Twilight to a draw, and I heard he had to power up just to match against her, I wouldn't be surprised if Twilight surpasses Princess Celestia one day, even Doc believes she has the latent power to do so. I remember him discussing that with Professor Richards."

"You're not wrong on that Dinky, I mean Luna and Celestia could barely take on those Capcom villains, while Twilight held her own against them, same with the mind-controlled Avengers," Rumble said. "And when that big fight against The Green Goblin was broadcast, Twilight was the one who dealt the final blow after Luna lost. So yeah, Twilight's definitely the strongest."

"Oh yeah, that was not a pretty fight, especially when..." Dinky remembered Peter was right there, not a good moment to bring up him going Nightmare mode after hearing about what happened to Gwen Stacy. "Well you get the point."

"You two know so much about them, I'm kind of jealous," Wind Sprint said.

"You're new, and you have plenty of chances to see awesome stuff when you're with us," Rumble said. "You already saw a villain up close, stick with us and you'll see some pretty amazing stuff."

"Well I was at Canterlot when those other villains showed up, so I guess I had a good start," Wind Sprint said.

"It gets so much better, I missed some stuff myself but all the cool things I did see, out of this world, literally," Dinky said.

"Wow, hearing you kids talk about stuff like this, you sound like comic book fans," Peter said.

"We have talks like this all the time, apparently Wind Sprint here is very much used to it," Rumble said.

"Quibble talks like this when it comes to the Power Ponies, and sometimes with Daring Do as well," Wind Sprint said. "That reminds me, I think he was hoping to have some comics from your world."

"I can work that out for you," Peter said.

"He'd like that, I would too actually," Wind Sprint said. "I mean, I'm more into sports than books, but you heroes are like athletes yourselves, if nothing else, I'd love to hear more about your rivalry with Capcom. My mom actually took me to see your Tournament a few years back, I think it was the first time I really saw you in action."

"Wind Sprint has a lot of theories already based on who's truly the strongest in Capcom," Rumble said.

"My money is on Dante, he just hits harder," Wind Sprint said.

"You want hard hitting, that's where Chun-Li comes in," Dinky said.

"But Ryu actually made Peter sweat," Rumble said.

"Wait, wasn't one of them a literal Goddess?" Dinky asked. "Kind of hard to be stronger than a God."

"Well Hulk comes close," Peter said.

"Oh yeah, The Hulk!" Rumble said, flexing his arm to imitate the hero in question. "Surprised he's not around as much, I bet he could take out so many bad guys."

"Well most of his strength comes from his anger, but that also means he loses control a lot," Peter pointed out. "A lot of us heroes actually have trading cards and comics that detail our abilities if you want to check for yourselves."

"That'd be awesome!" Rumble said. "Wait about Capcom though? Oh, has Twilight and her friends gotten any?"

"Aren't there heroes from other worlds too?" Dinky asked.

"I don't know much outside of Capcom, except for the world Superman is from," Peter said. "I'm not sure if any of you remember Cloud Strife, but he's pretty strong himself. Of course power isn't everything. It's like Chun-Li says, 'There's more to fighting than Brute Strength'."

"Chun-Li's so awesome," Dinky said, trying to get into a fighting stance. "I wish I could kick like that."

She tried one kick and fell over, Rumble quickly catching her. "Whoa there Dinky."

"Thanks Rumble," Dinky said, getting back on her hooves. "One day, I'll be just as cool."

"With training from Laura, you could be on your way," Rumble said.

"You start like a Crouching Tiger, then you find your Hidden Dragon," Peter said, getting a confused reaction from the trio.

"Huh? Crouching Tiger? What Dragon is hidden?" Rumble asked.

"Never mind, point is if you're serious about training, just take your time. Seems like you already found your teacher, not sure how you got Laura to agree, but she seems to be good when it comes to kids so it's not that surprising," Peter said. "Even Shang Chi wasn't an expert in a day."

"I don't know who that is, but I bet he's cool," Dinky said.

"He is," Peter replied. "I guess I should leave you to what you were doing."

"It's all good, always happy to chat with you Peter," Rumble said, about to trot off.

"Oh, before I forget Rumble," Peter said. "I've noticed you haven't been on the friendliest terms with Sandbar's friends."

Rumble groaned in annoyance, his two friends doing the same as the colt looked back to Peter, "What about it?"

"Is there like a reason you don't like him?" Peter asked. "I mean, I'm not saying you have to be friends with him but I am gonna need you to try and not antagonize him or his friends."

"I'm just reminding them that I exist, along with my own team," Rumble said. "They did kind of show up and assert themselves."

"How exactly?" Peter asked. "They're just students at the School of Friendship. Is this because I compared them to Twilight and her friends?"

"Yeah, it made them feel superior to all of us, we had to deflate their ego," Rumble said.

"Meanwhile you developed your own ego," Peter seemed a bit disappointed with Rumble's actions. "I'm sorry if anything said made you feel like you're less than you are, but I never meant anything serious about it. You need to worry about being yourself rather than trying to be like someone else, because he best thing anyone can be, is themselves, so you gotta figure out your own path. No more of this rivalry with Sandbar and this whole, you'll be the next Elements thing."

Rumble briefly turned to the two mares beside him, getting a shrug from the two of them before turning back to Peter, "Alright, we'll back off a bit."

"That's my dude, I'll catch you later," Peter said, quickly making his way to the hospital.

After he was gone, Wind Sprint turned back to Rumble, "So what now?"

"We go to Sweet Apple Acres," Rumble said. "Let's not even worry about Sandbar, I mean we beat him at the Buck Ball game, so we're already better."

"Got a good point there," Dinky said. "Anyway, so here's a good one. How strong is Peter compared to Superman?"

"He said he wouldn't even try fighting him, his world is so strong that even Capcom wouldn't dare challenge them," Rumble said.

"Wow, that's amazing," Wind Sprint said, following her friends to Sweet Apple Acres.

---

It wasn't long before Peter arrived at the Hospital, where he was immediately greeted by a friendly voice, "Hi Peter!"

Turning to the side he saw Fluttershy, alongside Logan, the two sitting together in the waiting room. "Didn't expect to see you two here."

"We're here to check on Twilight," Fluttershy explained. "Logan already came by yesterday but his visit was cut short."

"I'm hoping she made better progress today," Logan said. "Kind of worried about her, she's been in that room fer a while."

"I appreciate your concern, I'm actually worried about her myself, I'm gonna try to get in there," Peter said.

"Doctor said they're running some tests, once they're done we should be able to go inside," Logan said, then took notice of Redheart trotting over. "Guess she's ready now."

"Oh Spider-Mane, it's great that you're here," Red Heart said. "Your wife's about to have her baby!"

"Wait really!?" Peter said in disbelief.

"Now!?" Logan asked, standing up alongside Fluttershy.

"She's in the process right now! Your baby is coming!" Red Heart said.

"Oh boy, um..." Peter looked around in panic. "Uh...what should I do!?"

"You should know! This is your second child!" Logan said.

"I fainted the first time, so I don't remember," Peter explained, getting a look of pity from Logan.

"Seriously! Just come with me Parker!" Logan said, leading both Peter and Fluttershy into the back to find Twilight.

"Hey wait, Mr. Wolverine! You technically can't just go back there!" Red Heart called. "Mr. Wol...oh forget it." She quickly rushed to the back to check on Twilight as well, wanting to make sure the baby was properly delivered.

It wasn't long before the miracle of birth took place, Twilight had given birth to a healthy baby colt, little Benjy Parker-Sparkle. Twilight held the colt in her forelegs while Peter laid beside her, keeping his wife and son close.

"He looks just like you," Twilight said. "Our little Benjy."

"He really is a sweet little guy," Peter said, gently touching his son's mane. "Hey Benjy, recognize us yet?"

"Peter, he's asleep," Twilight playfully reminded.

"Silly me, got caught up in the moment," Peter said. "Wow, our first son. I can't wait til we can bring him home. Mayday and Trixie are going to love him. So is Aunt May."

"Spike and Janet will be happy too," Twilight said. "Same with all of our friends."

"Of course, they're all family too," Peter said, still gawking at seeing his son. "Amazing, we made this guy, together. He exists because of us."

"Being parents is an amazing experience, to know that we bring life into this world, and this is our second time doing do," Twilight said.

"Would you consider more?" Peter asked.

"Maybe after I recover from this one," Twilight said. "Being pregnant is great but quite limiting and exhausting."

"At least next time you want to uncover the past, you can do so without losing your breath," Peter joked.

"Excuse me," Red Heart said, getting their attention. "Wolverine and Fluttershy wish to see you."

"Send them back in," Peter said.

Within seconds, the couple had returned to the room per Red Heart informing them of their permission. Earlier they had left after Twilight finished giving birth to give the parents alone time with their son, now they want to see this baby boy for themselves.

"Fluttershy, Logan, meet Benjy," Peter introduced, gesturing to his sleeping son.

"Aw, he's adorable," Fluttershy said, leaning in, not too close, but just enough to get a better look at him.

"Really takes after the two of ya," Logan said. "Congrats on yer second kid, I know you'll raise him right, just like yer doing with Mayday."

"Thanks Logan, I still can't believe I have two kids, one son and one daughter," Peter said. "Just like Reed and Sue."

"That's just more foals to love, you're a lucky Pony Peter, you too Twilight," Fluttershy said.

"I feel lucky because I had two good friends keeping an eye on my wife while I was helping with The Accords," Peter said. "I really appreciate you two being here for Twilight."

"Twilight is one of my dearest friends, it's no trouble at all," Fluttershy said.

"Someone's gotta have yer back Parker, and helping Twilight is a pleasure all its own," Logan said. "Remember Twilight, myself, Janet and the other guys owe you a big debt fer giving a chance at happiness in this world."

"It was my pleasure," Twilight said, then turned to Peter. "That reminds me, has anything of interest come up regarding the Accords? Or anything regarding The Avengers?"

"Well Cap's friend Bucky is training those four villagers we met at Starlight's village, and Tony recently got more heroes to come on over," Peter said.

"That's nice, good progress," Twilight said.

"Also, I may be going on a mission with Luna to some place called Klugetown," Peter said.

"Klugetown? Isn't that where Felicia went a couple of years back?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, I actually have to consult with her about it," Peter said. "Mostly since Luna and I might be breaking a few rules going there."

"Seriously? So Stark, who's trying to establish order, wants to break a few rules in the process," Logan said. "This is why I never bothered with this Accords nonsense, in the end even Stark himself would violate his own rules just to do whatever he feels like doing, and I ain't getting mixed up in that. Give it time and soon he'll forget all about this Accords stuff."

"But if he doesn't try, what would that mean for the heroes?" Peter asked. "He's doing this so Celestia won't send anyone back to Earth."

"Peter, be real, you think Celestia would actually do that?" Logan asked. "I know she's worried because of all the villains but I can't see her being that rash. The heroes just gotta keep stepping up to the plate whenever there's trouble, because the villains aren't just from Earth, we've seen a couple of native ones."

"Still, I'm gonna keep giving these Accords a chance, I just want to make sure everyone's happy," Peter said. "Celestia already sealed away Capcom and Square, so we know she is somewhat serious about all this."

"I think that was mostly done to make any portal Discord makes a lot easier to spot," Twilight said.

"Lot of good that's doing, Wizard still got into this world, and now Mr. Negative is somewhere in Manehattan," Peter said.

"Mr. Negative?" Fluttershy asked.

"A guy who can manipulate emotions, potentially turn you into the complete opposite of what you are," Peter explained.

"Oh, that sounds kind of like what Discord did to me and our friends, huh Twilight," Fluttershy said.

"Yes, that is quite similar," Twilight agreed.

"He may have already struck at the Buck Ball game where Wizard and Scorcher showed up, that's how I got the hunch he was here," Peter said. "I saw a pony who looked almost like Martin Li, really set off my spider sense, so I asked Johnny to look into it. He confirmed it last night when Martin and his Demon Gang struck Stark Industries, Johnny spotted Mr. Negative holding Coco Pommel hostage, then he got away."

"Is Coco alright?" Fluttershy asked.

"She is, Johnny confirmed she got hit with Negative's powers but she's not hurt," Peter reassured. "I might need to look into that myself, after I talk with Felicia and set up for Klugetown."

"Sounds like you're gonna be busy," Fluttershy said.

"It's not a lot, just gotta manage time, did that a lot on Earth, juggling school, friends and superhero work, I wasn't perfect but it's gotta be done," Peter said.

"Well don't push yourself too hard, powers or not, you're not Superman," Twilight said.

"Even Superman can't do everything by himself, that's why he formed The Justice League," Logan said.

"Look, I'm not gonna go overboard if that's what everyone's worried about, I trust that until I sort out this Mr. Negative situation that Daredevil and his team will keep things as safe as possible," Peter said. "He's got plenty of experience with this stuff, in fact he helped me out big time when dealing with The Kingpin. Truthfully I'm grateful that he and The Hood aren't in Equestria as well."

"For now, keep an eye out," Logan said. "Not to worry you but if Martin Li can pop up out of nowhere, so could those two."

"I'm fully aware of that," Peter said.

"Why don't you contact Tony later and see if he could check on Earth, see which villains are present so we have less to worry about," Twilight said.

"Good call, that should keep things in order," Peter said.

"You worry about that later, right now maybe we should focus less on what's happening and be grateful for this moment," Logan said. "You two are parents again, enjoy yourselves while the rest of us keep an eye on things."

"We will, I should be able to bring Benjy home tomorrow, we'll have a housewarming party," Twilight said. "We'll invite our friends, you two can bring Laura, Lightning Dust and Rina."

"Wouldn't miss it for anything Twilight," Fluttershy said.

"Peter, let Luna know as soon as possible about Benjy, she'll want to see him too, Twilight said.

"Is she going to be the baby's Godmother like she is with Mayday?" Fluttershy asked.

"It seems only fitting," Twilight said. "Of course Johnny expressed interest in being a Godfather to Benjy and Mayday."

"You two would make pretty good Godparents yourselves," Peter said.

"We're flattered, but I think it would mean more to Luna if you stuck with her," Fluttershy said.

"Not that we won't be around to help guide your son like we do with Mayday," Logan said. "Because we know you'll do the same fer Rina."

"Excuse me," Red Heart said, getting their attention. "I need to take the baby in for some tests."

"Sure," Twilight said, giving the baby in her forelegs to Red Heart, albeit hesitantly.

"We should be going ourselves; I have to start preparing dinner for everyone," Fluttershy said.

"Dinner? I still haven't even had lunch yet, kind of hungry," Logan commented.

"The nurse offered you food though, why didn't you take any?" Fluttershy asked.

"I ain't eating hospital food, I need real food," Logan said.

"There's nothing wrong with hospital food, don't be so picky with what you eat," Fluttershy said.

"It's not about being picky, I just need something that's actually filling and doesn't taste like shit," Logan said.

"Watch your mouth in front of Benjy!" Fluttershy scolded.

"He doesn't understand what I'm saying!" Logan argued.

"He could, babies can develop early," Fluttershy said.

"Not when that baby was literally just born," Logan insisted.

While the two bickered for a bit, Peter awkwardly shifted close to Twilight, almost unable to keep his eyes off the two. "Will you be alright? I need to see Felicia but I can wait if you need me to."

"No that's fine, go do what you need to do for Tony, I could use a nap honestly," Twilight said.

"Good, I'll be back as soon as I can," Peter said, about to leave.

"Oh, if you do, can you bring me a hayburger...or three," Twilight said. "Kind of feeling a crave."

"See, she probably hates the hospital food too," Logan said.

Fluttershy turned away in annoyance, "You're such a pain sometimes Lolo."

"Don't call me that in public!" Logan almost pleaded.

"I'm leaving now..." Peter said, awkwardly shifting to the window and thwipping away, leaving Logan and Fluttershy to bicker a bit more as Twilight shifted off to sleep, too tired to be bothered by the couple, figuring it best to let them resolve this.

---

Peter was still in a state of pleasure, his second son had just been born, he's a father again, and his family continued to grow. He wanted to tell his friends, but first thing was first, he had to find Felicia, and just like he was told, she was standing near The Carousel Boutique, conversing with three of Rarity's apprentices, Lily Lace, Starstreak and Inky Rose.

"So like, do you get discounts because you work with Rarity or..." Felicia spotted Peter as he landed nearby. "Hey stud!"

The three fashion ponies turned to Peter's direction, Lily being the first to comment, "Oh wow, it's Spider-Mane!"

"Hey ponies, I need to talk to Felicia, it's urgent business," Peter said.

"That's like, totally good with us," Lily said, then turned back to Felicia. "We'll give you two a moment, we gotta help Rarity anyway. Apparently Tony Stark commissioned a bunch of outfits from her, I think it's for all the heroes, she could use all the help she can get."

"We're hoping for Miss Pommel to join us as well," Starstreak said. "But, rumor is that she ran into some unfortunate trouble last night."

"Those rumors are true, she was taken hostage by a villain," Peter said. "Johnny Storm saved her so she's fine, but she won't be around to help today."

"Poor girl, we should like, totally send her a card, she literally could use some cheering up," Lily said.

"Yes, I agree, we fashionists must look out for one another," Starstreak said. "Come along now."

As two of them went inside, Inky Rose stopped to briefly check over Peter's outfit, "Hey, have you tried a black color scheme?"

"I already did once, not my finest memory," Peter said.

"Aw, but you looked so cute," Felicia teased. "And so dangerous."

"Felicia..." Peter scolded, then turned to Lily. "If you want to talk black color schemes, there's a few heroes who specialize in that, some that seem your speed too, assuming they even come to Equestria."

"Alright, shame though, black would suit you pretty well," Inky Rose said as she made her way inside the Boutique.

"Come to see me handsome?" Felicia asked.

Peter rolled his eyes, even with Felicia' so-called sudden interest in the female sex, she still made time to be flirty with him, "Yeah, it's about your mission in Klugetown a couple of years back."

"Want to hear more about my daring escapade?" Felicia asked.

"Something like that, I have a mission to do there but Tony wants me to be as discreet as possible about it," Peter said.

"A discreet mission?" Felicia asked, getting eager. "Ooh, can I come?"

"Ask Tony, but I'm pretty sure he just wants it to be me and Luna," Peter said.

"Oh, what a shame, I'd hate to miss out, after all, being sneaky is a specialty of mine," Felicia got in close, smiling seductively. "Really comes in handy when it comes to getting what I want."

Peter took a step back, cautiously eyeing Felicia. "Let's not do this, can you just help me out for a second?"

"Sure, I'll play along," Felicia said, winking at Peter.

"Also, don't do anything that might upset Twilight, she does not need the stress right now, and neither do I," Peter said.

"Oh you worry too much, it's not like I'm into stallions after all," Felicia said in a flirty tone.

"When you say stuff like that, then act the way you do, it's really hard to tell if you're being for real or not," Peter said.

"Oh I'm just teasing, you always were so susceptible to that," Felicia said. "Now, what did you want to ask me?"

---

Things went slow the rest of the day, aside from the rumblings in Manehattan, many ponies still shaken up over the battle at Stark Industries. Martin stood in his office, staring out the window as he saw Suri yelling at the trio of Daredevil, Elektra and Night Thrasher, all of whom wanted to question Martin.

"I told you that my partner had nothing to do with what happened to Tony Stark's building!" Suri argued.

"Ma'am, we understand that this is a frustrating situation for you, but we do have reason to believe this friend of yours could be connected to the gang that is threatening the ponies of this city," Daredevil said.

"I bet Rarity put you up to this, probably convinced Spider-Mane to send his hero buddies to destroy what I am trying to build," Suri said.

"We're running out of patience, move by choice or be moved by force!" Elektra warned.

"Touch me and I'll make you regret it!" Suri warned.

"Elektra, let me," Daredevil said, moving his partner aside. "Miss Polomare, you have to move aside and let us see your partner."

"The sooner you cooperate, the sooner we'll leave," Night Thrasher reassured.

"Assuming we don't bust your partner first," Elektra warned.

Suri groaned in annoyance, "Fine, but after today, I don't want to see any of you near my business, otherwise I will take it up straight with Tony Stark himself!"

Elektra looked infuriated; this mare certainly had a lot of nerve. "Just step aside."

Martin awaited their arrival, knowing he would have to try and explain things to them in a way that diverts their suspicion. Fortunately, Suri seems to know a couple of good lawyers.

---

A day had passed, it was time for Twilight to go home with Benjy, and what a welcome home it was. Pinkie had gathered a bunch of Twilight's friends for a little birthday party for the newborn baby colt.

Pinkie was there of course along with Deadpool, Lil Cheese, Elanor and the Cake Twins, the latter going to play with Mayday, or rather watch her work while they mostly played with Franklin. The boy had come once again with his mother and Derpy, this time the two mares bringing gifts for Twilight and her son. Dinky was there too, accompanying Derpy, and hoping to see her friends.

Of course, at the party were the other residents of the home, those being Trixie, Aunt May, Spike, Janet, Hope, and occasionally Starlight. Scott Lang had gone by as well, hoping to chat with some friends there. Firestar also stopped by for a moment, seeing the baby quickly and leaving to resume her patrol.

Fluttershy had come over with Logan, Lightning Dust and Rina, Applejack had come over with Remy, Oliver, Rebecca, Big Macintosh, Cheerilee, Little Macintosh and Apple Bloom, Rarity had come over with Bobby, their daughter Snow Gem as well as Sweetie Belle. Even the family of Lyra and Bon Bon had made it to see Benjy.

The only ones late were Johnny and Rainbow Dash, the two still busy at the Academy, though Scootaloo stopped by with Firefly. There was hope that they would be able to stop by whenever they could, for now everyone just enjoyed themselves as they took turns seeing Benjy.

"What a dear," Rarity said as she came outside the room with Bobby and their daughter. "He looks so much like his father, but I dare say he has his mother's eyes."

"He's gonna grow up to be one attractive guy, I can already see the girls surrounding him," Bobby said. "I just gotta help him be less dense than Peter."

"Oh Bobby, you're such a card," Rarity said. "Alright, who's next!?"

"That's us," Applejack said, turning to Remy. "Get the kids."

"Sure thing," Remy said, leading his family to Benjy's room, passing by Scott as he chatted with Janet and Spike.

"So Hank never said anything about wanting the suit back, did he?"

"No, not a thing," Janet said. "Though should it even matter? You're not signed up with Tony's Accords, so you can't be Ant Man anyway."

Remy stopped a moment as he glanced at Scott's direction, the hero continuing the conversation, "Seems kind of silly, I mean what if there's an emergency? You can't expect a hero to sit back and do nothing while things go bad, can you?"

"He's got a point, I doubt any law in the world would stop anyone from helping if they had the power too," Spike said.

"Yeah I guess that's true, still, you don't want to risk getting in trouble with Equestrian Law," Janet said.

"Not the first time I've been in trouble with the law," Scott joked. "Still, I'd like to hold onto the suit, just in case."

"As long as you're careful," Janet said. "I doubt Hank wants the suit back anyway, so you're good."

As Remy continued to listen, Applejack eventually got his attention, "Remy?"

This snapped the card using mutant out of it, focusing back on Applejack, "Right sorry."

Applejack could tell Remy had something on his mind, and given what she briefly overheard, she had an idea, "Still unhappy about what happened a couple of days ago?"

"A little, I admit what I did wasn't the smartest thing but, it goes beyond Flim and Flam," Remy said.

"Hey if yer worried, you and I can go to Canterlot and talk this over with Princess Celestia," Applejack said. "Let her know what yer worried about and see if we can reach an agreement."

"That don't sound too bad, but I'm gonna give it a bit longer and see where things go from there," Remy said. "After what happened last night, maybe Tony Stark's mindset will improve."

Not too long later, there was a knock on the door, Peter answering it to reveal his former critic, "Hey Thunderlane."

"Sup Peter, I brought some friends and family," Thunderlane said, gesturing to Felicity, Flitter, Cloudchaser, Quibble, Clear Skies and Wind Sprint.

"Congrats on the new baby! I bet he's cute!" Flitter said.

"Not to brag but, he is," Peter said. "Takes after his old man."

"Can't wait to see him," Rumble said, trotting inside with Wind Sprint. "He's going to love his big brother Rumble."

"Hope he likes me too," Wind Sprint said.

"What's not to like about you?" Rumble asked, looking around and spotting the rest of his friends. "Hey Crusaders! We're here!"

Peter focused his attention back to Thunderlane and co, "Well come on inside."

As they stepped in, Cloudchaser took a moment briefly update Peter, "Hey Johnny and Rainbow Dash will be here too, they might bring their apprentices if you don't mind."

"The more the merrier, as long as the house doesn't get too crowded, but it is a lot roomier than it looks on the outside," Peter said.

"No doubt about that," Flitter said as everypony stepped in.

Mayday found herself the subject of attention from a couple of ponies, given her status as an older sister now, something that hasn't fully dawned on Mayday yet.

"Big sister Mayday," Logan said, taking his turn to get her attention. "How's it going kid?"

"It's going well Uncle Logan," Mayday said. "Lot of ponies here today to see my little brother."

"Yeah, big day," Logan said, kneeling beside Mayday. "I know a lot of the others already brought this up to you today, but this is a big deal. Yer an older sister now, and that title comes with responsibility."

"Responsibility?" Mayday asked.

"As the older sibling, that means yer gonna have to set a good example fer the younger sibling, and help out yer parents if you can," Logan said.

"Oh yeah, of course," Mayday said. "I'm always willing to help my parents. Plus Benjy is my little brother, and from I've seen with Auntie Applejack, Auntie Rarity and Auntie Rainbow Dash, being an older sibling is a huge deal. Luckily I have experience being a younger sister, thanks to Rumble, who has experience being a younger brother. So I think I got this in the bag."

"Franklin's an older brother too," Logan said, gesturing to the boy, who was talking with the Crusaders team. "I haven't seen his little sister much, though I heard she's quite the prodigy, despite her young age."

"Franklin doesn't really like talking about his sister much, I'm not sure why though," Mayday said. "But I won't let that be a problem for me and Benjy."

"Just do yer best," Logan said, ruffling her mane. "Yer a great kid Mayday, I know yer gonna make an amazing older sister."

"Thanks Uncle Logan," Mayday said.

"Hey May!" Rumble called.

"Rumble wants me, see you later Uncle Logan," Mayday said, flying toward Rumble.

Logan looked happy for Mayday, and all the Parker-Sparkle family for that matter. He was glad that Peter at least would have the love of his children and would not have to deal with what he had gone through with some of his own kids.

The door rang again, Peter opened it to reveal Sandbar and his six friends, the leader pony greeting the new father with a wave, "Hey Peter, congrats on you and Professor Sparkle having that new baby."

"Thanks Sandbar, come in and enjoy yourselves," Peter said, allowing the seven into his home. "Are Nightcrawler and Jubilee here?"

"They'll be by later, they're working on some curriculum stuff," Sandbar said.

"How much longer will Professor Sparkle be away?" Silverstream asked.

"Knowing her, probably a week, at most," Peter said. "Twilight lets almost nothing slow her down when it comes to work. But Starlight's been a good sub at least."

"Oh yes, she's very helpful," Ocellus said. "So where is your baby?"

"In his room, but everyone's taking turns to see him, we try not to let more than three at a time go into the room to not overwhelm him, except on some occasions," Peter said. "Remy just went in with Applejack and his two kids."

"That makes sense, we can wait our turn then, we'd like to see Professor Sparkle," Sandbar said.

"She's over there," Peter said, gesturing to Twilight conversing with Thunderlane.

"Is that Rumble's older brother?" Smolder said, looking around, "Does that mean?"

Of course she eventually spotted Rumble, the boy and his friends were conversing with Mayday and Franklin. Smolder was not pleased to see any of them.

"Hey I know you're not exactly friends, but I gave Rumble a nice talking to, and he agreed to lighten up around the lot of you," Peter said. "Or rather, he gave me the impression he would try."

"It's fine, we don't even have to go see Rumble yet if you don't want to," Sandbar said. "Let's just go see Professor Sparkle and-"

"Rumble!" Cozy Glow called, immediately flying toward the boy and giving the boy a nice hug.

"Cozy Glow? Didn't expect to see you here," Rumble said as the filly released her grip.

"I came with Sandy and the others so we could see the new baby," Cozy Glow said.

"Sandy?" Rumble looked aside and spotted the Student Six, "Oh, they're here too now?"

"Rumble be nice," Apple Bloom warned, then waved to the Student Six. "Howdy!"

"Hey Apple Bloom," Sandbar said, awkwardly walking over with his friends.

"Y'all here to see little Benjy?" Apple Bloom asked. "Mah sister and Remy went in a little bit ago, soon it can be our turn."

"Not everyone at once though, daddy's rules," Mayday said.

"Right, of course, we'll go in by the pairs," Apple Bloom said.

"You and I will be going in, since you know, one day it could be us with our own little bundle of joy," Rumble said.

Cozy Glow glared hard at Apple Bloom, "You are so lucky..."

"Hehe...yeah, I am, aren't I?" Apple Bloom said, sounding almost unsure.

"Guess we should decide how we're going in," Sandbar said.

"Daddy says two or three at a time, four if it's a couple with more than one kid, but since none of you are married, you can just go three at a maximum," Mayday said.

Cozy Glow hugged onto Sandbar's foreleg, "I'll go with Sandy!"

"Uh, sure Cozy, I don't mind going in with you," Sandbar said.

Cozy then immediately latched onto Ocellus, "Can Celly come too?"

"Sure, it can be the three of us if you want," Sandbar said.

"Pfft, Sandy and Celly," Dinky said, finding humor in the nicknames.

"Dinky..." Apple Bloom scolded.

"It's fine, I like the nickname," Sandbar said. "It signifies how close we are."

"Exactly," Cozy Glow said, holding both Sandbar and Ocellus close to her. "The three of us are the best of friends."

"Hey, don't forget us!" Gallus said.

Cozy Glow turned to Gallus with a scowl on her face, "Golly, I thought you didn't like me, we can't be best friends if you don't like me."

"Oh, right, gee, what was I thinking?" Gallus sarcastically remarked.

Mayday gestured to Gallus, "How does he have friends? He's always in such a bad mood."

"It's easy Mayday, it's because he's a lot nicer than ponies give him credit for," Sandbar said. "Kind of like how Wolverine seems mean but is really nice."

"Oh what, so he's the 'Wolverine' of your group?" Rumble asked.

"Don't start with that, we're each our own pony, or creature," Apple Bloom said. "Gallus is not the Rainbow Dash or Wolverine of Sandbar's ground, he's the Gallus of their group, just like yer the Rumble of ours."

"You're really smart Apple Bloom, we could use a pony like you in our group," Cozy Glow said, then gestured to Smolder and Gallus. "You're way friendly than some creatures I know."

"Why do we let her hang out with us?" Smolder asked, Gallus getting a shrug.

"I don't blame you for wanting her Cozy Glow," Rumble said, placing his hoof around her in a possessive way. "But she's with me, and I wouldn't give up my sweet apple for anything. But, you're more than welcome to join us if you get bored of your friends."

"I could never get bored of Sandy or Celly," Cozy Glow said. "But, joining you is really tempting."

"Why don't you merge groups?" Franklin suggested. "No reason all thirteen of you can't be friends."

"Great idea Franklin, we should all be friends with one another," Apple Bloom suggested.

"Thirteen seems like a lot though," Scootaloo said. "Plus we'd never get along."

"For once I agree with you," Gallus said. "Let's keep it the way it is, you have your six, and we have ours."

"Golly, I didn't know you were incapable of counting Gallus," Cozy Glow sassed.

"Cozy! Enough of that," Sandbar scolded. "And Gallus, I hope that wasn't a jab at Cozy."

"I can't confirm or deny it," Gallus said.

"Dude, you really gotta grow up, I like hanging out with you, but I like Cozy Glow too, you're gonna have to figure out how to co-exist," Sandbar said.

"It does make me a little uncomfortable when you're mean to Cozy Glow," Ocellus admitted, rubbing her mane. "She's really a nice girl and she's just trying to fit in. She's been through a lot, just like a lot of us have."

"Hey we'll lighten up, but she's gotta cool it with her sassy attitude," Smolder said.

"She is a bit snarky," Silverstream admitted.

"Look, figure this out later, we're not here to fight with each other, we're just here to see Benjy," Sandbar said. "Kurt and Jubilee are gonna be here soon, they don't need to know we've been arguing."

"Who's next!" Came Applejack's voice as she walked out the room with Remy.

"That would be us!" Cheerilee said, then turned to her husband and son. "Let's go boys." The two followed the schoolteacher into the room where they got to see Benjy.

"We should go next Apple Bloom," Rumble said.

"Uh, sure," Apple Bloom said. "That'd be great."

"Me, Sandy and Celly can go after you two," Cozy Glow said.

"I'll go with Sweetie Belle then right after," Scootaloo said.

"And I'll go with Dinky," Wind Sprint said.

"Smolder, you and I should go as well," Gallus said.

"That leave me and Silverstream," Yona said.

"See, harmony," Franklin said. "You all can be the best of friends."

"Franklin, stop being weird," Mayday said. "You sound like my mom."

"Mayday, be friendly when talking to Franklin," Apple Bloom scolded.

"It's fine, at least she's being honest with me," Franklin said.

"Did you already see the baby Frankie?” Scootaloo asked.

"I went with my mom earlier, so I got to see him," Franklin said. "I was even telling Mayday earlier that I hope he doesn't end up being like my sister."

"What's wrong with your sister?" Sandbar asked.

"She's really bratty, and I swear she's in communication with Doctor Doom," Franklin said. "I saw a letter she was writing; it was addressed to Latveria."

"Who's Doctor Doom?" Sandbar asked.

"My family's arch nemesis," Franklin said.

"Franklin, that's silly, yer sister is really young, no way a little girl like that would have contact with a villain," Apple Bloom said. "Aint' that right everyone?"

"Kind of agree with Apple Bloom on that one," Scootaloo said.

"Same here, kind of out there," Sandbar said, then turned to the little Pegasus beside him. "Right Cozy Glow?"

"Right...sure...really silly," Cozy Glow replied, trying to calm her nerves.

"Maybe I am overreacting, but I just know my sister is up to something," Franklin said.

"It's probably nothing dude," Sandbar said.

"I hope it's nothing," Franklin said.

Cozy Glow seemed curious by this whole thing, and who Doctor Doom was. She would have to ask Discord when she got the chance to, of course if he does have quest plans for her, then that would be her moment.

"Hey Mayday..." Came the voice of an oncoming Pound Cake. "Ever wonder what our baby would look like?" Mayday rolled her eyes and trotted away, leaving Pound confused. "Was it something I said?"

Later on Rainbow Dash and Johnny finally arrived, joined by their recruits Pickle and Barley Barrel.
"Peter! We made it!" Johnny called.

"Hey Johnny, Dashie, glad you could come," Peter said, taking note of the extra ponies. "These the recruits?"

"Yeah, meet the Barrel Twins, Pickle and Barley," Johnny introduced.

"Hi Spider-Mane," both greeted.

"Hey, nice to see ya," Peter said. These two kids looked to be about the same age as The Cutie Mark Crusaders, Peter amazed at them becoming Wonderbolts at their age. Seems to show their talent.

"These two are our best recruits since Sky Stinger and Vapor Trail," Rainbow Dash said. "They're incredibly talented."

"That's awesome, you kids must be so proud," Peter said.

"Sure are Mr. Spider-Mane, sir," Pickle said.

"Call me Peter, sir sounds weird," Peter said.

"Hey Peter, can we see your son?" Barley asked.

"Sure, um but other guests are kind of in line right now," Peter said, looking to see who was left. "I'll get back to you on that, I gotta ask around."

"We'll be patient," Johnny said.

"By the way Rainbow Dash, how are you physically feeling?" Peter asked.

"I'm fine, better than before, just a bump to the head," Rainbow Dash said. "We're sorry we couldn't stop Mr. Negative."

"Last we heard, Daredevil and his team confronted that pony you thought was Martin Li, but he denied involvement, and there isn't a lot of evidence suggesting he and Negative are one in the same," Johnny said. "But we both know that when it involves Daredevil, the great Lawyer Matt Murdoch will save the day."

"Yeah, I trust Matt to handle it, but I'll try to do what I can myself," Peter said.

"Just be careful out there, you screw up and you earn the wrath of Tony Stark, the Princesses and Spitfire," Johnny said. This caught not only Remy's attention, but Scott, both were pretty close by and could hear the flame hero.

"Hey they'll reinstate you soon, hopefully," Peter said.

"I hope so too," Johnny said, gesturing to his company. "Let's head inside."

As Peter was about to close the door, he heard a voice calling out to him, "Hey! Are you-Spider-Mane!?"

"Huh?" Peter turned to see a Kirin. "Uh, yeah, that's me."

"Hi, I'm Autumn Blaze, I'm a Kirin representative, I'm here to see if Equestria is worth working with on the Accords," the kirin said.

"Oh, well, hi, I'm Spider-Mane as you know, but you can call me Peter," the hero said.

"That's neat! Say are you throwing a party or something!?" Autumn Blaze asked. Peter could tell she was very excitable.

"Yeah, I am, my son was born yesterday so we're celebrating," Peter said.

"Your son!? Aw, I bet he's cute! Mind if I join the party?" Autumn Blaze asked.

"Sure, sounds great," Peter said. "Come on in."

"Oh you are so nice! I can't wait to tell our leader Rain Shine now nice you are!" Autumn Blaze said, heading inside, not waiting too long before seeing Benjy herself. Just another reason she enjoyed her visit today.

The festivities didn't end there, for later came some of the last few guests. Upon hearing a door knocking, Peter answered to see Tony Stark, Princess Luna, Spitfire and the Village Four.

"Hey Peter! Second time father, congrats!" Tony greeted.

"Hi Tony, glad you could come," Peter said. "You too Luna, and the rest of you."

"Where is Benjy? I wish to greet him," Luna asked.

"He's in his bedroom, I don't think anyone's seeing him right now so you can just go ahead and say hello," Peter said.

"I will do just that," Luna said, trotting over to where Benjy was.

"She was eager to see Benjy all day," Tony said. "So are our four friends here."

"Bucky wishes he could make it, but he Cap and Falcon had to go back to Earth to deal with a situation," Sugar Belle said.

"That Zemo guy was causing trouble, so Bucky, Steve and Sam went to go stop him," Tony said.

"Is it anything concerning?" Peter asked.

"Oh no, we're good, completely unrelated to Equestria," Tony said.

"Well anyway it's fine, I mean I know Twilight wishes Shining Armor, Cadance and Flurry could be here," Peter said. "But Twilight's planning to take Benjy there soon, I'd go but it seems like there's a lot for me to do right now, what with the Manehattan situation and this planned trip to Klugetown."

"Did you talk to Felicia?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, but she wants in," Peter said.

"Oh well tough shit, it's just gonna be you and Luna, too many ponies are going to jeopardize this mission," Tony said.

"I kind of wanted to go myself," Double Diamond said, the others agreeing.

"Love your enthusiasm, but let's keep things simple for now," Tony said, then turned back to Peter. "I'm gonna need you to head, I would have you do it tomorrow but given that your son was just born, I'll give you three days so you could spend a little time with him."

"Thanks Tony," Peter said. "Is that alright though?"

"I wouldn't let you do this if it wasn't," Tony said. "Now, let's party."

The Village four went inside with Tony, Spitfire staying at the door, "Hey Peter, I've been meaning to ask you. Is Rumble here?"

"Yeah, he should be with his girlfriend," Peter said.

"I thought about offering him a spot in the Wonderbolts," Spitfire said. "Given how well Pickle and Barley have progressed despite their young age and seeing just how talented Rumble was at the Buck Ball game, I think he'd make a great recruit."

"That'd be great, he does want to be an Avenger, being in The Wonderbolts could help him work alongside them," Peter said.

"That's great, I'll go ask him about it now," Spitfire said, trotting inside.

While inside, Night Glider had spotted Big Macintosh chatting with Fluttershy and Logan, the Pegasus alerting Sugar Belle. "Hey, it's that handsome stallion, let's go say 'hello'."

"Way ahead of you," Sugar Belle said, following her friend to greet Big Macintosh.

"You ever wonder if you'll see your other kids again?" Big Macintosh asked.

"It's hard honestly, Daken is a lost cause, gonna take a miracle fer him not to hate me, plus he and Laura won't last in the same room," Logan said. "Then there's Jimmy, he's pretty happy where he is, and I don't want to pull him away."

"You should still see him, you are his father," Fluttershy said.

"I have so many other kids though, and I wasn't around fer a lot of them, bringing them together is gonna be nothing short of a miracle," Logan said.

"Gotta say Fluttershy, you're handling this pretty well," Big Macintosh said. "Knowing about the other kids ah mean."

"Logan's been around for a while, it's understandable he's had other wives," Fluttershy said. "I mean, it is a little weird for me but it's beyond my control. If Logan loves me like I love him, then I can accept this."

"Yer a good wife, it's thanks to you I have a better start, and hopefully Rina doesn't have to go through the same seperation that my other kids went through," Logan said. "Seeing Peter with his son, it just makes me happy that he was able to find love, find a good family to have."

"Peter went through heartbreak too though," Fluttershy reminded.

"Yeah, Gwen Stacy..." Logan remembered that as well, he's never seen Peter so depressed after that night. "Peter did not deserve that trauma. But, in a way, it made him stronger, more determined. He's gotten a second chance with Twilight, and he's made full use of it."

"Peter and Twilight make fer a lovely couple, makes me happy to-" Big Macintosh noticed the two mares. "Oh, howdy."

Logan turned to Sugar Belle and Night Glider, "Oh it's you two, the ones from Starlight's village."

"Hi girls, here to see Benjy?" Fluttershy asked.

"Oh yes, I think babies are adorable," Sugar Belle said.

"Sugar Belle and I hope to be moms one day ourselves, we just need to find the right stallion," Night Glider eyed Big Macintosh. "And I say there's a lot to choose from."

"Ponyville has a lot of great single stallions, if y'all are interested," Big Macintosh said.

"I'm certainly interested," Sugar Belle said, bashfully eyeing Big Macintosh. "In fact, I thought that...maybe, you and I...if you're not busy, we could-"

"Sorry I'm late," Cheerilee said, trotting over with some drinks. "I just saw the Cake Twins running around, they seemed to have had too much sugar, so I helped calm them both down."

"Good skills, befitting a mother and a teacher," Fluttershy said.

"Thank you dear," Cheerilee said, then saw Sugar Belle and Night Glider. "Oh, nice to meet you ladies."

"Hi, I'm Night Glider, and this is Sugar Belle," The pegasus introduced.

"I'm Cheerilee, the local schoolteacher," the mare introduced.

"It's really nice to meet you," Sugar Belle said. "So, are you friends with Logan and Fluttershy?"

"Why yes, and I know my husband here is fond of them too, despite earlier troubles," Cheerilee said.

"We only fought once, a long time ago," Logan said. "I let myself get jealous, but it won't happen again."

"Sure won't," Big Macintosh said.

Sugar Belle looked really confused now, "Your...husband?"

"Yes, Big Macintosh is my husband, made it official a few years ago," Cheerilee said. "We even have a son together. He's off playing with his cousins, right over there in fact."

Sugar Belle reluctantly looked over to see the young colt with the two cousins of his, under the watchful gaze of Trixie and Starlight. "How nice..."

"Uh, what was it you ladies wanted to ask me?" Big Macintosh asked.

"Oh...just...if you see a nice...single guy..." Sugar Belle did her best to hold back her disappointment. "Just let me know."

"Same here..." Night Glider said, the two awkwardly walked off.

"Oh, playing matchmaker Big Macintosh?" Cheerilee asked.

"Not quite," Big Macintosh said. "Ah just let them know that Ponyville is a good place to find someone nice to spend your life with."

"They seemed kind of sad," Fluttershy said.

"Something tells me they had their eye on a stallion already, but not an available one" Logan said. "Oh well, plenty of fish in the sea, smart ladies like them will figure that out soon."

Cheerilee tapped on her chin a second, something about Sugar Belle made her think of something, "Oh...that mare, doesn't she look a bit like your mother Big Mac?"

"Huh, ah could see a resemblance," Big Macintosh said.

"Maybe she’s a relative,” Cheerilee said. "She seems really nice; we should invite her back home."

"She is a baker, she could work with us, if Granny's alright with it," Big Macintosh said.

"Oh I love get togethers, you make so many friends," Cheerilee said.

Meanwhile Night Glider was feeling awkward, but she felt worse for Sugar Belle, she was crushing hard the last couple of days, and really hoped to act on it. "I'm gonna get some punch, you want anything?"

"No thanks," Sugar Belle said.

Night Glider stroked her mane, hoping to soothe her, "Hey, this stuff happens. It'll be fine."

"I know, I just...really thought I had a chance, if I couldn't be an Avenger, I could at least settle down, but that's not gonna happen," Sugar Belle said.

"Hey I know training's hard but you can pull it off, the four of us can be an amazing team, just like The Fantastic Four!" Night Glider said.

"Yeah, maybe," Sugar Belle said.

"Hey, I know it's not much, but you're my best friend, and at the very least, I still love you," Night Glider said.

Sugar Belle pulled her friend into a strong hug, "That meant plenty, thank you."

"No problem," Night Glider said, returning the hug.

The party continued a little bit longer, both Jubilee and Kurt finally making it and seeing Benjy for themselves. The sight of the boy did stir things in others, Rumble's desires to be closer to Peter's family, Sandbar seeing just what the love of two ponies can produce, Sugar Belle's desire to settle down, Luna's determination toward being a good aunt figure to Peter's kids and Tony's resolve to keep the Accords strong, to make sure kids like Benjy had a future.

---

Interesting things developed over the next few days, while Daredevil continued to find any type of proof of Mr. Negative's identity, Tony had deployed more heroes across Equestria. Tigra had been assigned to Baltimare, She-Hulk would patrol the recently allied Griffonstone, and the duo of Sky Stinger and Vapor Trails were officially assigned to protect Fillydelphia.

The Barrel Twins' training was going along great as well, there were hopes the two could go on active patrol soon, despite some concern regarding their ages. Skilled or not, they were still teenagers, in the end, it may fall on Spitfire and what she wants to do.

Rumble had plans of his own one day, the boy flew over to Sweet Apple Acres, knocking on Apple Bloom's window.

"Rumble?" Apple Bloom asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey, just came to see you, I missed you a lot after all," Rumble said, shifting his eyebrows.

"You just saw me yesterday," Apple Bloom said.

"That's way too long for me, you mean everything to me Apple Bloom," Rumble said, stroking her cheek. "After all, you are my girlfriend, and I love you very much."

"That's sweet of-hey!" Apple Bloom backed away when Rumble flew into the room, looking her in the eyes.

"Seeing Peter's baby makes me think of the love he has for Twilight, it reminds me of how I feel about you, and it got me thinking...are you ready to do, you know, that with me?" Rumble asked.

"You mean...that thing couples do in bed?" Apple Bloom asked, blushing a bit. "Gee, ah don't know if ah am..."

"We've been dating a few years, we've made out a lot, we've done a lot for each other, but I want more from us," Rumble said. "I...I want you be my first time, and I want to be your first time."

"I...well..." Apple Bloom wasn't sure what to think, it didn't help that her body started feeling weird, like she instinctively wanted this. She then found herself placed in a kiss by Rumble, the boy charming the girl with his affection.

Pulling away the boy continuously stroked her mane, "I want to make you happy, what do you say?"

Apple Bloom thought a second, then made a choice that would be quite impactful on her, "Let's do it."

---

Curious things did happen in the other worlds in these days however, starting with Loki, the God of Mischief having a very curious encounter out in space. His station had come across one belonging to the Mad Titan Thanos, the God finding himself in an abrupt meeting.

Loki stood before Thanos, who was sitting on his Throne surrounded by members of the Black Order, those being Proxima Midnight, Corvus Glaive on opposite sides of his throne, Cull Obsidian behind on the right hand side, and Ebony Maw closer to the visiting guests.

Loki bowed before Thanos, encouraging Mystique, Storm King, Tempest and Sephiroth to do the same. Mystique knew better than to cross Thanos, and while Storm King didn't like bowing to another, he figure that maybe it would not be a good idea to cross Thanos while Tempest just went along with things. Sephiroth however, refused at first to bow before the Mad Titan.

"Why is that one not bowing before the mighty Thanos?" Ebony Maw asked.

"Oh, he's just a little shy," Loki insisted, then turned to Sephiroth. "You may bow at any moment."

Sephiroth still seemed reluctant, he did not care who Thanos was, he would not bow to just about anyone.

"Is your hearing deficient? You were told, to bow!" Using his telekinesis, Ebony Maw forced Sephiroth to bow, the former Shinra solider resisting the urge to retaliate. "Much better."

Loki was grateful that was resolved soon, "It is so great to see you again Lord Thanos, it has been much too long."

"Not long enough," Thanos said. "Have you located the other Infinity Stones?"

"No sir, I have been quite sidetracked lately," Loki said. "What with my brother, some alternate realms, the impending Ragnarök..." Suddenly Loki was lifted over by Ebony Maw, Thanos glaring a hole through Loki.

"I am not interested in your personal problems, you were given a task and I expect it complete," Thanos said. "I did not lend you my army just so you can play games."

"Yes sir, of course," Loki insisted. "I shall have them for you, just let me finish up my business in Asgard, I mean you wouldn't want to worry about Thor, would you?"

"Do I look like I am worried about your pitiful brother?" Thanos said. "Get busy!"

Ebony Maw flung Loki away, the God caught by Sephiroth with one hand. "Thanks for that."

"By the way," Thanos gestured to the guests. "Who are they?"

"Well, this here is Mystique, you might know her from our realm's Earth," Loki said. "Those two, are Storm King and Tempest Shadow, they come from another realm."

"You're a king?" Thanos asked to the male visitor.

"Uh, yeah, I even got a crown," Storm King said, gesturing to the crown. "I'm also super powerful, like, I can totally lead an Invasion, I even have some henchmen back on our ship. I went toe-to-toe with Spider-Mane!"

"Spider-what?" Thanos asked.

"He means Spider-Man, from our realm," Loki said. "In another realm he is...Spider-Mane."

"So he's still alive?" Thanos asked. "He seems to have slipped my sights on occasion; I still have unresolved issues with that boy."

"And if you let me do what I must, I can bring him to you," Loki said.

Thanos gestured to Sephiroth, "Who is he then?"

"This is Sephiroth of Square, powerful warrior, their world's Super Solider, just like Captain America," Loki said.

"Just as defiant too," Thanos said.

"I see no one as my Ruler," Sephiroth said.

"Oh forgive him, things are just different where he's from," Loki said, quickly making his way to Sephiroth. "Please, I implore that you tolerate Thanos a bit longer."

Sephiroth turned away in annoyance, Thanos rubbing his chin in curiosity, "He is quite defiant, but given the power that I sense from him, I suppose it's no surprise."

"Well if that's all, we should be leaving," Loki said. "If that's alright with you sir."

"Very well, do what you must, but I will be checking on you Loki," Thanos warned.

"Yes sir, of course sir," Loki said, turning away to hide his look of disgust as he left with his allies.

"So many surprises, the multiverse sure is grand," Thanos said. "Let us resume our own work."

"Of course sir," Ebony Maw said. "Resume course to Planet Hala."

Meanwhile Loki had returned to his ship, bitterly muttering to himself, "Oversized King, he shall rue the day he treated me like some commoner."

"He doesn't even respect another King, also where's his crown!? Some ruler," Storm King said.

"Thanos is incredibly powerful, it is always better to mind your step around him," Mystique said. "Let us be grateful that Akuma was not on board with us, he likely would have gotten us all killed."

"Loki, is Thanos someone we should be worried about in regard to our plan?" Sephiroth asked.

"For now, no, he has a lot to worry about himself," Loki said.

"Do you think he'll come to Equestria?" Tempest asked.

"I cannot say for sure," Loki said. "Look, Thanos will be off our backs for a bit, hopefully he'll find further distractions once his actions earn the attention of either The Nova Force or The Guardians of the Galaxy, for now let us do what we need to do. Once we conquer Asgard and drive away Ragnarök, we can return to Equestria and conquer that world as well, all their magic will be ours."

"Sounds good to me, and then Seph here can take his planet's life stream or something," Storm King said.

"What is your goal exactly Sephiroth?" Tempest asked.

"To become a God, by traveling the Universe with Earth as my vessle, giving me an infinite supply of power from Mako energy alone," Sephiroth said. "Just as my mother intended to do herself."

"You sound like a mama's boy now," Storm King joked, then found the edge of Sephiroth's sword against his neck. "Not that it's a bad thing!"

"Let us just resume our business," Sephiroth said, placing his sword away. "I have my own plans, plus I am curious how my good friend Cloud is doing.”

"And I am curious about my dear brother Thor," Loki sinisterly stated. "I shall pay him a visit soon."

---

Elsewhere in the world of SNK, Sunset Shimmer was taking a selfie with top fight Terry Bogard, the girl having made several friends in this world that she's grateful for.

"Thanks Terry," Sunset said, looking at the picture. "It came out amazing!"

"No prob, happy to have met you," Terry said, giving a thumbs up.

"She really appreciates this opportunity," Ryu said, getting Terry's attention. "As do I."

"We all did, everyone seems to like her, including Andy and Joe," Terry said.

"Portal's ready!" Chun-Li called.

"Where you off to next?" Terry asked.

"To show Sunset the King of The Iron Fist tournament," Ryu explained.

"Awesome, have fun!" Terry said, offering a thumbs up.

As Sunset approached the portal, she turned back to Terry once more, "Keep getting stronger Terry!"

"Okay!" Terry said, waving with his hat. "Bye Sunset!"

Sunset followed the Capcom group into the Namco world, everyone taking a quick look around to see where they were.

"Rock, did you set the coordinates right?" Chun-Li asked, seeing that they were at the edge of a small town.

"I think so, let me check," Mega Man said.

Everyone waited around, waiting for the situation to be resolved, but Sunset got curious, so she started wandering off, taking in the sights of this new world.

"At first glance, most of the Earths seem to be the same, but there's always at least once difference," Sunset said. "Something unique to this world, something..." As she walked, she came across a native, he seemed to be dressed in a really nice suit with slick back hair leaning against a wall. "Oh, maybe this guy can help with our situation, excuse me?"

The man turned to Sunset, left eye immediately began glowing, much to her concern, "What do you want?"

Sunset leapt back in worry, "Sorry, I just wanted to know if...I mean...me and my friends, we're kind of lost and..." the man's glare did not help Sunset's worries, something about it was very ominous too. "What I'm saying is-"

"Sunset!" Ryu said, running over to the girl. "We need to..."

"Ryu..." the man said, glaring at the martial artist.

"Kazuya..." Ryu replied.

"Wait, Kazuya?" Sunset asked, trying to think. "You mentioned that name before."

"Know about me huh?" Kazuya asked, getting off the wall and walking closer to Sunset, though Ryu blocked their path. "Don't trust me huh? I don't blame you."

"You'd be smart to stay back Kazuya, don't do anything you'll regret," Ryu warned.

"That sounds like a challenge," Kazuya taunted.

"Ryu! Sunset!" Ken called, running over to the encounter.

"You brought Ken Masters too, is it a Capcom field trip?" Kazuya asked.

"We're just showing a friend of mine around," Ryu said. "What are you even doing here?"

"There's a few fights nearby, gonna warm up before I find that useless son of mine and my equally useless father," Kazuya said. "Feel free to join in, if you want to experience pain."

With that, Kazuya walked off, laughing to himself as Ryu glared a hole through his rival, "We'll see about that."

Sunset turned her attention to Ken, "So, is he the son of that Heihachi guy that Ryu mentioned?"

"Yeah, that's Kazuya Mishima, one bad guy," Ken said. "You've actually met his son Jin once though; he was a guest at the Marvel vs Capcom Tournament a few years ago."

"Yeah, I remember Jin," Sunset said.

"We should go, Mega Man has picked the location up," Ryu said, leading both friends back to the group.

Cloud was the first to notice their arrival, waving to them, "I see them, here they come."

"Sorry! I wandered off," Sunset said, bowing in respect the moment she got close enough.

"It's fine, you're just curious, but try to stay close, these worlds are not always safe," Chun-Li said.

"I sure learned that the hard way, I ran into Kazuya Mishima," Sunset said, this startling the others.

"Wait, Kazuya's here!?" Chun-Li asked.

"He said there's a few fights nearby, probably what Rock detected," Ryu explained.

"Not even five minutes in this world and we already ran into potential trouble," Cloud said. "Probably what Sora feels when he travels."

"Just stay close everyone, watch out for G Corporation, and the Mishima Zaibatsu," Chun-Li said, everyone agreeing with those terms.

"I'm sorry if I caused any trouble," Sunset said.

"You didn't do anything wrong, don't worry," Cloud said.

"Cloud's right, no harm done," Ryu said. "Let's get going."

A new world to explore, filled with the chance to make new friends, or new enemies. Unbeknownst to them, Kazuya had stuck around, quickly flying to a nearby roof to keep an eye on all of them.

"That girl, she seems unusual... I wonder if she's from that world I heard about from Juri Han and Albert Wesker?" Kazuya wondered. "Next meeting should be an interesting one."

---

By the end of the week in Equestria, Peter had gone to Canterlot to embark on his trip to Klugetown, meeting Luna at the train station with Tony, Steve, Celestia and Spitfire by her side.

"Alright Peter, this shouldn't take long, make your way to Klugetown, get the information you need, then vamoose," Tony said.

"Try to avoid unneeded conflict if possible," Celestia said.

"If you have to, bail out the moment things really get bad," Spitfire said.

"We will," Peter reassured, then turned to his partner. "Ready Luna?"

Luna nodded, "Yes, I am."

The two boarded the train that would take them as close as they could to Klugetown, from there stop they would have to walk. Unbeknownst to them, they were going to have a little extra assistance in the form of a sneaky little cat.

As the train took off, Celestia still could not help but worry, "Is this the best idea?"

"It'll be fine Princess," Tony reassured. "Peter and Luna are very capable of doing what needs to be done."

---

In time the train reached its destination, and after a quick stroll through a dessert, or quick as a hero with decent stamina and a magical alicorn could make it, the two finally arrived in Klugetown.

"Hey, couldn't you have teleported us?" Peter asked, wiping some sweat.

"Couldn't you have swung us?" Luna replied.

"With what building? I swear it feels like people think I swing from the clouds or something," Peter said.

"Let's focus," Luna said, covering them both up with their disguise cloaks. "So according to Black Cat, there is a pier at the other end of town, if we try not to draw too much attention, we should be fine. Apparently these folks are quick to sell you useless items."

"So is this a town or the perfume department at the mall?" Peter joked, getting an annoyed glare from Luna. "I can see you smiling at the corner of your mouth."

"Oh shut up," Luna said, turning away in annoyance, and to hide her smile. "What else did Felicia say?"

"To look for a guy named Capper, she said he's a large cat," Peter said.

"You mean an Abyssinian? What could one be doing in a town like this?" Luna asked.

"Beats me, let's just hurry," Peter said, quickly making his way through town with Luna, unaware of the fact that they were being followed.

The two strolled through town, staying close to the shade, and hoping no one there spotted them. Luna felt a bit disgusted at the way the town looked, "Such a mess, this place could use some better direction."

"I'll say," Peter said, taking note of the residents. "Feels like we're in some dirty aquarium."

Suddenly a vendor began pushing one of his products to them, "Care to buy?"

"Out of my way," Luna said, trying to hide her face.

"Sorry dude, on a budget, I'm saving for Ballet School," Peter joked, quickly stepping aside.

"Get your fresh scraps here! High quality stuff from Equestrian Cruise Zeppelins!" a guy shouted.

"Hey I've been on one of those with Twilight and her family, it was pretty neat," Peter said. "Velvet had so much fun, Mayday and Flurry actually played together for more than five minutes, Shining Armor kept vomiting, that one stallion was too much of a Twilight fanboy but he was pretty nice despite that, the head Minotaur though was way too greedy, and Fluttershy insists he's such a nice guy, I mean I get she sees the good in others but-"

"Peter, I know about your cruise, you tried getting me a ticket remember?" Luna said.

"Oh right, they were completely sold out, plus Velvet did get them for free, only because Iron Will wanted me and Twilight there to make more money for himself," Peter said. "I still had fun though."

"That's nice, but focus, I'm actually more concerned that he got scraps, I mean they could be fake, but he also could have stolen them," Luna said.

"Good point, wish we could look into that, but we don't have jurisdiction, besides even if we knew who to go to, we don't know that that someone could help," Peter said.

"We must find a way to clean up this town," Peter said.

"Fully on board there," Peter said, the two continuing their mission. Peter kept an eye out for an Abyssinian, but came across no luck, the boy losing his patience a bit. "Where is this Capper guy?"

"He's right over there," Came Felicia's voice, gesturing near a kiosk where Capper was trying to swindle away someone's customer.

"Oh thanks Feli...wait a minute!" Peter turned to face the cat-based thief who herself was fully disguised. "What in the world are you doing here!?"

"I came by to see if I could lend a hand, or a hoof..." Felicia thought it over. "Maybe a claw."

"Felicia, how..when...why!?" Peter couldn't think of what to ask first.

"Well the how is that snuck on board the train, the when is earlier on in the day, the why is because I care about you and I don't want anything bad happening to that handsome face of yours," Felicia said.

"Didn't you break up with your daughter's father because of your so-called newfound interest in mares?" Luna asked.

"I can still find Peter handsome, can't I?" Felicia said. "Also, what's with everyone bringing up my sexuality, there's more to me than that after all."

"Not diving into that cesspool," Peter muttered, then spoke out loud. "But still, are you even allowed to be here?"

"I may have taken a bit of initiative," Felicia admitted.

"That is a violation of the Accords!" Luna said. "If Tony Stark finds out about this-"

"First off, I work for your sister, not Tony Stark, the only reason I'm assigned to Ponyville is through Celestia rather than your silly Accords," Felicia said. "Second, you two need me, I know this town pretty well."

"But Tony didn't want you coming here," Peter said.

"That's his problem, now do you want this situation dealt with or not?" Felicia asked.

Peter knew his hooves were tied here, the best thing was to go along with it, "Alright fine."

"That's my good boy," Felicia said, patting Peter on the head.

"Please don't treat me like a dog," Peter said.

"Sorry, you did use to chase after me like one," Felicia said, trotting off.

"That girl is so infuriating," Luna commented, following Felicia.

Back with Capper, the large cat was seen walking away from an angry vendor, "Gee, you offer an alternative and people lose their minds over it, not my fault if your products ain't as good as the competitor’s."

"Capper!" Felicia called, getting his attention.

"Hey, how's my favorite kitty-cat?" Capper said, hoof-fist bumping the burglar.

"Capper, mind helping with a top-secret assignment?" Felicia asked.

"Whoa now, sticking my neck out for you last time was risky enough, what's the catch here?" Capper asked, Felicia then tossing a bit to him.

"Hey, where'd you get that?" Peter asked.

"Don't worry Peter, it's not dirty money," Felicia said, then turned away. "Not all of it is at least."

Capper bit down on the coin to make sure it wasn't fake, "Hm, seems legit."

"There's more if you just tell us one bit if information," Felicia said. "When is Calaeno's next drop off due?"

"Calaeno, picking around the Storm King's business again? You are one bold cat," Capper said.

"He caused destruction in Canterlot, any chance we have to bring him down is one we're going to take," Luna said.

"Say, who are those two anyway?" Capper asked.

"Oh right, that lady is Princess Luna and the boy here is Spider-Mane," Felicia said.

"Princess Luna? Spider-Mane?" Capper asked. "You brought Equestrian Royalty and a Superhero to these parts?"

"No, they were coming on their own, I followed them here," Felicia explained. "They're the ones who wanted information on the Storm King."

"You are awfully chatty, this is supposed to be a secret mission," Peter said.

"Tell that to Luna, she's the one who gave away your reasoning," Felicia said. "Besides, if you want Capper to trust us, you gotta be a bit honest, like your friend Applejack."

"Yeah, like Applejack...wait who's she?" Capper asked.

"Never mind, so can you tell me?" Felicia asked.

Capper put the coin away, looking around to make sure no one was overhearing, "One hour, some little hedgehog usually picks it up."

"Hedgehog?" Peter remembered Grubber during the Invasion. "Wait, didn't he leave with Loki? Was he sent back?"

"I don't know a Loki, but take what you will of what I told you," Capper said. "Just be careful out there."

"Thanks," Felicia said, tossing a bag of bits. "Don't spend it all in one place."

Capper opened it up, his eyes glowing in excitement, "No promises kitty-cat."

"Good, now get out of here, make a run if things go south," Felicia said.

"Appreciate the tip," Capper said, putting the money in his jacket, "Later."

"He was interesting," Peter said.

"He's a nice guy, he actually let me stay over at his place when I first came here," Felicia said. "Let's go wait for Calaeno."

---

Meanwhile at the Crystal Empire, while Flurry was attempting to bond with Mayday under the watchful eye of Kamala, Twilight was showing off Benjy to Cadance and Shing Armor.

"Isn't he precious?" Twilight said. "Such a darling little fellow."

"He sure is," Cadance said. "You and Peter must be so proud."

"That goes without saying," Twilight said.

"Well it's great that you have a second child, Cadance and I have considered giving Flurry a chance to be a big sister, but things get so busy at times that I don't know if we have time for another kid," Shining Armor said.

"I know how you feel, I almost wasn't sure myself, I pretty much worked throughout my pregnancy, and I'm planning to go back to the school next week, there's just so much to do and I can't afford to take a vacation right now," Twilight said.

"Don't get too carried away," Cadance said. "If you overwork yourself, you're going to collapse."

"I'll try winding down, but I'm already eager to go on my next journey, and figure out what happened to Starswirl and his Pillars," Twilight said. "Now that I'm not pregnant, it's easier to move around, and I can go to each town the Pillars have visited and see what I can find out. Who knows, maybe they're still around."

"Twilight, they existed eons ago, I doubt they're still around," Shining Armor said.

"Maybe, but I do have my theories," Twilight said. "I have to learn as much as I can about them, it could help Equestria's future."

"Speaking of Equstria's future, I've been meaning to ask," Cadacne said. "What are your thoughts on Tony Stark's Accords?"

"Oh they're great, he, Steve Rogers, Spitfire, Luna and Celestia are working really hard to ensure safety for the future," Twilight said. "I mean, it has a few flaws now but even Tony mentioned he had to rework his suit a lot, mainly since he built it from scraps originally. That man sure is intelligent."

"He is, and I do agree, I think he has the right idea," Cadance said. "Ever since Captain Marvel and her sidekick came here, they have been so vigilant that I don't fear for my citizens. I just would prefer if she were a bit nicer, she can be a bit too intimidating when expecting everyone to follow the law."

"Hey it's fine by me, the more ponies listen, the less trouble we'll have," Shining Armor said. "Besides it's tough love."

"Not wrong there," Cadance said.

"Well I think we can trust her to keep everyone safe," Twilight said, taking note of Kamala acting as a trampoline for the two fillies, Mayday actually smiling and having fun. "Kamala is really nice."

"She's pretty new to being a superhero, apparently she started a couple of years ago, but she's catching on well," Shining Armor said. "She's admitted to thinking that Peter is pretty cool, and he's kind of an inspiration to her. I mean she likes a lot of superheroes, but she relates to Peter."

"I think she has a fine future ahead of her then," Twilight said.

---

Back in Klugetown, Peter, Luna and Felicia were hiding at the dock inside a boat covered in a tarp. Right as Capper said, Celaeno's ship had docked after an hour, a parrot lady in rags stepping off and delivering some packages to Storm King's right-hand man, Grubber.

"Great work, the boss will be pleased when he gets back," Grubber said. "With these scraps, we're one step closer to building stronger weapons and finally taking over!"

"That's nice, now where's the payment," Celaeno asked, holding out her talon.

"Sure, here's for the shipment," Grubber said, giving her some currency. "And a little extra for a delivery I need you to make."

"Is it more of those silly action figures?" Celaeno asked.

"First off, they're not silly," Grubber said. "Second, no, they're actually explosives. Some guy in Manehattan wanted them, called himself Negative or something."

"Crap..." Peter whispered.

"Negative? As in Martin Li?" Felicia asked. "Wait, does this have to do with what I heard about Manehattan?"

"Sure does, we gotta do something," Peter said.

"Yes, let's hurry," Luna said.

Celeano's guys began loading the explosives, the bird woman got curious, "Where is The Storm King?"

"With a God named Loki, apparently he's so strong he regularly slaps around those heroes from Earth," Grubber said. "I was gonna go with them, but the boss told me to stay put in this world and keep an eye on his operation."

"Those Earth Heroes, I've heard of them, especially Spider-Mane," Celaeno said.

"Oh yeah, I saw him a couple of weeks ago, he's a great fighter," Grubber said. "Tempest whooped him though, almost had it won until some weirdo with pointy hair showed up, then he trashed the city was trying to save with some huge magic beam or something."

"Sounds fun, wish we were there," Celeano said. "Would love to see Spider-Mane up close."

"Ask and you shall receive!" Peter shouted, rushing in and webbing up Grubber. He nearly webbed Celaeno but the parrot woman was quick to dodge out the way.

"Spider-Mane!?" Grubber asked.

"This is interesting," Celaeno said, tossing away her rags, revealing a pirate suit. Donning her hat she whipped out her sword. "A chance to face off against Spider-Mane himself. Didn't expect to see you in some run downtown."

"Life's full of surprises," Peter said.

"Well then, en guarde!" Celaeno began swinging her sword at Peter, the boy dodging and trying to kick, but the woman turned out to be more agile than he expected. He attempted to sweep her legs but she leapt over and swung her sword down, Peter carefully catching it and then kicking her back toward the ship.

"Let's help the Captain!" came the voice of the muscle Boyle. He rushed to attack Peter but Luna appeared and zapped him aside as Felicia jumped in, kicking one of them into another and upper cutting a fourth.

"Princess Luna!? Oh I gotta jet!" Grubber began to run off the best he could but being tied up was not helping much as he jumped toward his nearby ship.

Celano quicky boarded her ship and cast off, making it's way toward the intended destination. "Sorry! You won't be ruining my business today!"

"She's escaping!" Felicia rushed in and leapt onto the ship before it fully left, Peter doing the same.

"Luna, you can take care of those other guys! Felicia and I will find their Captain!" Peter called.

"Of course!" Luna said, focusing on the other pirates. "You're all coming with me!"

Back on the ship, Celaeno found herself surrounded by Peter and Felicia, the woman keeping her sword drawn. "I figured it wouldn't be that easy to get away from you, but now you're on my turf."

"Let's make this quick," Peter said. He quickly lunged toward Celaeno but she side-stepped and kicked a oncoming Felicia toward the deck.

Peter webbed Celaeno's sword away and jumped in for a kick that knocked her near Felicia. The parrot woman quickly stood up and dashed toward a barrel, throwing it in Peter's direction, which Peter caught and carefully placed down.

Celaeno kept tossing a few, though at the last one, she tossed it right at Felicia, nearly knocking her off the ship. Fortunately Peter had caught her, but this did leave him open for Celaeno to tackle him down.

Peter kicked Celaeno off and webbed her talon hand. He kicked her against a wall and got it stuck there, but she pulled away and rolled toward her sword again, aiming at Peter.

"You're quite persistent," Celaeno said, going for another jab, but Peter dodged and flipped her over.

"Just doing my job, keeping people safe," Peter said.

"You're wasting your time," Celano said, leaping up and swining her sword at the hero. "You have no idea what The Storm King is capable of, especially with the connections he has now."

"Why are you working with this guy? What's in it for you?" Peter asked, dodging the attacks.

"Well it sure isn't by choice," Calaeno said, leaping back to plan her next attack. "He just came in one day and overtook my operation. So my choices were to serve him or perish. For the safety of my crew, the answer seemed really clear."

"You seem pretty tough, couldn't you fight back?" Peter asked.

"Don't be stupid!" Celeano said, lunging at Peter. "There's five of us against an army, we would get demolished," Calaeno said. "Not like we could for help, we're pirates after all, who'd risk their necks for us?"

"Hey the Storm King probably made a lot of enemies," Peter said. "You don't have to side with him."

"I'm not taking any chances!" Celaeno said, attacking again. Felicia jumped in to kick Celaeno, knocking her sword away, cutting a string from the sail in the process. "Oh no!"

"Whoops..." Felicia awkwardly stated.

"Oh crap, not good!" Peter said, trying to think of options. "Can you steer the ship!?"

"I'll try!" Celaeno said, the tow having an unofficial truce to fix the problem before it gets worse.

Felicia nearly got flung from the ship, but Peter's quick thinking saved her from falling, unfortunately it looked like the ship was losing control, the wind pattern not helping matters.

"We gotta get of the ship!" Peter said.

"How exactly?" Felicia asked.

Peter quickly turned to Celaeno, "Hey I don't suppose-"

"Sorry!" Celaeno said, using a piece of sail as a makeshift parachute. "I can't stick around."

"Hey wait!" Peter said, too late, the pirate leader was gone. "Crap...Wait, she gave me an idea."

"What idea?" Felicia asked.

Peter latched onto a sail with his web on each corner, tied it all up and grabbed Felicia in his forelegs, "Hold on right."

"Don't gotta tell me twice," Felicia said as Peter parachuted off the ship as it flew off out of control into the distance. "There it goes."

"Does that count as a mission failure?" Peter asked.

"Hey we stopped them from delivering those explosives to Manehattan, plus this probably put a damper in their operations," Felicia said. "I saw we did a pretty good job here."

---

Unfortunately for them, things were going to get bad. In the city of Las Pegasus, the Flim Flam brothers were discussing their next choice of action.

"I say we open our own school of Friendship, pass it off as free, but charge ponies for all the equipment," Flim said. "They'll be so happy to think they have a free education that they'll gladly pay 'tip bits' for books."

"I like the way you think...oh boy," Flam said, looking into the distance.

"What's wrong?" Flim turned around and saw Celaeno's ship incoming. "Oh boy..."

The ship continued spiraling out of control towards the city, something that was noticed first by Iron Fist. "Luke!"

Luke Cage saw the ship heading down fast, so he quickly began clearing the streets, "Everyone move!"

The ponies quickly moved aside as the ship came down hard, some of the barrels on board explosion and destroying part of the city, leaving all the residents in a panic.

As Luke did his best to try and calm all the ponies, all Iron Fist could wonder was what had happened here and what led to it, "Well, Tony's not gonna like this."

---

In Tartarus, Discord had continued his own plans during all this chaos. He opened a portal that he showed off to The Dazzlings, Mysterio, Electro, Shocker, "In you go."

"Where does that lead?" Shocker asked.

"Why it leads to the Dragon World, where Goku's from," Discord explained.

"Wait, why are we going there!?" Shocker asked.

"I'd like to know myself," Adagio said.

"I need you to find a man dressed in a black gi and deliver a message for me," Discord said, poofing a letter into Adagio's hands. "I'm sending you as a group so you'd feel safer."

"Wow, how thoughtful," Adagio sarcastically remarked.

"I know..." Discord said, almost oblivious to the sarcasm. "Now go, and hurry. The longer I keep this open, the likelier that Princess Celestia will detect it."

"Let's hustle then," Adagio said, leading her squad through the portal as Discord closed it.

"What are you planning?" Octavius asked, the doctor standing beside Discord.

"My ultimate weapon, even if I never get Doctor Doom, Dormammu or Ultron on our side, I will be pretty content with this," Discord said. "It should be fun."

"Sounds amusing," Octavius said.

"Well while they're doing that, perhaps you can help me with something soon," Discord said. "How familiar are you with a man named Albert Wesker?"

"I know who he is," Octavius said.

"I actually managed to get into contact with him not too long ago, and he may or may not assist our plans in about a year but I need an answer from him soon, and I figured a man of you charisma could help him warm up to my ideas, what do you say?" Discord asked.

"Perhaps, let me hear what you have in mind," Octavius said.

---

Meanwhile in the Dragon World, Adagio and her team began looking for the man in question that Discord mentioned.

"Is this guy even going to be easy to find?" Shocker asked.

Suddenly a boy with a sword and golden spikey hair had gotten knocked into a building, startling the villains. He pulled away and focused on the person who attacked him. "I won't let you win Black! I'll keep this world safe!"

"Foolish..." came the voice of the man in question. To the surprise of the six nearby villains, this man looked exactly like Goku. "I thought you'd be a bit stronger Trunks, maybe you need to work on your strength a bit more before I am satisfied enough to destroy you."

"Is this some game to you? Lives are in danger! You can't just cause havoc like this on innocent people!" Trunks said.

"You call them innocent? Foolish boy, they brought this on themselves!" Black blasted Trunks again, sending him flying off. "I'll leave him be for now, he's the closest thing I have to worthy competition. Now then," He turned his attention to the six villains. "Is there something you need from me?"

Adagio gulped, feeling just as worried as her team, but she had a mission to complete. "I bring you a message, from Discord."

"Discord?" Black remembered the name, feeling a sense of curiosity. "This should be interesting then."

What many in Equestria hoped would be a bright future was already showing signs of dark clouds, and the biggest troubles are starting within. The destruction of Las Pegasus could only be yet another forewarning to what's to come.

Author's Notes:

Merry Christmas!

Troubling Consequences

The moment Tony got word of what happened to Las Pegasus, he was quite displeased. Once again, a mission assigned by The Accords did not go according to plan. He took it upon himself to travel to the city to survey the damage.

It looked bad in the city itself, a good portion of it got destroyed, fires had started as a result and the city needed to be evacuated if there might have been a villain involved in this. Luke Cage and Iron Fist worked double time to help any surviving citizen, with assistance from Peter.

"Here I thought things could not get any worse, but I guess I was wrong," Tony lamented. "Celestia is going to have a fit too."

"Tony!" Peter called, getting the attention of the founding Avenger.

"Peter, what happened out here!?" Tony asked. "How and why did a ship crash land in this town!? Whose ship is this anyway!?"

"It's a pirate ship, the same pirates that were working for The Storm King," Peter explained. "The ship crashed when a fight with their captain went wrong."

"Well where is the captain?" Tony asked.

"She...kind of got away," Peter shamefully admitted. "I tried controlling the ship to prevent it from crashing, but the sails were out of control, unfortunately I had no choice but make my exit. I hoped the ship would drift more toward the sea but just my luck it ended up in a town like this."

Tony still looked displeased of course, this was a lot of damage over what was a stealth mission, but he knows Peter did his best, he always does, "What's done is done, only thing left is to clean up the mess here, and find that captain. Did you get a name? What does this captain look like? Was it a pony?"

"The captain's name is Celeano," Peter said. "And she's not a pony, she's a walking, talking bird."

"...A bird?" Tony asked. "That's new."

"Yeah that town had a lot of odd creatures, some looked like fish, some looked like pigs, there was even a cat," Peter said.

"A cat? You mean an Abyssinian?" Tony asked. "That Kingdom still hasn't answered Celestia's invitation to the castle."

"I can't help there, I barely know the guy," Peter said. "Just another scummy lowlife, like everyone else in that town. Celestia wasn't kidding when she said laws barely exist there."

"That bad huh?" Tony said. "Hey where's Luna? Is she here?"

"Last I saw her, she went after that little hedgehog guy from the Storm King's Invasion weeks ago," Peter said.

"Hope she had better luck then," Tony said. "What were these guys up to anyway? The pirates I mean?"

"Delivering explosives to Mr. Negative," Peter explained.

"So, now our pal Martin is in contact with The Storm King, like if things weren’t frustrating enough," Tony said. "Anyway, you can keep helping Luke and Iron Fist clean up."

"You got it boss," Peter said, thwipping away.

Tony continued to survey the damage, still feeling frustrated from the destruction, wondering if this could have been prevented.

"Tony!" Called Luna's voice, the mare flying in with some Storm King soldiers as prisoners, along with Celeano's allies.

"Hey Luna, you've been busy," Tony said.

"I have most of the party we were after," Luna said.

"The ones trying to sell to Mr. Negative?" Tony asked.

"Yes, unfortunately I could not capture a top general in The Storm King's army," Luna said. "He's a rather slippery one."

"Ah well, you still did good," Tony said, taking note of the crashed ship once again. "Too bad this couldn't be prevented. That Celeano woman must have been pretty crafty."

"I wish I could have been on board to help, perhaps I should have just left these thugs to Felicia Hardy," Luna said.

"Felicia Hardy?" Tony asked, turning to Luna.

"Oh right, you should probably know that she took it upon herself to accompany myself and Peter on this mission," Luna explained. "The Accords mean nothing to her because she, and I loosely quote, 'Works for my sister, not you', which apparently entitles her to do what she pleases."

Tony grumbled in annoyance, the idea of Felicia finding a loophole through his Accords did not sit well with him, "I need to have a word with your sister. Let Peter and Felicia know to see me once clean up here winds down, I have a few changes to make."

"I trust they will be for the better," Luna said. "The last thing we need is anypony, Equestrian or Earthling, to think that all they have to do is go over our heads to do whatever they want."

"You read my mind," Tony said, about to take off when a thought occurred to him. "Wait, can you actually read my mind?"

"Well, technically I can since I can go into the Dream World," Luna said. "But I wasn't reading your mind for real now, I'm not one to randomly breach someone's privacy."

"Oh, alright then..." Tony said, about to take off again. "Hey, have you been in my dreams by chance?"

"No...should I?" Luna asked.

"I'd rather you not," Tony said, turning away to hide an awkward blush. "It's just...random guy stuff, nothing of interest. Gotta go!"

Tony quickly sped off, leaving a confused Luna behind, "Sometimes it's easy to see why Peter admires Tony so much. They're both quite odd, but at least have a strong sense of justice.”

Peter overlooked the city, seeing all the destruction and injuries filled him with deep regret, the hero wondering what he could have done to prevent this. Just the sight reminded him of his time in Future Equestria, the boy shuddering at the thought of similar events coming to pass.

"Spider-Man," Luke said, getting his attention.

"Sorry, did I zone out?" Peter asked.

"A little, you feeling alright there?" Luke asked. Probably a foolish question, given what just happened, of course the hero would be shaken up.

"I'm so sorry about all this. I can't believe all this happened, I thought I had everything under control," Peter said.

"This can't be undone, the best we can do is move forward," Luke said. "We'll make this right."

"I'm supposed to protect this world, it's my duty, not just as it's hero, but as it's Knight and Prince," Peter said.

"Heroes like us can't save everyone, but we can do our best to," Luke said. "I know how you feel, I'm no prince, but I was assigned to protect this city, so I share some responsibility."

"Nothing you could have done to prevent this, you're strong but this ship would have been too much for you," Peter said.

"Too much? I think you're underestimating me a bit," Luke joked, hoping to lighten the mood with some humor, Peter at least cracking a smile. "We'll make this right, count on it."

"Yeah, sure," Peter said. "We just have to find Captan Celaeno."

"Tell me all you know, Danny and I will keep a lookout," Luke Cage said.

"Thanks, I appreciate that," Peter said.

---

The following day in Canterlot Castle, Peter and Felicia had gone to Canterlot Castle where they had granted Celestia her audience, one overlooked by Spitfire, Steve, Tony and Luna.

"Peter, Felicia, it has come to my understanding that there was a bit of an unfortunate incident that resulted from complications regarding your mission," Celestia began.

"We're sorry, things just went wrong real fast," Peter said. "I never would have imagined losing control of that ship would result in that much catastrophe."

"I know you did not intend this Peter, and I know you did your best, your success far out classes any slip ups you may encounter," Celestia reassured.

"See Peter? Celestia is totally understanding of this situation, she knows you well enough after all," Felicia said.

"But, this is still cause for concern," Celestia said.

"Starting with you Felicia," Tony said. "I talked to Celestia, she had no idea that you went to Klugetown."

"Well yeah, I made that choice on my own," Felicia said.

"Do you need to be reminded how The Accords work?" Tony asked. "If you want a mission, you have to get clearance first, especially from me."

"And do you need to be reminded that you are not my boss?" Felicia sassed.

"Watch the tone lady," Spitfire warned.

"I'm just pointing out facts, I work under Princess Celestia first and foremost, if she has a problem with what I did, then I'll leave that for her to decide," Felicia said. "But I think Celestia should know that I was the one who got Peter and Luna the lead they needed to find Celaeno's ship, so I did you all a favor."

"Sister, you can't be alright with this blatant disregard for the rules, can you?" Luna asked.

"Well, it isn't ethical, but she meant well," Celestia said.

"Meaning well isn't enough, you said yourself you want a better future for Equestria, part of that means keeping order," Luna said. "If Felicia is not going to be part of the solution, that makes her part of the problem."

"Why is she even employed by you anyway? Did S.M.I.L.E. want her or is this just some experiment you came up with?" Spitfire asked.

"I recruited her to put her skills to use," Celestia said. "And to keep her under control."

"Well I say she has outgrown her usefulness," Luna said. "If she believes she can do whatever she pleases just because you'll give her a pass, then that ultimately undermines the reason you had for hiring her in the first place."

"We have more than enough heroes at our disposal, in addition to our new recruits that we've been training as of late, I say we don't need her services," Spitfire said.

"Such an ungrateful bunch, you're so focused on your silly rules that you ignore the results my initiative has taken," Felicia said.

"Like part of a city getting destroyed?" Tony asked. "That isn't results Felicia."

"Let's not be too hard, Felicia would not intentionally endanger others, and she was trying to help," Steve said.

"Why thank you Captain," Felicia said. "You always were a stand-up hero."

"Totally sucker for a pretty face too," Tony said, aggravating his friend.

"Like you're one to talk," Steve argued.

"My point stands, I say Felicia should be fired," Tony said.

"I agree," Spitfire said.

"Same, she shall be removed from her position at once," Luna said.

"Uh, yeah, no, that isn't up to you, it's up to Celestia," Felicia said. "She is the Princess of the land, and has the final say."

"Luna, you're a Princess of Equestria too, aren't you?" Tony asked.

"Yes, I am," Luna said.

"At night," Felicia pointed out.

"How dare you, I am just as important as my sister!" Luna said. "She's not the only one who rules Equestria! It's supposed to be a partnership."

"It should be," Came the voice of Carol, the woman having flown in through the window. "Because no one mare should have all that power."

"Carol? What are you doing here?" Peter asked.

"I came once I heard word of the incident at Las Pegasus," Carol explained.

"Wow, news travels fast," Peter said.

"Well I am in usual contact with Cadance, and she received instant messages from Celestia and Luna, so that helps me keep up to date on everything that happens here," Carol explained. "Such as that incident from the other night, where apparently Johnny Storm's inept hero work led to the destruction of Tony's building in Manehattan."

"Bit harsh there, Johnny did his best," Peter said.

"His so-called best resulted in destruction and casualties, just like this past mission," Carol said. "I'm a little surprised that this happened under your watch Peter, but I suppose everyone has their off days."

"Gee, thanks," Peter sarcastically remarked. "Anyway what's with this whole One Mare and Power thing you just said?"

"I'd like to know how this land is governed, is Celestia the sole authority or is it more balanced?" Carol asked. "I mean having one pony making all those choices seems counterproductive to a positive society."

"In Celestia's defense, it's worked well so far," Peter said. "This have only been bad the last year or so."

"Because she finds herself unfamiliar with a lot of the dangers that have fallen on Equestria, and there's only so much she can do with such limited knowledge," Carol said. "We're going to need a change in the system."

"Hold on now Carol, you're not suggesting that we replace Celestia, are you?" Steve asked.

"I am not for that," Peter said.

"No one needs to get replaced, she can stay in power, but I suggest you fix the ranks in this world," Carol said. "Most countries back on Earth have that ranked power system. Take Wakanda, King T'Challa does not make all the choices, he consults with the other tribes and does not force his way all the time. If you allow Celestia to be the sole decision maker, you may not get the best results."

"Well Celestia is letting Tony take control with The Accords, so there's that," Peter said.

"Yes, and little miss kitty here believes she's above the Accords because Celestia seems to overrule them," Carol said. "Because if that's the case, then are the Accords even worth taking seriously?"

"Uh...well," Peter was a bit stumped on how to respond to this.

"You don't need to come up with an answer, it's already clear," Carol said, gesturing to Celestia. "The biggest obstacle to this world being the best it could be, is its own leader."

"Easy Carol, show Celestia a little respect, she's still the Princess," Steve said.

"She should be able to handle a little criticism, it is for the best of her world," Carol said, then turned to Celestia. "You do say your subjects are important to you, don't you?"

"Of course they are," Celestia said.

"Well then, I suggest you try a little consistency," Carol said. "You talk about how you want this world safe, how you're unsure of how well we heroes can keep it safe given the threats that come from our world. Well this time the threat was from your world, and Tony seemed to have it under control by sending only two into a town where ponies are not typically the norm. Smart move on his behalf, something that got jeopardized by little miss kitty here."

"Gonna need you to stop calling me that, it's 'Felicia' or 'Black Cat'," the cat themed thief warned.

"I prefer your last name Hardy, it fits your foolhardy nature," Carol snapped.

"At least no one mistakes me for a man," Felicia snapped back, this causing an awkward silence.

"Aw, kitty has quips," Carol taunted, then focused back on Celestia. "I know you are not to blame for what Little Miss Foolhardy did, but as her 'employer', it is your duty to correct her mistake. She should not be running off on her own."

"Then let's fire her," Spitfire said. "Tony Stark and Princess Luna are in favor too."

"So three of you want her fired, how many of you are against it?" Carol asked.

"I am," Steve said. "While what she did was technically against the rules, she did have good intentions. I say just a small warning is enough."

"A small warning is hardly a good punishment for the destruction she allowed to happen," Carol said.

"So quick to blame me, ever think this could have happened regardless if I was there or not?" Felicia asked. "I had the inside in Klugetown, I brought Peter and Twilight to Celaeno, if it wasn't for me, they would have had a much more difficult time!"

"We would have managed without you, it didn't help that you decided to board the ship with Peter and likely distracted him from apprehending the pirate captain by being a liability," Luna said.

"You're all going off assumptions right now, you have no actual proof," Felicia said.

"Fine, we'll get proof," Carol said. "Spider-Man, tell me. Was she an asset or a liability?"

"Well...define asset and liability," Peter said.

"Don't dodge the question, remember the destruction, how many lives will be affected because of this," Carol said.

"I'm aware of that," Peter insisted. "It's just...I think Felicia deserves another chance, she really did help out."

"Spider-Man, surely you, a Knight and Prince of Equestria, are not trying to make excuses for a woman like this, who has had a troubled past and is a part of the destruction of a city," Carol said. "This is a very poor example, and we know you're better than this."

"I'm not condoning anything, but it's not fair to fault Felicia, I should have been able to prevent that crash too, if you're mad at her, then you should all be mad at me," Peter said.

"Peter, you and I were supposed to be there, Felicia was not," Luna said. "It is unfair for you to take fault."

"It is to me," Peter said. "I'm sorry, I just can't go against Felicia like this, it doesn't feel right."

Felicia seemed almost amazed that Peter was standing up for her like this, despite their rocky relationship, it is reassuring that he does care about her, making her almost feel bad for the situation she got him into.

"Peter don't be stupid, you don't need to take the fall for this lady," Tony said. "You're worth more to Equestria than she is."

"Hiring her was probably one of the worst decisions my sister has made over the years," Luna said.

"Excuse me?" Celestia focused on her younger sister.

"You knew I was against the idea of trusting her, yet you just had to have her on your side because you always get what you want," Luna said.

"That is not true! It's not about getting what I want, it's about utilizing her skills to our advantage!" Celestia said.

"She's a thief! You hired a thief!" Luna said. "By that logic, maybe we should have tried recruiting some of the villains in the dungeon.”

"I'd probably trust Taskmaster more than Felicia at this point," Tony said. "He's shown to have more common sense."

"Alright I kind of find that insulting," Felicia said.

"Felicia may be troubled but she is not as evil as those we have captured over the years," Celestia said.

"I just wish you'd clear some of these decisions with me first before deciding on what YOU want to do," Luna said. "Equestria is my country too!"

"Easy Luna, that's your sister," Steve said.

"Wow Steve, are you always quick to side with Celestia?" Carol asked. "Is something going on between you two or have you just turned into a brown noser for her?”

Steve looked a bit irritated by the comment, he wanted to reply but Celestia spoke on his behalf, "I would advise that you not disrespect Steve Rogers in that manner Miss Danvers, if you want to talk about leadership, keep in mind that he outranks you in The Avengers."

"Exactly, just because YOU call yourself Captain doesn't mean you're more of a Captain than the leader of The Avengers," Felicia said.

"Co-Leader!" Tony emphasized. "As co-leader, I suggest that you, Felicia, watch your tone against a hero who outranks you."

"At least Tony Stark has a good head on his shoulders, maybe he's better off just being the leader over Steve Rogers, but if he needs a co-Captain, I'm always up for that position," Carol said.

"You would never be able to replace Captain Steve Rogers," Celestia said. "If you're done wasting our time, Carol, then I suggest you be on your way."

"I'm not done here," Carol said, focusing on Peter. "Not until Spider-Man admits what happened on that ship. I will get answers."

"Easy Carol, don't do anything rash to Peter," Tony warned.

"I won't need to, because he's a good enough kid to know what the right thing to do is," Carol said. "Peter, tell us, was Felicia the most responsible for the ship crashing into Las Pegasus?"

"Uh...well..." Peter wasn't sure what to say here. True Felicia did cause a bit of a distraction on board but she was trying to help.

"You know what, fine, it was my fault, I got in the way of the fight, and it resulted in the ship crashing, alright?" Felicia said. "You want to fire me, then fine. In fact, I'll do you one better. Princess Celestia, I quit."

"Huh?" Peter just turned to the girl, who had just tossed her S.M.I.L.E. badge on the ground. "Felicia!"

"It's fine Peter, if they can't appreciate my help, it's on them," Felicia said. "I'm just glad you did; you always were dependable.”

"Finally came to your senses huh?" Carol said. "So, you're no longer under Celestia's payroll, or her protection?"

"No, I'm done," Felicia said.

"Good...Now, arrest her," Carol said.

"Wait, excuse me!?" Felicia asked.

"Did you just ask to arrest her?" Tony asked in surprise.

"She technically violated the Accords, and resulted in catastrophic destruction," Carol said. "Now that she quit, Celestia can't protect this little kitty, so arrest her."

"You can't be serious!" Felicia said.

"I am," Carol said. "Tony, you know this needs to be done, you have an example to set for anyone who tries breaking the rules."

"I'm afraid she has a point," Tony said. "As Co-Leader of the Avengers, I hearby place you under arrest Felicia Hardy."

"As Princess of Equestria, I authorize the arrest," Luna said.

"Wait hold on!" Peter said. "You can't do this!"

"Peter, out of the way," Luna warned, then called out. "Guards! Detain this thief!"

Within seconds two of Luna's personal guards had made their way to the cat lady, who looked quite reluctant to go down easy.

"Hey! Stand down!" Peter warned.

"Sorry Peter, they obey me, not you," Luna said. "Even your Royal status cannot overrule that."

"But I can," Celestia said. "Tony this is too much."

"I agree," Steve said. "This is not the proper way to handle the situation."

"Alright, let's put it to a vote then Steve," Carol said. "A good American like yourself should be on board with a little democracy."

"Excuse me but I do have a say in this," Celestia said.

"As do I sister, and we're going with Captain Marvel's idea," Luna said.

"All in favor of Felicia's arrest!" Tony said, raising his foreleg.

"Ai!" Came the voices of Luna, Spitfire and Carol.

"Looks like the favor outweighs the protest," Carol said. "Guards, your Princess's orders if you will."

"No wait!" Peter was about to do something but Carol flew in front of him.

"Peter, I don't want to hurt you, but if you get in the way, that will make you a traitor to Equestria, do you really want that?" Carol asked.

"Traitor seems like a bit much!" Peter said.

"Peter, just stand down, please," Tony requested. "Think of your family, do you really want to cause so much trouble for yourself after your son was just born?"

"I don't want to have to ask them to detain you as well Peter, just be smart, for the sake of Mayday and Benjy," Luna pleaded.

Peter was still reluctant, he couldn't just allow this, but Felicia placed her foreleg on his shoulder, "I'll be fine, just don't throw your freedom away for my sake."

Peter calmed his nerves for the moment, knowing full well if he did something he shouldn't, it would indeed make things more complicated, "Don't worry, I know a good lawyer."

"Sounds fun," Felicia said. "Oh, and you probably already do this, but keep an eye on my daughter if you can."

"You got it," Peter said as the guards escorted her away to the dungeon. Peter looked furious; this was too much in his mind.

"I know this bothers you Peter," Tony said. "But rules are rules."

"Well you gotta work on fixing this rules," Peter said. "Now, if you're done with this meeting, I should get home, see the son of mine you're supposedly worried about."

"Hey if you see Jessica Jones, send her to Canterlot if you don't mind!" Tony instructed.

"Uh-huh." Without another word, Peter thwipped away, leaving everyone mostly speechless over what happened, all except Carol.

"You made the right call Tony, you too Luna," Carol said. "Now, as I was saying before about Celestia's rule, I have a suggestion.”

"We are not overthrowing her," Steve warned.

"Never said that, she can sit on her precious throne," Carol said, side-eyeing the annoyed Princess. "But we need a little balance."

"Like a council or something?" Tony asked.

"I like the way you think Tony Stark," Carol said. "Let's get to planning.”

Tony had left with Carol, Luna following right after the two in hopes of helping them figure things out. Celestia looked a bit concerned, she did not trust what Carol had planned.

"Celestia, nothing will happen to your rule, I'll make sure of that," Steve said.

"Steve, how do you feel about my rule?" Celestia asked. "Do you also think me inept?"

"No, you rule with kindness and you always look after your subjects," Steve said. "If you're worried about perfection, I advise you put that aside, no one is perfect, but you do your best and that's all Equestria could ask for."

"I'm loyal to you too Princess," Spitfire said. "But, think about this, having a council of sorts would take a lot of weight off you. You might even get a day off or two, because if I may say, you look very stressed out these days.”

"That sounds nice but, it's too soon for me to consider that," Celestia said, standing up from her throne. "I have a lot to think about as well, tell Tony and my sister to come get me if they come to a conclusion."

"Sure thing Celestia," Steve said as Celestia trotted off.

"You two are pretty close huh? Seems like you're always there, worrying about her," Spitfire said.

"I have a lot of respect for Celestia, she's a strong leader, and always does her best to maintain peace and harmony," Steve said. "Of course, even I must agree on one thing Carol said, no one should be a sole decision maker. My reasons are different, like you I also feel like she's overworked and having a council of sorts would be beneficial. Or maybe something akin to the United Nations."

"The United Nations?" Spitfire asked.

"Representatives of different countries coming together, places like America, Japan, Russia and Wakanda. They've even extended an invitation to Asgard, it's all about trying to find peace in the world," Steve said.

"You know, that sounds perfect, if we do this council thing, not only can we get some of the high-ranking ponies in Equestria, but having representatives from non-Equestrian cities can work too," Spitfire said.

"Tony's already got a head start on that, the only ones he's having trouble convincing are Prince Rutheford, King Thorax and Queen Novo," Steve said.

"A Kirin was spotted at Benjy Parker-Sparkle's coming home party, I think that could put us in good faith with Rain Shine too," Spitfire said. "Just a few more empires and that will bring us one step closer to total Harmony across our world."

"There's no such thing as Total Harmony, but we can get as close as we can," Steve said. He took note of Bucky entering the room with Double Diamond and crew.

"Hey Steve, I'm about to put these four through some training, wanna join?" Bucky asked.

"In a minute," Steve said. "We're discussing something important."

"Does this have to do with some incident at Las Pegasus?" Bucky asked. "I heard the guards talking about it."

"Something like that, let's just say that Spider-Man and Princess Luna were busy last night," Steve said.

"Also, a certain kitty got in trouble," Spitfire commented.

"Kitty?" Bucky asked.

"Don't worry about it right now, feel free to take these four to their training," Steve said.

"Actually, before you do," Spitfire focused on Night Glider. "I'd like to see how well you perform while flying, I'm open to new Wonderbolt recruits, and you might have just what it takes to join."

"Wow, really?" Night Glider asked.

"Show me your skills later, if you impress me I'll immediately enroll you in my Academy," Spitfire said.

"Oh wow, uh sure Miss Spitfire ma'am!" Night Glider excitedly stated.

"That is all, you may train with your friends," Spitfire said. "I will be by later to see the results."

"She'll make you proud," Bucky said, turning to lead his friends group away. "To the courtyard!"

As they left, Spitfire turned once more to Steve, "The other day, he and Falcon helped you find some bad guy named Zemo, did everything turn out well?"

"No...I mean he was eventually defeated, but not before causing a major disturbance at the Wakandan Embassy," Steve explained. "He set off a bomb in an attempt on King T'Challa's life, hoping to use his death to weaken his Kingdom and steal some Vibranium, a very powerful ore found only in Wakanda. King T'Challa lived, but many others perished, including some visitors he brought with him."

"Ooh, sorry to hear," Spitfire said. "Maybe Earth needs the Accords too."

Steve shook his head, "This happened because Fury tried controlling the situation, we knew Zemo was somewhere in Manhattan, ready to strike, but Fury figured it would be easier to dispatch some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to help. Everyone tried too hard sticking to the plan and tried controlling every little detail, that allowed Zemo to use the situation to his advantage and carry out his plan."

"Sorry to hear, thankfully we in Equestria are a lot better at coordination," Spitfire said.

"Are you? I mean first Manehattan, now Las Pegasus, casualties are mounting just like they did on Earth," Steve said. "At least on Earth we were able to apprehend Zemo, here both Martin Li and this Celeano woman had gotten away, so I'd say this world is worse off."

"Just a few hiccups, I mean we slipped up in Manehattan, but things could have gone better in Las Pegasus, if Black Cat didn't screw things up," Spitfire said.

"It's because higher ups are too controlling," Steve said. "Don't get me wrong, I want coordination, but too much control can be just as bad as too little control."

"We just need balance, we're getting there," Spitfire insisted. "Tony's a smart guy, he has the Princesses helping him, and we're right there too. The five pillars of the Accords."

"You're optimistic," Steve said.

"I'm just being real, look things will get better, I trust Tony Stark, and you should too, he's your teammate and one of your best friends," Spitfire said. "With this council thing that got suggested too, I'd say we're one step closer to a better society. Plus think about this, if Celestia gets those days off, you might be able to finally take her on a proper date."

"Excuse me!?" Steve asked, looking a little flustered.

Spitfire began laughing out loud, "Sorry, I'm just teasing, but it does seem like she has a thing for you at times, you're both already so informal with one another, so ponies naturally assume that you two are an item."

"That is...no, we're just friends," Steve said.

"Sure thing Cap," Spitfire said. "I'm gonna go check on Night Glider, you should come by soon. That Double Diamond guy looks pretty tough, I bet with some of your personal training, maybe he can use a might shield of his own."

Spitfire flew off as Cap turned to his shield, one he had made for Equestria given it's Equestrian colors, Celestia's Cutie Mark right in the middle. It was proof of his loyalty to this world, just as his other shield is prove of his loyalty to America. Two countries he vowed to protect.

Beyond that, he would protect both worlds, that is what he believes a true American Hero should do, protect his home and his neighbors. Equestria is essentially his second home, that just meant more for him to fight for. But he worried if the foundation of this world could be as wobbly as it is back home, he had to figure out the best method to keep both realms safe, it was his duty after all.

---

At Ponyville Park, Mayday and Franklin were taking a stroll with Susan and Derpy, another attempt to give Mayday some needed fresh air.

As the filly walked, she heard a familiar voice up ahead. She looked to see Rumble walking and talking with Dinky and Wind Sprint, the boy seeming to be bragging about something.

"Hey! Rumble!" Mayday called, getting his attention.

"May! Good to see you!" Rumble made his way over with his two friends.

"You too, I see you're with Dinky and Wind Sprint again," Mayday said.

"Well they are my besties, having a couple of friends to spend time with is always fun," Rumble said.

Dinky looked ahead and spotted the other two mares with Rumble, one of them of course being her adoptive mother. "Hanging out with Susan again, Derpy? You're not overexerting yourself while you're at the Parker-Sparkle home, are you?"

"I'm fine Dinky," Derpy said, then turned to Susan. "When I told Doc about Twilight getting exhausted, he started to worry about me too."

"Husbands are like that, usually at least," Susan said. "Reed was very attentive when I was pregnant with Franklin and later Valeria, well as attentive as he could be given how attached he usually was to his work."

"Funny how we both ended up with husbands who practically live in their labs," Derpy joked. "Of course I wouldn't trade Doc's eccentric personality for anything."

"Same here, with Reed I mean," Susan said.

"That's true love, just like me and Apple Bloom," Rumble said.

"Rumble was just bragging about how close the two have gotten lately," Dinky said. "It's kind of sappy."

"Not my fault Apple Bloom and I are Ponyville’s cutest couple," Rumble said.

"You're so full of it," Dinky teased.

"Well, I could have some competition," Rumble said, quickly eyeing Mayday. "I see you're with Franklin again."

Mayday turned briefly to the boy, who seemed to be a bit flustered by what Rumble tried to imply, "Oh yeah, mostly because my mom wants me to hang out with him."

"You make it sound like a bad thing, I mean you've known Franklin for a few years now, don't you like his company?" Rumble asked.

"Well he's nice, and a good listener," Mayday said. "But I'm just not much of a talker."

"You were when it came to me, you used to tell me everything," Rumble said, kneeling down to Mayday. "You were such an excitable little girl, now you're a bit different, a bit more reserved."

"You're not traumatized or anything, are you?" Dinky asked.

"Huh? What would I be traumatized about?" Mayday asked.

"Well those villains from Capcom showed up a few years back, some threatened you, one even injured you, then all those villains that showed up afterwards, I mean, shouldn't one of them have freaked you out?" Dinky asked.

"I could never forget those Capcom guys, it was the start of some weird crap for me," Rumble said.

"That stuff was freaky but I wasn't scared, not much anyway," Mayday said. "Daddy was around, and no villain can defeat my daddy. So no, I never have a reason to worry."

"You really have a lot of faith in your dad," Dinky said. "Can't blame you, I looked up to him when I was a filly too. I even got to attend his wedding."

"Lucky, I was around for the wedding but I was mostly in the back with my brother and foalsitters," Rumble said. "At least I got to live with Peter and Twilight for a few months."

"It was because of something involving your older brother, is that right?" Franklin asked.

"Yeah, my brother kind of caused a bit of trouble for himself, he really did not like Peter," Rumble explained.

"Do you know why he used to not like daddy?" Mayday asked. "I mean, they're friends now but I don't think he ever really explained it."

"I really can't tell you, my brother's just been moody since we lost our parents," Rumble said. “I mean I was pretty bummed out too but I learned to move on quicker, I’m just glad he did.”

“That stuff just takes a while, but it’s important to remember that you’re not alone,” Wind Sprint said.

“I can vouch for that,” Susan said.

“It’s all good, at least I have my brother, my foalsitters and now the Parker-Sparkle family, and I will make them all proud when I join the Wonderbolts,” Rumble said.

"Spitfire asked him to join the other day, he accepted it and this weekend he's going to attend the Academy," Wind Sprint explained.

"Tony Stark bragged about me to her, it ruled," Rumble said.

"I've thought about joining myself, but I can't decide between being a Wonderbolt or following my dad's legacy of being a great Buck Ball player," Wind Sprint said.

"You can go for Buck Ball, but only if you want to, not because you think it's what your dad wants you to do," Susan said.

"I know, but I really do love playing Buck Ball, I'm just confused," Wind Sprint said. "It's hard picking one thing."

"Who says it needs to be one? Remember my philosophy, no one should be labeled as 'One Thing'," Rumble said. "I want to not just be a Wonderbolt, I want to be an Avenger and an Element of Harmony."

"Oh yeah, being an Element would be great," Wind Sprint said. "Maybe I can be both a Wonderbolt and a Buck Ball player."

"Yeah, go for it! Do what you want to do in life," Rumble said.

"I still have no idea what I really want to do, I thought about perfecting my magic akin to Princess Twilight but that's a lot tougher than I expected too," Dinky said.

"Why stop at being like Twilight? You could be like Doctor Strange," Rumble said. "You, Dinky, can be the Sorcerer Supreme of Equestria!"

"That does sound neat," Dinky said, then turned to her mother figure. "What do you think Derpy?"

"You can be anything you want, just work hard for it," Derpy said.

"Alright, I'll give it a shot," Dinky said. "I just need somepony to teach me more about magic."

"You can ask Twilight, or that Starlight Glimmer mare," Rumble said. "I bet you can even ask Doctor Strange himself, I mean I'm good buddies with Peter and he knows all the popular heroes, so it can work out."

"Doctor Strange is pretty much to himself though," Franklin said. "And he's very busy so he may not have time."

"Say, what do you want to be Franklin?" Wind Sprint asked.

"I'm not too sure yet, I'm still deciding," Franklin said.

"Well I want to be a scientist, just like daddy wanted to be," Mayday said.

"You are talented at science," Franklin said.

"Thanks," Mayday said, then turned to the mark on her flank. "Wish that was my Cutie Mark, instead of whatever this is."

"That mark is confusing, it's basically a combination of your parents' marks," Dinky said.

"I get that a lot," Mayday said. "I'm just worried that it means my destiny is just being the daughter of Spider-Man and Princess Twilight."

"Don't worry about your Cutie Mark, those things are pointless," Rumble said. "They're the reason for this 'One Thing' society, I say screw your mark, do what you want to do."

"How does Apple Bloom feel every time you say stuff like that?" Derpy asked.

"Oh she doesn't mind, sure she gives me that glare, but it just makes her look even more adorable. It's like Peter says, girls are cute when they're mad," Rumble said. "But part of our relationship is being understanding, and she understands that I don't like Cutie Marks."

"Me neither, I wish I could get rid of mine," Mayday said.

"Can't that Starlight mare do that?" Rumble asked. "I heard she got rid of a lot of Cutie Marks."

"I asked her, then my mom freaked out and lectured me about the importance of Cutie Marks, and how I should be grateful to have one," Mayday said. "It's stupid really, I mean it's my body, I should decide what goes on it, why should I have a mark I'm not happy with?"

“She’s got a point,” Susan said.

"Anyone who doesn't have one is lucky, that includes you Frankie," Mayday said.

"Am I really?" Franklin asked.

"Sure are kid," Rumble said, then trotted off. "Well I'll let you get back to your walk, see you later."

"Bye Rumble," Mayday said as Rumble and his friends continued on.

"Oh, by the way you three," Derpy said, getting their attention. "You haven't been causing trouble for Sandbar and his friends, have you?"

Rumble groaned in annoyance while the two mares by his side seemed to echo his frustration, "No Derpy."

"Alright, good, make sure it stays that way," Derpy said.

"Yes Derpy," the three said and trotted off.

Susan remembered the group of students led by Sandbar, and the rivalry they exhibited against Rumble's group, "What made the two groups dislike each other anyway?"

"It's silly, when I talked to Dinky she insisted they were cramping her style, a sentiment Rumble's friends showed, even the Cutie Mark Crusaders," Derpy said. "Apple Bloom’s the only one who wasn't purposely trying to cause them trouble.

"Rumble just wants to be appreciated, and Sandbar's group is a threat to that," Mayday said.

"That sounds kind of silly," Susan said.

"Because it is, I had a nice long talk with Dinky about it, Thunderlane told me he had a nice long chat with Rumble and I think Wind Sprint had one with Quibble and her mom," Derpy said. "I trust that Rarity straightened out Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo was straightened out by her aunts."

"Let's trust that got taken care of then, hopefully Rumble, Dinky and the others won't cause much trouble after this," Susan said.

"I hope not," Derpy said.

Back momentarily with Rumble and his two friends, the boy was looking a bit frustrated, "What do we even have to prove to Sandbar and his friends at this point? We beat them, fair and square."

"They are so not worth our time, just a distraction," Dinky said.

"Totally," Wind Sprint agreed.

"Doesn't matter anyway, soon we'll forge our futures, and in time, we won't have to worry about them ever again," Rumble said. "Once I become a Wonderbolt, those six losers will be but a faint memory, count on it," Rumble said, the two girls feeling just as determined as Rumble. "Well come on, The Crusaders are waiting for us."

"Especially Apple Bloom," Dinky teased.

"Oh you're just jealous because you want me yourself," Rumble teased back.

"I can't confirm nor deny that," Dinky said, following Rumble with Wind Sprint.

Back with Mayday, the girl continued to take her stroll, mentally imagining what she could work on later regarding her inventions, hoping her dad will be around to help.

"Hey Mayday, I was wondering, what is your relationship with the Cake Twins like?" Franklin asked.

"Is this about Pound Cake? Those two are just friends, sort of," Mayday said. "Pound Cake likes me but I don't like him."

"Is there anyone you like?" Franklin asked.

"No, I mean Rumble's cute but I've come to realize that he's too old for me right now," Mayday said. "Anyway I'm not interested in romance, besides I'm only eight years old. Well, I'm almost eight but my point stands, I don't want a boyfriend. Truthfully, I don't know if I'll ever get married, I'm more concerned about my career as a scientist, I may not have time for a relationship.”

"It's possible, my dad makes it work, he messes up sometimes but he always tries his best to be there for me and mom when we need him," Franklin said.

"That's good for him, your dad seems pretty cool, I hear he's an amazing inventor," Mayday said.

"He is, top of the line," Franklin said. "Mom always says he likes to push the limits on what he can do and go as far beyond as humanly possible."

"That would explain why my dad admires your dad," Mayday said. "He talks as well about him as he does about Mr. Stark."

"Have you had many chances to talk to Mr. Stark?" Franklin asked.

"A few, he's nice, but I really like that suit of his," Mayday said. "My daddy had a suit like that, then it got wrecked by that Goku guy, which is why my dad's making that speed suit."

"Hey, would you ever want to be a superhero? Just like your dad?" Franklin asked.

"I’m not sure, I haven’t developed his abilities, but I can be like Iron Man and make a suit, if to spend more time with my daddy,” Mayday said.

"I might try being a hero too, I just need to work on my powers, and develop a cool hero name," Franklin said.

"What are your powers exactly?" Mayday asked.

"You wouldn't believe me," Franklin said.

"A good scientist always keeps possibilities open," Mayday said. "Why don't you show me?"

"Mom says it's not a good idea, I don't always have good control over it," Franklin said. "But basically, I can warp reality."

"Warp reality!?" Mayday asked.

Derpy turned to Susan, "Can he really?"

"Something like that, it's really not safe though," Susan said, then called to her son. "Franklin, don't give too much away, at least not out in the open, you never know who might overhear you."

"Yes mom," Franklin said, then focused back to Mayday. "I can't tell you any more right now, but that's what I can do."

"Well I'd love to study it sometime, it sounds fascinating," Mayday said.

"Uh, sure, I'd like that," Franklin said, feeling flustered.

Suddenly Mayday started feeling strange as she checked her ear, "Why do I hear ringing?" Before she could inquire further, a ball had hit the side of her head. "Ow, what gives!?"

"Mayday! Are you alright? Did it hurt?" Franklin asked, checking the spot she got hit.

"I'm fine, get off," Mayday said, shooing the boy away.

"Sorry about that!" Called the voice of Sandbar as he trotted over. He took a second look at the two foals. Oh hi Mayday, Franklin, good to see you two out here."

"Yeah, real nice," an annoyed Mayday said, rubbing her head.

Franklin could feel a bit of tension already, so he quickly tried moving the topic along, "So, playing a game Sandbar?"

"Yeah, me and my friends came to play kick ball, it was Jubilee's idea," Sandbar said, gesturing to the X-Men member, who was seen waving. "It's not only my friends either, we invited other students from the school to join us."

True to Sandbar's word, many other students were seen present, including Toola Roola and Coconut Cream, the two running over to get the ball as well.

"Want to join us?" Toola Roola asked.

"Sports are not my thing," Mayday said.

"Oh really? Funny something about you strikes me as a sporty filly," Coconut Cream said.

"Maybe in another timeline, but I'm more into science than sports," Mayday said. "Not in the mood to play right now anyway."

"I'm bad at sports myself," Franklin said.

"Nonsense Franklin, you do well in baseball," Susan said.

"Not that well," Franklin insisted. "Besides if Mayday doesn't want to, then I don't either, not now at least. I'm just here to spend time with her."

"Like a date?" Sandbar teased.

"Oh grow up," Mayday snapped. "What's with the game anyway? Warming up to avenge your loss against Rumble?"

"Mayday!" Derpy scolded.

"Nah, he can have that win, it doesn't mean as much to me as it does to him," Sandbar said. "We're just playing for fun."

"That's always a good reason to play sports, or any type of game, it's about fun first and foremost, competition second," Susan said.

"Hey Mayday!" Ocellus said, flying over to the filly. "How has your little brother been lately?"

"He's fine, he just sleeps most of the time," Mayday said. "Normal baby stuff."

"He's really cute, just like my sisters," Ocellus said. "It's nice being an older sibling, isn't it?"

"Sure is, now I know how Rumble felt when he lived with us," Mayday said.

"Yeah..." Ocellus said, Rumble was clearly not her favorite subject, something the little filly picked up on.

"Oh right, you and your friends don't like Rumble much, do you?" Mayday asked, almost in an unhappy tone.

"It's not that we don't like him, we just find him...what’s the word?" Ocellus wondered.

"Bratty?" A Nearby Smolder said.

"Spoiled?" A nearby Gallus said.

"Cute?" A nearby Cozy said, getting odd looks. "What? Rumble's cute!"

"Got that right!" Toola Roola said, Coconut Cream agreeing.

"He's just not too friendly," Sandbar said. "I mean...he seems like he has a lot of issues to work out."

"That's an understatement," Franklin commented, earning himself a glare from Mayday.

"Can it," Mayday said, then focused back on Sandbar. "Rumble doesn't have issues, he's just very passionate about what he wants to be, and he wants to be a hero just like my daddy, and a protector of Equestria, just like mom. Rumble works hard to achieve that goal and maybe it bothered him when six random ponies came along and nearly usurped everything he worked for."

"That wasn't even our intention," Sandbar said.

"Is everything alright over there?" Jubilee asked, trotting over with Nightcrawler and the students.

"We're fine, we're just trying to explain some stuff to Mayday, seems she has the wrong idea about us," Sandbar said.

"My daddy may have had the wrong idea when he compared you to mom and our friends," Mayday said. "Truthfully none of you are like my mom's friends, and if you are, it's usually the worst part of it."

Derpy nervously turned to Susan, "Should we step in?"

"Probably," Susan said, then called out to the filly. "Mayday you should probably dial it back."

"No, let her talk," Gallus said, focusing hard on Mayday. "How exactly are we the worst part of your mom's friends?"

"Well Gallus, you are arrogant and smug like Auntie Rainbow Dash can be, but she backs it up with a positive attitude, half the time I see you, it looks like you have a scowl on your face, like you can't be bothered to be near anyone."

"Aren't you the same way?" Gallus asked.

"At least I smile once in a while," Mayday said, then focused on Smolder. "The only thing you seem to have in common with Auntie Rarity is probably how judgmental you both can be, but at least Auntie Rarity does so because she wants to help in her own way, you just judge because you seem insecure."

"Mayday that's a bit mean," Franklin said.

"I'm just being honest," Mayday said, then turned to Yona. "Speaking of honesty, I can't see you as Auntie Applejack, you're nothing alike aside from brute strength and ignorance of certain social norms. At least Auntie Applejack is a bit more of a realist and doesn't try to force herself to being something she's not just to fit in."

"Unless she's at a party where she has to be fancy," Derpy joked, hoping to lighten the situation, which was for naught.

"And you, Silverstream," Mayday said, getting the Hippogriff girl's attention. "You are way more hyper and more oblivious than Auntie Pinkie Pie. When she's goofy, she's charming, you just come off as annoying."

“I really think you should stop Mayday,” Franklin said.

"Ocellus," Mayday continued, paying no mind to Franklin. "The whole shy thing has been done already, not even just by Auntie Fluttershy, but auntie Pinkie Pie's sister. Even Frankie here went overboard with it the first time I met him."

"Hey!" Franklin shouted, a bit offended.

"As for you Sandbar...I can't see how you're anything like my mom, you're way too laid back while she's a hard worker, the only thing you have in common is just being like a leader, and letting Cozy Glow tag along like she's Uncle Spike," Mayday said, then turned to Cozy. "By the way, you're nothing like Uncle Spike, he doesn't walk around with a fake smile like you do."

Cozy narrowed her eyes at Mayday, looking ready to snap at the young girl, "You really shouldn't talk about fake smiles, Daddy's Little Girl."

"You wish you could have a daddy like mine, I've seen the look of admiration you give him," Mayday said.

"Mayday, you really need to dial it back, you're being mean to them for no reason," Franklin said.

"I'm just telling them what they need to hear, like what makes them so special that they all of a sudden became the talk of all my mom's friends?" Mayday asked. "Is it because there's six of them? Or rather seven!? Is it because they're non-poinies so we must treat them extra nice just to make their home countries happy? Far as I'm concerned, they're just six extra students, bet they don't even have good grades."

"Actually Ocellus is very intelligent," Jubilee said.

"Yeah, she's one of the smartest kids in school," Smolder said.

"Pfft, tell her to call me up when she can invent half the stuff Tony Stark does," Mayday said. "A few ‘A’s isn't anything to write home."

"Aren't you home schooled? What would you know about Academic Achievements?" Cozy Glow asked.

"I'll have you know that my mom lets me take the tests she gives you and I pass them with flying colors, because I'm too smart to be in any school," Mayday bragged.

Cozy Glow turned to Sandbar, "Can you believe her? She sounds so spoiled."

"Watch it you wannabe Parker," Mayday warned.

"Gee I thought you liked Wannabe Parkers, considering you're best friends with one," Gallus commented, this moment surprising Cozy a bit.

Mayday glared at the Griffon boy, "That better not have been a joke about Rumble, actually that's what it all comes down to. You're all jealous of Rumble! Because he's going to be something special! A Wonderbolt and an Avenger! Wind Sprint wants to be Wonderbolt and Buck Ball player! Dinky wants to learn magic like my mom! All three of them want to be Elements! What about the rest of you? What are your goals? Why are you in my mom's school? What can you possibly contribute that is worthwhile? I bet none of you even know what you want in life! Rumble's going places! His friends are going places! Me, I'm going to be right behind them forming my own legacy! Not just as Spider-Mane's daughter, but as my own pony. I, Mayday Gwendolyn Parker-Sparkle, will be the greatest scientist in all of Equestria!"

Everyone just stood there, not sure what to make of this little rant, but they couldn't deny the passion in her voice.

"Your middle name is Gwendolyn?" Franklin asked.

"Is that really all you took from my speech?" Mayday asked.

"It was the only thing worth mentioning," Cozy Glow said.

Mayday turned to Cozy Glow, glaring right at the Pegasus filly, but she didn't back down, the youngest member of Sandbar's friends just returning the glare, both girls looking like they were ready to fight.

"Alright, break it up!" Susan said, stepping forward.

"Don't let this get too out of control," Derpy said.

The two fillies continued to glare, Franklin trying to bring Mayday back while Sandbar did the same for Cozy Glow.

"Easy Cozy, don't let her upset you," Sandbar said.

"Come on Mayday, you need to walk this off," Susan said, scooting Mayday along.

"I'm done here anyway, if I want to be around future success, I'll go find Rumble," Mayday said.

"Enough young lady, march," Susan said. "And you can bet your parents will hear about this."

"Fine by me, not like anything will happen," Mayday said.

"March!" Derpy ordered, assisting Susan in getting Mayday to move. She turned her attention to Sandbar, "Thank you for being mature about this, that is something you have in common with Twilight for sure."

"Thanks, but I should focus on being me rather than somepony else, even somepony as amazing as Professor Sparkle," Sandbar said.

"It's important to be yourself, but taking positive cues from others is helpful too," Susan said. "You know, I could see you being a good mentor to others with your laid back but mature personality."

"Thanks Mrs. Richards," Sandbar said.

"Call me Sue," the Invisible Woman said, then began trotting off. "I'll see you later."

Sandbar waved off the hero as she left to catch up to Derpy, Mayday and her son. "She's really nice."

"Susan Storm is a very kind woman,” Nightcrawler said.

“Hey brother nice too,” Yona added.

Toola Roola grabbed the ball they were playing with earlier, "Let's get back into the game!"

As most of the foals ran back into the field, Silverstream stood still a moment, trying to think some things over. This was noticed by Smolder, "Hey wait up everyone!" As they stopped in place, the dragon girl made her way back to Silverstream, "Hey, you alright?"

"Oh yeah, sorry, I was just thinking about what Mayday said," Silverstream said.

"Mayday? Forget her, she's just being a brat," Smolder said.

"Maybe, but she did have a point, what should we aspire to be?" Silverstream asked. "I mean Rumble is younger than us but he still managed to figure out what he wanted, he's going to follow his goals."

"Last time he followed his goals, he got some lucky win over us and made a fool out of himself five minutes later," Smolder said.

"But what about his other goal? He wants to be a Wonderbolt, and it can happen," Silverstream said. "I saw him talking to Spitfire, I think she wants him to join."

"That'd be super neat!" Cozy said, making her way back with the others. "He'll be the best for sure."

"Another thing for him to brag about," Gallus said.

"Silverstream, it seems like you have a lot you want to consider, I suggest thinking long and hard about what you want in life," Jubilee said.

"I will," Silverstream said. "Maybe we all should."

"When I want to, and not when some punk like Rumble or his little follower Mayday says we should," Gallus said.

"Speaking of Rumble, I just remembered something," Ocellus said. "Gallus, not too long ago, it sounded like you stood up for Cozy Glow."

"I did what now?" Gallus asked.

"When Mayday called Cozy a 'Wannabe Parker', you stood up for her in a way," Ocellus said. "I just thought that was nice."

"Even I was surprised," Cozy Glow said. "Guess you do like me then."

"You wish, I just dislike her more than I dislike you," Gallus said, get a disappointed look from Cozy. "Let's move on, shall we? We have a game to finish."

"Yeah you're right, we should get back to whooping you," Sandbar teased.

“In your dreams!" Gallus arrogantly insisted as everyone went back to their game.

---

Meanwhile Rumble along with Wind Sprint and Dinky had eventually arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, the three searching the club house for the Crusaders, and finding nopony there.

"They're probably inside the house," Rumble said. "Come on."

The trio trotted across to the home in the middle of the farm, Wind Sprint taking in her surroundings, "Such a big place, does this family really farm so many apples alone?"

"Of course, they're a hard-working family," Rumble said. "It's one of the things I admire about them."

"The Apple Family are a big part of our town's past, they're the ones who founded Ponyville, it's thanks to them that we have a place to live," Dinky said. "So we owe a lot to them, and anypony who has the honor of being part of the Apple Family is of the highest prestige in the eyes of many."

"I hope to be as lucky as Miss Cheerilee and Gambit were when they got with Big Macintosh and Applejack," Rumble said. "I hope me and Apple Bloom can get married one day."

"Seems like you really respect the Apples," Wind Sprint said.

"Of course, Apple Bloom comes from a great family of really nice ponies, they're always so warm and welcoming," Rumble said, heading inside the house. "What's up Apples!?"

"It's him!" Remy shouted, grabbing his staff.

"Grab that little varmint!" Applejack demanded.

"Huh?" Rumble asked, finding himself under the glare of Applejack, Remy, Big Macintosh, Cheerilee and Granny Smith. "Uh, what's happening?"

"Rumble!" Scootaloo called from inside. "Run! Fast!"

"Better yet, fly!" Sweetie Belle also called.

Rumble wasn't sure what to do, but the moment he saw the five apples step forward, his instincts took over and began to immediately fly off.

"You ain't going nowhere!" Applejack said, grabbing her lasso and wrapping up Rumble in mid-air, the Pegasus falling to the ground.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, young stallion!" Cheerilee said.

"I don't know what's happening!" Rumble said in a panic as he got pulled into the barn. "Was it something I said!? Or did!? Help me out here!"

"What is happening?" Dinky asked.

"You should go home Dinky," Remy said. "You too Wind Sprint."

"Take Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle with you," Big Macintosh said. "All we need is Rumble."

"Is everything alright?" Wind Sprint asked. "Should we be worried?"

"That's a complicated question right now," Remy said. "Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle can fill you in."

"Come on, we'll explain as we go," Sweetie Belle said, leading the fillies away.

"Wait! Don't leave me here!" Rumble called. "I'm so confused right now!"

"Can it!" Remy ordered. "Make this nice and easy for yourself and don't speak unless spoken to."

"We ain't messing around here Rumble, you goofed up big time!" Applejack said.

"You know Applejack, you've always been one of my favorites, due to your kind and caring personality, I don't suppose that whatever it is I did can be overlooked," Rumble said, hoping to charm the mare into easing up.

"You wish this could be overlooked," Applejack said. "Remy, shut the door, Rumble's gonna be here for a while."

"Make yourself comfortable," Remy said, closing the door behind him. "Or not, makes no difference to me."

Rumble gulped in fear, not knowing what was going on or why the entire family seemed so unhappy. Just as he was trying to figure it out, another Apple came into view, that being his girlfriend Apple Bloom, and she looked a bit stressed out herself. Now Rumble was worried, just the look on her face told him that things were gonna get complicated.

---

Not too long later, Peter arrived back at home, still in a somewhat sour mood given what had happened to Felicia and trying to think over this whole Las Pegasus incident. He already had the return of Martin Li to worry about, now there's Captain Celaeno to add to that frustration.

"Oh Peter, you're back," Trixie said, getting his attention. Peter could see that she was not along, Scott Lang was present as well.

"Hey web head, how was it in Canterlot?" Scott asked.

"Not the best, first we had the aftermath of that big crash in Las Pegasus," Peter said. "Then a bunch of other things happened because of it."

"I take it Tony Stark wasn't too happy? Scott asked.

"That's an understatement, he basically placed the entire blame on Felicia," Peter said.

"You mean Black Cat?" Scott asked.

"She showed up unauthorized, so she was stripped of her duties and thrown in the dungeon," Peter explained. "Now I gotta figure out how to help her get free and-"

"Whoa hold on, she was thrown in the dungeon!?" Trixie asked. "Like for real? Celestia sent her down there?"

"Not exactly, Luna made the call, and she was backed up by Tony, Spitfire and Carol, they basically voted on it," Peter said. "That reminds me, it seems like things are going to change authority wise for Equestria."

"How much change are we talking?" Trixie asked.

"A lot, first thing's first, I should run this by Twilight," Peter said.

"She's upstairs talking to that new friend of yours from the Kirin Village," Trixie said.

"Kirin? You mean Autumn Blaze?" Peter asked. "She did say she was gonna come back soon, I guess soon is now."

"Well we won't keep you," Trixie said. "Go on and see your new friend."

"Bring peace between the worlds of the ponies and the kirin," Scott said.

"Uh, alright sure," Peter said, trotting upstairs. "Enjoy your stay Scott."

As Peter went up to greet his friend, Scott quickly got Trixie's attention, "So what's a Kirin exactly?"

"I'm new to it myself honestly, there are creatures in Equestria even I have never seen, in spite of my daring travels," Trixie said.

"Always something new I guess," Scott said. "Think there's an Ant species somewhere?"

"I should hope not," Trixie said. "One oversized ant is more than enough for me."

"Hey I could totally befriend them, raise my own army too," Scott said. "I've dabbled with Hank Pym's technology enough to do so."

"And who would you do battle against with such an army?" Trixie asked.

"Next time that Storm King guy comes back, me and my buddies can take him and his cronies out," Scott said. "You'd be amazed how organized ants are, fascinating creatures, hard workers too.”

“If only you worked hard,” Trixie teased.

“That’s just hurtful,” Scott said.

---

Upstairs, Peter had gone into his room where Twilight and Autumn were seen having a conversation with one another, the former holding her baby in her forelegs.

"Kirin Grove sounds so fascinating," Twilight said.

"Not too long ago, it didn't have any sound at all," Autumn joked. "Luckily some friends of yours happened to be passing by, almost by fate. They convinced us that it's alright to have disagreements, as long as you handle it well."

"That's something we in Equestria value above all, we would never allow such differences to come between us, especially when it comes to friends," Twilight said. "The Princesses along with the Avengers who help them protect our land are perfect examples of this."

Peter sighed in frustration, especially with some of the tension he felt earlier on. Of course it was probably nothing for him to worry about, Twilight did say they work through their problems, not that they never have any, so things might turn out fine.

"I'm home," Peter greeted, getting the attention of the two ladies.

"Oh Peter, you're back," Twilight said, Benjy turning to face his father.

"Hey Twilight," Peter said, trotting over to greet Twilight with a kiss. He turned to his son with a head rub, "Hey little stallion, keeping an eye on your mom for me?"

"Uh..." Benjy had no immediate response, he just stared up at his father.

"Your son is just way too cute Spider-Mane," Autumn said.

"Remember, it's just 'Peter'," the hero corrected. "We are trying to be friends after all."

"Oh right, gotta get to know the pony behind the spider," Autumn said, trying to sound mystifying, though only serving to weird Peter out momentarily.

"Well, that's one way to put it," Peter said. "So, Autumn...is it fine if I just call you Autumn?"

"Totally," Autumn said.

"Sweet, so Autumn I'd love to show you around some more, but I do have something important to relay to my wife, could you wait outside for a bit? I promise not to take long," Peter said.

"That's fine with me," Autumn said, hopping off the bed. "I'll see you later Twilight."

"Bye Autumn," Twilight said. The moment she left the mare focused her attention to her husband, "So what did you need to tell me? Is it related to your stealth mission with Luna?"

"Pretty much, things went downhill fast," Peter said. "It started off so well, then it ended with destruction in Las Pegasus."

"The damage must have been high, those poor ponies..." Twilight said. "Celestia actually sent me a letter last night, she mentioned that Felicia was somehow involved in this."

"Yeah, she stowed away, she wanted to help me and Luna out, and she did have a contact in Klugetown, an Abyssinian named Capper," Peter said.

"She knew an Abyssinian?" Twilight asked. "That's interesting, must have been from her last mission there."

"He was helpful, told us about a pirate captain named Celaeno who works for the Storm King," Peter explained. "She was one tough pirate, and unfortunately she made her escape, but at least part of hew crew got captured, so it'll be harder for her to cause more trouble."

"So the mission wasn't a complete waste then," Twilight said.

"Guess not, but we still need to find Celaeno. I know Luke and Danny are keeping an eye out, wouldn't be surprised if Tony sent more to Las Pegasus, probably why he wants me to find Jessica Jones. Honestly she's better in Manehattan helping Daredevil find Martin Li but that's not my call," Peter said. "Speaking of Daredevil, might need his help for another troubling situation."

"Why? Did something else terrible happen?" Twilight asked.

"Afraid so, it involves Felicia too," Peter said. "Because of what she did, she got blamed for the mission being a failure, lost her job and got sent to the Dungeon."

Twilight had no immediate reaction to that, if anything she seemed completely apathetic, "Oh, is that all?"

Peter furrowed his brow at his wife, "I know you don't like Felicia but what happened to her was completely unfair."

"Unfair how? If it's her fault that the mission went bad, which resulted in part of a town being destroyed, she deserves to be punished," Twilight said.

"I mean..." Peter scratched his head, truthfully he knows that Felicia did play a role in the mission going bad but he didn't want to fault the girl for trying to help, even if he didn't fully understand her reasoning. "I just think Carol got a little carried away with that idea."

"Carol? As in Captain Marvel?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, she wanted Felicia arrested," Peter said.

"Well, she's a smart woman then," Twilight said. "Let Felicia rot in the dungeon, maybe that will straighten her out."

"Twilight, come on..." Peter urged.

"Drop it, you know I am not going to side against the idea of Felicia being incarcerated, maybe this will be the wakeup call for her to stop being such a tactless, manipulative, sneaky skank," Twilight said.

Peter seemed almost surprised by how cold Twilight sounded, but he knew not to push this subject, Twilight was very stubborn when it came to Felicia.

"Well there is another thing I wanted to run by you," Peter said. "Carol suggested a different form of governing power for Equestria, one where Celestia does not make all the decisions. I mean, I get what she wants in hindsight but at the same time, I don't know if I'm alright with how it will go down."

"That's a bit strange, I'm going to need to inquire more about this," Twilight said. This revelation was a bit alarming to her, as a Princess she had to make sure it went down well. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"Not at the moment," Peter said.

"Alright, well you go and escort Autumn around, I'm going to have to get into contact with Celestia," Twilight said.

"Alright, and meanwhile, I should let Thunderlane know what happened to Felicia, looks like their daughter won't see her mother for some time," Peter said. "Not unless I can get some assistance."

"If you're that adamant about it, go on ahead, but it's not like Felicia was going to be a good mother to her child anyway," Twilight said. "If I were you, I'd focus more on what you can do for Manehattan and Las Pegasus."

Peter knew she had a point there too, he had other issues to work out, though just as he was about to leave, he saw some Starswirl books at the edge of her bed. "Hey, um, what's the status on this whole thing with Starswirl and his Pillars?"

"Oh that, Starlight's been helping me look up some information, with a bit of assistance from our friends and Sunburst. It hasn't been easy either, translating a lot of what Starswirl used to write hasn't been the simplest task," Twilight said. "Me and the girls actually made plans to go to each of the hometowns of the Pillars, rumor is that there may be something of interest in each location, then we're going to Pone-Henge."

"A little adventure huh? How long would that take?" Peter asked.

"Not long, I don't want to leave little Benjy without his mother for an extended period of time," Twilight said, ruffling her son's mane. "Babies do need their mothers as much as possible, but this could be such a big and momentous occasion, not something I would want to pass up."

"So when is this going down?" Peter asked.

"In a few days, you're more than welcome to join me," Twilight said.

"That sounds fun but I feel like I'm gonna have my hooves full with everything that's going on," Peter said. "But wait, if you and your friends go, who's gonna fill in for you?”

"Starlight will take over as Headmare in my absence, Trixie can help,” Twilight said. "But I will have to run the whole substitute thing past my friends too. Another alternative is treating this exploration like a field trip for the students."

"I don't think it's a good idea to do anymore field trips, especially given what happened last time," Peter said. "The students already got unlucky once and I don't know how safe it is out there. Truth be told, I'm worried about you going out to look for some old clues about what happened to Starswirl."

"I'll be fine, and so will my friends, but I understand how you feel about the students," Twilight said. "We'll keep them here then."

"I trust you and the rest of our friends to take good care of yourselves, but if things get bad where you are, make them promise not to do anything foolish," Peter said.

"We'll be fine, now hurry, Autumn's waiting," Twilight said.

"Alright, catch you later, make sure you rest up too, you're still recovering from birth," Peter said, going downstairs.

"So, Felicias in the dungeon, and Carol wants to change a few laws," Twilight muttered to herself. "I'm going to have to keep a close eye on what goes on in Canterlot somehow."

---

Back in The Crystal Empire, Carol had returned to the city, doing a quick scan to make sure everything was alright. So far no trouble and nopony out of place, just the way she expects it.

"Carol!" Kamala called from the balcony of the castle. "Hey Carol Back from Canterlot already!? How was it!"

"Please don't shout," Carol said, flying over to her sidekick. "And the trip was fine, albeit with a bit of difficulty."

"I bet it was nothing you couldn't handle," Kamala said.

"Well I should go see Princess Cadance, there's something she should know that could affect this world's future," Carol said.

"Hey wait, what about that mission from yesterday? Any updates on what happened?" Kamala asked. "More importantly, is Spider-Man alright?"

"I’ll explain later,” Carol said.

"Alright, well Cadance should be in her Throne Room, you can go see her if you want,” Kamala said.

"Actually, you should join me, it is important after all," Carol said, stepping onto the Balcony. "Make sure her daughter is there too, a future Princess should be aware of the changes to the country."

Meanwhile at Wonderbolt HQ, Spitfire was overseeing some drills done by her recruits, especially marveling over the skills of the Barrel Twins.

"Tony Stark should be happy with this new batch, we'll be able to deploy to more cities at this rate," Spitfire said. "Would help avoid another incident like Las Pegasus."

"Hey Spitfire," Soarin said, getting her attention.

"What is it?" Spitfire asked.

"That Murdock fellow is here," Soarin said, gesturing to the out of costume Daredevil.

"Again?" Spitfire turned to Matt. "Look I've explained before, my decision is final. Torch and Dash stay here until I deem them ready to return to action, especially in Manehattan."

"But Miss Spitfire, you must understand that heroes like them have more value out on the field than regulated to an academy," Matt said. "You can't fault Johnny Storm for what happened in Manehattan, a lot was going on and the villains just had an upperhand. It was a slip up that won't occur again."

"I know it won't, because he's staying right here," Spitfire said.

"If you keep him here that's just one less person to stop Martin Li, you're basically giving him a victory over The Accords if you allow one mistake to affect a decision to this extreme," Matt said.

"Ponies perished that night, because of the heroes there, especially Johnny," Spitfire said, glancing at Matt. "You of all ponies should know, Mr. Murdock, just how bad things got."

"While I do understand the remorse, and I do agree that a hero should always be as careful as possible, the sad truth is that accidents like what happened the other not are not guaranteed to be preventable," Matt said. "This is a good case of overreaction, you can't mean to believe that removing Johnny Storm and his wife from duty would somehow make things safer out there, if anything dangers like these are ten times more likely, heroes like them do more good than bad."

"Look, I've been in Equestria a long time, I think I know what works here and what doesn't," Spitfire said. "Plus Tony Stark seems fine with it."

"That is irrelevant to me," Matt said.

"Well he holds more power than you, now if you don't mind, I have recruits to train, ones who will be more effective than Torch, and those heroes in Manehattan you seem to know so well," Spitfire said.

Matt grew frustrated, he would have to dig deeper into this to get everything resolved, "I am not done with this case, you will be hearing from me again, and so will Tony." Extending his wings, Matt flew off and left Spitfire to her duties, ones she immediately resumed.

"Hey I get shelving Torch but isn't Dash at least better off out there? She didn't cause the explosion with the fire like her husband did," Soarin said.

"If I send Dash out there, she'll just find a way to sneak her husband with her, she is a very Loyal mare after all, and there's nopony she's more Loyal to than her husband," Spitfire said. "It's easier to keep them both here, besides once training here ends, I can send better replacements to Manehattan to find that Martin Li guy."

"If you want, I can fly down there and see what I can find," Soarin said.

"Actually I'm gonna need you here for a bit, while I'm overseeing some more recruits, you need to keep the Wonderbolts in line," Spitfire said. "Though this could be a good task for Fleetfoot instead."

"You're the boss," Soarin said.

"Damn right, go let Fleetfoot know to prepare for a trip to Manehattan, we'll put a stop to that Martin Li guy, then our buddy Matt can stop pestering us," Spitfire said.

---

Things didn't end yet, that evening was a tough one for the Parker-Sparkle family. After Susan and Derpy had dropped off Mayday, Twilight had gotten word of Mayday's disrespect toward Sandbar and his friends, she was not too thrilled.

Outside the other family members were waiting for this to pad out, while Scott had gone home, there was still Trixie with Benjy on her back, along with Spike, Janet, Hope, Aunt May and Starlight waiting outside for things to finish just as Peter was making his way back with Autumn.

"That was fun, you're a fun guy Peter, I can't wait to tell Rain Shine more about you," Autumn said. "She'll be sure to want to make friends with Princess Celestia and The Avengers, and even join those Accord things."

"I wouldn't worry about The Accords right now, Tony still has a few kinks he should work out," Peter said, then noticed everypony outside. "Oh boy."

"What's wrong?" Autumn asked.

"Probably a family issue, I'll talk to you another time, maybe this weekend," Peter said.

"Alright, thanks again for the tour," Autumn said, trotting off.

Peter made his way toward the house, a look of lament on his face, "So what's happening?"

"Your daughter seemed to cause some trouble today for Sandbar and his friends, apparently she mouthed off to them," Trixie explained.

"Twilight's giving her a lecture, we're giving her the space to do so," Spike said.

"Maybe you should go in and check on them Peter," Aunt May suggested.

"Sure, it's my duty as a father," Peter said, heading toward the door to the sound of Twilight's lecture.

"This is so unlike you young filly, you used to be so warm and welcoming to all ponies, that's how your father and I always raised you, now you're just so...eager to push others away," Twilight said. "Is there something that's bothering you?"

"No mom, nothing's bothering me," Mayday said, sounding completely done with the conversation.

"Something must be up, you were never like this," Twilight said.

"Well mom, ponies change, just like I no longer speak gibberish, I no longer eat baby food and I don't need to wear a diaper to use the bathroom, nopony stays the same," Mayday said.

"What's going on!?" Peter asked, getting the attention of the two mares.

"Mom's getting mad over nothing," Mayday said, earning a glare from both parents.

"It doesn't sound like nothing, I want the full story," Peter said.

"It's nothing, I just spoke my honest opinion to Sandbar and his friends and apparently it was a bad thing," Mayday said.

"Susan said you were being very rude, and she has no reason to make up something like that," Twilight said.

"They say those with invisibility powers usually have something to hide," Mayday pointed out.

"Don't get smart young filly," Peter said.

"I just don't know why mom's mad about it, Sandbar's supposed to be an adult, he shouldn't let the words of a girl my age bother him, otherwise what kind of adult is he?" Mayday said.

"Mayday, it's always bad when you talk rudely to someone, regardless of age," Peter said.

"But they're the same ponies who give Rumble a hard time, and he's like a big brother to me, so why should I be nice to anyone who's mean to Rumble?" Mayday asked.

"Mayday, not once have they been mean to Rumble, if anything Rumble tends to start trouble with them," Twilight said.

"Pfft, Rumble wouldn't start trouble like that, I think you're getting a bit blinded by this newfound favoritism you have for these students mom," Mayday said.

"That's it, to your room now missy," Twilight said, gesturing upstairs.

"You can't be serious!" Mayday said, then turned her attention to Peter. "Dad!"

"Can't help you squirt, upstairs, before you make things worse for yourself," Peter ordered.

Mayday huffed in annoyance as she stomped off, "This is so unfair!" Once upstairs the only thing heard was the sound of a door closing hard.

"This is only gonna get worse when she becomes a teenager," Peter jokingly lamented.

“What's gotten into her lately?" Twilight asked. "She seems so moody now, like so many things bother her."

"Got any ideas why?" Peter asked.

"Probably a lot of reasons, according to Susan and Derpy, when Mayday met with Rumble, Dinky and Wind Sprint, they did inquire to her about her Cutie Mark, and that seemed to be a topic that caused frustration for her," Twilgiht explained.

"The Cutie Mark thing again?" Peter asked. "Is that really it though?"

"Well, and this is something Dinky apparently asked but, she was worried that Mayday may be traumatized from all the terrible things that have happened the last few years," Twilight said. "Mayday denied it according to Derpy, but I can't help but wonder if there may still be some truth to that and Mayday is just hiding it."

Peter of coursed worried about the idea of his daughter feeling trauma from the years of villain attacks, he wouldn't blame her, even he still feels lingering trauma from everything he's been through, especially his trip to the future. No one knows that he still has nightmares about that day, and nightmares about so many other things in his life.

Peter shook it off, he did not want to make it about him, he was more worried about his daughter, "So, you think she's got some lingering trauma, that unfortunately is not impossible. After what Vega and Shocker did to town years back, then that stuff with Annihilus and Mysterio a year ago, any kid would be at least a little bit scared."

"I think we should try to have her examined," Twilight said. "Might be tricky though, she's quite stubborn and won't talk to just anyone."

"Maybe Logan can help, if there's anyone outside this house Mayday might open up to, then Logan's our guy," Peter said.

"We'll see them both at the earliest possible convenience," Twilight said. "For now we should-"

Suddenly came a knock on their door, a curious Peter trotting over, "Who could that be?" He answered to see a somewhat distraught Applejack alongside Remy. "Hey AJ, Remy, is everything alright?"

"Not exactly," Applejack said.

"Come on in," Peter said, gesturing the two inside. He called out to the rest of his house's residents, "It's all good for the rest of you to come in too."

"Is everything resolved with Mayday?" Trixie asked as she went inside.

"Well she got sent to her room due to her sassy mouth so not quite yet, but we're getting there," Peter said.

"Kids will be kids," Janet said, everyone settling in.

"Don't I know from experience," Aunt May joked.

"How often did you send Peter to his room?" Spike asked.

"Not that often, he was a very good boy, but sometimes he could be quite the handful," May said. "Also very sneaky at times as well, and I'm not talking about Spider-Man stuff, that boy used his intellect for his own little mischief."

"Diabolical!" Peter joked, putting on a mock villain face.

"Applejack still has something to tell me and Peter," Twilight said. "Everyone else can go about their business but-"

"Actually, it'd be good if they were all here to hear this," Applejack said. "Saves us the time anyway since we planning on telling our friends in the morning."

"Applejack just needs to get it off her chest," Remy said.

"What's happening?" Peter asked. "Is it bad?"

"Well, sort of, let's just say, I'm gonna be an aunt," Applejack said.

This statement seemed to cause a bit of confusion for many in the house, wondering how this was suppose to be a bad thing. Aunt May seemed to pick up on what might be the trouble, and it seemed like Janet had her own theory but nothing seemed definitive yet. Even Trixie found herself wondering, mostly hoping it wasn't what she thought it was.

"Aren't you already an aunt?" Peter asked. "You know, from Big Mac and Cheerilee?"

"It's not from them, it's from Apple Bloom," Applejack said. "She got herself pregnant."

There it was, Aunt May and Janet had their suspicion confirmed, and Trixie to an extent, but to hear it outright was mind boggling for them.

Janet knew this conversation would probably get weird, so she opted to leave for the time being. "I'm gonna take Hope upstairs."

"I'll go with you," Spike said, quickly following his wife up the stairs, leaving the other adults to their conversation.

"If she's pregnant, does that mean Rumble is the baby's father?" Peter asked.

"According to Apple Bloom, yes," Applejack said. "She wasn't with anyone else."

"I can't believe Rumble and Apple Bloom even got intimate with one another," Twilight said. "I mean, it is to be expected, they've been dating for about four years and they're both basically adults now."

"Ah expected this could happen myself, teens and their hormones after all," Applejack said. "Ah told Apple Bloom to be careful though, not to do something like that when she's in heat."

"She probably couldn't really tell, it can be a bit subtle for some ponies than others," Twilight said. "Plus on occasion, it is very possible for a pony to get pregnant while not in heat, it's low chance but the chance is still there, which is why you must always be careful when getting intimate, regardless of the season."

"What matters now is how Apple Bloom is taking it," Peter said.

"Well she's none too happy, she's actually quite ashamed of herself fer allowing this to happen," Applejack said.

"Poor filly looked devastated, just like that she's getting hit with major responsibility," Remy said.

"Understandable, Apple Bloom is the same age I was when I first got pregnant," Twilight said. "It can be a lot for a young girl."

"Well she won't be alone in this, she'll have us of course," Applejack said.

"And she'll for damn sure have Rumble, that boy's taking responsibility for this or he'll have some hell to pay," Remy said.

"It's really one thing after another with Rumble," Peter said. "I can only imagine how Thunderlane will react, bad enough that his baby's mother got arrested."

"Black Cat? Ain't she on Celestia's payroll?" Remy asked.

"It's a long story, but to put it simple, she messed up, got blamed for what happened to Las Pegasus and now she's in the dungeon alongside whichever villain is still there," Peter said.

"Who is still there?" Remy asked.

"Well there are my old enemies Vulture, Lizard, Scorpion, Sandman and Rhino, same with Taskmaster," Peter said. "Villains like the Weapon X Team, The Leader and recently Scorcher were taken in by S.H.I.E.L.D. shortly after their capture."

"How long are they gonna stay there?" Janet asked. "Why hasn't Celestia sent them back?"

"Yeah, especially after Mysterio made his escape and tried for revenge against you," Remy said.

"Well so far none of them have tried anything, Cap keeps a vigilante eye, and he relays everything to Fury," Peter said.

"I don't think it's a good idea for any of those villains to stay, especially given the advantages of living in Equestria," Remy said.

"I get that, I'll run it by Cap and Celestia again," Peter said. "But given the other possible changes..."

"More changes?" Remy asked. "What is Tony Stark up to with these Accords or whatever they're called?"

"Accords is such a silly name honestly, couldn't Tony come up with something better?" Applejack asked.

"Focus cherrie," Remy said, then turned back to Peter. "What's going on in Canterlot anyway?"

"Well since you're here, might as well lay it down," Peter said, proceeding to tell the Apples everything he knows.

---

A few days had passed by, by this point the trouble at Las Pegasus was common knowledge in Equestria. As the city was getting fixed through the construction ponies, Jessica Jones was added to their ranking of heroes, it was the best Tony could do for now.

Unfortunately, the limit of Earth Heroes in Equestria had been reached, with them not wanting to risk the planet being too under protected, Tony opted to continue his plan to building a stronger Equestrian society, to make heroes from within the world rather than borrow from his Earth.

Marvel Earth of course had problems of its own, which thankfully there were plenty of heroes that were still able to help, manly Sam and Bucky, with Steve occasionally joining them since he wasn't as busy in Equestria. Of course he kept things balanced to protect both worlds.

Come that weekend though, a few extra changes had started to take hold. It started when Logan had gone over to the Parker-Sparkle home with Fluttershy to pick Twilight up for their planned trip.

"I cleared with Starlight the proper school scheduling for the week," Twilight said, packing some things. "We're going to go to the villages of each Pillar, I have their locations written down so you know where to find us, it may be near where one of the heroes are residing. This hopefully shouldn't take too long, if worse comes to worst, we'll be on the first train back to Ponyville, or at least neat a hero marked city."

"What should I do if one of your students wants to come by for tutoring?" Peter asked. "I mean I can help if it's chemistry but-"

"Just ask Starlight for help, she's going to be staying here the week, I mean she practically lives here anyway but you get my point," Twilight said. "Since I won't be here to personally feed Benjy his milk, I prepared a bunch that I marked in the refrigerator for him. If there's any emergency, do not hesitate to come get me or ask one of the heroes to come and find me. I can come home in an instant, I'm no Rainbow Dash but I can crank up the speed when I need to."

"It'd be easier if you had a phone or something to contact you directly," Peter said, grabbing a device. "Fortunately I made one."

"A phone? Like on Earth?" Twilight asked, taking the device.

"Sort of, it's more of a two-way communicator that's designed to like a phone," Peter said. "It covers long distances and makes use of those satellites that Tony had built so that the heroes can communicate long distance."

"Oh, clever," Twilight said.

"It also has a tracking device on it so if things really get bad, I can get you myself, or at least send the coordinates to another hero," Peter said.

"I can always count on you to be steps ahead," Twilight said, placing the phone away. "If there's anything else you need to know while I'm away, I guess you can always call me."

"You got it Twilight," Peter said.

"Also, ask Starlight to be on stand-by if you can, especially if we run into more of Starswirl's old horn writing," Twilight said. Suddenly she heard a knock on the door. “Here they are.”
Twilight opened up, revealing her five Equestrian born friends, along with Logan, who was there with Fluttershy, along with their daughter Rina.

"Hey Twi, ready fer an adventure?" Applejack asked.

"You bet," Twilight said. "Are you coming with us Logan?"

"No, I came by because Rina wanted to see Benjy," Logan said.

"Want baby!" Rina said.

"Oh I'd love it if Benjy could spend a bit of time with Rina, nothing like a good childhood friend to set you on the proper path," Twilight said.

"Uh, I'm all for that but isn't Benjy a bit young for playdates?" Peter asked. "He was just born barely a week ago."

"It'll be fine, now that more of my friends have kids we can have a better opportunity for Benjy than we did with Mayday," Twilight said.

"The other day I took Rina to the Apples and she got to play with Oliver and Rebecca," Logan said. "She's even had time to spend with Lil Cheese and Elanor."

"One day we need a big playdate for all of our kids, statistically kids form friendships easier when their parents are friends," Twilight said. "Kind of wish it was working with Mayday though."

"Mayday's just a loner type," Peter said. "I mean Franklin and the Cake Twins do make something of an effort but she's really not that interested."

"She just needs the right friend, and you have a good source fer it," Logan said. "After all, Twilight runs a school of Friendship."

"A lot of the students are older than Mayday though," Peter said.

"Well, maybe some of them have kids, or younger siblings," Logan said. "Maybe just bring Mayday to the school, see if she forms a connection."

"She really doesn't like others that much, so I don't know how she's gonna handle it," Peter said.

"Worth a shot, or do you want her ending up like I was, untrusting and damn near unwilling to form bonds," Logan said.

"I just don't want her to get hurt," Peter said. "That's my biggest worry."

"Even you can't prevent that Peter, best you can do is to at least be there when she does, I'm not saying you have to just throw her to the wolves but keep nudging her out of her comfort zone and I guarantee she'll be a lot happier in the end, might help with her social skills," Logan said. "I mean, after the other day, she could use a bit more practice talking to others. She doesn't need hundreds of friends, but finding a good comrade or two could be highly beneficial."

"Sometimes, I personally want to enroll her in the school, I feel like she needs the environment," Twilight said. "Home schooling her was fun but part of school is making friends after all, I mean maybe I shouldn't talk since I did push away some of my old friends but Mayday might have better luck. I mean, you had some good friends in school, didn't you Peter?"

"Well Harry hates me now, most of my friends do, except for Mary Jane, but we weren’t that close,” Peter said.

"You really should try reconnecting with them, you can start with that Mary Jane girl, she seems nice," Twilight said. "Though, I do have to ask..."

"I have no romantic feelings for her, I mean she was pretty flirty when I first met her, but she was way out of my league," Peter said. "No super model goes out with a nerdy geek."

"You say that, yet you're one of the most sought-after ponies in Equestria, even though you're married," Twilight said. "Even a lot of superhero girls seem to like you. If I never met you then I think it's fair to say that Mary Jane girl could have gotten to you first."

"We'll never know," Peter said. "Anyway, enough about me, let's get back to Mayday."

"You called daddy?" Mayday asked, trotting over with Spike, Janet and Hope beside her.

"Looks like Logan's here," Janet said, then turned to the door. "All your friends are."

"Yeah, we've been standing here for like five minutes," Rainbow Dash said.

"Right, sorry, guess we got carried away with our conversation," Twilight said, blushing a bit.

"It's fine, seems like y'all have a lot to get off yer chest, that's a good thing," Applejack said.

"Hey Applejack, how's Apple Bloom doing?" Janet asked.

"She's still a little down in the dumps over her...condition," Applejack said. "I'd like to be there fer her now but Big Macintosh insisted I don't miss out on this little expedition, truth be told, ah am excited to see where Rockhoof grew up."

"Has Rumble been by at all?" Twilight asked.

"A couple of times, he came by with a bouquet of flowers the other day, hoping to sweet talk Apple Bloom, she did not want to see him," Applejack said. "Of course she don't want to see anypony, not even her friends."

"This is concerning, she might be very depressed about this whole situation, she's going to be a mom in less than a year after all," Twilight said.

"Yeah, by this point I think Rumble's afraid to come back, Big Mac and Remy just look ready to unleash fury on the kid," Applejack said. "Ah mean, so am I to an extent, fortunately Cheerilee keeps us all pretty calm about it."

"Think she'd mind if I try talking to her?" Peter asked.

"Well you'd be our last hope since she sees you as a third older brother," Applejack said.

"Why is Apple Bloom so bothered? She's carrying Rumble's baby, any girl should be thrilled to have his baby," Mayday said.

"It's complicated Mayday, Rumble may be a handsome boy but it don't make this any easier," Applejack said.

"Still, if I had to carry someone's baby, Rumble would be my first choice," Mayday said.

"Young filly..." Peter warned.

“Just saying…” Mayday said.

"Twilight, we're going to be late," Rarity said.

"Gah!" Twilight checked the time. "The train's gonna be here soon!" She quickly turned her attention to Peter, "Take care of things while I'm gone, and if you need help please don't hesitate to ask Trixie, Starlight, Janet or your Aunt May. Even Scott's always willing to lend a hoof, take care, love you." After exchanging a kiss, she turned her attention to Mayday, "Be good for your father and your aunts, and no more trouble, I love you." She kissed Mayday's forehead before turning to Logan, embracing him with a hug, "I'll see you around, and I promise to take good care of Fluttershy and bring her back safely," Twilight broke the hug and to Janet and hugged her as well, "Behave yourself." She pulled away, grabbing Spike and grabbing the rest of her friends, nudging them all away toward the station. "Bye everypony!"

"Wait, I didn't finish saying 'bye' to Janet!" Spike was heard calling.

"Same with me and Logan!" Fluttershy was heard shouting.

Janet looked a bit annoyed at Twilights remark, "Behave myself? What is she my mom?"

"You do act childish sometimes," Logan said.

"I do not!" Janet said. "I'm pretty sure I'm older than her too! So not like she has any place to tell me that!"

"Yeah you're a regular old lady, huh Janet?" Peter teased, getting a glare from the female hero.

"Oh can it, I'm older than you too, but I'm still sexy enough to make it work for Spike at least," Janet said.

"Ew, don't say stuff like that," Mayday said.

"Yeah, please watch what you say around my daughter's delicate ears," Peter said.

"They're not that delicate, I mean I know what sex is after all," Mayday said.

After a brief but very awkward silence, Peter turned his attention to Janet, "Please bring me a bar of soap."

"Oh hell no!" Mayday quickly dashed out of the room.

"Language!" Peter scolded.

"Oh is 'hell' really a bad word? There's much worse than that," Janet said.

"Put a lid on it," Peter said, looking around. "Wait where's Rina?"

"Over there," Logan said, gesturing to the corner where Rina and Hope were playing with some blocks. "I brought her to seer Benjy, but she looks like she's bonding with Hope."

"I can get the little guy to join them," Janet said, trotting upstairs to find Benjy.

"Well, seems like your daughter has quite a bit of knowledge," Logan said.

"I feel so stupid, I restricted some books and kept it mostly educational, but I guess I overlooked biology," Peter said.

"It could be worse, I mean at least she isn't interested in the idea, not counting what she said about Rumble," Logan said.

"I do not need that image in my head," Peter said, shaking it off. "Speaking of Rumble, that dumb kid is really causing a lot of trouble lately, I know he doesn't live here anymore but I still feel responsible for a lot of his mess."

"Don't be, any problem he has is his to deal with, not yers" Logan said. "Kid's like 18 right? Or close to it, so he's basically an adult, he needs to figure shit out for himself. Unfortunately he got Apple Bloom pregnant but in a way this might be his wake-up call, now he has a kid to be responsible for."

"He better be," Peter said.

"Oh, by the way, Twilight mentioned something about Mayday dealing with some trauma," Logan said.

"Yeah, she hoped you could help, you are one of the very few that Mayday would open up to, she thinks you're cool," Peter said.

"Not sure if there's anything I can do honestly, even if I relate to it, it doesn't mean I can help with it," Logan said.

"That's understandable, guess this stuff isn't easy to talk about," Peter said. "I mean, it's a lot to take in, I just hope that she doesn't feel like she's always in danger, or she feels like she has to push people away because she doesn't trust them."

"I'll see if I can get her to talk," Logan said. "But first, what about you?

"What about me?" Peter asked.

"You've been through a lot yerself, I remember that future you went to, and I can tell it messed with yer head a bit," Logan said.

"It's fine, I've pretty much suppressed it," Peter said.

"You ain't supposed to suppress things like that! Do you ever talk with Twilight about how you feel?" Logan asked.

"I really don't want to burden her with my problems," Peter said.

"Keeping them to yourself ain't helping either, remember Twilight loves you and she'll be more than happy to help carry some of your burden, I mean wouldn't you do the same for her?" Logan asked.

"In a heartbeat," Peter said.

"Because you love her, right?" Logan asked.

"Yes, of course I do," Peter said.

"Well she loves you too, that’s how marriage works Peter," Logan said. "But I probably shouldn’t talk. Fluttershy has to nudge me to confessing my worries. To tell you the truth, there was a time I chose to sleep on a couch because I kept having nightmares and waking up with my claws out. Fluttershy hates when I sleep alone but I'm afraid of hurting her by mistake, I did once, she tried waking me up when I was asleep, and I woke up and nearly got her in the eye. Fortunately it just missed but that was a really close call."

"Wait, so that scar she had that one time..." Peter said.

"Wasn't one of her chickens, it was my fault," Logan said. "There's so many things I fear could hurt Fluttershy, and one of those fears is me. But despite that, she still wants me in bed with her because she doesn't want me feeling alone, in all honesty, that does bring comfort to me, just knowing I have a supportive wife does more than you can imagine."

"I...get those nightmares too," Peter confessed. "Twilight knows, she's woken me up as well. Sometimes it’s dreams about my battles, sometimes it's just worry for my family, sometimes it's guilt."

"Guilt?" Logan asked.

"Letting my uncle die, letting Gwen die, the times I pushed my friends away, then there's that night with Sweetie Belle," Peter said. "Lately I've started feeling bad again, I think I got her pregnant that night and...well I guess that baby she had would be living proof of what I did."

“Work this out with Sweetie Belle when you have the chance,” Logan said. “Look, it seems like you have a lot to get off yer chest, and maybe I do too. I mean I know how you feel about loss, Fluttershy isn't my first wife after all. When Twilight gets back, I suggest we round up all of our friends and have a night to just discuss everything that's bothering us. I'm willing to bet even Waps, Torch, Gambit and Iceman have things they want to get off their chests, same with the wives."

"Never expected you to suggest a group therapy session," Peter said.

"Think of it as just seven couples airing some grievances," Logan said. "We'll treat it like a party. Anyway I’ll go check on Mayday.”

"That would be great, thanks," Peter said as Logan went upstairs to check on Mayday. "Got my own stuff to handle now.”

Logan had gone into Mayday's room where the filly was working on what looked like some web shooters, likely helping her dad create more efficient materials. He knocked to get her attention, "Hey kid."

"Hi Uncle Logan," Mayday said, focusing on her work.

"Another experiment blooming scientist?" Logan asked.

"Sure is," Mayday said.

Logan sat beside the young filly, "What made you want to be a scientist anyway?"

"Daddy showed me how fun it was, being able to build things from scratch, or modify already existing things, these are things that are barely common in Equestria too, so I feel a bit more unique," Mayday said.

"What have you made?" Logan asked.

"Mostly stuff for my dad, I'm upgrading a lot of his battle gear so he can continue to keep us safe from all the villains," Mayday said.

"Yeah, those villains...do they worry you?" Logan asked. "I mean, I guess it’s a silly question but how do you feel about them?"

"They're just a bunch of punks for my dad to beat up, nothing I'm worried about," Mayday said.

"Simple as that huh?" Logan asked.

"I've seen a lot of my daddy's fights, even from that crystal ball that showed me his memories, that's how I came up with some ideas for his gear," Mayday said.

"That crystal ball?" Logan remembered that there was a ball that showed the memories of anyone who touched it. He remembers using it to see what happened while Peter was in Equestria, everything up until Sweetie Belle's future. "Uh, how much of it did you see?"

"Pretty much all of it," Mayday said. "I mean, I skipped some of the romantic parts, and I didn't see all of the future one, mainly because it made me uncomfortable knowing that I bit the dust there, and my dad was just so depressed it hurt to see."

"That's...good," Logan said. "Uh, so nothing you saw worried you?”

"A little, but my dad always won so that helped," Mayday said. "And even when he lost, he just tried again, that's what makes him Amazing."

"Wow, yer one tough kid," Logan said. "I feel like a lot of people and ponies would be freaked out."

"Maybe, but like I said, my dad's the best, I never worry when bad things happen because I know daddy will always be able to keep us safe," Mayday said. "I mean, I had a few close calls, like that ninja jerk, the guy who blew things up with this hooves and that weirdo with the bowl on his head, but daddy was always not too far behind to keep everyone safe."

"Well, gotta say, I admire yer bravery," Logan said. "It's great how much you look up to yer dad, and trust that he'll always be there to help."

"Daddy always gets stronger, no matter what happens," Mayday said. "I just wish I could see more of that future so I know how it turned out. Obviously daddy won since he's here."

"Oh he did, really kicked Chrysalis's flank," Logan said.

"Of course he did, he's the Amazing Spider-Man," Mayday said.

"Spider-Man? You don't use his Equestrian name?" Logan asked.

"Of course not, it sounds stupid," Mayday said. "I mean, I have to use it sometimes because that's how native Equestrians call him, but I prefer his Earth name. More importantly, to me, he’s a hero even when he’s just being my daddy.”

"That's really sweet, yer a really great kid Mayday," Logan said. "I really hope my daughter grows up as great as you."

Mayday blushed from the compliment, "Thanks...you're really nice Uncle Logan, you're another reason I feel safe, and I can see why my mom loves you a lot and why my daddy wishes he could be more like you."

"Pfft, if anything, I wish I were more like yer dad, he doesn't let things weigh him down, even when he's at his worst," Logan said.

"Hey, remember when I said that daddy seemed depressed in that future?" Mayday said, Logan nodding in confirmation. "Is he...still depressed? He seemed weird for a bit when he came back, and even weirder whenever he was around Sweetie Belle."

"He's still working out some issues, all heroes have heavy baggage," Logan said. "It's why we were worried about you, if this was tough fer us, then we definitely wanted to know if you felt any distress."

"Well, I'm fine, I really am," Mayday insisted. "I get scared but like I've been saying, I trust daddy to keep me safe, and I trust you too, and mom, and all her friends. I gotta say, it really is nice how much my mom's friends care about her and daddy, and how your friends care too."

"That's why yer mom wants you to make some friends, because she wants ponies that will care about you too," Logan said.

"Making friends is just too much work though," Mayday said.

"What about Franklin? He seems to like hanging around you," Logan said. "You also have Flurry Heart, I mean I know she's already your cousin but you two can still be best friends. Then there's the Cake Twins. Having four good friends is a great start, and if you want, that could be the limit, you don't need to be friends with everyone. But I know how you feel, I didn't want to make friends either, once I did, it was really nice and I wouldn't trade it away for nothing."

"You really think so huh?" Mayday asked. "Alright, I'll try a bit harder with Franklin, and Flurry too, maybe the Cake Twins, but that's my limit."

"Go at yer own pace," Logan said. "Anyway, I should be go-"

"Wait" Mayday called. "You don't have to go, I still want to tell you more things, if you don't mind."

"Sure, I'll make time fer you," Logan said, trotting inside and sitting beside the girl.

"I know I said before I don't get scared much but...I do worry a lot, mostly about my dad, and have bad dreams sometimes...can I tell you about them?" Mayday asked.

Logan placed his hoof on her back, "Tell me everything you're comfortable with."

---

Peter was making his way toward Sweet Apple Acres, hoping to catch a word with Apple Bloom before he made his own trip to Manehattan to speak with Matt.

"Hey Peter!" Came the voice of Cozy Glow, the filly trotting beside him, joined by Sandbar and Ocellus.

"Hi Cozy, Sandbar, Ocellus," Peter greeted.

"We heard Professor Sparkle was going on a trip this weekend," Ocellus said. "Do you know how long it will be?"

"Probably the whole week, she'll try to be back sooner though," Peter said. "So expect some subs."

"We don't mind," Cozy Glow said.

"Surprised to see only you three, usually you're together in one big group," Peter said.

"Silverstream had to go somewhere today, and everyone else slept in," Sandbar said. "It's pretty unusual, but they were just out of it."

"Quite unusual indeed," Cozy Glow said, almost suspiciously.

"So it's just the three of us, not that I mind," Ocellus said.

"Me and my two best friends, just the way I like it," Cozy Glow said.

"Yeah, you're two best friends," Peter said. "Cozy, you are trying to at least make an effort to befriend the others, aren't you?"

"It's not easy, Gallus is so stubborn, so is Smolder," Cozy Glow said. "And they can be a bit mean."

"They're not mean Cozy, they're all really nice, all you students are," Peter said.

"She's making some effort though, but I have to admit, Gallus is being difficult so we're more working with him than Cozy Glow," Ocellus said.

"We heard Rumble did something naughty," Cozy Glow said.

"Cozy, we discussed this, don't bring up Rumble's...situation," Ocellus said.

"Well he did do something naughty, something downright stupid," Peter said. "Anyway I do have to go and check on Apple Bloom."

"Can we come?" Cozy Glow asked.

"I won't stop you but there's no guarantee she'll want to talk to you," Peter said.

"We'll put on the effort," Sandbar said. "Onward then."

After a few minutes, the four had arrived at Sweet Apple Acres where both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were waiting outside, looking extremely bored.

"Hey girls!" Peter called, getting their attention.

"It's Peter!" Sweetie Belle beamed, excited to see the hero, though that excitement faded when she saw the company he was with. "And those three."

"Remember what Rarity and my aunts said, don't cause them trouble," Scootaloo said.

"They caused it for us first," Sweetie Belle said.

"I know, just roll with it," Scootlaoo said, trotting over to the group. "Hey Peter, here to see Apple Bloom?"

"Yeah, I wanted to see how she was doing," Peter said. "Have you girls seen her?"

"She's not in the best mood to see anypony, she's even turned away Rumble, and he's her boyfriend, among other things now," Scootaloo said.

"Is it true that she really got pregnant?" Ocellus asked.

"Yeah, she did," Scootaloo said. "I take it that this is common knowledge now?"

"Well it's a rumor but not a lot of ponies know for sure," Sandbar said.

"Well she is, and we'd like it if it weren't some form of gossip, this is really bothering her," Sweetie Belle said.

"We won't treat it like gossip, we're just worried about her," Ocellus said.

"If you're worried, imagine how we feel, Apple Bloom is our best friend after all," Scootaloo said.

"Exactly, we've known her much longer than anypony else, and we'll destroy any creature who treats this like a joke," Sweetie Belle warned. "That includes any of your school friends."

"Hey, pull the breaks you two, it's great that you're concerned but you really need to put a damper on this snobby attitude," Peter said. "You're just a few steps away from being like Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon."

"Hey they're not so bad anymore, they stopped bugging ponies about their Cutie Marks at least," Sweetie Belle said. "Plus we helped her sort out some issues with her mom, which is how we earned our marks."

"Good to sort things out with others, now try not to make the same mistakes you have before," Peter said. "Remember, we're all supposed to be friends."

"I really wish we could be friends, you girls seem so nice, loyal too," Ocellus said.

"Of course I'm Loyal, Rainbow Dash is like my big sister," Scootaloo said.

"Even Rainbow Dash knows humility," Peter said. "I don't want to lecture you girls, I just want you to be the nice, sweet girls I know you are at all times. You're both much cuter with friendly smiles after all."

This of course got a flustered reaction from the two Crusaders, both turning away with a blush on their face.

"We'll try harder, but only because you asked Peter," Scootaoo said.

"Wow, you're really good with girls Peter," Sandbar said, then leaned in. "Got any tips for me?"

Ocellus's ear twitched, despite Sandbar's attempt to speak privately she couldn't help but overheard that one part.

"I'm not an expert on girls dude," Peter said.

"Peter is just naturally charming," Sweetie Belle said, leaning in to face her childhood crush. "It's one of the most endearing things about him."

Peter took a step back, awkwardly eyeing Sweetie Belle. Nowadays she looks a lot more like her future counterpart, and after his talk earlier, this just serves to further remind him of that one incident he fully regrets. "Thanks, Sweetie Belle."

Cozy Glow found this interaction interesting; she could tell something bothered Peter, even from the look on Sweetie Belle's face, she sensed some familiarity. Seems like these girls are quite close to Peter, especially Sweetie Belle.

"Peter?" Cheerilee called, opening the door. "Oh, didn't expect to see you here."

"Hey Cheerilee, I came to check on Apple Bloom," Peter said.

"Oh, that would be marvelous, she's been quite down, and with Applejack going on that trip, that's one less family member to comfort and console her," Cheerilee said.

"I'd be happy to help," Peter said, making his way inside. "Uh, should it only be me for now?"

"Yes," Cheerilee said, then focused on the others, especially the three other newcomers. "I know you want to be there for Apple Bloom but she's really not in the mood to talk to anyone outside of the family. She feels bad, especially for you two, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. She misses you but she's embarrassed of the idea of you seeing her like this."

"She shouldn't be, she's our friend, Sweetie Belle and I care about her a lot," Scootaloo said.

"Apple Bloom's like a sister to us," Sweetie Belle said.

"You three are close, it's one of my fondest memories as your teacher," Cheerilee said. "She misses you and wants to see you soon, but she wants to be better, for your sake."

"Well, tell her that Sweetie Belle and I love her, and we're not too far away if she needs us," Scootaloo said.

"Of course, thank you girls," Cheerilee said.

Peter flashed a content smile to the two, "That is the sweet Crusaders that I know you two can be."

As Peter went inside, Sandbar took the moment to speak up, "You girls are really nice."

"Thanks, I guess," Scootaloo said. "Look, it's nothing personal against you, we're just trying to make sure you're not trying to replace us."

"We would never," Ocellus said. "I don't see why we can't co-exist."

"Or take up Franklin Richards's idea, and just merge our friend groups," Sandbar said. "All thirteen of us."

"That won’t work out well,” Scootaloo said.

"Is it because of Rumble?" Ocellus asked. “Is he that jealous?”

"He’s not wrong,” Scootaloo said. “Aside from Wind Sprint, we were here longer and were ready to carry the mantle led by Twlight and her friends, yet we couldn't even get into her School of Friendship, that's a rough blow."

"Have you told her this?" Ocellus asked.

"She insists we don't need it, but that doesn't mean we don't want to be part of it, it's just not fair," Scootaloo said.

"Sorry you feel that way, but it just means she thinks highly of you," Sandbar said. "A Princess of Friendship acknowledged your strong bond, that should be something, shouldn't it?"

"I guess..." Scootaloo said. "Still, we still have something to prove, far as I'm concerned, you're still our rivals and we will surpass you in every way possible."

"Well, rivalry can be healthy, it pushes others to be at their best," Ocellus said.

"Alright, then the seven of us will put the six of you to the test," Sandbar said. "If being an Element means that much to you, well we'll just make you work for it."

"Oh, it's so on," Scootaloo said. "You may have one over us, but that may not last long. Rumble's heading into The Wonderbolts, he'll probably bring a whole army of friends. I suggest you make more friends at your own school."

“Already started,” Sandbar said.

"Alright, let's dial it back before things get out of hoof," Ocellus said. "Clearly Apple Bloom isn't ready to see us, so we should probably go."

"Fine by us, we still have some other friends to round up," Scootaloo said. "Isn't that right Sweetie Belle?"

"You know it," Sweetie Belle said.

"And we'll do the same, right Cozy Glow?" Sandbar asked, getting no reaction. "Cozy Glow?" Cozy was still seen observing Sweetie Belle, trying to figure out if this filly had any use at all. "Cozy Glow!"

"Huh?" Cozy turned to Sandbar. "Oh sorry, I was distracted."

"By what?" Ocellus asked.

"By..." Cozy turned her attention back to the filly she was observing. "Sweetie Belle."

"Me?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Yeah, I was distracted because of how pretty you look," Cozy Glow said.

Sweetie Belle blushed at the compliment, then started rubbing her mane, "Yeah, I guess I am pretty."

"You're more than that, you're stunningly beautiful, I just really like your mane and how soft your fur tone is, and your sparkly emerald eyes," Cozy Glow said, getting more of a blush from Sweetie Belle. "Do you have a coltfriend by any chance?"

"No, I'm single," Sweetie Belle confirmed.

"Golly, that's a surprise, with your looks, you could have any colt you want, or filly," Cozy Glow said. "Not saying I'm one of those fillies, just speaking in general."

"I'm just looking for the right pony," Sweetie Belle said. "But it's hard to find a decent colt."

"What about Tender Taps?" Scootaloo said.

"No, he's busy eyeing A...nother pony," Sweetie Belle said.

"Well what about Button Mash?" Scootaloo asked.

"Oh heck no," Sweetie Belle said.

"Pipsqueak?" Scootaloo asked.

"...Is that a joke?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Wow, Peter and Rumble really set a high bar for you," Scootaloo said.

"Well duh, no other guy really came close," Sweetie Belle said.

Scootaloo tapped her chin, "Wait, what about the time you were with the Capcom villains?

"Don't even bring him up, I got led on so much it ticked me off," Sweetie Belle said. "So many false rumors too."

"When were you with villains?" Sandbar asked.

"A long time ago, now stop talking about it," Sweetie Belle said. "Look Scootaloo and I are gonna go, we'll catch you whenever."

"Uh, alright, see ya," Sandbar said.

"Yeah, bye girls," Ocellus said.

"I hope to see you again soon, Sweetie Belle," Cozy Glow said, getting the filly's attention.

"You too, also, I really think your freckles are cute," Sweetie Belle said as she left.

"Aw, she likes my freckles," Cozy Glow said.

"Who wouldn't," Sandbar said, rubbing Cozy's mane. "You're just a bundle of cuteness."

Cozy Glow smiled a bright one up at Sandbar, a huge blush on her face, "You're the best Sandy." She flew up and kissed him on the cheek. "I can't wait to see you get a girlfriend."

"Heh, maybe one day," Sandbar said.

Ocellus had a strange feeling in her chest as he said that, one she shook off and followed Sandbar and Cozy back toward the School of Friendship.

---

Inside the house, Peter had knocked on a bedroom door, "Apple Bloom? It's me, Peter. Can I come in?"

After a few seconds of silence, the door had begun opening up, revealing Apple Bloom, it was obvious she was sad and depressed, but just seeing Peter face to face brought some joy to her heart, "It's nice to see you Peter."

"Same, I was a bit worried," Peter said. "How are you feeling?"

Apple Bloom rubbed her stomach, feeling almost at a loss for words, "I...feel scared, I'm afraid for the future, fer the first time in years, I feel afraid, and-"

Peter immediately brought her in for a hug, hoping to reassure her, "Sorry, I just really wante to hug you."

"Don't be," Apple Bloom said, returning the hug. "Somehow, I don't feel so scared now."

"Well a hero's job is to make others less scared, nothing that the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Mane can't fix," Peter said.

"Spider-Mane is the world's hero," Apple Bloom said. "Peter Parker is mah hero."

Not too far off, Cheerilee had overheard this exchange, feeling some sense of relief, "That was so adorable. Wasn't it Big Mac?" When she got no answer, she turned to the stallion beside her, and saw that he was all teary eyed himself, "Aw, you're such a big, sensitive guy."

"Eeyup..." Big Mac said, wiping a tear as Cheerilee embraced him in a hug.

Remy was behind the corner, not too far away himself, seeming satisfied with how well Peter reached out to Apple Bloom. He could always count on one of his closest friends to help a girl near and dear to Remy's heart. Suddenly the doorbell rang.

"I got it!" Remy trotted to the door, opening it up to meet the new guest. "Sugar Belle, glad you made it."

Indeed the baker filly from Our Town, Sugar Belle was at the door, "Hi Mr. Lebeau."

"Call me Remy, so you here to help us out?" Remy asked.

"Yes, Cheerilee heard that I was a baker and reached out to me after Benjy Parker-Sparkle's coming home party, and with Applejack gone for the week, we figured it was a good time for me to come by and be of help," Sugar Belle said.

"We really appreciate that, things are a little tough right now, if you could help us not only help with preparing supplies for our Baked Goods Kiosk, but gathering some apples, we'd appreciate that," Remy said. "I know you weren't asked to do the second part, and if you can't that's fine but I figured-"

"Oh no, I don't mind, but if I may ask, is everything alright?" Sugar Belle asked. "I mean, is the situation really bad?"

"A little, but it ain't nothing we can't come back from," Remy said, allowing the mare inside. "We really do appreciate you coming."

"Well I want to keep my options open, should my goal of being an Avenger not work out," Sugar Belle said. "Training is fun but I feel like I'm holding my team back. My friend Party Favor is also struggling, so he's also trying to keep an open mind."

"That's smart," Remy said. "If you want I can personally offer you some extra training on the side, I don't plan to join The Accords but I see no reason we can't at least keep our skills up."

"That'd be nice, thank you Remy," Sugar Belle said. "Now, mind showing me to the kitchen?"

"Sure thing, let's go," Remy said.

---

At Fluttershy's cottage, Laura was seen training with Dinky in dodging, both taking turns being the aggressor while Lightning Dust practiced for some upcoming Washout shows.

"So, with Fluttershy on her trip, and with me going away for a bit, it's just going to be you, Logan and Rina for a bit," Lightning said.

"Probably," Laura said. "I thought about going to the Pie Family farm to see Limestone, I haven't seen her in forever, and she did send me a letter saying she had things she wanted to tell me in pony, either she'll come here or I'll go over there."

"Do you like the farm?" Dinky asked.

"A little, I mean it can be very gray and dull, but it becomes kind of pretty during Hearth's Warming," Laura said.

"How are you and Limestone doing? It seems like you're not together as often as you would expect to be," Lightning Dust said.

"She's going through stuff, doesn't help that last time she came by, we ended up in an argument, and not the fun kind," Laura said. "But it's nothing we can't work out."

"Well I wish you luck on that, I hope you two sort things out," Lightning Dust said.

"I think she'll be fine," Dinky said.

As they sparred, a young stallion came by the cottage, "Hey Laura!"

Laura stopped a moment to spot her dance instructor, "Yo Tender Taps!"

"Tappy, what's good?" Dinky asked.

"Hey cutie," Lightning teased, getting a blush from the colt.

"Hi Lightning Dust," Tender Taps greeted, then focused on the girl he came to see. "Hey Laura, don't forget we have a lesson tomorrow morning."

"Wouldn't miss it," Laura said.

"I still can't believe you've taken dance classes for this long," Lightning Dust said. "I mean, I thought you'd cave after the first few weeks."

"It's fun, and a 'Healthy Way' to process my aggressiveness," Laura said.

"Laura's one of my best students, of course I don't have that many," Tender Taps said. "The only students I've had was Pound Cake, and recently Toola Roola, Coconut Cream, Lily Valley and Bulk Biceps. Oh, can't forget Apple Bloom."

"Heard she got knocked up," Lightning Dust said.

"Dust..." Dinky scolded.

"Oh she did, she really got 'rumbled' that night," Laura joked. "But seriously, to think that Apple Bloom and Rumble finally got it on."

"Well I hope she can make a few more dance classes before she has to take a break, actually good exericize makes for an easier pregnancy," Tender Taps said.

"Worked for Fluttershy," Laura said.

"I'll let Apple Bloom know, right now she's just in a funk but we'll get her out of it," Dinky said. "Don't expect her for tomorrow though."

"Understandable, I'll let you girls get back to it, I just gotta let the other students know," Tender Taps said as he began to trot off.

"Maybe one day you can give me a private dance lesson there cutie!" Lightning Dust said.

"Uh...sure," Tender Taps said, awkwardly trotting away.

"What's with you?" Laura asked.

"Yeah, that was really weird," Dinky said.

"Eh, I could use a pony to be with, I've kept my eyes open, even Thunderlane's been looking good to me, think he needs to release some stress or something?" Lightning Dust asked.

"I bet Trixie would," Laura said.

"I've already tried with her, she's just not interested, bums me out," Lightning Dust said.

"We'll get you some action soon, come on, your turn to spar with me," Laura said.

"My other favorite type of action," Lightning Dust said, readying herself for a battle.

---

At the Wonderbolts Academy, a newly instated Rumble was proudly wearing his Wonderbolts Gear, standing alongside his friend Wind Sprint.

"I'm glad you got a chance to join as well," Rumble said. "First we gotta pass the trials."

"Nothing we can't handle," Wind Sprint said. "Plus, isn't one of your old foalsitters one of the trainers?"

"Yeah but Cloudchaser won't go easy on me, plus she's pretty ticked off about what happened with me and Apple Bloom, same with Flitter," Rumble said.

"And your brother?" Wind Sprint asked.

"That is a hurricane, I mean he's already upset about Felicia getting thrown in the dungeon, and the shame his daughter might have to live with one day," Rumble said. "Now he finds out that he's gonna be an uncle, I'm basically trying to limit how often I'm around him right now."

"How are you feeling?" Wind Sprint asked.

"A bit nervous, but once I become a successful Wonderbolt, everything will be fine," Rumble said. "I'll have a good career so I can support my kid, and since we're gonna be parents anyway, this only means that I'll be able to marry Apple Bloom."

"You're handling this well," Wind Sprint said. "At least better than the first time, I've never seen you so scared."

"Peter's been through this as well, and he turned out alright, so I can too," Rumble said.

"Rumble! You're up!" Spitfire called.

"You got it ma'am!" Rumble said, making his way to the flight marker.

"Hey kid, just so you know, I may have requested you to join the Academy, but I'm still going to judge you fairly like I do for the others, so give me your best," Spitfire said.

"You got it," Rumble said.

"Alright, ready, set, fly!" Spitfire said, Rumble taking off and flying to a nearby obstacle course. So far she could tell he had good form, great speed. He was nearly perfect, the only issue was that he seemed to be showing off and it nearly cost him toward the end when he clipped his wing, but he rebounded quickly.

Once Rumble landed, the colt arrogantly turned his attention to Spitfire, "That good enough for ya?"

"You're really confident, but that could lead to disaster, a Wonderbolt always has a leveled head," Spitfire said. "Still, you did great, really proud of you."

"Thanks ma'am," Rumble said, trotting off.

"Wind Sprint, you're up!" Spitfire called.

Rumble sat on a picnic table while observing Wind Sprint's pattern. She seemed sloppy at first, which worried Rumble, hoping she would not get kicked off before she even had a chance.

"Hey Rumble," came Night Glider's voice, the mare also in a Wonderbots Trainee uniform.

"Oh, you're Night Glider, from Starlight Glimmer's village," Rumble said.

"That's me, so here for training?" Night Glider asked.

"Yeah, Spitfire heard about my great Buck Ball game, and after an endorsement even from Tony Stark himself, they considered me Wonderbolts material," Rumble said.

"Cool, Spitfire saw me training with Captain Equestria and his sidekicks Falcon and The Winter Solider, so she gave me an opportunity too," Night Glider said.

"Training with one of The Avengers sounds so cool," Rumble said. "My brother trains with them as well, he might finally get into The Wonderbolts too."

"That'd be great," Night Glider said.

"He just needs to work out some stuff in his home life, mainly his daughter and making sure she's well adjusted," Rumble said. "He's like super protective of her, not that I blame him. She's cute though, I love her a lot."

"I bet you're a fun uncle for her," Night Glider said.

"Oh you bet, I have experience as an older brother figure, thanks to me living with Spider-Mane and Princess Twilight, their daughter sees me as her big brother, and in time so will their son," Rumble said.

"Peter and Twilight are really nice ponies, Starlight is lucky to work with them," Night Glider said.

"She took your Cutie Marks once right? What was that like? Does it hurt to have your Cutie Mark taken away?" Rumble asked.

"No, but you do feel kind of weak," Night Glider said. "I'm glad she's not evil like that now."

"I don't see it as evil, she probably wanted to help but went about it all wrong," Rumble said.

"Probably, everypony makes mistakes, and she definitely learned from hers," Night Glider said. "Good that she got a second chance."

"Maybe she can help other ponies with a second chance, if she makes full use of her gift," Rumble said.

"Huh?" Night Glider asked. Before she could inquire more, Wind Sprint had finished her course and stood before Spitfire.

"Not bad, you do need a lot of work, but I think you show potential, I'll assign you to be a Wing Pony," Spitfire said.

"That's not a bad thing right?" Spitfire asked.

"No, it's perfectly normal, lots of greats start off as wing ponies," Spitfire said. She called over to the table, "Night Glider, you did well today, think you can be her wing pony?"

"Sure, you got it!" Night Glider said.

"Aw, I kind of wanted to team with Wind Sprint," Rumble said.

"You can still, just not right now," Night Glider said. "I perfectly aced my obstacle course, so Spitfire probably wants to balance it out. But you did well, so maybe you'll get a wing pony of similar skill to yours."

"That'd be neat," Rumble said.

Wind Sprint trotted over to the table, facing Night Glider, "So I guess I follow you now."

"I'll help you be the best," Night Glider said. "You can count on me."

"You're gonna do great Wind Sprint, I believe in you," Rumble said.

"Aw, thanks," Wind Sprint said.

"Next up! Silverstream!" Spitfire called.

Rumble's eyes widened, "Wait, who!?"

"There's no way," Wind Sprint said.

To their surprise, a Wonderbolt cadet wearing Silverstream was at the starting line and took off to do her obstacle course.

"Wait! Silverstream's here!?" Rumble shouted, trotting over to Spitfire. "Um, excuse me ma'am."

"What is it?" Spitfire asked, not taking her eyes off Silverstream.

"Uh, how can I put this, how did Silverstream get here? Like did you seek her out or something?" Rumble asked.

"No, she came to me, apparently it's her goal to be a Wonderbolt," Spitfire said. "So I gave her a chance, mainly due to Tony Stark encouraging the idea. He happened to be there at the time, and he figured if she was a Wonderbolt, then maybe it would win over Mount Aris for The Accords or something."

"But...she can't...can she?" Rumble looked up, Silverstream did better than he thought.

"She's got talent, that's for sure, but she needs to work on her form, and she seems to be smiling and laughing too much," Spitfire said.

"I don't suppose she's going to fail, is she?" Rumble asked.

"No, she's doing a pretty great job," Spitfire said. "In fact, she's done."

Silverstream landed down before Spitfire, "How was that?" She noticed the colt beside her, "Hi Rumble!"

"Why are you here!?" Rumble shouted.

"Hey, lower your voice kid!" Spitfire scolded, then turned to Silverstream. "You did great, but you need work. You're going to be a Wing Pony...er, Wing Griff."

"Oh, neat, who am I assigned to?" Silverstream asked.

Rumble scoffed, "I feel bad for whoever has to-"

"Rumble," Spitfire said.

"Rumble who!?" the Pegasus shouted.

"You're going to be her lead pony, I think you two have amazing potential together," Spitfire said.

"Uh, that's nice and all, one problem though," Rumble said. "I really don't want to be her lead pony."

"Yeah, I wasn't asking, you're doing it," Spitfire said.

"But ma'am!" Rumble pleaded.

"Are you back sassing me!?" Spitfire shouted, staring down at Rumble, intimidating the colt.

"N-no ma'am," Rumble said, almost in a squeaky voice.

"So you'll be her lead pony, won't you!?" Spitfire asked, mostly rhetorical.

"Y-yes ma'am," Rumble said, very quietly.

"LOUDER!" Spitfire demanded.

"Yes ma'am! Of course ma'am! I love you ma'am!" Rumble said, blushing heavily from that last part. "I mean...that came out wrong, what I meant to say was-"

"Just, stop talking," Spitfire said, feeling just as embarrassed. "I have more recruits to check on, I expect you to be a good lead pony Rumble, don't let me down."

"I won't ma'am," Rumble said, lamenting his position. "Damn..."

Wind Sprint empathized with Rumble, she knew how much it bummed him out to be stuck with Silverstream, and of course she was just as unhappy to see her as Rumble was.

As the colt flew off, Wind Sprint trotted over to Silverstream, “You better not mess this up for him, or you’ll be dealing with me.”

“Wind!” Night Glider scolded, leading her away. “Come on, let’s go.”

Silverstream looked a bit confused and somewhat disappointed, seems like she was going to be busy with a lot of things.

“Hey Silverstream,” Johnny said, flying over. “Congrats on making it.”

“Thanks…” Silverstream said. “I hope I can be the first non-Pegasus Wonderbolt.”

“Technically I’m human, and an Earth Pony flew with The Wonderbolts once, so you’d be the third non-Pegasus, but the first Hippogriff,” Johnny said. “My advice, focus on your merits, not that you're different."

“Alright, sure,” Silverstream said.

“Catch you later,” Johnny said and flew off, leaving Silverstream to herself.

---

In Manehattan, Daredevil and his team were fighting off the Demons after they were seen terrorizing some citizens. One tried sneaking up on Elektra, the mare ready to get violent, but before anything could happen, the Demon was webbed courtesy of Peter, the hero kicking the gangster out of the way.

“Spider-Man!?” Elektra said.

“The one and only,” Peter said.

"It’s good to see you," Night Thrasher said.

"Hey Peter, little surprised to see you here, did Tony send you?" Daredevil asked.

"No, I came on my own, I'm hoping to find out more about these Demons and see if we can catch Martin Li," Peter said. "Also, Felicia Hardy could use a lawyer, I know you're trying to help Johnny and Dashie out, but Felicia needs help too."

"I'll do my best, and we appreciate your help," Daredevil said.

"Tell me everything you can," Peter said.

---

Meanwhile with Twilight, she was ready to come across the first of many different artifacts alongside her friends.

The chance to find out about Starswirl was within her grasp, perhaps she can do more than that. Perhaps she can see just where he's gone and just what caused all this in the first place.

Her and her friends' first stop would be the village of Rockhoof, this was going to be a fun week for Twilight, and already a fun moment for Applejack, the first of many excitements.

Shifting Resolve

A week had come and gone, as many tried to adapt to changes or adjust themselves to the coming future.

Peter was still running around and trying to handle several tasks at once, dividing his time between helping Daredevil and his team locate Martin Li, trying to get Felicia out of incarceration, helping the Apple Family however he could, attending to the School of Friendship and being a father to his kids.

He did have some help from his friends of course, many of them trying to fill the void left by the Elements for the week, with Laura, Lightning, Starlight, Trixie and Scott Lang lending their assistance.

Despite this, Peter was still behind, he was no closer to discovering Martin's location, and with Daredevil also dividing his time in helping Felicia and still trying to appease Spitfire and Tony, it made things much more difficult.

Tensions were growing in Manehattan, three heroes assigned to the city was not enough and something needed to change.

Back in that very city, the trio of Daredevil, Elektra and Night Thrasher had taken down another group of Demons, by this point the task started becoming tedious to them.

"This is getting on my nerves," Elektra said, placing her Sais away. "No matter how long we've been at it, it feels like we're not much closer to ending this."

"No matter how many of these guys we catch, it seems like their numbers just end up doubling," Night Thrasher said. "I hate to say this, but I'm getting nearly exhausted from all this fighting."

"I know it's hard, but we need to persevere," Daredevil said.

"Why are we even dragging this out? That Coco girl said that Lee pony looked like Mr. Negative, let's just take him out and be done with this," Elektra said.

"We still don't have definitive proof, remember none of us actually saw him," Daredevil said. "The only hero who saw Mr. Negative was Johnny Storm."

"Yeah, then he got benched because of one mistake, does that Spitfire mare even know what she's even doing!?" Elektra asked.

"Well she sure is stubborn, she will not listen to reason," Daredevil said. "I'm starting to question her qualifications as a leader."

"I'm starting to question Tony Stark; I mean why hasn't he sent us any help?" Night Thrasher asked. "This city is too much for just the three of us and considering we're the only ones dealing with an actual threat you'd think he'd send more our way."

"Spider-Man came to help," Daredevil reminded.

"He had to come on his own, and even then his focus is distracted, in fact yours is distracted too lately," Elektra said.

"He needs my help with other matters, and quite frankly from what I've seen, it’s some serious flaws within The Accords," Daredevil said. "That is just as important as finding Martin Li."

"Still, if this goes on any longer, then I'm just going to take matters into my own hands," Elektra said.

"Don't do anything rash," Daredevil said.

"I'm serious! I want returns or I'm going to find that Lee guy and deal with him myself, see if that stops the flow of these crooks," Elektra said. "The clock is ticking, and I don't have a lot of patience!"

"Just give it a little more time," Daredevil pleaded. "We'll do this the proper way."

"For a guy who created this guise to do things outside the law, you sure are concerned with following Tony Stark's poorly written Accords," Elektra said.

"Hey, easy," Night Thrasher tried to reassure.

"Don't tell me 'easy', you want results, you do what you have to do," Elektra said.

"Elektra, you're not with The Hand right now, you're in Equestria and you have to do things that benefit the safety of these ponies!" Daredevil said. "Maybe I am being cautious right now but that's because we're still learning about this place, if we go around raising hell like The Punisher would probably do, it's just going to make things worse."

"Well Matt, by this point, raising hell might be our only option," Elektra said. "But I'll play your game a little while longer. If we don't find this guy within the next three days, then I'm going by my own rules."

"I'm almost tempted to agree with Elektra, all the signs point to that Lee guy, everyone we talked to said that these things happened right around the time he moved into this city, a guy as smart as you can make that connection Matt," Night Thrasher said.

"Even if I can, the last thing I want to do is jump to conclusions, this could just be really bad timing for that man," Daredevil said. "But don't worry, I have a plan that should work."

"What's on your mind?" Elektra asked.

"This might sound simple, but I need to talk to him, face to face," Daredevil said.

"Gonna be hard considering that Suri lady keeps shooing us away," Night Thrasher said. "If she catches us anywhere near that guy then she's gonna raise hell herself."

"We just need to distract her, maybe next time we go near her building, let's go out of costume, maybe she won't recognize us," Daredevil said. "If I can talk to him, I can try asking the right questions."

"You think you can get him to confess something?" Night Thrasher asked.

"He'll confess whether he's aware or not, sometimes the body gives away what the mouth tries to conceal," Daredevil said.

"...Uh, sure, I guess," Night Thrasher replied, confused by the reaction.

"This plan better work, otherwise I'm enacting my own plan on the spot," Elektra said, pulling her Sai back out. "When I do enact it, not even that bitch Suri will get in my way."

"Elektra, if you do anything rash, if you get yourself into hot water with Tony Stark and Princess Luna, you may be on your own, because even I can't help you," Daredevil said. "But I hope you chose to do the right thing."

"Just get the plan started," Elektra said, then heard some screaming. "More of them, let's go!"

As she dashed off, Night Thrasher turned his attention to Daredevil, "We can trust her, right? I mean you know her better than I do."

"I wish I could say she won't follow through but, the possibilities are high," Daredevil said. "Weeks ago, I trusted Stark's decision to hire her. It didn't make sense to me to hire an assassin to work as a hero, but I trusted Stark's word, and Elektra has been our ally more than our enemy. But lately I've been questioning Tony Stark's decisions, and I can't help but feel like these Accords he put together was a poorly constructed process."

"Think you'll stick around for them?" Night Thrasher asked.

"I'd like to fix them if I could, for the sake of this world at least," Daredevil said. "We're drabbling, come on, we have lives to save, from the Demons, and possibly Elektra."

The two dashed off in the direction of the assassin from The Hand, hoping to soothe things in the long run.

---

At Ponyville Park, while Susan and Derpy were talking, mostly about Derpy's recent nausea issues and occasional mood swings, Mayday and Franklin were sitting together under a tree, the former doing her best to interact like a, quote, normal child, and try to befriend this boy.

Franklin felt nervous at first, he wants to befriend this girl, he admires her intelligence and her independence, but he also finds it a bit intimidating.

"So..." Mayday began. "Uh, how are things at home Franklin?"

"Huh? Oh, just fine," Franklin said. "My Uncle Ben got married to a really nice lady."

"That's great...Ben's the one who's a giant rock person, right?" Mayday asked. "Is he your dad's brother or cousin?"

"They're not related, but they are best friends, they've been there for each other since my dad was a kid," Franklin explained.

"That's neat, he seems like a really nice guy, at least from the few number of times I've seen him," Mayday said. "Is he really strong?"

"Seems like it, the only one he seems to have trouble beating is The Hulk," Franklin explained.

"Oh yeah, the Hulk, Doctor Banner," Mayday said. "Wonder where he went? My dad hasn't mentioned him in a while, of course I don't think I was paying much attention."

"I don't know either," Franklin said. "He's probably off keeping Earth safe or something. Uncle Ben really doesn't like The Hulk, they're fated rivals or something like that."

"That's kind of strange, I mean they're both heroes, shouldn't they be on the same side?" Mayday asked. "I've always been confused when those Capcom people arrived, even the heroes on that side seemed to hate my dad, meanwhile I'm wondering why they won't just team up and beat up the bad guys. At least they're friends now but I still don't get why heroes wouldn't like one another."

"Probably a pride thing, some heroes want to prove their worth by being the best, even my dad gets like that, but for him, it's a battle of the minds," Franklin said. "His biggest rival in intelligence is Hank Pym."

"Hank Pym, Auntie Janet's talked about him, she hasn't said nice things," Mayday said.

"I don't know the full story but it seems like they had a fight or something, but I've seen Professor Pym and I think he's a really nice guy, Maybe he and Miss Van Dyne just need to work out their issues," Franklin said. "Your mom's a Friendship Princess, maybe she can help with that."

"Yeah, that is her specialty, she's good at turning rivals into best friends," Mayday said. "She and Auntie Trixie used to hate each other, now they're like sisters. Then there's Miss Glimmer, she teamed up with Thor's evil brother once, now she, my mom and Auntie Trixie are friends."

"Your mom's pretty amazing, the perfect girl for your dad," Franklin said. "Spider-Man is one of my favorite heroes, I want to be cool like he is."

"My dad's my favorite too, he's a lot of ponies' favorite," Mayday said. "I also like Uncle Johnny and Uncle Logan, they're really nice, and really strong."

“Kind of weird to hear you call my uncle as yours," Franklin said. "But Uncle Johnny seems to like you too. He said he wants his daughter to be as amazing as you are."

"Funny, Uncle Logan said the same thing," Mayday said. She began thinking about the talks the two have had, regarding some of her worries and insecurities. "Franklin, have you ever been worried for your parents? Knowing that they're superheroes and they're always in danger."

"Well of course, but my parents are strong and smart, plus somehow, things just turn out how I want them to," Franklin said. "I know that whatever happens, my parents, along with Uncle Johnny and Uncle Ben can save the day."

"I tell myself that too, that my mom and dad are really strong, but I do worry that something bad is gonna happen to one of them, it scares me," Mayday said.

Franklin could see that Mayday was really caught up in her worries, this is the most he's seen emotion out of her, and the most she's been willing to talk about her struggles. This was his chance to be closer to her, if only he knew how to do it, at least without forcing it.

Taking a chance, he took her hoof in his, surprising the girl as he mustered up the strength to talk, "I believe your parents will be fine, because if there's one thing that motivates a parent, it's wanting to always do their best to make it back to them. It works for my parents; it can also work for yours. Plus, they have the ultimate advantage, that being having good friends that will fight with them and keep each other safe. Uncle Johnny and Aunt Rainbow Dash work hard to keep not only their worlds safe, but also their friends and family, that includes your parents."

"Huh, that's actually very enlightened of you to say Franklin, you're a really smart boy," Mayday said.

Franklin turned away, hiding the blush on his face, "It's nothing."

"I feel like that's something my mom would like to hear," Mayday said. "You should tell her when you first get the chance."

"Oh I couldn't, that's more of an in the moment type thing," Franklin said. "I just said that because I wanted you to feel better and not worry so much."

"I guess I'll always worry, but knowing my parents have such good friends, makes me worry less," Mayday said. "Maybe his is why they want me to have friends, so they wouldn't have to worry so much about me."

"Yeah, I think so," Franklin said.

"Well, I promised Uncle Logan I would try anyway, plus, I'm really starting to like you Franklin," Mayday said, the boy again turning away to hide his blush. "So, you think you can be my friend?"

Franklin feverishly nodded in agreement, "Of course, I'd love that!"

Oddly enough, flowers began growing all around, birds suddenly appearing and singing in harmony as the sun shined down on the two. This did catch Mayday's attention, the girl immediately getting confused, "Uh, what's going on?"

"Huh?" Franklin could see everything that's happening. "Oh no, I gotta..."

Suddenly everything began turning back to normal, Mayday feeling even more confused than before, "What happened?"

"Remember how I said I can change reality?" Franklin asked.

"Oh! Was that your power?" Mayday asked.

"Sort of, thing is, sometimes it happens involuntarily, my dad tries to suppress it because of how dangerous it is, but it still leaks out," Franklin said.

"How much of it can you change? Like can you do anything you want?" Mayday asked.

"Well, yeah, not that I would," Franklin said. "If there's one thing I learned from your father, is that With Great Power comes Great Responsibility, and I would never misuse this power."

"It's pretty neat though, I'd love to see more of it," Mayday said. "Like, could you even change my form? I've always wanted to know what I'd look like if I were a human."

"I really don't want to mess around with that, my parents won't be happy, plus someone might see us," Franklin said.

"Aw, not even for a quick second?" Mayday asked. "This is a pretty secluded area; I doubt anyone would see us. If you do this for me, I'll let you ride with me on the glider I'm building."

Franklin seemed unsure, but he couldn't resist the curious and somewhat adorable look on Mayday's face, "Fine, but only for a quick second." He then began to concentrate, hoping to pull this off without any side effects or consequences.

Within seconds the area around the two began to change and adjust, both slowly changing form out of their pony appearance to a more human looking one. It wasn't long before the transformation had completed, Franklin in his human form, wearing his Fantastic Four shirt and some gray-ish shorts while Mayday had a miniature Spider-Man suit on.

"Did it...work?" Mayday asked, finding herself standing on two legs. "Wow it worked, I'm-AH!"

She nearly fell over, but Franklin managed to catch her, "I got you."

"Thanks...I'm not used to standing on two legs," Mayday said. "This feels a bit strange, must have been how my dad felt when he turned into a pony."

"I felt the same too, just try to maintain your balance, it's like taking your first steps," Franklin said.

Mayday tried standing again, but nearly lost her balance once more, "I think I got the hang of this." She slowly placed one foot in front of the other, taking small steps. "I'm doing it, I'm actually-WHOA!"

Franklin caught her again before she fell, "Got you."

"Wow this is a pain in the butt," Mayday said. "Maybe I should practice as a pony first."

"Can ponies even stand on two legs?" Franklin asked.

"Of course, Auntie Pinkie Pie does sometimes, and so does my dad and your uncle, even the Capcom fighters do, they make it look so easy," Mayday said, standing back up and looking down. "Uh, question, why am I wearing my daddy's suit?"

"I had to give you something, otherwise you'd be naked," Franklin said, blushing a bit. "And I don't think you'd want me seeing you that way."

"Well technically you do see me naked, ponies don't normally wear clothes," Mayday said. "In fact, I technically see you naked too, aside from the Fantastic Four shirt you sometimes wear."

"Can we please not talk about this," Franklin said, blushing from the embarrassing thought of being naked, especially in front of a girl. "Ponies are naturally naked, it's less awkward than humans, just remember that, Franklin."

"Well I like it, so thanks Frankie," Mayday said.

"No problem...uh, did you just call me 'Frankie'?" the boy asked.

"Yeah...uh, is that alright? I don't want to move too fast," Mayday said.

"No, that's fine...can I call you 'May'?" Franklin asked.

"Uh, sure, it is the name of my dad's aunt, and he technically named me after her," Mayday said.

"May's fitting for you, especially with that pretty flower in your hair," Franklin said.

"My flower?" Mayday asked, looking to her accessory. "What does that have to do with it?"

"Well flowers bloom in May, well not always but that is a common saying," Franklin said. "Point is, I think your name suits the beauty of that flower."

"Oh, so you're saying my name is pretty?" Mayday asked.

"Uh...well..." Franklin didn't think this far ahead. "I just think it's nice, a pretty name is suiting for a pretty girl like you."

"Did you call me 'pretty'?" Mayday asked.

Franklin mentally slapped himself for being so blunt. "Well, objectively speaking, you are pretty, makes sense because your mom's pretty so scientifically speaking, you would be pretty. I mean that’s just my opinion."

"Uh, alright?" Mayday said, not sure what to make of this. Not like he's the first boy to call her pretty, she's used to it from Pound Cake. "Look, just so you know, you can tell me anything, we're friends now after all."

"Right…" Franklin said.

"So, you're allowed to tell me I'm pretty, Auntie Rarity says that a lot to her other friends," Mayday said. "She also calls daddy 'handsome', then Bobby gets mad for some reason, but that guy's a loser so it's not like what he thinks is important."

Franklin nodded in mock agreement, he wouldn't insult an X-Men member like that but for now, he'll just go with it, "Well, now that you've had this experience, maybe-"

"Franklin Benjamin Richards!" Susan called, startling the boy, Derpy standing alongside the displeased mother, looking amazed by what she could see.

"Huh, funny, you have the same middle name as my dad," Mayday said.

"Not the time..." Franklin muttered, then focused on Susan. "Hey mom..."

"Franklin, put Mayday and yourself back to normal!" Susan shouted, then took a moment to rethink. "Uh, by Equestrian standards!"

Franklin flinched from his mother’s words, quickly putting everything back to how it was before.

"Mayday!" Susan checked over the filly. "How are you feeling? Nothing feels off right?"

"I'm fine Sue, I don't feel strange," Mayday said.

Susan was relieved that there seemed to be no negative effects, at least this time. Franklin's powers could be unpredictable, the last thing she wanted was for him to mess something up by mistake. "Franklin, you know you're not supposed to use your powers so freely!"

"It's my fault Sue, I kept bothering him about it, he told me no and I didn't listen," Mayday said.

"I appreciate you taking responsibility, but Franklin still shouldn't have given in like that," Susan said.

"Nothing happened though, we're fine, please don't too mad at him," Mayday pleaded.

"She does look alright, and it seemed harmless," Derpy said. "Plus Franklin looks sorry as well."

From what Susan could see, there indeed seemed to be no consequences, not yet, but at the very least, she'll take it easy, "Alright, I'll let this slide for now. But please don't let this happen again."

Franklin held back some tears, still feeling ashamed of his decision, "I'm really sorry mom, I won't make another mistake like that."

"Franklin..." Susan said, comforting her son. "You know this is because I don't want anything happening to you, I'm afraid you're going to lose control and...well, I just don't want you to get hurt, or worse, I don't want to lose you. You're very precious to me, it would break my heart if something bad happened and I couldn't be there to help you."

"Yes mom," Franklin said, returning his mother's hug.

"You're a good boy Franklin, and I love you so much," Susan said, gently stroking his hair.

Mayday really felt ashamed, she should have known Franklin's mother would not be happy, but she was too eager to care, soon even she felt teary eyed.

"Mayday?" Derpy said, getting her attention.

"I almost got Franklin in trouble, because I was being selfish," Mayday said.

"Aw, don't say that," Derpy said, hugging the filly. "You still cared enough to accept responsibility, that was really kind of you. And don't worry, we won't tell your parents, I think you've learned your lesson."

"Thanks Derpy," Mayday said, hugging the mare.

"Of course," Derpy stroked the mane of this young girl. "I hope my child grows up be a kind as you are."

"Everyone keeps saying that...am I really that special?" Mayday wasn't sure but she just rolled with it, at the very least, she felt closer to Franklin, and was genuinely interested in building this Friendship.

Unbeknownst to them, one filly had seen the whole thing, Franklin's powers, his explanation, she now has an idea of what he can do.

"I wonder if Discord knows about this..." a sinister smirk formed on the face of Cozy Glow, the filly hoping to use this to her advantage.

She flew off to make plans, having high hopes for what could be done with this information, but as she was flying near the edge of the park enroute to her dorm, she spotted a familiar pony.

That pony was Sandbar, the young stallion was laying back first on the grass looking up to the sky and observing all the passing clouds. This past week at the Friendship School was a bit unusual for him, seeing the main Professors not around to give their usual Lessons, for the most part their friends had stepped in, but not to the best results.

Trixie tried taking over for Magic, but her idea of the subject was a bit more showpony than the type of Twilight would probably teach. Lightning Dust tried teaching about Loyalty, but she came off as too much of a bragger for anypony to take the lesson seriously. Laura tried teaching Kindness, but her short temper was not helping much, and if anything she created too much tension in the class. Maud ended up filling in to teach laughter, surprisingly enough, she seemed to know it well, citing her love for comedy shows. Unfortunately she did not give off the same charisma as her sister. Big Macintosh took over for his sister, he seemed to do a better job thanks to his gift at speaking clearly, plus a few tips he got from Cheerilee also helped. Lastly Bobby had taken over for Rarity, putting his official hero duties aside for the moment. His teaching style left a lot to be desired however. Even Peter had come by to teach a few things, with help from guest Autumn Blaze, who herself found the school amazing, and would totally recommend it to the Kirin.

As he laid on the grass, he found himself joined by the very filly who spotted him, "Hey Cozy, good to see you here."

"You too Sandy," Cozy Glow said, lying beside him. "What a weird week at school."

"Yeah, sure was," Sandbar said. "Felt weird without all the Professors. I mean, Professor Sparkle already took some days off to be with her son, now all of them went on this epic Journey of sorts."

"I heard it had to do with the Pillars of Equestria," Cozy Glow said, now resting her upper body on Sandbar's chest. "Those old heroes of legend."

"Yeah, Ocellus was reading up on them the other day, apparently they were the original protectors, then they randomly disappeared for like hundreds of years," Sandbar said, stroking her mane.

"I hear they went against some pretty terrible evil," Cozy Glow said. "But with the help of their special artifacts, they always found a way to save the day."

"I hope the professors can bring them over, it'd be great to see up close," Sandbar said. "Imagine the cool tricks they can probably do."

"Oh I'm totally imagining what type of power they'd bring," Cozy said, sinister thoughts swirling in her head. "Think they were the Elements of their time? I mean the actual Elements of Harmony, not the Ponies who wield them."

"Your guess is as good as mine," Sandbar said.

"What type of Power do The Elements possess?" Cozy Glow asked. "Think anything like that exists on Earth?"

"Probably, I remember Kurt mentioning some stuff a few times, can't remember any of it though," Sandbar said. "Magic is rarer on Earth than in Equestria."

"But Earth has heroes like Doctor Strange, I bet he has some really nice things, oh I wish I could see them for myself, I bet it'd be super fun," Cozy Glow said.

"Well that's probably not likely, he really keeps to himself, according to Kurt and Jubilee at least," Sandbar said. "Though I kind of wish he would have taught us magic this week instead of Trixie."

"Trixie was fun, she's no Twilight but she certainly makes things entertaining," Cozy Glow said. "But Lighting Dust was not fun, she made a lot of the Pegusai do weird stunts, even me."

"Speaking of stunts, I wonder how Silverstream is doing?" Sandbar said. "Too bad she wasn't around much this week; guess she doesn't want to fall behind in her training."

"Rumble's her partner, think they're getting along?" Cozy Glow wondered.

"Probably not, Rumble's a bit thickheaded, I hope he's not going to sabotage Silverstream, being a Wonderbolt is her goal after all," Sandbar said.

"Well she's still not back, so it's safe to say she's lasted pretty well at The Academy," Cozy Glow said. "But how long is she supposed to be there?"

"I don't know, guess until Spitfire says so," Sandbar said. "To think though, if this goes well, Silverstream could be working for The Avengers, that would be pretty awesome."

"Would you work for them?" Cozy Glow asked.

"I don't have any interest in being a superhero, I can't handle that lifestyle," Sandbar said.

"What is your goal in life?" Cozy Glow asked, stroking Sandbar's mane. "What could a charming and handsome stallion like yourself desire to be?"

"I don't know, I never really thought much about it," Sandbar said. "I go wherever life takes me."

"You're so cool Sandy," Cozy Glow said, leaning in to kiss his muzzle. "I guess that's what I really like about you."

"You seem awfully flirty," Sandbar said.

"Oh am I? I don't mean to be," Cozy Glow said. "Maybe you're just falling in love with me."

"You're cute, but if anything you're more like a little sister," Sandbar said. "Just try not to make my actual sister jealous."

"You're so funny," Cozy Glow said. "Speaking of little siblings, you know what would be great? Spending time with younger ponies. Ponies like Mayday Parker-Sparkle."

"That would be nice, but she kind of doesn't like us," Sandbar said.

"Oh she just needs to get used to us, I say you, me and Celly take your sister and her two little sisters and bring them for a playdate with Mayday and her little friend Franklin," Cozy Glow said. "You can invite Yona, Gallus and Smolder if you want, and Silverstream, if she's not busy."

"You think that would work? I mean, Mayday is not that friendly," Sandbar said. "Which is weird, she seemed to like me at first."

"Well you were rivaled with Rumble, so she sided against you since she loves him more," Cozy Glow said. "But maybe you can get her to love you, she can learn to love us all. The key is Franklin Richards."

"Uh, how?" Sandbar asked.

"I just saw Mayday with Franklin, and I think she's warming up to him, if we get on his good side, that could help us get close to Mayday, and thus, close to Peter and Professor Sparkle," Cozy Glow said.

"I'm down for getting close to her, I mean I kind of admire Professor Sparkle," Sandbar said. "And I'd love to hang out with Peter more."

"Then let’s go for it, I think this could work out great for us!" Cozy Glow said.

"Yeah, totally," Sandbar said, this bringing a smile to Cozy Glow's face.

"Sure can't wait to know more about you, Frankie...."

---

Back at the Wonderbolt Academy, Rumble is practicing his drills, keeping himself in tip top shape. This week has been somewhat successful for him, given that he's impressed many of the Wonderbolt coaches, including Captain Spitfire.

Unfortunately the biggest obstacle for him right now was Silverstream, his success did depend on how well she did since she was his Wing Griff, if he couldn't be a good Lead Pony, it would look poorly in Spitfire's eyes.

Having to help someone he wasn't too fond of was a huge blow to his ego.

It was a practice run overseen by Johnny Storm, the hero closely observing the progress shown by Rumble. Given his skills, he had little to improve on, the most he had to do was maintain focus and not let himself get distracted, nor get carried away with his stunts.

After he finished, it was Silverstream's turn, and she herself made a few improvements, maintaining focus on her flight pattern.

She landed beside Rumble, taking a quick breath, "Seems like I've gotten better at this." She turned to Rumble, "Have I?"

"You did alright," Rumble said, not caring that much.

Silverstream huffed in annoyance, for a Lead Pony he wasn't that helpful, most of her flying tips had to come from other cadets or whichever Wonderbolt was observing that day.

"Great work you two," Johnny said, trotting over. "Rumble, your control has gotten better really fast, I wouldn't be surprised if Spitfire made you official within the next few days."

"All in a day's work," Rumble said.

"Silverstream, you've gotten faster, and your control has also improved, but you still need a bit more work yourself, make sure you stay on top of your drills and work in some extra practice time," Johnny said.

"You got it!" Silverstream said, getting pepped up.

"The one thing you two have to work on is synchronized flying, you have to understand one another, know what the other is feeling, that's key to teamwork," Johnny said.

"I can do it, it just depends on the partner," Rumble said.

"You've had Silverstream as your partner for a week though, and it barely improved, even Wind Sprint figured it out, and she's younger and more of a novice than you," Johnny said.

"Well then let me work with Wind Sprint, she's my friend after all, I work better with friends," Rumble said.

"Not my call dude, Spitfire is the one who decides, and she wants you to work with Silverstream for now," Johnny said. "The only way she'd break up a team is if one of them was being reckless. Granted I don't always know what Spitfire considers reckless, according to Rainbow Dash she let Lightning Dust get away with a lot, I guess it depends on her mood for that day."

"Her mood for the day? What does that mean?" Silverstream asked.

"It's complicated, even I can't figure it out, just know that Spitfire can make your life here complete hell if you're not careful," Johnny said.

"Got that right," came the voice of Fleetfoot. "I'll take over Torch, Spitfire wants you to work with The Barrel Twins. Also, Rainbow Dash is back, and she's been looking around for you."

"Oh yeah, she said it might be today, good to see my wife again, hope she found out something cool on her trip," Johnny said.

"You can catch up with your wife but make sure you get the Barrel Twins prepped up too," Fleetfoot said.

"Lucky them, they're close to getting on the field," Rumble said. "Speaking of which, hey Johnny, how long before you're back on there?"

"When Spitfire gets over her little fit about Manehattan," Johnny said. "At least I've gotten closer to the action than she has."

"Don’t say stuff like that, Matchstick!" Fleetfoot scolded.

"Shove it, Flatfoot!" Johnny mock scolded back.

"Oh, I wonder what my Wonderbolt nickname could be?" Silverstream wondered.

"I have a few good ones for you," Rumble said with a hint of sass in his voice, then got the attention of the two bickering Wonderbolts. "Hey, so what should I be doing now?"

"You and Silverstream are going through an obstacle course, together," Fleetfoot said. "Make sure you polish your teamwork, if one of you fails, you both fail."

"Ugh...why does my future need to be in the hooves of someone else?" Rumble lamented.

"That's life kid, being a Wonderbolt is about teamwork, respect for your fellow Bolt," Fleetfoot said, glaring back at Johnny. "And respecting those in charge."

"Maybe if those in charge were a little more competent," Johnny said, taking off. "Rumble, Silverstream, good luck and be careful."

Johnny flew off, leaving Fleetfoot a bit ticked off, "The nerve of that guy, thinks that just because he's in some superhero group makes him better than the rest of us."

"Well to be fair ma'am, the Fantastic Four are a very respectable and formidable team that are capable of stopping even the dastardly of villains, even aliens to their world," Rumble said. "Why Johnny's told me personally about a planet eater that-"

"You know, you're talking a lot but I don't quite remember asking you to," Fleetfoot said, gesturing away. "To the obstacle course, on the double!"

Rumble groaned in annoyance, "Yes ma'am." The boy flew off with Silverstream right behind him.

"Hey Rumble, if you want, you could tell me that story," Silverstream said.

"Don't patronize me, just follow my lead and don't mess up, the sooner we're both Wonderbolts the sooner we can do our own thing," Rumble said.

Silverstream seemed a bit disheartened, despite being Rumble's Wing Griff for a week, the two had barely bonded. Of course she knows Rumble doesn't care for her or her friends, and she shouldn't be surprised, but part of her hoped to make friends with Rumble and put an end to this petty grudge he had, maybe even figure out why he's acting this way. Rumble was pretty friendly when she first met him, she couldn't figure out where all that went, but she was determined to figure it out.

---

At the Parker-Sparkle residence, Trixie was seen feeding Benjy his bottle while Scott sat nearby, reading one of Twilight's Friendship textbooks.

"It still amazes me that Twilight literally turned Friendship into a type of school, like instead of math quizzes, do you just have friendship quizzes?" Scott asked. "Like is one of the questions, 'What's an ideal place to hang out on a Saturday night'?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that," Trixie said. "First, they do teach typical school subjects at Twilight's school."

"Right, so 2 + 2 equals two more friends to goof around with," Scott joked.

"Are you against the idea of Twilight having a school like that?" Trixie asked.

"No, it's a nice concept, just a bit unusual," Scott said. "But maybe it's something us humans can use too, a good chance to learn about unity, to be as solid as an Ant Colony."

"Again with the Ant jokes, do you really fancy yourself an ant?" Trixie asked.

"Well, some of my friends are ants, like you, Aunt Trixie," Scott joked.

"Oh ha-ha," Trixie said.

"Gotta say, you look really natural feeding that baby his bottle, you would make a great mother," Scott said.

"Well to do that, I need to find a husband, but I'm not in the market for one," Trixie said.

"Not confident in your looks?" Scott asked.

Trixie scoffed it off, "Blasphemy! I find myself getting many potential suitors at my doorstep. I'm just not interested in mating."

"You say that but the moment you fall for someone, things will change," Scott said. "I know that feeling all too well."

"Do you consider that a fond memory?" Trixie asked. "I mean, you are currently divorced, I can only imagine that heart break."

"It sucks but I don't think I would have changed anything," Scott said. "At the very least I'm friends with my ex-wife, and we had a beautiful daughter together. I see it as the glass half-full."

"Lucky you, sure wish my parents felt that way, not that they didn't love me but they sure didn't love each other," Trixie said.

"Is that why you're afraid to get into a relationship?" Scott asked. "Tell me, have you even seen your parents lately?"

"No, I haven't seen them in years, probably never will," Trixie said.

"Well if you can, you should probably see them when you're able to, you might need to work out some issues," Scott said.

"What are you, a therapist?" Trixie asked.

"No, just a friend," Scott said.

"Well, that's kind of you," Trixie said. "Of course, this hospitable personality is very fitting of a superhero."

"Huh, guess you're right," Scott said. "At least I get to feel like a superhero again, haven't felt that in a while."

"You could if you signed on with Tony Stark's Accords," Trixie said. "Seems like you've been putting that off, is there a reason?"

"What's the point in considering, not like Tony cares, he barely reaches out to me about it," Scott said. "I get him not wanting to approach the X-Men given how much the rules of The Accords are just an enhanced version of the Mutant Registration Act, something that's kind of a bad memory for them."

"I do recall hearing Logan mentioning it once, even Bobby and Remy occasionally," Trixie said.

"It was a pain for them, they had my sympathy," Scott said. "Despite that, Tony opted to reach out to so many other heroes on Earth, but barely contacted me, I think the only time he asked is when I was in Canterlot during the Storm King's Invasion, but even then it seemed like I was an afterthought like, 'By the way Scott, want to be on the Accords?'. The last few years he's kind of seen me as just that, an afterthought, a lot of the heroes have. I get it, I have the suit, but I'm not the Ant Man they want, they prefer Hank Pym, who’s actively part of the Accords. I'm surprised they didn't make me give up my suit just so he can be Ant Man again."

"Would it bother you if he became Ant Man again?" Trixie asked. "Or would you be fine with that?"

"Well, if he wants to be Ant Man, he can be, he probably doesn't even need my suit back, he could make another one," Scott explained. "I just want them to be honest with me, during the big Capcom Invasion in New York years back, I barely did much. Granted I got captured and mind controlled by Doctor Doom but after that, nothing. They didn't even invite me over for that Marvel vs Capcom Tournament, I didn't get to come to Equestria until Spike was marrying Janet, and I nearly got attacked that day because Spike thought I was Hank."

"Yes, it was an awkward encounter," Trixie recalled.

"It's all good, I mean he apologized, and I don't hold a grudge," Scott said. "What bums me out is that it seemed like I was so unneeded, despite everything I know I can attribute. It's not just Tony either, I feel like even Twilight forgets what I can do. Whenever there's trouble in town, it seems like I'm not even the first on anyone's mind to help, I have to step up on my own."

"Is this about glory for you Scott?" Trixie asked.

"No, I mean not totally, I just want to feel useful at something, like I have my place in the world," Scott said. "I mean, you know my past. I’ve been arrested, then my daughter got sick, and I stole the Ant Man suit in a desperate attempt to keep her alive. For that brief time, I felt useful because I was doing something, I earned the Ant Man title, even though I was a thief. Of course, I'm not the first thief turned hero but that's beside the point."

"Seems like your point is that you thought you have proven your self-worth to the Avengers enough for them to actively want you in The Accords, but you haven't received that confirmation because no one has approached you about it," Trixie said. "But I do recall you saying that you don't trust Tony Stark that much, so why would it even matter?"

"It's the principle," Scott said. "I'm an Avenger just like him after all."

"I suppose I get that, but if this really means a lot to you, then maybe you should go to Canterlot and let Tony Stark know," Trixie said. "Just showing the motivation might be enough to make him want to consider you."

"Eh, I'll think about it," Scott said.

Trixie began patting Benjy on the back after he finished with his bottle, relieving the baby of pent-up pressure in his chest. "You know, maybe having a baby of my own would be very nice."

"It truly is," Scott said.

Peter had gotten home, getting the attention of the two.

"Peter, you're back, how are things in Canterlot?" Trixie asked.

"Well I'm barely close to figuring anything out, way too much on my plate," Peter said. "I'm trying to help Felicia out of the dungeon, but I need help from Matt. But he's busy trying to talk Spitfire into letting Johnny and Rainbow Dash patrol again, but she's not budging, plus he's still reading up on Equestrian Law, while dealing with other stuff that's going on in the city, Martin Li is still out of reach, it's ridiculous!"

"Wait who's Matt again?" Trixie asked.

"My Lawyer," Peter said.

"Isn't She-Hulk a Lawyer too?" Scott asked.

"She's trying to get accustomed to Griffonstone, and is reading up on the laws there," Peter said. "I'm thinking of just spending a few days in Manehattan and hoping to help the heroes there find Martin."

"Are you comfortable with that idea? You do seem to dislike the idea of being too far away from your family, especially Mayday," Trixie said.

"I get worried when I'm not around my wife or kids, this past week has been torture, I really miss Twilight," Peter said. "I guess you're right about me going to Manehattan, but it is my duty to protect the public, and the heroes there could really use my help. If I can find Martin that would keep the city safer."

"Why don't you bring your family to Manehattan then?" Scott asked. "It won't be permanent, just a few days, almost like a vacation, except you're trying to find a villain."

"I'd be good with that idea Peter, I'd love a chance to be in the city," Trixie said. "Maybe I'll be able to enjoy it better than I did last time."

"I'll run it by Twilight, but the real problem is how Mayday handles it," Peter said.

"She won't mind, she might like the change in venue," Trixie said. "Of course, that might mean less time to spend with Franklin Richards."

"Yeah, she's been making a good effort lately, but it does come off as a bit awkward," Peter said.

"Baby steps, she's getting there," Scott said. "At the very least, if she makes just one good friend, well that might be all she needs. Quality over Quantity."

"Well at least it's with Franklin," Peter said. "So, are he and Mayday out again?"

"They went on a picnic with Derpy and Susan, somewhere on the hilltop at the park," Trixie said.

"Well I'm glad Susan is liking Equestria, wish I could get Reed's opinion, but he spends a lot of time with Doctor Hooves at the lab," Peter said.

"Hey maybe if those two like Equestria enough, they might move here," Scott said. "Have three-fourths of the Fantastic Four in Equestria, that'd be neat."

"What about the fourth one?" Trixie asked. "The one called, 'The Thing'."

"Don't know, barely see the guy," Scott said.

"Tony was talking about him recently, he asked if he'd be willing to join The Accords, Ben turned it down though, offering to stay on Earth and protect that world," Peter said. "That and he recently got married to Alicia Masters, so he's been spending time with her lately, he may come by for a visit soon at least."

"That would certainly make Maud Pie happy," Trixie said.

Not too long later, the door had opened, and a familiar voice called, "Peter? Trixie!? Mayday!"

"Twilight!?" in the blink of an eye, Peter had appeared before his wife, startling her.

"Peter, please be mindful of you spe-" Twilight's lecture was cut short when Peter locked her into a kiss.

"Sorry," Peter said as he stepped back. "I just really missed you, I tried calling you this morning and you didn't answer, I got a little worried."

"I'm really sorry, I was on the verge of a major breakthrough and, well, I achieved it," Twilight said.

"You did? What was it?" Peter asked.

"Peter, there's a group of ponies I'd like you to meet," Twilight said as she turned around. "Come on in."

As Twilight walked inside, she was followed by six other ponies, a Pegasus stallion in old knight armor, an Earth Pony mare with her hair braided upward, a Pegasus mare with a spikey tiara, an older unicorn with a green flowing mane, a big muscular Earth Pony stallion sporting a beard and a bearded unicorn stallion.

"What in the world?" Peter said. "Uh, who are all these ponies?"

"Peter, I'd like to introduce you to the Pillars of Equestria," Twilight began introducing them in the order they came in. "Flash Magnus, Mage Meadowbrook, Somnambula, Mistmane, Rockhoof and Starswirl the Bearded." Twilight then turned to the six ponies, "Everypony, this is my husband, Peter Parker."

"Oh so this is your husband?" Somnambula asked, getting a look at Peter. "He's a fine young stallion, you are quite lucky Princess Twilight."

"You don't need to address me as Princess, but thank you, I do feel lucky to have found a great stallion like Peter," Twilight said.

"We hear you are a strong warrior Peter Parker," Flash Magnus said.

"Uh, sort of, I do my best to keep Equestria safe," Peter said.

"He is pretty amazing," Trixie said, getting their attention. "He's gone against very powerful villains, ones who could destroy reality."

"If he is this strong, perhaps he can help us with our little problem," Meadowbrook said.

"What problem?" Peter asked.

"Oh, we may have run into a bit trouble when freeing the Pillars," Twilight sheepishly stated.

"This is not a minor problem, it is a grand problem with dire consequences," Starswirl said. "For the Pony of Shadows, has returned!"

"The Pony of Shadows!?" Peter shouted in surprise. "Oh no, that's terrible! This is really bad!"

"It is indeed," Starswirl said.

"Who is that though?" Peter asked, getting a deadpanned glare from Starswirl, the other Pillars looking away awkwardly.

"I'd love to explain more but time is not something we have, we must embark to Canterlot," Starswirl said. "I believe my young portages Celestia and Luna are of power, correct?"

Peter raised his eyebrow in surprise, "Young? Dude how old are you exactly?"

"Peter!" Twilight scolded.

"I'm with Peter, how old is that guy?" Scott asked.

Starswirl gestured to Trixie and Scott, "Who are they?"

"That's Trixie Lulamoon, our roommate and best friend," Twilight said. "And that's Scott Lang, he's a superhero like my husband."

"Ah so they live here with you?" Somnambula asked.

"Trixie does, Scott does not," Twilight said. "But we do have plenty of other roommates."

"Hey Twilight, what's the commotion?" asked Janet as she came downstairs with Spike.

"Oh here's one now, that's Janet Van Dyne, my sister-in-law," Twilight said. "And that little dragon-"

"Dragon?” Starswirl said. "You're allowing a Dragon to live with you? That's quite uncommon."

"Who's he?" Spike asked. "Why does he look like Starswirl the Bearded?"

"That is Starswirl," Twilight explained. "It's a really long story."

Janet stepped over to the group of legends, "Well like Twilight said, I'm Janet, I'm Spike's wife."

"Spike is the Dragon, correct?" Starswirl asked.

"Yes," Janet confirmed as her husband stood by her side. "He's amazing, just what a girl needs."

"You married a dragon?" Flash Magnus asked.

"Is that a problem?" Janet asked, glaring at Flash, somewhat intimidating the old Pegasus knight.

"Uh...no, not really," Flash said.

"Personally, I do find it unusual," Starswirl said.

"Warning, I personally don't care just how great and powerful you are," Janet began.

"Great and Powerful is my thing actually," Trixie pointed out, getting a slight pitiful glare from Scott and Janet, the latter resuming her point to Starswirl.

"Let me get something straight, I couldn’t care less if Spike was a pony, dragon or human, he's good to me and I love him very much, so suck on it," Janet said.

"He does look like a young dragon, not as dangerous," Flash said. "Though, a bit too young looking, how old is he?"

"If we're going by pony terms, I'm in my early 20s," Spike explained. "Unfortunately, dragons like me don't grow up as fast as ponies, plus being around ponies did affect my development a bit, I mean it took a while for me to even get my wings."

"That was an awkward episode," Janet said. "Point is he's older than he looks, so he's fair game for a girl like me."

"He's a good catch for an old lady like Janet," Peter joked, then took a blaster zap to the face.

"I am not that much older than Spike!" Janet shouted.

"Isn't there a ten-year age gap between you two?" Scott asked, infuriating Janet.

"How about you shut your mouth," Janet warned. "At least it's not as bad as Logan and Fluttershy."

"Excuse me, but there is something I'd like to address," Starswirl said. "Earlier you used the term 'human', do you mean to tell me that ponies know of humans?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm actually a human myself," Janet said.

"So am I," Peter added.

"Same," Scott confirmed.

"Wait! Three humans live here!?" Starswirl asked.

"More than three, years ago many humans came to this world, some even offered to protect it," Twilight said. "Wait, you know about humans as well?"

"Yes, I once banished three sirens to a human realm, but how could this be possible? Humans never should have been able to find this world," Starswirl said.

"Well, that part was mostly me, I actually summoned Peter here and soon he brought his friends," Twilight said.

"You brought humans to our world!?" Starswirl shouted. "How could you be so foolish!? Do you have any idea what you could have done!?"

"Huh?" Twilight asked, shrinking down.

"To bring humans into this world is to bring disharmony! You have tainted our world with human presence!" Starswirl said.

"Not this shit again," Janet lamented.

"Hey pal!" Peter shouted, stepping between Starswirl and Twilight. "If I were you, I'd watch how you address my wife! I am not afraid to throw down with you!"

"This only proves my point," Starswirl said.

"Excuse me, Starswirl, perhaps you are being too judgmental," Mistmane said. "It has been a millennia since we've heard of humans, perhaps they have evolved into a better society than what we've last known them to be."

"That might also include the Dragons," Rockhoof theorized. "One of them is here among the ponies, maybe there are more."

"There's only one other, she attends Twilight's School of Friendship," Janet said.

"A School of Friendship?" Flash asked.

"Twilight opened a school to teach ponies about Friendship and Harmony, and even invited creatures from outside of Equestria," Spike said. "We've reached out to Dragons, Griffons, Yaks, Hippogriffs and Changelings, and they've each gotten a student in the school."

"You have appeased to Changelings too?" Meadowbrook asked. "That's quite impressive, how did you manage that?"

"Thank Peter, he offered them Friendship, unfortunately only half of them took it," Janet said. "That half lives harmoniously as our allies."

"I see, so this human achieved what ponies could not, how very ironic indeed," Starswirl said. "Perhaps you have evolved as a species."

"Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of bad humans, that's why I'm here, to protect Equestria from threats like that, outside this world or within it," Peter explained.

"Peter even made friends with a Kirin recently," Trixie explained. "She comes here on a regular basis."

"Wish I could introduce you, but she has some things to attend to at home," Peter said. "Her name is Autumn Blaze, and she's really nice, she's one of the only creatures in this world to constantly laugh at my jokes, even the bad ones."

"Hm, well I commend you on that," Starswirl said. "I apologize if I came off as uncouth, I've encountered a lot of trouble in my past and my main hope is to keep Equestria safe, it has always been my duty."

"Amazing that he used Friendship to appease to others, just like you did with Scorpan," Somnambula said.

"Scorpan?" Peter asked.

"A creature from the Netherlands," Starswirl explained. "He and his brother Tirek came to Equestria with the intent of invading, but Scorpan and I found common ground. The same could not be said for Tirek, he had attempted to overthrow Equestria and was locked away in Tartarus as a result."

"Maybe he'll come around one day," Peter said.

"Unlikely, once a villain, always a villain," Starswirl said. "They seldom change their ways."

"Uh...bit harsh, I know a few who's turned their life around," Peter said.

"If they claim to have done so, I suggest you keep an eye on them," Starswirl warned. "Creatures like The Changelings at least have the excuse of needing to feed, but others who choose that path despite their chances, I have no sympathy for."

Scott seemed displeased by that statement, he wonders how Starswirl would react to his own troubled past, not that he cares what that old Unicorn thinks. Even Trixie felt awkward, not just for herself, but she worried what would happen if her other friend Starlight had come across Starswirl, hoping he would never find out about her attempt to steal Cutie Marks.

"Enough dilly-dallying, we must be on our way to Canterlot," Starswirl said.

"I'll contact Tony and Steve, let them know we're on our way," Peter said. "Maybe Spitfire too."

"Bring your friends as well, Twilight Sparkle," Starswirl ordered.

"Uh, sure," Twilight said, using her magic to teleport away, getting them ready for an audience with Celestia.

---

In Tartarus, Discord was mapping out his plans once again with Goblin, Otto, Chrysalis and Tirek, labeling the next few steps.

"Getting to The Crystal Heart is going to be too difficult at the moment, especially with Captain Marvel around," Discord said. "It's fine, we'll have our chance soon."

"What about Queen Novo's pearl?" Tirek asked.

"Cozy Glow is getting close to one of the Hippogirffs, or at least trying to," Discord said. "I asked her to play nice and hoped that she could earn her trust enough to sneak over, but she keeps screwing up."

"A task like that may be too much for a child like her anyway," Tirek said.

"I agree, if you insisted on having a girl as young as her in this plot, at least have her give us an opening, rather than putting her in potential danger," Otto said.

"Of course," Discord said. "Now, according to Cozy Glow, Twilight Sparkle and her friends have been on a mission to learn more about the disappearance of Starswirl the Bearded, that is a mystery even to me. Personally I am rather excited to see what could have caused the disappearance of such a powerful wizard."

"We could use such a thing to our advantage if we had the chance to," Chrysalis said.

"Precisely, it could keep Celestia and Luna out of the way," Discord said.

"What about attack formation?" Otto asked. "How do we weaken their society?"

"First, I wish to see more development of Tony Stark's Accords, and seeing where he plants each hero, once we know that, we send in the best teams to bring down the heroes and the cities, weakening them bit by bit, not in one fell swoop, but one foundation at a time," Discord said.

"Do we have enough for our plan?" Chrysalis asked.

"You tell me, I suggested a few allies, but everyone else is like 'You can't trust him, he's dangerous'," Discord mocked.

"Well tell me Discord, if you were to bring someone like Dormammu here, would you be able to control him?" Otto asked. "Unfortunately, not all of us 'villains' know how to play well with others. It’s a miracle you have Osborn with us."

"I am more than capable of working with others, if it's to my own benefit," Goblin said.

"There are villains currently incarcerated in Canterlot I believe, perhaps we can free them for our invasion," Chrysalis said.

"Getting into Canterlot would be tricky," Tirek said.

"Oh I think you can pull it off, just wait for a party or something, that'll keep ponies distracted," Discord said.

"What about this bell you mentioned?" Otto asked.

"Oh yes, Grogar's Bell, that can come in handy, I can locate it but the Journey there may be a bit perilous," Discord said. "I can't guarantee success for any of you, plus there is danger in that mountain."

"Pfft, I doubt anything there is more dangerous than me," Chrysalis said.

"Or me," Goblin boasted.

"You seem confident, alright, I'll set up a fun little road trip for all of you," Discord said. "Chrysalis, maybe you can lead a team into the mountains."

"Hey why is she leader?" Goblin asked.

"When it comes to navigating Equestria, it's best left to those familiar with it," Discord said.

"That's bogus, I shouldn't have to follow someone else's orders!" Goblin said.

"You don't have to come, why I'll just stick with The Dazzlings, Herman, Quentin and Maxwell," Chrysalis said. "And perhaps little Cozy Glow too."

"Cozy Glow? Pulling her from Ponyville is risky, ponies are bound to notice her absence," Discord said.

"She can come up with something to excuse her absence," Chrysalis said. "She needs a little bonding time with us anyway."

"It sounds dangerous," Otto said.

"Oh don't be so soft," Chrysalis said. "It's a learning experience, and I'll have everything under control."

"If you insist," Discord said. "Speaking of bonding, I should check on Goku Black soon, see if we can build some more trust with him."

"Well the fact that he hasn't obliterated the six you sent to recruit him is something of a good sign at least," Tirek said. "But if he becomes too much trouble, I think we can at least make good use of his power, or rather, I can."

"Or me..." Otto said.

"I am not worried about him either, one snap and I can do away with him," Discord said, floating up and away. "I shall return."

"One snap he says," Chrysalis said.

"Discord is very powerful, I wouldn't be surprised if he could do away with him easily, with any of us," Tirek said.

"Can we trust him?" Chrysalis asked.

"About as well as we can trust you," Tirek said. "Any of you for that matter."

"My trust factor is wavering, but I wouldn't be here if I thought it would be consequential to me," Otto said.

"Same, for now we'll continue to go along with this, all this planning, I want to see how everything plays out," Goblin said. "After we destroy our enemies, we'll decide what future we truly want."

With Discord, as he prepared to enter the Dragon World, he felt a strange disturbance, "Huh...that's strange, it feels like...Oh, I hope it's nothing, but I shouldn't leave things to chance."

Discord summoned a crystal ball to peak into, trying to locate the source of his concerns, and when he did, the Draconequess almost broke a sweat. "The spell that bounded Starswirl and his Pillars is broken, that might be a bit troubling."

"Starswirl!?" Came Adagio's voice, the mare walking over with her Dazzlings along with Shocker, Electro and Mysterio. "Don't tell me that old fool is back!"

"It looks like it, color me surprised," Discord said.

Adagio gritted her teeth in frustration, just the thought of Starswirl sent her into a fury before her face slowly contorted into a sinister grin, "I'll finally have my chance at revenge, I'll make him regret the day he crossed us!"

"Easy Adagio, don't get too carried away," Sonata said.

"Discord, send me to Starswirl!" Adagio ordered.

"Uh...I'd rather not," Discord said.

"What do you mean you'd rather not!?" Adagio shouted, her voice being heard all through Tartarus, bothering any villain who was in ear shot.

"We have to stick to the plan," Discord said.

"The plan!? Isn't our army big enough already!? You said you can't get any more allies on our side so why not just start the damn invasion now!?" Adagio asked.

"First off, we're still waiting to hear confirmation from Goku Black," Discord said. "Second, there are still plenty of factors to consider, now that Starswirl is here, we need to be more careful than before."

"Oh so now you want to use caution," Shocker said. "Just last month you were all for Dormammu and Doctor Doom showing up, even though they're difficult to work with."

"We're getting tired of waiting Discord, do you even have a plan or are you just winging it and using this so-called deadline of ours to stall for you?" Electro asked.

"Hey you're the ones who want revenge on Spider-Man, I am merely giving you the resources to achieve that revenge and fully take over Equestria," Discord said. "You want to be a God to those ponies, don't you?"

"Of course I do, I want them to know just what I'm capable of," Electro said.

"And you Mysterio, you know as well as I do that some performances are worth the wait," Discord said.

"Of course, we want this to go down without a flaw," Mysterio said.

"So let's try to exercise a little patience, I would still like to get Grogar's Bell, Queen Novo's Pearl, The Alicorn Amulet and The Crystal Heart," Discord said. "Those items should help give us the advantage."

"Do we need an advantage? I'd say we're plenty strong without them," Electro said.

"You've waited nine years, what's one more?" Discord asked.

Adagio groaned in annoyance, she was losing her patience, she wanted things done now, she wanted to destroy Equestria and rule over the remains as she rebuilt in her vision, "Make this wait worth it!"

"I will, now if you don't mind, I still have to greet our Dragon World ally," Discord said, grabbing his Crystal Ball. "I'll keep this with me, with any luck I may also get into contact with our Capcom friends, as well as Loki."

"Isn't Loki in the middle of that Ragnarök thing or something?" Electro asked.

"Yes, it is not impossible that some of his allies with perish unfortunately, we just have to hope he survives with as many as he can," Discord said. "Well, fare thee well."

With a snap, Discord had left, leaving the six to themselves.

"Discord really likes planning things, really goes against his chaotic nature," Sonata said.

"Honestly sometimes it feels like his plans have holes," Aria said.

"He is quite the improv specialist, seems he just goes with the flow rather than in a proper order," Mysterio said.

"This wait has been frustrating, but I will make it work, now I have something more to work for, the destruction of Starswirl the Bearded and his Pillars!" Adagio said. "I will have my own brand of revenge, and then Equestria will be ours for the taking!"

"I hate to ask, but do we have enough fire power?" Shocker asked. "What if we're out of our league?"

"We have plenty to work with, a good strategist knows how to play the rules to his or her advantage," Adagio said.

"Even the best actors can't save a poorly written script Adagio," Mysterio said. "I fear Discord could be sending us to our doom if we're not careful."

"For once Mysterio is actually making sense," Aria said, much to his annoyance. "Can we trust Discord? I mean he was buddies with Spider-Mane, and I think he's close to the Princesses. What if he's playing us? What if he just wants revenge on the Green Goblin and we got stuck along for the ride?"

"That is a good point, why is he gathering us all up like this? What does he have to gain from helping us?" Electro asked.

"I can't say, I don't really trust him either," Adagio said. "Which is why we need to maintain a strong unity. I know I can trust Aria and Sonata, I'm personally working on trusting you three."

"We can trust Herman, he's my best friend," Sonata said.

"Please stop calling me that, we're not friends!" Shocker said.

"If we're not, then how come you're always looking out for me?" Sonata teased. "Face it, you like me. I'm like your fun, perky little sister.”

"You're so full of it," Shocker said.

"Well if Sonata likes Shocker, and he seems alright with the other two, then I think that can solidify us," Aria said. "I mean, the six of us were the ones who met with Goku Black, and we got out of that alright, not once did they bail on us."

"We'll just have to build this trust up a bit more, but you three are on the right track," Adagio said.

"Just so you know, this works both ways," Electro said. "Make us trust you as well."

"Done deal," Adagio said. "Now come on, we have some of our own planning to attend to."

---

An hour later in Canterlot, Twilight, The Elements, their husbands, Spike, Janet and The Pillars of Equestria were all gathered before Celestia, Luna, Spitfire, Steve and Tony.

"I can hardly believe my own eyes," Celestia said, gazing upon her old teacher. "Starswirl, sir, can that really be you?"

"Celestia, it's been so long," Starswirl said. "Even before I sealed myself away, I had not had many opportunities to see you. I've been just so busy."

"It's perfectly understandable, you were protecting Equestria, like you always do," Celestia said.

"Amazing how long it's been since you were last in Equestria," Luna said. "To think you were sealed away for a millennia."

"It was the only way to stop The Pony of Shadows," Starswirl said, then took note of the other three present. "And who do we have here?"

"Hi, my name is Spitfire, I am the Captain of The Wonderbolts," Spitfire introduced.

"The Wonderbolts serve a similar purpose Flash Magnus once did," Twilight said. "They were founded by a mare who was known as General Firefly."

"Named my daughter after her," Rainbow Dash said.

"Ah, so you are maintaining the legacy left behind by my comrades?" Flash asked. "I praise you Captain Spitfire."

"Heh, thanks," Spitfire said, sheepishly rubbing her head. "Rainbow Dash here is one of my best flyers, so is her Husband Johnny Storm."

"Sure are, two of the fastest rising stars," Rainbow Dash boasted.

"They just need to work on following directions better," Spitfire added, annoying the two.

"Uh, I follow directions just fine, ma'am," Johnny said.

"Well, I'd love to know more about these Wonderbolts soon," Flash Magnus said. "Might I be able to pay visit to your base of operations?"

"You mean HQ? That'd be great, if you want, I can let you train some recruits, a stallion of your experience would help greatly," Spitfire said. "There are a few newcomers that have really surprised me, and one of them is a Hippogriff."

"Yes, the first Hippogriff in The Wonderbolts," Twilight said. "One day there might be a Griffon."

"Or a dragon," Rainbow Dash said.

"Maybe even a Unicorn, I mean Starlight can fly using her levitation spell," Peter said.

"Starlight, such a pretty name, who is that?" Somnambula asked.

"A friend of mine, she's currently managing my School of Friendship, I'll introduce you later," Twilight said. "She's very intelligent, she was the one who deciphered Starswirl's old notes."

"Somepony could actually read that horn writing?" Flash joked.

"Oh don't be so juvenile Flash Magus," Starswirl said, then focused on the latter two. "And what of the others in our presence?"

"Name's Tony Stark, back in my world, I was called Iron Man," Tony said. "Here, I'm Iron Stallion, I'm a billionaire, playboy, philanthropist who owns his own successful business, has invented countless useful tech and is co-founder of The Avengers."

"Hm, well, I have very little idea what any of that means, but you seem like a big deal," Starswirl said.

"He is, he's been hard at work protecting Equestria from danger," Luna said.

"It's known as the Earth/Equestrian Allegiance Accords," Tony said. "Or The Accords for short."

"The Accords? Such an odd name," Flash Magnus said.

"Well what matters is if it works, not how it sounds," Tony said.

"I shall pick your brain on that soon," Starswirl said. "Now, as for the final gentlecolt here."

"My name is Steve Rogers, back home I was Captain America," Steve explained. "Here, I am Captain Equestria, my duty is to protect all life, be it my world, this world or any world that needs justice."

"That's a nice shield," Flash Magnus said. "I've made good use of shields myself."

"He used one to stop a dragon! So cool!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Yes, I am familiar with your story Flash Magnus, I am familiar with all of you, these nice mares kept your legacies alive," Steve said.

"We are ever so grateful for that," Meadowbrook said. "It's still a surprise for us to be here, so much has changed."

"I know how you feel, back in my world I was frozen in a block of ice for 70 years, it can be jarring to wake up in such an advanced society," Steve explained. "If you need any advice or tips on how to cope with that, you may come to me, and I'll do my best to be of service."

"Tony Stark and Steve Rogers are founding members of The Avengers, a group of superheroes dedicated to protecting the people of Earth," Celestia explained.

"And now they protect Equestria as well," Spitfire said. "With help from The Wonderbolts."

"And you do so with these Accords, correct?" Starswirl asked. "What are they exactly."

"A list of rules I enforce to make sure ponies stay safe with little collateral damage," Tony said.

"We have run into a string of invasions and attacks, some outside of question, some within," Celestia explained.

"The Accords were Tony Stark's idea, he assigns various heroes across Equestria, like some of the heroes present here," Luna said.

"Yeah, I'm one of them," Peter explained. "And I don't think you were properly introduced to my friends here, so I'll introduce myself again and let them take over. I am Peter Parker, Spider-Mane, I mainly protect Ponyville but I can travel."

"Bobby Drake, Icemane, founding member of the X-Men," Bobby introduced. "I protect Ponyville."

"Janet Van Dyne, Waspie, member of The Avengers," Janet introduced. "I usually protect The Dragon Lands, but otherwise I keep an eye out for Ponyville."

"Johnny Storm, The Equine Torch, founding member of The Fantastic Four," Johnny introduced. "I team with The Wonderbolts and go where assigned."

"Wade Wilson, Deadpool, former member of the X-Force," Deadpool introduced. "I protect Ponyville."

"Hm, a lot of you are assigned to one place," Starswirl said.

"This is just the start," Tony said. "We have three heroes patrolling Canterlot right now, I can call them over to introduce themselves."

"No need, we're already here," Natasha said, walking in with Clint and Vision. "Steve contacted us moments ago."

"Starswirl, Pillars, meet Natasha Romanoff, codename Black Widow," Steve introduced. "The stallion beside her is Clint Barton, codename Hawkeye."

"I'm an archer," Clint said, bringing out his bow and arrow. "And I don't miss."

"That one's confident," Somnambula said.

"I am known as Vision," the robotic pony introduced.

"That's an unusual creature," Rockhoof said. "Such strange armor."

"That's no armor, that's a robot," Bobby said.

"Robot?" Rockhoof asked.

"Right, guess they don't have robots in the past," Bobby said.

"We don't have robots now, this is Equestria, not Earth," Twilight reminded.

"I don't know, I have heard tale of metallic beings," Starswirl said. "Of course it might be nothing."

"We have heroes in other cities as well, such as Manehattan," Tony said.

"Manehattan?" Flash asked.

"Oh gee, guess there's a lot of places you have not heard of yet," Tony said.

"We'll get them acquainted," Spitfire reassured.

"So, each of these heroes follow The Accords?" Starswirl asked.

"Exactly, every Earthling here, along with Rainbow Dash are assigned to The Accords," Tony said. "Well, every Earthling except two."

"Like that fellow?" Starswirl asked, gesturing to Wolverine.

"Name's Logan, ponies call me Timber-Wolverine, I'm a member of the X-Men," Logan introduced. "But I ain't about to follow some rules made up by Tony Stark, I do my own thing."

"You can do anything you want, as long as it's not in violation of The Accords," Tony said.

"Yer more likely to violate them than me, bub," Logan said. "I still don't trust the damn Accords, it's a waste of time."

Starswirl gestured to Remy, "So I take it that you also did not register for these Accords."

"Not a chance mon ami," Remy said. "Should introduce myself properly though, Remy Lebbau, folks call me Gambit, I'm a member of the X-Men. Like Logan, I don't trust them Accords, gives bad memories of Earth for mutants like me."

"You talking about the Mutant Registration Act?" Bobby asked. "Dude, this isn't the same, it's a chance to be heroes. You can do what you always do, just under a set of rules."

"That ain't for me, if I can't do hero work, well that's this country's loss, I'm just fine working on my wife's farm," Remy said.

Flash turned his attention to Meadowbrook, "Something about that pony seems suspicious, especially the eyes."

"Maybe, but he has such a soothing accent, reminds me of home," Meadowbrook said.

"Logan and Remy are a bit stubborn, but I believe in time they will come to their senses and join up with us," Tony said.

"Keep dreaming Stark," Logan said. "I ain't about to join yer Accords, neither is Laura for that matter. And don't even think about looking for Jimmy or Gabby, keep them out of this."

"Can I find one of your other clones then?" Stark asked.

"Tony, save it," Steve said.

"If I may ask, what do these Accords entail?" Starswirl asked. "Are there rules to follow?"

"Yes, Rule One, all Superheroes must be registered with Equestrian Royalty to do superhero work," Tony began.

"Rule Two, the registered heroes are assigned to cities where they do patrols," Spitfire said.

"Rule Three, only registered heroes are allowed to do battle against a threat of any kind," Steve said. "Bad rule if you ask me."

"No one asked you," Tony said.

"Rule Four, registered heroes must relegate fighting to their assigned town, meaning that if you're assigned to Ponyville, you only fight there," Peter explained. "Except in cases like mine where I can fight in any town."

"Rule Five, any change must be officially signed by those of higher authority,” Luna said.

"Rule Six, Heroes must pull back if ordered to by a higher authority," Celestia said.

"Rule Seven, unregistered heroes may defend themselves and their family in an Emergency but must otherwise stay out of the way of official duty," Clint said.

"Rule Eight, any hero in violation of The Accords will face several consequences, including probation, employment termination, banishment or imprisonment," Natasha finished.

"That's the rules of the Accords," Tony finished. "So, how does it sound? Pretty awesome, right?"

"Uh..." Flash scratched his head. "Well, I personally feel like it could use some work."

"Yes, I mean it sounds almost limiting," Meadowbrook said.

"I know it does, but if I let things go back to how they were, it'll get even more chaotic," Tony said.

"It's already chaotic, yer rules didn't protect ponies in Appaloosa, Manehattan or Las Pegasus," Logan said.

"Hey Las Pegasus was Felicia's fault, she violated the rules, and now she's rotting in the dungeon," Tony said.

"For now, Matt says you have to let her out soon since she was unfairly imprisoned," Peter said.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll work on that," Tony said. "He's also been bugging Spitfire too I believe."

"Gotta love Matt," Johnny said.

"Who is Matt?" Starswirl asked.

"A friend," Peter explained, keeping it vague. While many know Daredevil's secret identity, it's still not something he would prefer too out in the open.

"Well that reminds me, hey Bobby," Tony said, getting the ice user's attention. "I might need you to transfer towns for a bit."

"I need to do what now?" Bobby asked.

"Apparently Manehattan is understaffed and the heroes there need help finding a villain," Tony said.

"Is it Martin Li?" Johnny asked. "Hey I'm ready to go back out there."

"Not yet Torch, that little Lawyer friend of yours might be fighting a case for you, but until then, I'm still in charge and you're still on probation," Spitfire said.

"You can't be serious," Johnny said.

"She's dead serious, next time don't blow up one of my buildings," Tony said.

"Like you've never blown anything up!" Johnny shouted. "Shit happens sometimes, not like I set out to destroy anything, I came close to busting Martin Li, if it wasn't for me, things would be way worse. Coco could have died that night if I wasn't there to protect her. A lot of ponies would have died if it wasn't for me and Rainbow Dash!"

"Well we don't really know that for sure, now do we," Spitfire said.

"And that there is a fine example of why I ain't never joining them Accords," Remy said.

Tony groaned in annoyance, "Well Bobby, can you make the switch? It won't be permanent."

"Uh, Rarity, this alright with you?" Bobby asked.

"Well, yes, of course, I wouldn't want to prevent you from being a hero after all," Rarity said. "And it's only for a little while."

"You can join him if you'd like to Rarity, I'll rent you all a nice condo," Tony suggested.

"Oh we couldn't ask you to do such a thing, Tony," Rarity said.

"It's fine by me, it'd make Bobby miss you less and focus more on his work," Tony said.

"Wow, how generous of you Stark," Logan sarcastically commented.

"Logan..." Fluttershy scolded.

"So what do you two say?" Tony asked.

"Well, it would be nice to check in with my Manehattan store, oh but what about the Boutique in Ponyville?" Rarity wondered. "And Sweetie Belle too!"

"She can stay at your parents' house," Bobby said.

"Mommy and daddy travel a lot though," Rarity explained.

"Even so, Sweetie Belle's 18 years old, she can take care of herself," Bobby said.

"I suppose you're right," Rarity said. "But what about my store?"

"I can keep an eye on it," Fluttershy said.

"Oh that works out well, you are quite responsible Fluttershy, and you have an impressive knowledge of sewing too," Rarity said. "Do you think you can also handle being a boss to my three assistants?"

"Of course, no problem at all," Fluttershy said.

"Uh, Twilight, wasn't there something we kind of need to tell the Princesses and The Avengers?" Peter said.

"Oh right..." Twilight said, sheepishly turning to her mentor. "We have a slight problem."

"A problem?" Celestia asked.

"When I freed Starswirl, I kind of, sort of, accidentally, also freed an old ancient evil as well," Twilight admitted.

"You did what!?" Tony asked. "Twilight, what did you do!?"

"She foolishly allowed a creature we sealed away to once again roam free, that's what she did," Starswirl said. "Utterly foolish, and you are her mentor Celestia? Didn't you teach her better?"

"It sounds like an honest mistake, she's only a pony," Celestia said.

"Yeah, lay off my wife dude," Peter warned.

"Your wife may have doomed all of Equestria, but it matters not, if you heroes are as good as you say you are, then perhaps you can be of worth," Starswirl said.

"We'll do whatever we can to help," Tony said. "Bobby, you may need to hold off on the reassignment."

"Hey I can multitask, I mean we gotta find the shadow creature first," Bobby said.

"Wait, no one knows where it is?" Tony asked.

"We have theories," Twilight said.

"Theories don't help Twilight!" Tony scolded. "We need some proper leads!"

"Uh, Tony, ease up please," Peter said. "I'd rather no one yell at my wife."

"It's fine Peter, I know I messed up, and I deserve the criticism, I wasn't being careful," Twilight said.

"Well, at least you're capable of admitting your faults," Starswirl said.

Logan gritted his teeth, "Hey bub, this girl's looked up to you her whole life, the least you can do is stop acting like an arrogant asshole and show her a little respect."

"Logan! Starswirl is a highly acclaimed Wizard, please do not refer to him is such a manner!" Luna said.

"Think I give a rat's ass how 'acclaimed' he is? He sure as hell ain't do much to earn my admiration," Logan said. "I respect Twilight more than I respect most of you, and I ain't gonna stand here and let her get talked down to."

"I'm with Logan on this," Steve said. "Starswirl, while she doesn't care to boast the fact, Twilight Sparkle is a Princess who has been incredibly kind to others and has personally made sure those who came here from my world have adjusted properly."

"Dang straight, Twilight's the reason many of us got married, and we're ever so grateful fer that," Applejack said.

"Well, at least she's good at matchmaking," Starswirl said. "Come now, we're wasting time, the Pony of Shadows must be found."

"I'll alert the other heroes," Tony said, "Wait, does anyone know what this thing looks like?"

"It's literally a giant pony covered in shadows," Rainbow Dash said. "Like a big gob of a black void."

"Well at least it's easy to describe," Tony said, grabbing his radio. "Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Jones, do either of you read?"

"In my spare time," Came the sarcastic voice of Jessica Jones.

"Ha-ha, real cute," Tony said. "Listen, we have trouble, a monster is lurking somewhere in Equestria, a pony made out of shadows."

"Shadows? Like actual shadows on the ground?" Iron Fist asked.

"I don't know what the thing looks like, I was just told it was big, black void. So please, just keep an eye out for a suspicious monster covered in darkness," Tony said.

"Will do," Luke said.

"Got it boss," Jones said.

"We'll prevent any more damage to this city," Iron Fist said.

"I'm counting on you guys," Tony quickly made another call, "Hey Jen, do you copy?"

"Need something Tony?" came the voice of Jennifer Walters.

"Be on the lookout for a giant monster covered in a void darkness, it's called the Pony of Shadows," Tony explained. "I don't know what it does exactly but it is very powerful."

"Power huh? Well, it's probably nothing I can't handle, but I'll give you a call if I see it," Jen said.

"We're gonna try to locate it first, hopefully it won't affect your town," Tony said. He then contacted Baltimare, "Hey Tigra, be on the lookout for the Pony of Shadows, a giant creature covered in a Black Void."

"Is it near where I am?" Tigra asked.

"We don't know where it is, but it was discovered by Princess Twilight, and she lost track of it, so it could be anywhere," Tony said. "If you see it, let us know, engage it if you think you can win but call us if you're overwhelmed."

"I'll do my best," Tigra said.

"Good to know," Tony said, getting ready to call some others.

"Hey Tony, I can call any Wonderbolt protected town," Spitfire said. "I just started with Sky Stinger and Vapor Trails; they'll be ready for anything."

"Do you have enough Wonderbolts to patrol?" Tony asked.

"Oh yeah, we just assigned a few to some smaller towns across Equestria," Spitfire said. "Later on I'm going to officially assign the Barrel Twins to a town."

"If I could make a suggestion, maybe Balitmare, Tigra's great but I don't know if she can protect a town on her own, plus having an experienced hero nearby could be useful for the twins."

"I like how you think," Spitfire said.

"Also what's the status of some of the newer recruits, like that Hippogriff girl?" Tony asked.

"She's doing pretty great actually, she's got some talent, I just need her to be a little less, overly excited about things," Spitfire said. "It's good to be eager but it's not befitting of a Wonderbolt."

"As long as she's doing well, hopefully it would make Queen Auntie happy and she'll welcome the Accords with open arms...or forelegs, whatever analogy works," Tony said.

"She just needs to do well, much as I want to ensure we get The Hippogriffs on our side, I wouldn't let just anyone into the Bolts," Spitfire said.

"She came to you, so she should want to do well, and it sounds like she's putting the effort, so I'm not too worried," Tony said. "What about Night Glider?"

"Oh I think out of all of them, she's the readiest," Spitfire said. "I was hoping to wait until her wing pony was ready before I made it official, but I can't resist sending her out there."

"Maybe we should send her to Manehattan as well, they could use the extra assistance, plus it would bring a little credibility back to The Wonderbolts after that fiasco with Torch and Rainbow Dash," Tony said.

"Oh, another great idea," Spitfire said. "That reminds me, what about those friends of hers she's training with?"

"Double Diamond is improving faster than Party Favor and Sugar Belle for sure," Tony said. "Honestly, I can't see the latter two in the Equestrian Avenger Division. I know Sugar Belle's been training with Gambit the last week but she just comes off as too soft, and Party Favor, he's kind of a goof, I might just send him back home."

"Harsh, but fair," Spitfire said. "Hey, is it really alright for Gambit to be training Sugar Belle for the Accords? He isn't even interested in signing on," Spitfire said. "You don't suppose he's planning a sabotage through Sugar Belle, do you?"

"I doubt it, Gambit just likes to train, and he's used to training newbies, same with how Bucky doesn't mind training anyone for the Accords either," Tony said. "It's not a direct violation and we get some use out of them regardless."

"I guess you're right, but this still doesn't sit right with me, why wouldn't Gambit, Bucky, Falcon or even Logan want to join the Accords?" Spitfire asked.

"I don't know, maybe because they're stubborn?" Tony theorized.

"Just keep an eye out, I was talking to Carol the other day, she doesn't know if it's a good idea to let superpowered individuals roam Equestria if they have no intention of joining The Accords," Spitfire said.

"I mean, it's Equestria, a third of the population does magic, at least among the ponies," Tony said.

"I'm just saying, be careful who you let roam free, we've suffered some pretty bad losses as of late, and it can get worse," Spitfire said. "I'm telling you as a friend who wants you to succeed, always consider your resources, and what could be a liability to the Accords."

"Alright, I'll talk with Carol later about this," Tony said.

"For what it's worth, I think Logan's pretty cool at least, I do wish he was part of The Accords, but that's his decision to make, seems like he just wants to raise his daughter and be done with a lot of this nonsense, the more protected we are, the easier it is to let that happen," Spitfire said.

"Got that right," Tony said, then remembered what he was doing. "I still have another call to make, and it seems like you do as well."

"I'll get right on it," Spitfire said, grabbing her radio. "Good luck with everything."

As Spitfire left, Tony got into contact with Manehattan, ready to alert the three heroes present about the underlying situation, "Daredevil, Night Thrasher, Elektra, do any of you read?"

"Tony?" Came Daredevil's voice.

"Good, I managed to get into contact," Tony said. "Listen, we have some trouble."

"So do we, we're up to our necks dealing with these Demons!" Elektra said.

"Yeah, I know you're having trouble," Tony said. "And don't worry, I have that figured out too."

"You better," Elektra warned.

"Come on Elektra, don't start trouble," Night Thrasher said.

"Just tell us what you need to Tony," Daredevil said.

"Right, so first thing's first, a creature known as the Pony of Shadows has been released onto Equestria," Tony said. "I need you three to keep an eye on things."

"What's a Pony of Shadows?" Night Thrasher asked.

"Some old mystic being that was sealed away a Thousand years ago, and now it's back," Tony said. "If you spot a giant pony in black, either fight it, or call for help."

"We'll definitely be ready for that, last thing we want is for Martin Li to somehow affect it," Daredevil said.

"Yes, that would be a bad thing," Tony said, now worrying how things could be made worse. "Speaking of Martin Li, you'll be happy to know that you're going to get some extra assistance in Manehattan."

"About damn time, who are you sending?" Elektra asked.

"I'm sending Iceman," Tony said. This got no immediate reaction from the trio, they even seemed confused by this decision.

"Iceman? That punk kid from The X-Men?" Elektra asked.

"Hey that punk kid's really powerful," Tony reminded. "He doesn't exactly just throw snowballs at you."

"We're not denying his power, but we do question his maturity," Daredevil said. "Wouldn't it be better to send Jessica Jones?"

"She's in Las Pegasus, they kind of need her more," Tony said. "Look, Bobby will be fine, he's ready and willing to help."

"Sure, I guess it's better than nothing," Daredevil said.

"I'm amazed you three care so much about having assistance, I mean Daredevil, you deal with The Kingpin on your own on a regular basis, I think you could handle Mr. Negative with your limited resources," Tony said.

"Maybe I could Tony, but things are a little different here, I can't work the same magic I did on Earth," Daredevil said. "I can't even confirm Martin Li's true identity here."

"Well you'll have Iceman coming, along with a Wonderbolt named Night Glider," Tony said. "That one you'll have to wait on Spitfire for, but she'll be assigned soon hopefully."

"She better be useful," Elektra warned.

Tony furrowed his brow, he knew Elektra getting brought over was bad but he needed help at the time. With more of these native Equestrians stepping up, and once Martin Li is captured, he’ll consider firing her and sending her back to Earth, or keeping her somewhere he can keep a closer eye on her.

"I got another place to warn, just do your best you three," Tony said.

"Count on it," Daredevil said. "And Tony, I hope you're considering everything a certain Lawyer had to say."

"I'm working on it, see you later," Tony said, disconnecting the call. "If you're so worried about Martin Li, then maybe you should spend less time being Matt Murdock and more time being Daredevil."

One final call was made, this one answered by Kamala in the Crystal Empire, "Sup?

"Kamala, don't respond to a call with 'Sup', that's not professional," Tony said.

"Wow, you almost sound like Cap," Kamala joked. "Anyway, need something?"

"I need you and Carol to keep a lookout on things," Tony said. "Where is she? Does she have her radio?"

"She's busy working on something with Cadance, she said it has to do with changes you want made to Equestrian rule or something," Kamala said.

"Oh yeah, is Cadance on board?" Tony asked.

"Seems like it, Cadance and Carol have gotten along really well lately," Kamala said.

"Well that’s good, anyway I need you to tell Carol something, but this is for you to be aware of as well," Tony said. "There's an evil creature free in Equestria called The Pony of Shadows."

"The Pony of Shadows?" Kamala asked.

"An old evil that existed a thousand years ago, it's been set free in Equestria, and I need you and Carol to keep an eye on things," Tony explained.

"A thousand years? Wait, this isn't that King Sombra guy, is it?" Kamala asked.

"Pretty sure he’s dead," Tony said. "Just tell Carol about a pony covered in a black void of sorts and to be ready to protect the Empire."

"Sure thing Mr. Stark," Kamala said.

"Be careful out there, call us if you need help," Tony said.

"Thanks, but I think Carol has this under control," Kamala said. "See ya."

Kamala had then ended the call, leaving Tony a bit curious by that girl, "Well she's an excitable one, well time to double check and make sure I didn't forget anyone."

Meanwhile Steve and Celestia had returned to the Balcony, taking note of the leaving Heroes, Elements and Pillars.

"Is Starswirl usually like that?" Steve asked. "You know, harsh and judgmental?"

"Not always, he used to be such a goofy and fun-loving pony, always eager to make friends." Celestia said. "He hasn't been the same since his pupil Stygian lost his way."

"What could have caused that?" Steve asked.

"Jealousy I'm afraid, he believes his student wanted more than he deserved, and it caused a rift," Celestia said. "His pupil had turned to the darkness, and now may be the very enemy they will do battle with."

"That almost sounds simple, I hope Starswirl made an effort to help his friend," Steve said. "You and I both know what it's like when someone we care about turns to darkness."

"I trust Starswirl, he's a very intelligent pony," Celestia said.

"You also trusted Tony and Carol, now they very well may want you out of power," Steve said, worrying Celestia a bit. "I get you want to be kind and friendly, and always see the good in others, but sometimes you have to be ready to see through deception."

"Do you not trust Tony?" Celestia asked.

"After what happened with Felicia, and how that was handled, plus the arrival of Starswirl, I am more worried than ever," Steve said. "Sometimes I feel like Tony's in over his head, trying too hard to rid Equestria of danger, rid Earth of danger. The ideal world is a Peaceful one, but it is also a myth. This council they're trying their hardest to set up is just another step in their illusion of order. Tony is enroute to turning this land into an oppressive rule, he's just masking it under kindness."

Celestia seemed amazed by what Steve had said, his blatant mistrust for Tony and the Accords was a conflicting issue. "Well, what should we do?"

"I will do everything in my power to ensure Tony doesn't get carried away, but you need to stand your ground more," Steve said. "I'm not saying everything Tony has planned is a bad idea, my worry is the execution of that idea. If they want that council or whatever, that's fine, it takes a load off your shoulders anyway, but Tony should know that in the end, this is still your...no, it is everyone's Kingdom, we all have a part to play to ensure it's the best place to live, and you will continue to help guide that land, just as you always have."

"Oh, wow, I'm actually speechless, that doesn't happen often," Celestia said, trying to play it off as a joke. "Thank you thought, you're a really kind pony."

Steve took Celestia's hoof in his own, getting a blush from the ruler, "So are you Princess. You set the example of what everyone should, maybe you're not always perfect, but it's our imperfections that make us what we are. Humans, Ponies, any type of species. You still make Equestria a great place, and it is an honor to fight for you and ensure the happiness of all."

"Steve..." Celestia couldn't help this feeling in her heart. Steve always found a way to make her feel so flustered, he truly was the ideal stallion for her. "Listen, Steve, I...well..."

"Yes Celestia?" Steve asked.

Celestia just pulled her hoof away, not wanting to speak anymore on this, "The thought slipped my mind."

"Well I should go and check on Tony, Luna and Spitfire, make sure they're not doing anything stupid," Steve said, leaving to do as he said.

Celestia felt foolish, she really wanted to tell Steve how she truly felt about him, but it almost embarrasses her to do so. She isn't used to this feeling after all, because very rarely does Princess Celestia find herself falling in love like she has with Steve Rogers.

---

Meanwhile at the Crystal Empire, Kamala had explained everything to Carol and Cadance.

"A Pony of Shadows, alright, thanks for the information, Kamala," Carol said. "Cadance, alert your ponies, I will do regular patrols."

"What should I do?" Kamala asked.

"Stay here and protect Cadance and Flurry Heart," Carol ordered.

"Right...uh, what about Shining Armor?" Kamala asked.

"I don't know, tell him to do whatever, as long as he's not in the way," Carol said, taking flight. "I'm off."

Cadance seemed pretty satisfied by the hero protecting her town, "There she goes again, whatever's happening I feel confident in Carol's ability to save the day, she really is a take charge woman."

"That is why I'm proud to be her sidekick," Kamala said. "Well I guess I should protect you and your daughter."

"I don't think I'll need much protecting, and if I do, Shining Armor is there for me," Cadance said. "But at least keep an eye on Flurry if you don't mind."

"Oh I never mind, your daughter is the cutest, I sent some pictures of her to my family and they love her, they still can't believe I'm watching over the safety of Royal Ponies, it's like I'm playing with toys, only it's real," Kamala said.

"It's funny how much you remind me of Peter sometimes," Cadance said.

"I take that as a compliment, Spider-Man's awesome, maybe one day I can team with him too," Kamala said.

"One day," Cadance said. "I should go find Shining Armor; he needs to know about this."

"Oh, also, what about that Council thing?" Kamala asked.

"Well, we held off the meeting since Twilight was away, but she should be back by now, so we might have some progress," Cadance said. "Much as I love Auntie Celestia, she could use a little break from all that power, more minds are better than one."

"You bet," Kamala said. "Well, time to foalsit."

Down in the Canterlot Dungeon, Felicia was seen in her cell, looking bored and annoyed, her only company being the remaining villains from previous invasions, all in their own cells and being just as bored.

Soon enough, she found herself with a an almost surprising visitor, "Hey Felicia."

The former thief turned to see the father of her daughter, "Thunderlane."

"That's me," Thunderlane said. "Sorry I haven't been around sooner, when I'm not training, I have to take care of Felicity, plus something major just happened in our family."

"Major how?" Felicia asked.

"Rumble got his marefriend pregnant, he and Apple Bloom are expecting a child now," Thunderlane said. "It's quite a shock for us all."

"Oh, little Rumble finally got some action, well good for him," Felicia said.

"Did you miss the part that he got her pregnant?" Thunderlane asked. "My teenage brother is about to become a parent, and now the Apple Family is pretty ticked off at him."

"The shock will wear off soon, and Rumble's a nice boy so he'll be fine," Felicia said.

Thunderlane shook his head in surprise, "Everything is so casual with you. But I guess it's good to have some optimism."

"Everything will turn out fine, you just gotta be there for your little brother," Felicia said. "How is he handling this though?"

"Well he's in a panic, especially since he can't even get near her with her family all upset," Thunderlane said. "At least he finally got accepted into The Wonderbolts Academy, but even that's a pain because he doesn't seem to like his Wing Pony, or Wing Griff. My brother is teamed with the Wonderbolts' first potential Hippogriff flyer, which I thought was cool but he has been rivaled with some students at Twilight's school, and she's one of them, so it is not going well for him."

"Poor little guy, I'd give him a hug if I could," Felicia said.

"We'll manage," Thunderlane said. "Well anyway, I just wanted to pay you a visit, seeing you down here is not very pleasant."

"Yeah, it sure isn't," Felicia said. "How is Felicity doing?"

"She's great, when I can't watch over her, Flitter usually does, she's really great with Felicity," Thunderlane said.

"Flitter seems like such a nice mare, given how long you've known her, I'm almost surprised you two never ended up together," Felicia said.

"Well I may have blew that chance when I ticked off Equestrian Royalty," Thunderlane said.

"Don't count yourself out, if I were you, I'd try asking her out, I mean, she's still single, right?" Felicia asked.

"Yeah, I mean she's had her share of dates but nothing concrete for her," Thunderlane said.

"Well I think you should try again, our child deserves to have a mother that's there for her, and clearly I'm not cut out for it, you need a nice mare like Flitter who could fill that motherly role," Felicia said. "If not her, then maybe you'll have better luck with her sister, or one of your other friends. I've seen a lot of nice mares in Ponyville, you could find somepony with no trouble."

"Maybe, but if I'm being honest, I really wish the two of us worked out," Thunderlane said. "I mean, the last couple of years I've known you, I could tell that underneath that burglar persona of yours, that you're a really nice lady. But I know your preference, so I guess it's useless holding out hope for you."

Felicia stuck her hand through the bars, stroking Thunderlane's face, "You're such a sweet guy, I'm glad you're the father of my baby. I'm sorry I haven't been there more for her, it's inexcusable really. Given how I was brought up, all the neglect I felt, I never should have been just as bad. I thought by doing my job and providing for Felicity, that I was doing great as a mother, but I guess there's more to parenting than just financial support. Just promise that you'll at least let Felicity come see me when she's older."

"Hey, you're not gonna be in here that long, Peter's already working on freeing you, and once you're out, you can come see Felicity for yourself," Thunderlane said.

"You're a hopeful dreamer," Felicia said.

"Dreams come true," Thunderlane said, turning to leave. "Just have some hope, we'll get you out of there."

Thunderlane made his way out of the Dungeon area, leaving Felicia with a feeling of satisfaction. Despite her rocky relationship with Peter, and her seemingly failed relationship with Thunderlane, to know that both of them care enough about her to want her freedom and happiness, it really made her reconsider a lot of things.

"That was your baby's father?" Came the voice of Sandman, the villain in a special type of cell to restrict use of his powers.

"Yeah, that's Thunderlane," Felicia answered.

"He seems like a nice guy, a good older brother and caring dad," Sandman said.

"He's a sweetheart, bit troubled but his heart is always in the right place," Felicia said. "When I let him stay with me, he was such a good help, he kept the place clean and he always cooked for me, and he's an amazing cook too. Honestly, seemed like he was the perfect guy for a girl."

"Perfect guy? Well it sounds like you two aren't together, despite having a kid," Sandman said.

"I may have said some things to make it seem like I wasn't interested," Felicia said. "Like insisting I prefer girls over guys."

"Let me guess, it was a bunch of garbage, wasn't it?" Taskmaster asked.

"It depends," Felicia said. "I just don't think we're compatible, he's better off with another girl who's gonna give him what he needs and I just gotta look out for myself."

"Do you really believe that?" Sandman asked.

"Yeah, the way you were just talking to him, it sounds like you miss his company a lot," Taskmaster said.

"Are you being honest with yourself, young lady?" Lizard asked.

"What is this, a support group? What do any of you care when it comes to my romantic life?" Felicia asked. "The fact that I'm in here with all of you is probably proof that I'm not right for him, nor am I suitable to being a parent."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Taskmaster said.

"Bit harsh, but possibly true," Lizard said.

"Possibly? It's Black Cat, of course it is, she's one of us after all, someone who exists to make Spider-Man's life, hell," Scorpion said.

"Excuse me, but I don't make his life hell compared to the rest of you," Felicia said. "At least I never went around terrorizing innocent people."

"You still broke the law, just like the rest of us," Scorpion said. "Maybe your kid really is better off without you."

"Put a sock in it Gargan," Sandman said. "No parent should be away from a child they love. But unfortunately, we make mistakes. I could be on Earth, I could be there for my daughter, but here I am, because I followed some strange creature to Equestria for a chance for revenge against Spider-Man."

"Oh come on, you're not getting soft on us, are you Marko?" Taskmaster asked.

"Yah, it is not your fault we are here, it is Spider-Man's!" Rhino said.

"That accursed child should rue the day he crossed us," Vulture said.

"You're the ones who came here and caused trouble, what did you expect Spider-Man and his friends to do?" Felicia asked.

"She's got a point, even if I was also against Spider-Man, it is his job to fight guys like us," Sandman said. "Does it piss me off that I'm here, yeah it does. Would I crush Spider-Man if I had a chance to, probably."

"Then let's do it!" Scorpion said. "Let's find a way to break out, we've waited long enough!"

"You act like it's that simple, Mysterio managed to escape, and what happened? He got caught, again, and probably sent somewhere worse," Sandman said. "From what I heard, he had help too."

"Yeah, a creature from the Negative Zone, Annihilus," Felicia said. "Despite everything he lost to Spider-Man, his friends, and even Magneto's Brotherhood. I guarantee if any of you break out, you're gonna regret it. Mysterio was sent to a place much worse that this one, so watch what you say or plan, because you might regret it."

"Well, sometimes in life, you gotta take risks," Taskmaster said. "And I'm ready do to just that."

"Don't blame me if things go wrong for you," Felicia said, laying back. Part of her wondered just what the villains had planned, but she couldn't imagine them getting very far. At least she hoped so, she didn't want her daughter in danger after all.

---

That evening at The Wonderbolts Academy, Silverstream had just finished dinner and was making her way to the dorms of the Academy, ready to do some schoolwork that was specifically assigned to her to compensate for her lack of attendance to the actual School of Friendship. "What a day, I need a good long sleep. I still have some schoolwork to catch up on. Wish I could do it with my friends, that's always fun, and partially the point of a School of Friendship. But I'll make do."

As she approached the dorms, she could see Rumble walking outside, a look of frustration on his face. "I gotta fix this."

"Rumble!?" Silverstream called.

"Don't bother me!" Rumble said, trotting away from the dorms.

Silverstream got frustrated, she was done with his nonsense, "Rumble, don't ignore me!"

"I'm not, I'm telling you not to bother me!" Rumble said. Silverstream then blocked his path, frustrating him more. "You know I'm lead Pony Right!? That means you listen to me!"

"Only in practice, but right now practice hours are over," Silverstream said.

"Hey, I can make things really difficult for you," Rumble warned.

"Like you've been doing all week? I've kept up with it so far, I can do it again," Silverstream said.

"What do you even want from me!?" Rumble shouted. "I have somewhere to go?"

"Like the Apple Farm?" Silverstream asked, Rumble looking annoyed. "It's there, isn't it?"

"What if it is? I have something to do there!" Rumble said.

"Every day you've gone and every time Apple Bloom's family doesn't let you see her, because she doesn't want to be seen right now," Silverstream said. "Why can't you understand that?"

"Because it doesn't make sense! She's carrying my baby! I should have a right to see my pregnant girlfriend!" Rumble said.

"Well as her boyfriend, you have to respect her choices right now," Silverstream said.

"What do you know? Do you have a boyfriend? Or a girlfriend?" Rumble asked. "Is it Gallus? Ocellus? Sandbar?"

"I'm not dating any of them, I don't even have a boyfriend," Silverstream said.

"Aren't you related to your queen? Figured that'd get you some suitors," Rumble said.

"I don't like exploiting my royal perks, I want a boy to like me for me," Silverstream said. "But that's not the point right now. The point is that you're being a bit too pushy right now."

"Silverstream, imagine being in my position, or maybe you can't because you're the girl here, but if you were pregnant, wouldn't you want to see your boyfriend?" Rumble asked.

"I'm not Apple Bloom, I can't speak for her, whatever's bothering her, you need to respect it," Silverstream said. "I mean, she's probably just upset you got her pregnant."

"But I'm trying to comfort her! That's the right thing to do!" Rumble said, his voice cracking a bit. "I mean, would it be better if I didn't care? That I'm willing to just leave her with a child? I'm trying to take responsibility and she won't let me! I can't even imagine why she's upset, she agreed to have sex with me, she should have known she was in heat, this is technically an inconvenience to me as well but I'm willing to make it work because I love her, and I want to be a good boyfriend for her.”

"Well, then give her time to process this," Silverstream said. "If going over each day and not getting any results isn't working, then just try leaving her alone for a bit, it couldn't hurt."

"But I don't want her thinking I gave up on her," Rumble said, still distressed. "I'm afraid she's gonna think I stopped caring. Or worse, this will just give that tap-dancing playcolt a chance to snatch her from me!”

Silverstream wasn't sure what to say, he really seemed bothered by all this, it's the most worried he's looked all week. "Look, Rumble..."

"Just, get out of my way, I don't want you distracting me!" Rumble warned, about to step past her.

"Rumble, wait," Silverstream said.

"Silverstream, I'm losing my patience!" Rumble warned.

"So am I, you really need to step back, it's for your own good Rumble," Silverstream said.

"My own good!? You're preventing me from..." Rumble's eyes widened in realization. "You're doing this on purpose! You want Apple Bloom to give up on me! You want her to hate me! Don't you!?"

"Rumble, for what reason would I want that!?" Silverstream asked.

"Because that's how you are! How you and your friends have always been!" Rumble said. "You just want me to be miserable, that's why you're meddling! That's why you're trying to take away everything I love! You want Twilight's affection for yourselves and away from me and my friends! It's part of your grand scheme to destroy us!"

"You're being silly! I don't want to hurt you! I never did!" Silverstream said.

"Likely story, all you do is ruin things for me!" Rumble shouted, his voice cracking more. "You took Peter's attention from me! You took Twilight's! You're ruining my Wonderbolts career! What? Next you'll take away my brother? Mayday! Or wait until my child's born so you can take that away too!"

"Rumble, I wouldn't!" Silverstream said.

"I don't get it, why are you doing this to me!?" Rumble's tears began streaming. "When Peter and Twilight took me in, I felt so honored that they did that when they didn't need to! I just wanted to show them I was worth it by being the best I can! I just want to be someone worth saving! I want to do that by being a hero like them, so their kindness doesn't go to waste! You are not letting me do that! You show up once, nearly cause Twilight to lose her school, then suddenly, you're the new favorite!? You and your stupid friends!? What have you done to earn that!?"

Silverstream had no immediate verbal reaction, instead she pulled Rumble in for a hug, taking the boy by surprise, "I'm sorry you're feeling this way Rumble."

Rumble was speechless, this girl whom he disliked was affectionately hugging him, and he couldn't understand it. She shouldn’t care, all he's done was antagonize her, trying to prove that she wasn't perfect and unworthy of being praised like she was. Yet she instead treated him with kindness, the boy feeling even more emotional. "Why? Why are you being nice to me now."

"I came to Twilight's school to make friends, I loved her message about Friendship being Magic, and I want to help her spread that," Silverstream said. "You look like you need a friend right now, you're going through a lot, and I want to be there for you, because it's the right thing to do, it's something a friend should do. I want to be your friend Rumble, could you let me be your friend?"

"Silverstream..." Rumble wanted to return the hug, he genuinely did, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. He instead pulled away from the girl, "I can't...we could never be friends, it wouldn't work."

"Why wouldn't it?" Silverstream asked.

"It just...look, I appreciate your kindness, maybe you're not so bad, but I don't think I'm ready to accept you as my friend," Rumble said, wiping his eyes. "Not yet at least."

"So... there’s hope?" Silverstream asked.

"Probably...look, I'll take your advice, but this better not ruin things for me," Rumble said.

"It won't, actually maybe you can at least send her a letter, this way you're giving her some much needed space apart and she'll know you still care," Silverstream said.

"That could work," Rumble said.

"Come to my dorm room, I'll help you right that letter," Silverstream said.

"I don't really need help writing a letter," Rumble said.

"Oh..." Silverstream looked a bit disappointed. "Well, I guess that's fine..."

Rumble began pitying the girl suddenly, and he hated that, but his guilt would not allow him to let her feel sad, "Though it you really want to, I guess I can let you help me."

Silverstream's mood perked up, "I'd love that!"

"Alright, let's get to it," Rumble said, following Silverstream to her dorm. Maybe she wasn't so bad, he could tolerate her for a bit longer.

---

At the School of Friendship Dorms, Ocellus is seen having a study session with Smolder in her room, both trying to finish up some work for the next day. During this they heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," Ocellus said.

Nightcrawler had opened, holding a tray of cookies. "Hey girls, I have some extra cookies if you want any."

"Oh, that sounds nice, thank you Kurt," Ocellus said.

"You can leave them on the desk, Ocellus and I still have some lessons to finish," Smolder said.

"It's so great seeing you girls hard at work," Kurt said. "You're both model students."

"Not bad for a Changeling and a Dragon," Smolder said. "Two creatures not really known for Friendship."

"I'm not surprised, I believe anyone is capable of Friendship if they put their mind and heart into it," Nightcrawler said, placing the cookies down. "I love seeing just how much you girls care about each other and all of your friends. Even more how you care about your fellow students."

"It's thanks to teachers like you, Kurt," Ocellus said.

"Thanks, but you two put in just as much work," Nightcrawler said. "I am so proud of you both."

"Thank you, Kurt, we'll keep doing our best," Smolder said.

"I know you will, and I know you'll have many more friends, not just during your time here, but beyond," Nightcrawler said.

"I hope so, sometimes I feel like it was luck that got us the friends we did," Smolder said.

"You need more confidence in yourself, it wasn't luck that made me like you girls, it's because you're a lovely dragon with a heart of gold," Kurt said. "You're both beautiful young ladies whose kindness matches your appearance."

"Hey come on, I am not a beautiful lady," Smolder said.

"I've seen how some boys look at you, you two may have some admirers," Nightcrawler teased.

"Hey come on, I'm not interested in dating!" Smolder said.

"I know, just letting you know that it's not that hard to believe," Nightcrawler said. "Just be happy with who you are. Smolder, as a dragon, you're a fierce dragon, but that doesn't necessarily have to be aggressive. Even love and kindness can be fierce after all."

"That's...an odd way of putting it," Smolder said.

"Ocellus, even as a Changeling, you never need to transform to be something of worth, because you already are," Nightcrawler said. "Love yourself as the Heavenly Father loves you."

"I will, thank you Kurt," Ocellus said.

"Yeah, have a goodnight," Smolder said.

Kurt gently closed the door as he began to walk down the halls, a look of sadness on his face as he briefly deactivated his Image Inducer watch, briefly reverting to his true form, a Changeling, just like Ocellus.

"How hypocritical, I should not tell them things I am incapable of doing myself, I just don't want them being ashamed of themselves like I am," Kurt looked a bit teary eyed as he looked down at himself. "Forgive me Father, I am too weak to follow your teachings, but I pray that my students find the strength that eludes me. I pray to you Father, for them to truly love who they are, just as I love who they are. Bring them true happiness that they deserve, for the sins of their kind do not reflect who they are as individuals."

"Kurt?" Came a voice, that belonging to Starlight Glimmer. Quickly the X-Men member reactivated his pony persona before she came around the corner. "Oh hi Kurt, thought I heard you talking to somepony."

"Forgive me, I was just praying," Kurt said. Which was technically true, so he didn't feel like he deceived her too much.

"Of course, I find it so admirable how religious you are, how you believe in something so strongly, I can see why the students like you so much," Starlight said.

"The students like all of us, I am not anything special," Kurt said.

"So humble too, anyway I gotta get some last-minute work done, I hear Twilight's back, that's such a relief, being headmare is hard," Starlight said. "Thankfully Cozy Glow stepped up to help me in her spare time, she's such a sweetheart."

"She is a kind girl," Nightcrawler said. Cozy has been on his mind on occasion, while he liked her, he always felt like she was hiding something, but she at least seemed to be trying her hardest to be the best pony she could be.

"Well I should go see Twilight soon, I heard she brought back Starswirl and his allies, I can't wait to see them for myself, it's gonna be amazing!" Starlight said. "Well, I'll let you get back to your prayers or whatever else you needed to do."

"Yes, of course," Nightcrawler said, the mare about to leave. "Oh, Starlight, I have a question, it concerns someone at this school."

"Sure, what is it?" Starlight asked.

"This might sound personal, and I will not blame you if you choose not to answer, but this could really be helpful to one who needs it," Nightcrawler said. "Have you ever felt ashamed of who you are?"

"Me?" Starlight took a moment to think, but she didn't need to for long. "Well I did enslave a village once, I really regret doing that. But Twilight and Peter told me that all I had to do was try to change and be better, and that's what I did, I hope I did a good job."

"I think you did; your kindness is genuine, and your smile hides no secrets," Nightcrawler said. "This individual just feels ashamed of themselves, like it's hard to explain."

"Well tell that individual that there's nothing to be ashamed of, because we're all friends here," Starlight said.

"Yes, of course," Nightcrawler said. "I must be off."

In an instant, he teleported away, leaving Starlight impressed, "Amazing he can do that without magic, humans are fascinating."

Preparations were to be made, while the Pillars stayed at Canterlot Castle for the time being, everyone else had returned home, with Bobby and Rarity preparing their temporary move to Manehattan, Johnny and Rainbow Dash considering their future within the Wonderbolts and Twilight hoping to figure out where the Pony of Shadows was, she had to make up for her mistake, and she would not rest until it is done.

---

Lastly, at the lab of Doctor Hooves, he and Reed were just about done with their project, and it might be successful.

"The time is nearly here, soon we shall properly ensure the safety of Equestria!" Doc said.

"I don't know about this, I mean, I understand what Tony is trying to do but..." Reed started to have some second thoughts about his plans.

"Reed my pal, you don't need to worry, this is just a simple security measure," Doc said. "It's to keep everyone safe."

"I guess so, Tony knows what he's doing, and if he asked me to help it's because he trusts me," Reed said. "I just feel like this is more of Hank Pym's department than mine, and even he made a mistake in this design.”

"Well a practice run wouldn't hurt, and I promise that if things go wrong, I will immediately pull the plug," Doc said. "I do have a child on the way, I would never do something to endanger that child or the lovely mare who carries that child, the one I affectionately call my wife."

"Speaking of wives and kids, I hope Sue and Franklin have been having fun here, I feel bad being cooped up, honestly I lose so much track of time," Reed said.

"I know that feeling, once this is over, I suggest we take our ladies out for a night on the town, remind them that they come first in our lives," Doc said.

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea," Reed said. "Marriage is sacred, it's something my best friend since childhood has had the luxury of being graced with."

"You mean Ben Grimm correct? The big rock fellow? I am happy for his happiness, as well as his newlywed wife," Doc said. "Now Reed, let us put the finishing touches!"

Reed agreed, almost reluctantly. Tony told him it'd be fine, Doc seemed confident, so he should be fully on board, after all, it is for the safety of this world, and it could eventually benefit his own. He had to try for the sake of his wife, his son, his best friend, his brother-in-law, and everyone else he cares for, just a Doc tries hard for his wife, his adopted daughter, and his yet-to-be-born child.

However, some changes can lead to catastrophic trouble, and crumbling foundations finally break apart.

Other Side of the Coin

The following morning, Peter had come downstairs from his room. His wife never came to bed and he was worried.

He spotted her in her seat, reading vigorously, from the stacks of books on the side, it looks like she's been reading a while now.

"Twilight?" Peter said, getting her attention.

"Oh, hi Peter, what are you doing up so late?" Twilight asked.

"Uh, it's morning...were you up all night?" Peter asked.

"Morning time already!?" Twilight checked her clock; indeed it was the early hours of the morning. "Huh, oh I didn't realize I was down here for so long."

"Twilight, what could be so important that you pulled an all nighter?" Peter asked.

"Oh nothing, I was just reading up on anything that can help me stop the Pony of Shadows, like what the magic may have originated from, or any source of power he might need," Twilight explained.

"That's very resourceful of you Twilight, but it really isn't worth you skipping sleep like this, take it from me, pulling all nighters is not fun," Peter said.

"It wouldn't be the first time," Twilight said, following the statement up with a yawn. "Well, I should get back to it, I want to finish up before I head to the school and see if I can catch up on things there."

"No way, you're tired, you need sleep," Peter said.

"I can just have a coffee or something, I'll be...be..." Twilight began nodding off before struggling to stay awake. "Uh, what were we talking about?"

"Twilight, you need to go to bed, now," Peter ordered.

"I can't, I have too many responsibilities, I can't...can't..." Twilight began nodding off again, trying hard to stay awake.

Peter trotted over to his wife, standing on his hind legs as he gently lifted her into his forelegs, "I love that you work hard but even the smartest person needs to rest their body and mind. Might be hypocritical coming from me since I know I'd do the same thing, at least I can prevent others from making my mistakes."

Peter then carried Twilight upstairs to their room, doing his best not to move his wife too much, passing by Mayday's room, the young filly taking note of what her father was doing.

"Oh right, I wanted to practice walking like that, but Franklin can't show me his powers again, so it might be pointless," Mayday said. "Still, it would come in handy if I ever wanted to go to his world."

In the shared bedroom, Peter laid Twilight down, allowing her to get some much-needed rest. "Starlight and I can take care of what you need to get done, get some sleep."

Peter made his way back downstairs, placing some of Twilight's books back, knowing his wife wouldn't want to leave a mess behind. "I should get Aunt May to cook Twilight’s favorite breakfast."

Before he could head into the kitchen, he heard a knock on his door, he opened it to reveal Starlight, "Hi Peter, just came to check up on Twilight."

"She's asleep, you'll have to do that later," Peter explained.

"Wait, she's asleep?" Starlight checked her watch. "That's surprising, she's usually an early riser."

"Well she pulled an all nighter so I sent her to bed," Peter said. "She's still trying to find out some information about the Pony of Shadows."

"The Pony of Shadows?" Starlight asked. "From Starswirl's books?"

"Yeah, when she brought back Starswirl and the Pillars, she brought some old villain back," Peter said. "She's under a lot of pressure to find out where he might have gone, so she overworked herself. Now, I know you're still acting as Headmare in Twilight's absence but would you have time to do a little research as well? It would really help out Twilight, and I can help with school business."

"Oh, totally, I'd be happy to help any way I can," Starlight said. "May I come in and see?"

"Be my guest, this is technically a library," Peter said.

"I've always wondered, is it a bother when ponies come here to rent books even though you live here?" Starlight asked.

"Sometimes, but this place is pretty big, well bigger than it was when I first moved in," Peter said, "With my aunt living here, having two kids, plus another couple with their own kid, and Trixie, we needed the extra space."

"You even let me live here, though I've settled in one of the dorm rooms so I'm not a distraction," Starlight said.

"You're no distraction, Twilight and Trixie really like having you around, and you're a real help," Peter said.

"It's the least I can do after what I did in my old village," Starlight said as she grabbed some books. "I'm still a little embarrassed by it."

"Everyone makes mistakes, what matters is you became a better pony in the end, that's admirable," Peter said. "Even Gambit had to turn his life around at one point, same with Trixie."

Starlight began looking through some books, hoping to find the answers she promised Peter, "Hopefully this won't take too long, I imagine Twilight struggled due to her not knowing too much about old Pony-Latin, I should probably give her a crash course soon."

"She'd love that for sure," Peter said. "It's weird, I almost never considered the different languages this world would have. I mean, pretty much all the ponies speak English, or Ponish, as well as pony versions of other languages like Spanish and French, but to have your own language. I mean my world technically has other languages, well maybe not my planet but I doubt anyone in Equestria speaks Groot."

"Groot?" Starlight asked. "Do you know it?"

"No, very few know it, honestly it's not even much of a language, an alien I know constantly says 'I am Groot', but he means different things each time. His friend Rocket understands him and I think Thor does too, but it's a tricky language to learn."

"How many languages do you speak?" Starlight asked.

"Uh, well English for starters, I know a bit of Spanish and Italian, but that's probably it," Peter said. "I can't speak French like Remy does, or German like Kurt does, or even Mandarin like Chun-Li."

"Well no one needs to learn every language, but it helps to know more than one," Starlight said.

"Capcom believes so, I'm convinced everyone in that Universe can at least speak both English and Japanese," Peter said. "Actually it's a recurring joke among my fellow Marvel buddies."

"Do you think they'll come back to Equestria again?" Starlight asked.

"I hope so, I mean it hasn't been that long since the portal to their world was deactivated, I mean we could access it from my world, assuming that wasn't shut down either," Peter said. "I'm actually convinced Capcom could come back whenever they want, they're just respecting what Princess Celestia wants."

"That proves they're respectful at least," Starlight said. "Of course I don't really know them well, I've only been told about them for the most part, and have only seen them in social gatherings."

"You should have been here during the initial invasion," Peter said. "It was chaotic."

"Well I definitely heard about it, I remember about several years ago, I ran into a pony who said he's from another world, and given what had just happened, I guessed he was from Capcom," Starlight said.

"Do you remember what he looked like?" Peter asked.

"Yes, he had sunglasses and a large black coat with a blonde mane," Starlight said.

"Sounds like Albert Wesker, that guy gave me trouble for sure, he's one of my most dangerous enemies from outside my realm," Peter said.

"Possibly, I am ashamed to say that I found myself enamored with him," Starlight said, blushing a bit. "I mean, I'm may past that but he had this charisma to him. He told me about how he wants to create a perfect world where only the strong survive, it seemed almost similar to my goal of equals. I think he even wanted me to join him, if things turned out differently, we would have met much sooner, still enemies, but with a different ally."

"Well you went from potentially teaming with a wannabe God to an actual God, so at least you upgraded," Peter said.

"Yes, I have," Starlight said. Soon feelings of eerieness passed through Starlight, the mare starting to remember certain things. "Hey, Peter, you're strong right?"

"Uh, I think so?" Peter said.

"I mean, you're really strong, right?" Starlight asked. "Like you can take on an army if you needed to."

"Depends on the army, I'm not Superman or anything," Peter said. "I can't fly around and use laser beams to knock villains out, or use super breath to blow them away, or even freeze them, though Bobby can so we're covered in that department."

"I mean, what if..." Suddenly Starlight got a headache, much to Peter's worry.

"Hey, are you alright?" Peter asked, gently rubbing her head.

"Don't give away too much, otherwise things will get much worse..."

"I...I can't..." Starlight sat back, trying to calm herself.

"What's wrong? Tell me," Peter urged.

"I..." Starlight's headache stopped, at least for the moment. Seems like despite her loyalty switch, she is still at the mercy of Discord and his villains. "Sorry, I just had some bad memories. I just need you to tell me that no matter what happens, you'll be safe."

"I'll do my best," Peter said.

"Do you promise?" Starlight asked, looking him in the eyes. "Be safe, please. I don't want anything bad happening to you or your family."

Peter wasn't sure where this was coming from, but given Starlight's villainous past, and the fact that she's likely interacted with others on the path of evil, something about her may be a bit abnormal.

"I promise, we'll all be safe," Peter insisted. Suddenly he found himself in a hug from the mare. This felt a bit unusual, while he's friendly with Starlight, she was closer with Twilight and Trixie. Of course she seems worried, and if a hug would make her feel better, it's his job as a hero and a friend to calm those worries. Peter returned the hug to Starlight, gently stroking her head. "Hey, do you need a break too?"

"No, I'm fine," Starlight said, pulling away. "Sorry about all that, I guess I'm just a bit worried with all the things that have been happening lately."

"Well that's why Tony's been working hard, to keep Equestria safe," Peter said. "I mean, I think his Accords thing needs a bit of work, I'm hoping Cap's helping with that. But I'll do my best to help too."

"I'll be there to help you if needed," Starlight reassured.

Within moments, there was a knock on the door, Peter trotted over to answer, "Oh, hi Starswirl."

"Peter Parker..." Starswirl greeted, the old wizard being joined by his fellow pillars as they made their way inside.

"Oh wow! Is that really Starswirl?" Starlight asked, trotting towards the old wizard. "Hello sir, I'm Princess Twilight's assistant, Starlight Glimmer. I helped her decode your old journals."

"You actually understood his horn writing?" Flash jokingly asked.

"Oh it wasn't so bad," Starlight said. "It's an honor to meet you all, especially you Starswirl."

"Yes, very well then," Starswirl said, paying little mind to Starlight as he focused back on Peter "Has your wife gained any useful information about the Pony of Shadows?"

"You can ask her, but she's asleep right now so I would wait," Peter said.

"Asleep!?" Starswirl asked. "Equestria's future is at stake and she's asleep? To think ponies of this time could be so lazy."

Peter's eye twitched slightly, a hint of fury tightening in his chest. "Lazy? Twilight is anything but lazy, she defines hard work.”

"Well she certainly isn't working hard right now," Starswirl said.

Peter took a breath, he would rather not yell right now, mainly since he wants to be considerate to Twilight, Benjy, and anyone else in the house who might be asleep, "Alright, here's the thing here pal. My wife is a Princess, she should be respected. The reason she's a Princess is because she figured out a Cutie Mark spell that you've been spending forever trying to figure out! So I would dial back the attitude."

"You certainly are protective of your wife," Starswirl said.

Peter face hoofed in annoyance, "No duh, it's my job as her husband. Look, Twilight pulled an all nighter trying to find the information you wanted. The reason she's asleep now is because I asked her to go to bed. Believe it or not, my wife has a bunch of obligations to attend to, whether it's running a school, Princess duties, helping our community, or being a mother to our daughter and our newborn son. So sorry she's not able to find information about somepony you yourself should know more about."

"I know plenty about the Pony of Shadows, the one I used to call my apprentice, Stygian," Starswirl said. "The boy was jealous of our power, so he sought out the darkness to consume him and gain power."

"Darkness? Like Nightmare Moon? Or even the Symbiote? Wait the symbiote wouldn't be in Equestria a thousand years ago, would it?" Peter focused back on Starswirl. "So this Stygian guy powered himself up with Darkness? Out of jealousy?"

"He was a weak Unicorn who clung to our side, desperate to be as great as us, and his jealousy was his undoing," Starswirl said.

"It was so strange, Stygian was such a nice stallion, I don't know what could have caused him to turn to darkness like that," Meadowbrook said.

"Maybe there's a reason, have you tried talking with him? Seeing if you can come to agreement?" Starlight asked.

"There is nothing to discuss, he chose the path of evil, I have no sympathy for him," Starswirl said.

"But, what if he's really sorry and promises to be better," Starlight said.

Starswirl scoffed at the idea, "As if a villain can change."

That did bother Starlight, given that she's reformed, she figured this Stygian fellow could get better too. "But..."

"I have no time for this, looks like we'll have to do all the work," Starswirl said..

"Be my guest," Peter said. "Starlight, why don't you put those books aside and go check on the school, classes should be starting up soon."

"Sure, alright Peter," Starlight said, awkwardly exiting the library, still surprised and disappointed by what she was seeing from Starswirl.

"What is that school like if I may ask," Somnambula asked.

"Twilight's school?" Peter replied. "It's a great place, good for ponies and other creatures who want to learn about Friendship."

"That sounds like a marvelous idea," Mistmane said.

"If you ever want to do a guest lecture, I bet that would really make Twilight happy," Peter said. "You can tell stories of what Friendship was like during your time."

"Story time eh?" Rockhoof asked. "That sounds like a rousing good time, being able to pass on what we know to help the future generation."

"That sounds great and all, but if we don't locate Stygian, there won't be a future generation," Starswirl said. "Hop to it."

"Boy, you're really on a mission," Peter said.

Moments later Trixie had come down with Mayday following. She took note of the visiting Pillars, "They're here early."

"Are those the Pillars that mom mentioned?" Mayday asked.

"Yeah, that's them," Peter said.

"Oh, who's this little filly?" Meadowbrook asked.

"That's my daughter Mayday," Peter introduced. "Mayday, meet Mage Meadowbrook, Flash Magnus, Rockhoof, Mistmake, Somnambula and Starswirl."

"Hello young lass," Rockhoof said.

"So nice to meet you," Mistmane greetetd.

"Yeah, you too," Mayday said. "Daddy, I need to use the glider today, I promised Frankie I'd show it to him up close."

"Uh, sure, just promise you'll be careful," Peter said. "In fact, make sure you have parental supervision, maybe from Susan and Derpy."

"Sure thing daddy," Mayday said, making her way to the lab.

"She's adorable," Meadowbrook said.

"Yeah, she is, smart kid too, Twilight and I have homeschooled her for years," Peter said.

"She doesn't go to that school?" Flash asked.

"No, she never really had interest in going, and since Twilight and I have her education covered, there was never a reason to send her there," Peter said.

"Honestly, I say send her now. The point of school is socialization," Trixie said. "She should want to socialize, it's good for her."

"I don't disagree, but she's really not interested in going. Plus she's probably embarrassed to go to the school where her mom's the headmare, and I don't want to risk her getting teased or bullied over it," Peter said.

"Teasing? Bullying?" Meadowbrook asked.

"Isn't it a School of Friendship?" Flash asked.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean everyone's friendly," Peter said. "A fight nearly broke out during the first week, and according to Starlight, some students are not quite getting the whole Friendship thing. I'd rather keep my daughter from that if I could."

"I think you're being a bit overprotective with her, Peter," Trixie said. "It's really not that bad of a place."

"Well, maybe when she's a bit older then," Peter said. "For now, I want to see how well she continues to socialize with Franklin."

"At least she's making great strides with him," Trixie said. "So, Peter, any plans today?"

"Well I was gonna see the heroes in Manehattan, and keep trying to get Felicia out of the dungeon," Peter said. "Plus I wanted to stop by the Apple Family Barn and check on Apple Bloom."

"Sounds like you'll be busy as usual," Trixie said.

"When am I not?" Peter jokingly stated. "But, for now I should stick around and see if I can look into this Pony of Shadows business myself."

"Or I can help the Pillars, you can at least check on Apple Bloom, see if she's doing better," Trixie said.
"
"Sure, if you're alright with that," Peter said.

"It's fine by me," Trixie said.

"Alright, well Derpy and Susan should be here later on, if I'm not back, make sure Mayday doesn't do anything too reckless with her glider, and tell her to wear a helmet, Franklin too," Peter said.

"You got it," Trixie said.

"Here," Peter handed her a walkie-talkie phone. "Call me if you need anything."

"What in the world is that?" Flash Magnus asked.

"Modern day communicator," Peter said. "Seems like there's a lot you need to be clued in on in regard to modern day tech."

"Not that there is that much in the first place," Trixie said.

"There's just enough," Peter said, making his way out. "See you later."

"Quite the busy pony he is," Meadowbrook said.

"Yes, very busy," Trixie said. "A great hero, a great father, a great husband, and a great friend."

---

At the Canterlot Dungeon, Felicia is seen eating her food, still counting the days to her Freedom. She suddenly heard a familiar voice. "Hello Black Cat."

"That you Cap?" Felicia asked, turning toward the hero.

"I'm just here to let you know that your freedom is imminent, you will not be here much longer," Steve said.

"Well that's good," Felicia said. "How can you be so sure?"

"I have my ways," Steve said. "Try to stay out of trouble until then, I promise this nonsense will all be over."

"You seem determined," Felicia said. "I like that in a guy."

"Yo Cap! What about us!? Taskmaster shouted. "How long we gonna be in here!?"

"I'll see what I can do for the rest of you," Steve said, about to make his way out of the cell when he noticed someone familiar. "Flint..."

Sandman turned his attention to Steve, "Cap..."

"I'm sorry I haven't been around much to see you, maybe it's because I hate seeing you back in this lifestyle," Steve said. "You have so much better potential, why waste it on petty criminal acts?"

"Truthfully Cap, it's a question I ask myself a lot," Sandman said. "I guess in the end, I'm just a lost cause."

"Don't say that, you have worth, even if you don't see it," Steve said. "My promise to Felicia extends to you. I believe you deserve better than this. At least do it for your daughter, she must miss her father."

Sandman grimaced in shame, thinking over the girl he feels like he failed, "Feeling's mutual."

"Steve?" Celestia said, making her way down to the dungeon.

"Hi Princess, just catching up with old friends," Steve said. "Surprised to see you here, usually you send a guard to the Dungeon."

"I thought I'd stretch my legs," Celestia said, looking around at all the villains. She laid her eyes on Black Cat, "Felicia..."

"Hi Princess," Felicia responded.

"How I wish I could get you out of there," Celestia said.

"Well, not to state the obvious, but can't you?" Felicia asked. "You're the Princess."

"If it were that easy, I would have done so long ago, but lately Tony Stark unfortunately has a say, it is part of the Accords," Celestia said.

"Since when?" Steve asked.

"He approved a rule recently, that any issue regarding the Accords is under his authority and jurisdiction, that even I cannot overrule it," Celestia said. "Luna had approved the rule as well."

"But you're Princess too, if you're not ok with any of this, you can say so," Steve said.

"I spent so long wanting this type of order, what would it say about me if I just turned on it?" Celestia asked. "I'd be hypocritical."

"No, you'd come to realize that this isn't the way to do things," Steve said. "Celestia, answer me this, are you happy with how things are?"

"Well...not entirely," Celestia said.

"Then do something about it! You have the power!" Steve said.

"I...I do want to help but..." Celestia sighed in shame, "I guess I truly am not fit to rule Equestria. I should have retired long ago."

"No, you are fit to rule, if you're this worried it's because you care that much," Steve said. "Don't let what Carol said before get in your head Princess! You are a good ruler, maybe not perfect but there's no such thing as perfection. You have the power to change the Accords, you should-"

"Ahem," Came Tony Stark's voice as he made his way over with Luna and Spitfire. "Wow, this is a weird place to have this conversation. Sup boys?"

"Screw you Stark," Taskmaster said.

"Look, Celestia, I know you're worried, but you also need more faith, remember, this is what you wanted," Tony said.

"I know but...I'm having second thoughts," Celestia said.

"You're having second thoughts over one girl?" Luna asked. "A pretty thief you hired? Are you that surprised she caused the destruction of Las Pegasus?"

"It wasn't all on me, blame Celaeno," Felicia said.

"Can it, you," Spitfire warned.

"It's not just Felicia," Steve said. "Look, Tony, we're just worried for the future, not just Felicia, but the incident at Manehattan, and Johnny being benched. Plus, that threat you gave to Gambit and Jubilee about incarceration. Back then, I took it as a joke, but now with Felicia, I'm not so sure anymore."

"I think you're overreacting," Tony said.

"Over..." Steve groaned in frustration. "If a building's foundation has some cracks, do we just wait until it gets worse before you fix it!? No! You fix it before it spreads! This seems little now, but little things become big things. I'm trying to help you nip this problem in the bud. We shouldn't have to wait until things go bad before we do something about it"

"Sometimes they have to go bad because you need the proof," Tony said.

"Wh-Huh? This...this isn't like you Tony, what's happened to you?" Steve asked. "Are you that blinded by this ambition? Is this Carol getting in your head, like...what's happening?"

"Steve, everything we do now affects the future, I am aware of 'little things', that's why my Accords are preventing them, I know what I'm doing," Tony said.

"I just don't want you to 'baby-proof' and entire country, it's gonna backfire," Steve said. "Look, let's look over The Accords again."

"It's fine, look let me handle it, you just stand around and look pretty with your shield," Tony said. "And Celestia, remember, you wanted this."

"Don't screw anything up Celestia," Luna warned.

"Luna, that's no way to speak to your older sister," Steve warned.

"Stay out of it, Captain," Luna warned.

"Come on, we gotta contact these heroes to find that Pony of Shadows," Spitfire said. "Plus the stench of this place reeks."

"Jerk!" Taskmaster shouted.

Steve face hoofed in annoyance, "What do I do? If I do nothing, something bad's gonna happen, if I do something, it might make things worse."

"Follow your gut Cap!" Taskmaster said. "Listen, we may be enemies, but I respect a guy like you, because you take charge. You're a leader. Don't let some prissy rich boy tell you how things get done."

"You too Celestia," Felicia said. "Do what you think is right for your country."

"I really want to. But there's nothing I can really do," Celestia said. "Steve, my hooves are tied, I might need to leave True Freedom to you."

"Huh? True Freedom?" Steve suddenly began to wonder what she meant.

"You're a smart man, I know you can figure something out," Celestia said.

Steve tapped his head, seems like Celestia was speaking in a riddle. He just hoped whatever he figured out was what she truly wanted.

---

Meanwhile at the Wonderbolt Academy, Rumble is seen polishing his badge, wanting it nice and shiny as it represents all that is important to him, and a vindication of his worth.

"Hey Rumble!" Silverstream called. "It's time for our drills."

"Yeah, alright," Rumble said, placing the pin away and going to meet his partner.

"So, how are you feeling this morning?" Silverstream asked, walking with Rumble toward the obstacle course.

"Alright, I guess," Rumble said.

"That's good, so...feeling confident about today?" Silverstream asked.

"What's today?" Rumble asked in return.

"Well, I heard rumors that Spitfire is promoting some Wonderbolts early, Night Glider already got sent to Manehattan to work alongside some heroes there! We could be next!" Silverstream said.

"That seems unusual, the way Cloudchaser made it sound, it usually takes longer, and even if you graduate from the Academy early, you're just placed on stand-by," Rumble said.

"Well I guess things are different with Tony Stark helping run things," Silverstream said. "Imagine if we get sent to a town! We'd be Superheroes!"

"That is why I signed up for The Wonderbolts," Rumble said. "It’s my chance to be as great of a hero as Peter."

"You really look up to him," Silverstream said.

"Of course, like I said before, he and Twilight took me in when things were tough for me, Peter is the type of guy I want to be more like," Rumble said.

"I like him too, he's really kind and sweet, Silverstream said. "Cute too, if he were single...oh, never mind, like I would have a chance with Spider-Mane. He's too charming, and way out of my league."

"Aren't you a Princess or something?" Rumble said. "Technically you would have a chance with him."

"Well there's that, but would he even find me pretty?" Silverstream wondered.

"He doesn't care about that stuff, he values personality over looks, and you're...kind of nice, I guess," Rumble said. "Don't get me wrong, you can be a pain in the butt to be around, but you could be worse."

"Aw, are you trying to compliment me? Thanks," Silverstream said, rubbing his mane.

"Get off me," Rumble said, slapping her hoof away. "I'm just speaking objectively, it's not like I actually like you."

"Still, I do appreciate you thinking I'm nice, at least I have good personality for a pony," Silverstream said.

"Well...you're also...not unattractive," Rumble said. "If that's any consolation."

Silverstream started giggling at Rumble's reaction, "Alright Mr. Tough Guy, I'll take your word for it."

Rumble growled under his breath, "Stop messing around, just get your flank to the obstacle course, there's still a few things I want to teach you."

"Speaking of teaching, I wonder how my friends are doing?" Silverstream asked. "Right about now we'd-"

"Be in class..." Rumble finished. "You say this every day, I get it. You're in Twilight's school."

"You're not jealous, are you?" Silverstream asked.

"N-no, of course not," Rumble said.

"Well if you do want to join, I could recommend you to Professor Sparkle, we could be classmates! Then we wouldn't have to separate," Silverstream said.

"What do you mean separate?" Rumble asked.

"Well, if we get promoted to Wonderbolts, our duo might be broken up, we may get assigned to different towns," Silverstream said. "I know we don't always get along, but it's fun flying with you. I mean, you're so talented and I want to be as cool of a flier as you are. More than that, I still want to get to know you more, so we can be friends."

"You really think I'm cool?" Rumble asked, almost hopefully before shaking it off. "I mean...what makes you think we'd be friends? I'm only helping you because it's benefiting me, that's all there is to it."

"Rumble..." Silverstream somehow felt this wasn't totally honest, Rumble was clearly hiding his feelings.

"We're wasting time, just hurry up, and stay focused on the task ahead," Rumble ordered.

"Uh, sure," Silverstream said, following Rumble. Despite his tough demeanor, she feels confident that she could break past it and make a friend out of him yet.

---

In the depts of Tartarus, Goblin is seen soaking his face near a pond of water, not the purest water but whatever works to reduce some heat he felt.

As he washed his face, he started hearing a strange voice, "Goblin...Goblin!"

"Who's calling me?" Goblin looked around until he heard his name called again.

"Goblin!"

The Green Goblin looked down and spotted what looked like himself, "Osborn? Ugh, is this another one of your rants about the sacredness of human life?"

"Give me back control this instant! End this nonsense!" Norman shouted.

"I could do that, or I could continue my ambition for multiverse domination," Goblin said. "I came this far, I waited this long, you really think I'll give it all up now!?"

"Why are you doing this!? This is not why you were created!" Norman said.

"Isn't it though? You wanted greatness after all, you wanted immortality, and now you can have it for just beyond science," Goblin said. "Taking over the multiverse is the greatest feat one can perform, this could lead us to greatness, and you would throw that away over the weakness of sympathy? How could such a brilliant mind be so foolish?"

"You're the fool Goblin, this will not go how you want it to!" Norman said. "Things can be different! My family! My son Harry! Don't you want to see him again? Don't you want to see how his life is with Liz? She just had a baby, a lovely baby boy. He named him after us, doesn't that mean anything? Don't you want to see him? Can you let me see my grandson?"

"Oh you'll probably see that kid once we invade Earth," Goblin said. "Can't promise he'll live very long."

"Goblin!" Norman shouted, struggling to retake control. Unfortunately, he once again faded away in the subconscious of the Green Goblin.

"What a pest, Gods like me have higher goals than foolish sentiments," Goblin said, returning to the planning boards of the coming invasion.

---

During all this, the Dazzlings were playing a game of Poker with Shocker, Electro and Mysterio.

"You all in? Or are you folding?" Shocker asked.

Electro looked a bit disappointed, "Eh, I'm out."

"Same," Aria said.

"Uh...I'm out too...or maybe I should take a chance, it could be good," Sonata said. "But I might lose, and-"

"Oh just play it, honestly it's not like there's money involved," Adagio said.

"Yeah, we're literally playing for rocks," Shocker said, gesturing to the pile. "This isn't as fun without a little gambling."

"We could bet our food," Mysterio suggested.

"No way, food's scarce enough as it is," Aria said. "Anyone comes near my stuff is gonna bleed."

"Wouldn't want to mess with that," Electro joked.

The villains who were in played their set, Mysterio winning with a Royal Flush. "A performance befitting a King and Queen."

"Enjoy your rocks, Quentin," Adagio said, groaning in annoyance. "This is a waste of time; I just want to go out there and do something! Anything!"

"Be careful what you wish for, we might get sent to check on Goku Black again," Electro said.

"I almost want to go back to that world, the negative vibes were like an all-you-can-eat buffet," Adagio said. "I saw it radiating off that boy with the sword, even for a brief second he seemed too full of grief and negativity."

"He seems like a hero type, especially with that sword of his," Shocker said. "Looked like something out of a video game."

"He looked kind of cute actually," Sonata said. "Think he's single?"

"Considering we're trying to recruit his enemy, I don't think he'd be interested in you, Sonata," Shocker said. "Plus a guy like him probably hates the likes of us."

"Who doesn't hate us? It's our whole lives," Electro said. "I was treated like trash even before I got my powers, I was just some loser with a dead-end job engineering. Of course that is how I got my abilities, so it had some pay-off."

"How exactly did you get your powers?" Sonata asked.

"While I was fixing a power line, I got struck by lightning," Electro said. "I should have died that day, but my powers turned me into what you see now, a living electrical capacitor."

"I can't believe you actually got struck by lightning, that's some insane luck," Adagio said.

"Well it wasn't fun at first, my body was glowing, I looked like a freak, I couldn't even enjoy a damn cup of coffee," Electro said. "Where I'm from, looking like a freak gets you judged, just as the X-Men, just as Spider-Man. To this day I don't get why he cares so much about a public that constantly slanders his name."

"Tell me about, that faulty newspaper company kept saying he was our teammate or something," Shocker said. "But we already know that place went bankrupt, like Octavius said, without Spider-Man, they're nothing."

"I wasn't going to take that, if people were still gonna treat me like a freak, like I was something scary, I might as well gave them what they wanted," Electro said. "First chance I got, I robbed a bank, I worked hard all my life, I deserved the extra money. Honestly, it's not even robbery, life robbed me, life takes away from me so I should have the option of taking it all back! If people want to take issue with that, well then, I have a 'shocking' retaliation for them. I'm not afraid to 'charge' in."

"Your puns are so bad, you spent way too much time fighting Spider-Man," Shocker said. "That kid can sure run his mouth."

"What about you Herman? How did you end up how you did?" Sonata asked.

"Well, like Max here, I was an engineer as well," Shocker began. "But, it wasn't exactly what I wanted. I wanted to do more, I wanted to be an inventor. I went to MIT, which is a prestigious college in my world. I worked my ass off for years, hoping to achieve the life that I wanted. I graduated, top of my class, showed off my inventions to some big companies, and instead of being hired as an inventor, my ideas just got stolen, bastards making millions of my hard work! So I took matters into my own hands! I decided if I wasn't going to be given what I deserved, I should take it. But that just got me beaten and incarcerated, ironic, I'm the victim and I end up going to jail, that's the government for you, if you're not rich, you're pretty much screwed over in life."

"Ain't that the truth," Electro said.

"While in the clinc, I crafted these gauntlets from scrap," Shocker said. "That's right, Iron Man ain't the only one who can do something like this, but he's a rich man with authority, so he matters more than a poor guy like me. But screw it, if they weren't gonna take notice, I was going to make them. I became Shocker, and I started taking back what was mine, and anyone in my way would get blasted."

"Wow, I can't believe all that happened to you, Herman," Sonata said. "That totally wasn't fair, you shouldn't be treated like that. Do the heroes even know that happened to you?"

"Pfft, the heroes don't care, they just want to beat up bad guys and stay in the spotlight," Shocker said. "They act all righteous but they're just as corrupt as everyone in society, we're all corrupt in our own way, some just mask it better than others. The sad thing is, even if one corrupt company goes down, two more take its place, money is power in my world, without the cash, you're no more worthy than these rocks we've been playing for,"

"Life favors the Stars more so than the Extras in the background," Mysterio said. "Sometimes you have to take center stage yourself to be of any worth, of course even that can go poorly."

"Why do you always talk like some old actor?" Adagio said.

"I have a passion for theatre, I was once a Special Effects Artist," Mysterio said. "Like Herman and Max, I wanted more out of life, why use my abilities for a small show when I can take a grand stage? With enough work, the entire world would be my Broadway show, with me as the center piece."

"You really have a flair for the dramatic," Adagio said. "I do respect that, I've taken center stage myself."

"Were you performers?" Mysterio asked.

"In a way," Adagio said. "There's a reason me and my friends are called 'The Dazzlings', we specialize in music."

"It's the name of our band," Aria clarified.

"Back in the day, the girls and I were doing what we do best, feeding off negative energy," Adagio said. "It may have caused some disturbances, but we need to eat, it's our right after all. Unfortunately Starswirl and his Pillars didn't see it that way, so we got banished to a human realm."

"You were on Earth?" Mysterio asked.

"Yes, not your Earth though, it was a parallel version of this world," Adagio said. "Except all the ponies were humans instead. Including Twilight Sparkle and her friends."

"So an alternate universe, but not a separate realm like Asgard, more like a separate timeline," Mysterio said.

"Exactly, so there's at least two different versions of Twilight Sparkle, and who knows, there might be more versions of Peter Parker, more versions of Tony Stark, even more versions of you guys," Adagio said.

"Hm, more versions of us," Mysterio said. "Why didn't I think of this sooner? I could have posed as a Mysterio from another dimension, one where I'm a hero."

"You think it would be that easy? Shocker asked.

"You doubt my acting skills?" Mysterio asked.

"Hey, I think he can probably pull it off," Adagio said. "You might just need to wait for the right moment."

"This is great, feels like we're getting to know each other better, like good friends," Sonata said.

"Don't get carried away Sonata," Aria said.

"Hey, there's something I've been meaning to ask," Shocker said. "Are there other sirens?"

Adagio went silent a moment, the girl seeming to be at a loss for words, "I don't know...I haven't heard from them in so long."

"It's strange, Discord hasn't even mentioned them," Aria said.

"I did ask him once a few years ago, he said he couldn't answer that," Adagio said. "I can't tell if it's because he genuinely doesn't know, of if there's something he doesn't want to tell us."

"Discord? Keeping secrets?" Shocker sarcastically stated. "Who would have guessed?"

"I will have answers, this invasion will be the start," Adagio said.

---

Nearby Discord was drawing out some maps, running some practice invasions in his head that he visualized with some illusions, trying to figure out potential weaknesses. His fighters were strong but he felt like he could use a little more muscle.

"Goku Black still needs a bit more convincing, I hope he takes my offer, though I do worry a bit about him betraying us, it'd be quite an inconvenience," Discord said.

"Worried, Discord?" Tirek asked, getting the creature's attention.

"Who me? Nonsense," Discord said. "I'm just...being real."

"Uh-huh..." Tirek replied, not believing that. "Well I got an interesting letter from Cozy Glow."

"Amazing how fast mail travels, of course you can thank my magic," Discord said. "Leaves less of a trace."

"Yes well, she spotted something quite interesting yesterday, a boy from Earth named Franklin Richards," Tirek said.

"Franklin Richards...hm, sounds familiar," Discord tapped his chin.

"That is the son of Mr. Fantastic and The Invisible Woman," came the voice of Annihilus, who was joined by Otto.

"He does not quite have his father's intellect, but he's still a gifted boy nonetheless," Otto said.

"Sounds nice, now what's this about?" Discord asked. "Is it another boy she wants to keep safe because of some innocent little crush?"

"Not quite, she mentioned something rather alarming about this child," Tirek said. "She spotted him with the daughter of Spider-Mane, showing her some strange power of his."

"Strange power you say?" Discord asked.

"According to this letter, Franklin Richards contains the power to alter reality itself," Tirek explained.

"Alter reality?" Discord asked. "How so?"

"It may be best if you just read us what she wrote," Octavius suggested.

"Yes, perhaps so," Tirek said, clearing his throat to read the letter out loud. "Dear Tirek...she keeps forgetting 'Lord'."

"Just go on with it," Discord said.

Tirek groaned and kept reading, "Today I saw something really special, a boy named Franklin Richards showed Spider-Mane's daughter a really neat trick. He turned them both into humans, it was super neat, I never saw anything like this. He told her he can alter reality to his liking, but sometimes it happens without him meaning to. His parents try to keep it suppressed but it sounds really hard. Still, this boy is strong, he might be stronger than even you, Discord or anypony else in Tartarus. If he wanted to, he could probably erase all of you from existence. He seems like too nice a boy to do that, but he just might, especially if his family is in danger. He and Mayday are both super worried about their parents, and he really seems to like her, so he'd do anything to protect her. He could be an ally, or an enemy, I'll leave it to you and all our imprisoned friends. Sincerely, Cozy Glow. PS, if you keep that boy alive, can you at least make it so all the boys I have a crush on like me back..."

"Is she serious?" Annihilus asked.

"Well she is a young teenage girl, it's to be expected," Otto said.

"I'm honestly not surprised, that boy Franklin has always been a bit of a mystery," Annihilus said. "Anytime he's involved, strange things tend to happen. I would not be surprised if he was the biggest reason I was defeated when I first came to this world, by his uncle no less."

"That combined with your new form could indeed have been your downfall," Tirek said. "I digress, Discord, what do you make of this?"

Discord seemed a bit nervous from this new revelation, if this was true, his plan may be in jeopardy. "Well, I must admit, this is a bit troubling. Otto, are you quite close with the Richards family?"

"Yes, Reed once needed my help during a very troubling time with him and his pregnant wife," Otto said, recalling such a moment of drama and heartache. "But, despite that, I do not know much about their family. For that, you may need to consult with Victor Von Doom, very few outside the Fantastic Four know that family as well as he does."

"Right, Doctor Doom," Discord said. "I have considered contacting him and getting him to join our cause."

"Doom is a proud man, not likely to work with others, he may be invested if it involves The Fantastic Four, especially their children," Otto said.

"How many kids do they have?" Tirek asked.

"Just two, a son and a daughter," Otto said.

"Be careful with the daughter, apparently Doom can be quite protective of her," Annihilus said.

"Protective how?" Discord asked.

"I did not ask for details, if you wish to know, contact Doom," Annihilus said.

"Right, I should do that," Discord said, still feeling quite frazzled. "For now, plans must move forward. I feel now we may need Goku Black more than ever, we must get him on our side."

"If Franklin Richards is a reality warper, you will need more than power," Otto said. "But I am willing to converse with this Goku Black fellow, send me to the Dragon World."

"That would be great," Discord said. "Bring Annihilus with you, see if he can help you be convincing."

"Sure, I could stand to stretch my legs a bit," Annihilus said. "Also, Discord. Remember my terms, if you do desire my help, I will need my army."

"I will open that portal to the Negative Zone, but only when the Invasion is set to begin," Discord said. "We will need as many in our army as possible, soldiers to march into battle."

"I can help with that myself," Tirek said. "As can Queen Chrysalis."

"Yes, of course," Discord said. "The more the merrier, maybe I'll even make an offer to that strange woman I met traveling through the Dragon World timelines."

"What woman?" Tirek asked.

"I must go now," Discord said, not even answering as he snapped away, needing to plan as soon as possible, the other villains feeling a bit concerned themselves.

"How would we combat one who can warp reality?" Tirek asked.

"Reality warper or not, he is a child, we must proceed with caution," Otto said.

"We'll use caution if needed, but I make no promises," Annihilus said. "If he proves to be a danger to us, we will do what we must to ensure our plan."

"That we can agree on," Tirek said.

Otto of course didn't seem on board with that, not that it mattered. He'll do what he must for the time being as well.

---

Elsewhere Chrysalis is seen taking some love magic from her Changelings, a round of them having gone and stolen some magic, albeit discreetly.

"It's hard rounding up the magic needed, especially with so many heroes in these nearby towns," Chrysalis said.

"My queen," came the voice of Pharynx. "I come with an extra abundance of love magic."

"Thank you, bring it here," Chrysalis said, taking a portion. "You did quite well."

"Thanks, it's about knowing where to look, some of these towns aren't guarded by heroes, some were guarded by Wonderbolts, but let's be honest, when have they ever been useful?" Pharynx said. "Slipping past them was easy."

"Indeed it was," Chrysalis said.

"Also...I passed by our old hive, it looks completely different now," Pharynx said. "Thorax really changed the place up, now it's all...friendly."

"Thorax...to think he is sitting on my throne, where I should be," Chrysalis said. "He's always been useless, of course he would jump at the chance of Spider-Mane's supposed peace treaty. We both know how that ended up."

"A dirty ambush, set up by The Avengers," Pharnyx said.

"Perhaps Thorax himself was in on this, he seemed a bit too friendly with Twilight Sparkle, and now he's the King?" Chrysalis grumbled in frustration. "I cannot wait for this invasion that Discord has planned, the first thing I'm doing is taking back my hive."

"I'm right there with you," Pharynx said. "They'll rue the day they betrayed our hive, and I'll make that traitorous brother of mine regrets crossing us."

---

At the Friendship School, Cozy Glow was staring off into the distance, overseeing the town of Ponyville. In her mind, she saw what she could be potentially ruling over, as its new Princess of Friendship, however those ambitions still seemed beyond her grasp.

Some of the things she noticed was all the families down below, colts and fillies being with their parents, all happy and playful, a strong feeling of family among the ponies of Equestria.

This tugged at Cozy a bit, she felt jealous of them, they're all happy together and all she has is herself. No family, at least that she knows of. She just remembers spending most of her life in a Cloudsdale orphanage. Perhaps her parents are deceased, or they just abandoned her. The idea of the latter filled her with rage, but it is not a fact she could prove, in a way, she's not sure if she really wants to know, the truth could be worse for her.

"Hey Cozy," Sandbar said, getting the filly's attention. At least that's one pony she can depend on.

"Hi Sandy, did you need me?" Cozy Glow asked.

"Me and the others are heading to the library for our group study session," Sandbar said.

"Oh yes, of course, I'll be over right now then," Cozy Glow said, trotting toward Sandbar. "It's a bit chilly today, isn't it?"

"Can't wait for Winter Wrap up, I want the springtime," Sandbar said. "Surprised you can feel cold, I heard that a Pegasus can withstand colder temperatures since they can fly up pretty high."

"I have good tolerance, not that I still can't tell if it's hot or cold," Cozy Glow said.

The two made their way through the school, passing by all the students and faculty, a few of the teachers being recognizable X-Men such as Hisako, Beast and Storm, visiting from their world as per usual, teaching students about Earth Cultures and Geography.

They passed by a few students as well, such as Rainbow Harmony, who got their attention. "Hi Sandbar! Hi Cozy!"

"Hi Harmony, we're on our way to the library, wanna join?" Sandbar asked.

"Thanks, but I have to get this paper to Professor Applejack," Rainbow Harmony said.

"Well you're welcome to join us later if you have the time," Sandbar said. "Our group always has room for one more."

"I'll keep that in mind," Rainbow Harmony said, trotting off.

"I like her, she's nice," Cozy Glow said.

"Cute too," Sandbar added.

"But, not cuter than me, right?" Cozy Glow asked, getting a laugh from Sandbar.

"It's not a competition, all girls have something cute about them, something that makes her special," Sandbar said.

"Well, what makes me special?" Cozy Glow asked, leaning closer to Sandbar.

"Your curls, your freckles, the way you say 'Golly', there's a lot about you to love," Sandbar said.

"Oh, you flatter me, Sandy," Cozy Glow said.

Sandbar and Cozy Glow eventually made their way toward the Library, where the rest of their friends were, with the exception of Silverstream of course.

"We're here," Sandbar said, taking a seat next to Ocellus, Cozy Glow immediately scooting between the two.

"Just in time, we were about to get started on some Loyalty work," Smolder said. "It would help if Professor Dash were around more often, or at least find a better substitute than Lightning Dust."

"Professor Dash is a Wonderbolt as well, and they've been pretty busy lately helping The Avengers," Sandbar said. "So she can't be around as often."

"Same with Professor Sparkle, I hear she's taking a lot of personal days due to her newborn son," Gallus said.

"Well that only makes sense, at least she tries to make time for us, but her son needs more attention than we do," Ocellus said.

"At least Trixie isn't so bad," Sandbar said.

"Speaking of Professor Sparkle, what do you think of her finding those old Pillar ponies?" Smolder asked.

"Pretty neat, maybe she'll bring them to the school or something," Sandbar said.

"You mean as students?" Gallus asked.

"No, as teachers, or at least guest lecturers," Sandbar said.

"They could teach us about old Friendship ways," Yona chimed in.

"I'd settle with learning anything about their culture from back in the day," Ocellus said.

"You think they could join The Avengers?" Cozy Glow asked.

"Oh that'd be cool, we all know how powerful Starswirl is, he'd be a great protector," Sandbar said.

"His magic combined with Professor Sparkle's would be amazing, especially with Peter by their side," Ocellus said.

"And think about this, Silverstream is training to be a Wonderbolt, she's gonna end up fighting alongside them one day," Gallus said.

"Think any of us should join The Avengers?" Smolder asked.

"Depends, it would be cool, but it might require work," Gallus said.

"Yona join, Yona smash, like Hulk! And Thor!" Yona said. "Yona want to be like Thor, use his hammer."

"I'm not much for fighting, I'd love to help them any other way I can though," Ocellus said.

"But you're strong Celly," Cozy Glow said. "You saved me from that mean tiger."

"That was just to protect you," Ocellus said, playfully booping Cozy's nose. "I didn't want you to get hurt."

"That makes you weally amazing," Cozy Glow said, then turned to Sandbar. "What about you Sandy?"

"Uh, that's not for me, I am not a fighter," Sandbar said.

"I bet you're more of a lover," Cozy Glow said, eyeing Sandbar with admiration.

"I'd like to be," Sandbar said, blushing a bit. "Plenty of pretty girls in this school."

"Dude seriously, fantasize another time," Gallus said. "For as much as you talk about girls, I've never seen you even ask one out."

"That's easier said than done," Sandbar explained. "I mean, could you just walk up to a girl and start asking her out?"

"I would if I had the time to," Gallus said.

"You boys should try it, I think a lot of girls may find you appealing," Ocellus said.

"Well, what would you like in a guy?" Gallus asked. "All of you girls, what are you looking for exactly?"

"I'd like a guy who's honest with himself, one who has no secrets and is always willing to open up," Ocellus said.

"Someone strong and determined," Yona said. "One who is also confident too."

"I wouldn't mind someone who values me as much as any treasure in the world," Smolder said.

"I want someone to treat me like a Princess, like I'm the most special girl in the world," Cozy said.

"Interesting answers," Sandbar said. "Kind of wish Silverstream were here though, I'd like to get her input."

"We can ask her later," Gallus said.

"So, what do you boys want in a girl?" Cozy Glow asked, nuzzling against Sandbar. "Anything stand out to you?"

"Just give me a nice, chill girl who enjoys a good time," Sandbar said.

"I don't have many preferences, just give me someone who isn't annoying," Gallus said.

"I can respect that, Gallus," Smolder said, then turned towards the two ponies in the group. "Also, is anyone going to acknowledge how weird Cozy Glow is being?"

"I'm not being weird!" Cozy Glow snapped.

"You're getting really clingy to Sandbar, more so than usual," Gallus said. "What's up with that?"

"No reason..." Cozy Glow insisted.

"It's like you're suddenly enamored with him, even though not too long ago you were enamored with Rumble," Smolder said.

Cozy Glow started blushing a bit, "Rumble's nice...but he's got other things to worry about."

"You mean like the fact that he got Apple Bloom pregnant?" Smolder asked.

"Then she dumped him," Gallus said.

"She didn't dump him, she just doesn't want to see him right now," Ocellus said. "She's a little depressed, even her friends can barely see her."

"Rumble can barely get near the house without fear of making the Apple Family unhappy," Sandbar said. "Professor Applejack is a strong mare too, I don't think he wants to risk being on the receiving end of one of her buck kicks."

"Eh, I'd be more worried about Gambit," Smolder said. "He can make things explode with a single touch."

"Neither of you are giving enough credit to Big Macintosh though," Gallus said. "That guy's huge!"

"I feel kind of bad for Rumble," Ocellus said, gaining a look of surprise from most of her friends.

"Why? He deserves this," Gallus said. "He's been nothing but a jerk the last few weeks, I call this karma."

"I know he's been unkind, but I can't help but feel empathetic," Ocellus said. "He is going to be a father, and it seems wrong that he feels like he can't get close to his girlfriend."

"I get what you mean, this is just going to make him more bitter," Sandbar said. "I hope Silverstream is handling him just fine."

"She's fine, it sounds like Rumble's just being a pain in the neck to work with, but he's not actively being mean to her," Ocellus said.

"He better not, unless he wants a singed mane," Smolder said.

"Also what difference does it make if he's gonna be a father?" Gallus asked. "Like since when does being a parent matter?"

"Gallus, come on," Sandbar said.

"I'm serious, I mean my parents never gave a crap about me, you really think Rumble's gonna be any better of a father?" Gallus asked. "Guy's gonna be a dead-beat dad, count on it."

"Don't say that you want his kid growing up with something like that?" Sandbar asked. "Try to at least hope for the better, for Apple Bloom's sake."

"Seems impossible," Smolder said.

"I think Rumble and Apple Bloom should work things out," Cozy Glow said. "Last thing we want is for that baby to have to be given up for adoption because his or her parents couldn't afford to be together."

"That baby is not ever going up for adoption, Apple Bloom lives with her family and they're really tight knit," Gallus said. "She's got her sister, her sister's husband, her brother, her brother's wife and her grandmother with her, plus recently they got what looks like some type of maid!"

"Sugar Belle isn't their made, she just helps take care of the farm while she trains with Gambit to fight," Sandbar said.

"Still seems like a maid, point is she has all of them, so she's not alone," Gallus said. "I say she breaks it off with Rumble and finds someone else to be with. She's only a few days pregnant, she's got the looks to find another stallion."

"One who won't mind her being pregnant," Smolder said.

"Look, let's just drop it, we still have to do some actual studying," Sandbar said. "We've gotten way off track here. Let Rumble and Apple Bloom figure this out."

"Fine, I'm just saying, kid doesn't need both parents," Gallus said.

Cozy Glow huffed in annoyance, glaring right at Gallus, "Just because you hated your parents doesn't mean everyone should, Gallus. You're luckier than I am, your parents are alive."

"Hey if you want parents so bad, you can have mine," Gallus said.

"Dude!" Sandbar scolded.

"Cozy, I know you're an orphan, and you have no family, but believe me, you're not missing much," Gallus said. "Your life couldn’t have been as bad as mine."

"Not as bad!?" Cozy Glow shouted. "I grew up in an orphanage! I never got the love of a parent!"

"Neither did I!" Gallus said. "I might as well have been an orphan, at least the pain of my parents being dead would have been nothing to the pain of neglect!"

"Hey come on, don't turn your childhood suffering into a competition," Sandbar said. "Gallus, Cozy is right, you shouldn't project your frustration at how bad your parents were toward Apple Bloom and Rumble."

"Exactly," Cozy Glow said.

"And you, Cozy Glow," Sandbar said, glaring at the filly. "Be sympathetic to Gallus, family isn't who you're born into, it's who treats you well."

"Right now, you're both doing well," Ocellus said. "Gallus, you at least had Grandpa Gruff looking out for you, didn't you?"

"Yeah, he's alright," Gallus said. "Gilda kept an eye out for me too, being friends with Professor Dash taught her a fair bit about Loyalty and looking out for others."

"And now you're with us, we're your family," Ocellus said. "That includes Cozy Glow."

"Me?" Cozy Glow asked.

"Look Cozy, regardless of how you grew up as well, at least you're with us now," Ocellus said. "We love you, and we want to help you fill the void you missed out on growing up."

"You have to put in an effort too though," Sandbar said. "The more we understand each other, the more we can grow closer."

"Alright, sure," Cozy Glow said, then focused on the griffon. "Sorry I got mad at you."

"Eh, it's fine, I guess," Gallus said. "Sorry for bringing up you being an orphan."

"It's alright..." Cozy Glow said.

"My, looks l like something big happened," Came the voice of Nightcrawler, the X-Men member making his way over. "Hallo, meine freunde."

"Hi Kurt," Ocellus greeted. "We were gonna get some studying done, but it seems like we went off topic, going into detail about relationships, the situation with Rumble and Apple Bloom, then parental opinions."

"Yeah, we let ourselves get distracted," Sandbar said.

"Not at all, I say that this was a good thing," Nightcrawler said. "This is a School of Friendship, you are here to learn about friends and relationships, and sometimes the best lessons are the ones life gives you."

"So, it's good that we delved into this?" Gallus asked.

"Yes, intense conversations like these can help us grow closer, you build an understanding and develop comradery that lasts for years," Nightcrawler said. "Gallus, Cozy Glow, you both struggled in your own ways, but you came out better for it. You're stronger and wiser, and now you have those who love and care about you. The seven of you, I know Silverstream is not here but I will count her, have developed a bond so grand, it makes me so happy for all of you. After all, you set a good standard for Friendship in this school."

"Do we really? We did have a rough start," Gallus said.

"That's fine, sometimes the road in life can be bumpy, it is our struggles that build our character, it defines who we are," Nightcrawler said. "Ask not, for an easy life, but ask for the strength to endure all the hardships life throws at you. Gallus, Cozy, I know it's hard growing up without parents. I was an orphan myself, until a kind priest found and raised me in his Church. Me, a human who looked like a demon."

"You went through a lot, how did you cope? Was it just religion?" Gallus asked.

"Religion, yes, but the love I felt from those who I called my family and friends are what truly saved me," Nightcrawler said.

"You're always so calm though, don't you get angry?" Smolder asked.

"Of course, anger is an emotion that lives in us all," Nightcrawler said. "Look, being happy in life does not mean you are without pain. We all feel pain, we all feel anger and sorrow, but it is what makes us who we are. Human, pony, all creatures, and that is alright. It leads us down different paths. When I was angry at the world for how I was treated, I turned to God. I always strived to find the strength I needed to endure the harsh trials of life."

"If, I can ask though," Smolder said, somewhat hesitant. "And, I hope this question's alright to ask but..."

"Speak my friend," Nightcrawler encouraged.

"You believe in a God, and you believe he has your best interest in mind," Smolder said. "You also believe he created us, not just humans in your world, but even us in this dimension."

"I do," Nightcrawler said.

"If he's supposed to watch over us, then how come he lets us feel sad? Or out of place?" Smolder asked. "Isn't he supposed to protect us?"

"Truthfully, even I don't know why God does what he does, I have asked why he allowed me to suffer, why he allowed so many people to suffer," Nightcrawler said. "Sometimes, you just need to trust in his plans. A mortal's understanding of God's will is limited, but know that his love is limitless. I have said before, you do not need to follow my faith, I know it is foreign in this world. But that's alright, because I believe God loves the creatures of this world as much as the ones in mine."

"That's so amazing Kurt," Ocellus said. "Your Religion somehow always makes me feel at peace, and I still don't know much about it."

"You may not know it, but you are following the key points, to love others as you love yourselves," Nightcrawler said. "To treat others with the same respect you expect for yourself."

"Seems like common sense," Smolder said.

"Heh, I guess it is," Nightcrawler said, almost looking sad but hiding it with a smile. "Just keep being yourselves, and don't be ashamed of who you are."

"You got it teach," Gallus said.

"Well, I must be off," Nightcrawler said, teleporting away.

"Did I mention how much I like that guy," Smolder said. "He's really cool."

"Along with Jubilee, he's probably my favorite teacher in this school," Sandbar said.

"Mine too," Ocellus said. "Oh, we should still get a little studying done."

"Even though our life lessons are studying?" Gallus jokingly asked.

"I doubt that will be on a test," Ocellus said. "Come on, get to it."

As Cozy Glow grabbed a book, she started to feel something strange. She briefly turned her attention toward the corner, almost as if sensing something.

"You alright there Cozy Glow?" Sandbar asked.

"Huh?" Cozy snapped back to normal. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Thought I heard something."

Cozy continued with her reading, but not without a hint of curiosity of what was nearby. She had much more to explore soon.

---

As the day went on in Ponyville Park, Mayday had brought out her glider to show the visiting Franklin, while his mother and Derpy observed from a nearby tree.

"Pretty neat huh," Mayday said, proudly showing the machine off. "My dad got the idea from one of his enemies, The Green Goblin."

"The Green Goblin? His greatest enemy?" Franklin asked.

"Dad gets ideas from a lot of his enemies, like Shocker. Even if they're used for evil, dad does feel amazed by some of their feats of technology, he just wishes it was used for good instead of evil," Mayday said.

"Well that makes sense," Franklin said. "My dad wishes Doctor Doom was on our side. He feels kind of bad for him, I think they knew each other long before either of were doing the whole hero-villain thing."

"My dad doesn't mention Doctor Doom much, but I heard he was one of the reasons there was a big invasion a few years ago," Mayday said. "Is he like your family's arch nemesis?"

"He is, he's one of the most dangerous villains in my world," Franklin said. "And...he's also my sister's godfather."

"Huh? Why is a bad guy your sister's godfather?" Mayday asked.

"He's the one who helped my mom deliver the baby, mostly to stick it to my dad," Franklin said. "I think he's in love with my mom or something and wishes me and my sister were his kids. I think he named my sister after some girl he loved too, so now they're pretty close."

"Well, maybe he really isn't that bad of a guy then, I mean I don't know the full story but maybe there is goodness in him, like your dad wants there to be," Mayday said.

"You really think so?" Franklin asked.

"That mare who stays at my mom's school, Starlight Glimmer, she used to be evil, and now she's aunt Trixie's best friend," Mayday said. "Maybe Doctor Doom needs a friend."

"It ain't gonna be me, he gives me the creeps," Franklin said.

"Well, I can't really say much about that, I'm still struggling with this whole Friendship thing myself," Mayday said, then put on a helmet as she hopped aboard the glider. "Well, enough talk, let's try this thing out then."

Franklin put his on as well, climbing on the device as well, "This is safe to right, isn't it?"

"I did it once before," Mayday said, standing toward the left side of the glider. "It'll be fine, this is really fun once you put the worries aside."

Franklin slowly and careful stood up as well, Mayday taking his foreleg in hers, getting a blush from the boy. "Have you done this before? With anyone else?"

"Sort of, I did once try bringing Pound Cake on here, but his sister wanted to join and it made for a really awkward ride, so this will by my first time in a while," Mayday said. "I'll take the lead here, since this is your first time, we'll go nice and slow, just to get you accustomed to such an amazing feeling. If you feel comfortable enough later, we can go a lot faster, and once you're well enough too, maybe I'll let you lead. We can come back and do this as many times as you want after today, it could lead to the birth of something amazing."

Nearby, Deadpool could be seen laughing out loud to himself, the ninja out on his patrol and overhearing Mayday's exact conversation.

Mayday began lift off on her glider, taking the two off the ground for a moment, both Susan and Derpy keeping a close eye.

"I hope nothing happens," Derpy said.

"It's fine, I have my powers ready to be used," Susan said, prepared to make a forcefield if needed to carry the kids to safety.

The glider stayed suspended in the air for a bit, Franklin amazed by this feat while Mayday carefully steered the device. The two took it nice and slowly above the ground, gliding across the park at a reasonable speed.

"W-whoa, this is...kind of cool," Franklin said.

"Yeah totally, sometimes bad guys know how to have fun," Mayday said. "Let's take a ride around the park."

"We can't go too far, mom and Derpy need to keep an eye on us," Franklin reminded.

"Oh yeah, that," Mayday said. "Alright, we'll keep it simple."

The filly continued gliding across the air with her friend, not too high off the ground and not too fast, but pleasant enough for the two to enjoy themselves.

"I still can't believe Mayday build something like that, I mean she had her dad's help but it's so amazing," Derpy said.

"She's a natural prodigy, just like Reed," Susan said. "He'd be impressed with her too."

"So would Doc, he always respects a fellow scientist," Derpy said. "Well he doesn't like Peter too much, only because he was one of the ponies who agreed with Thunderlane back in the day, about Peter being more trouble than he's worth."

"Peter gets that a lot, thanks especially to the Daily Bugle," Susan said. "At least that Thunderlane pony turned that all around."

"Well, even if he did, there are still some ponies that don't fully trust Peter, in fact..." Derpy looked around before whispering to Susan. "Some don't trust the heroes at all. They think the trouble started with them."

"That's terrible," Susan said.

"Yeah, it's kind of dumb really," Derpy said. "I know more villains showed up, but it's not like Equestria never had trouble of its own. If it wasn't for Peter, we might have all been killed by Changelings by this point."

"Heroes will always have detractors," Susan said. "It's a shame but it's fact. However they usually seem to be in the minority, it's just a matter of keeping it there, and I believe Peter, my brother and all the heroes in this world can do just that."

"If Johnny can get out of his probation," Derpy said.

"Yeah, that was really stupid of Spitfire," Susan said. "Johnny used to joke about her being jealous because in a lot of their performances, he usually stole the show. He and Rainbow Dash both. She probably felt threatened by that."

"I don't think Spitfire is petty like that," Derpy said. "I mean, I don't agree with Johnny being sidelined, but she must have had a better reason than that."

"I don't even know, I wouldn't be surprised if Johnny ended up quitting, he only joined to be with Rainbow Dash, at least that's what he told me," Susan said. "And because he likes showing off, but he can do that anywhere."

"Maybe he can join The Washouts," Derpy jokingly insisted.

"That's an option too," Susan said.

As Mayday and Franklin continued flying, the filly had a devious idea, "Hey Frankie, how do you feel about flips?"

"May, no," Franklin urged.

"Fine, how about...spins!" Mayday said, spinning the glider around a few times.

Franklin grabbed onto the filly tightly in worry, "Come on Mayday, keep it simple."

"I'm just messing with you, Franklin, I would never do anything to put you in danger," Mayday insisted.

"Danger!" Came a robotic voice, startling the two as Mayday halted to a stop.

"What the heck!?" Mayday took a good look at the robot that stopped them, it looked to be a tiny orb with a camera. "Uh...what is this supposed to be?"

"You are recklessly flying, please land your device," the robot said.

"Uh, what are you and why are you giving me orders?" Mayday asked.

"We should probably just land Mayday, we don't know what it can do," Franklin said.

"Alright...I'll land..." Mayday said, then began muttering. "Then disassemble this heap of junk."

The girl landed safely down, hopping off the glider with Franklin following suit. The robot also made it's way down, "Place this dangerous item away, or have it destroyed."

"You destroy my work and I'll destroy you!" Mayday warned.

"Whoa! Easy there child," Came the voice of Doctor Hooves, making his way over alongside Reed. "This robot is just following it's directive."

"Hey son, sorry about all that," Reed said.

"Dad? What is this?" Franklin asked.

"It is a specialized Patroller Robot," Reed explained. "It is the result of top secret work that Doctor Hooves and I have been creating."

"This here masterpiece of a machine is going to change the future of hero work, with this, we can keep a constant eye and surveillance on the ponies of Equestria, and preventing harm from befall onto them," Doc said.

"So, they're basically security cameras?" Franklin asked.

"More than that dear boy, if things really get bad," Doc pressed a button, transforming the robot into a suit of armor resembling Tony Stark's Equestrian form. "It can fight too! Pretty amazing, isn't it?"

"Uh...sure, I guess," Mayday said.

"Isn't this a violation of privacy though?" Franklin asked.

"Yeah, isn't it?" Susan asked, making her way over with Derpy. "Reed, what is this thing? Are you trying to cast surveillance over the whole country? This feels like some Nick Fury level intensity."

"I know it sounds bad at first, but it's just here to ensure safety, it will not bother any of the ponies," Reed said. "Think of it like policing robots, they patrol just like a policeman would. We know a policeman would not actively bother the citizens, he, or she, would just ensure their safety."

"I still don't think this is the best idea, I mean, you saw what happened when Hank Pym created Ultron," Susan said.

"Ultron was Hank doing his best as a scientist, going above and beyond, but that proved to be both his strength and weakness when creating Ultron," Reed said. "This design is a bit simpler, but completely functional."

"So, this thing won't turn against us and destroy ponykind?" Susan asked.

"Of course not, we've taken extreme precautions against that," Doc said. "We'll even start out small, some of these robots will be placed in towns where heroes are assigned to, they can keep an eye out for danger, this could even be a good temporary ease into hero work for those born in Equestria striving to be heroes and Avengers."

"We have everything under control, I won't make Hank's mistake," Reed reassured.

"Still, it's not only that I'm worried about," Susan said.

"Is it the X-Men?" Reed asked. "You're worried this may remind them of The Sentinels."

"Well yeah, first these Accords, now the machines, this could bring their worries to life," Susan said.

"Rest assure, I am nothing like those who oppose mutants, and I certainly do not wish to emulate Howard Trask and his diabolical creations," Reed said. "We'll help them understand, they are a very reasonable bunch after all."

"You ladies need to take your minds off of the worries, Reed and I know just want to do," Doc said. "We're enacting a promise we made to ourselves, and you ladies will be joining us for a lovely dinner. There's a delightful cafe in Canterlot called The Tasty Treat, it is one of Rarity's favorite places to eat."

"That sounds nice," Susan said.

"Doesn't that place have spicy food?" Derpy asked, rubbing her pregnant belly. "I don't think it'll be good for the baby, Doc."

"Don't you worry my dear, I considered this in advance and asked Rarity foods she recommends for pregnant mares, she has gone there herself while pregnant as well, everything will go smoothly," Doc said.

"If you say so," Derpy said. "Your call Susan."

"Sure, I don't mind," Susan said. "So they serve spicy foods there?"

"I believe Bobby Drake referred to the delicacies as, 'Equestria's version of Indian Food'," Doc explained.

"Indian food huh? Sounds reasonable," Susan said.

"He and Rarity enjoyed many great dates there, I believe the four of us can too," Doc said.

"Well we should get a sitter for Franklin then," Susan said.

"He can stay at my house," Mayday insisted.

"Or, you can join us, make it a triple date," Doc suggested.

Franklin nervously gulped at the idea, "A triple date?"

"I don't think Mayday's parents would want her going to Canterlot without them," Susan said.

"Oh, well that's a shame, but we must respect their decision," Doc said. "Perhaps next time."

"We'll let Trixie know, see if it'll be alright," Susan said.

"Splendid!" Doc said. "Onward then!"

As they made their way back to the Parker-Sparkle home, Mayday just thought about what Doctor Hooves said, "A date with Frankie huh? Hm, if we get close enough, maybe I can experiment the idea of romance too, see what all the fuss is about."

---

At a studio in Ponyville, Tender Taps is giving out his tap dancing lessons to the girls as per usual. His regulars like Laura and Pumpkin Cake, and some newer girls, like Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

"Keep it up girls, you're doing great," Tender Taps said, showing off his own rhythm.

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon did their best with their styles, but were still too new compared to the others. Pumpkin Cake had really come into her own and Laura's reflexes were incredible.
"This is harder than it looks," Diamond Tiara said.

"Just stick with it, you want to land that background dancer role on Briddleway, don't you?" Silver Spoon said.

"It's bogus, why do I need to work for anything, I'm rich!" Diamond Tiara said.

"Riches won't buy you talent," Tender Taps said, then flashed a confident smile. "But just keep believing in yourself, I know you can pull it off."

"Uh, sure thing, Tender Taps," Diamond Tiara said, blushing from the charm she felt from her teacher.

During this, he heard the door opening. He immediately turned to greet whoever came in, "Hi, class is in session so if...Apple Bloom?"

To everyone's surprise, Apple Bloom was indeed there, the filly shyly waving at the group, "Hi, sorry I'm late."

"Apple Bloom!" Diamond Tiara rushed over to the young Apple girl. "So good to see you, how are you feeling?"

"Ah could be better," Apple Bloom said.

"Hey Apple Bloom, here to join us?" Tender Taps asked. "We missed you yesterday."

"Sorry, had a lot to think about," Apple Bloom said. "Still, surprised yer doing a lesson today, ah thought you had something else to do."

"Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon want to train for Briddleway and asked me to help," Tender Taps said. "Laura and Pumpkin Cake just happened to be here practicing themselves."

"It's nice that you two were practicing your dancing," Apple Bloom said.

"Actually, we were sparring," Laura said. "Pumpkin heard about me training your friends and now she wants to fight."

"I can be an Avenger too," Pumpkin said.

"Oh...well, shouldn't you wait til she's a bit older?" Apple Bloom asked. "She just turned nine."

"I can take it," Pumpkin Cake insisted.

"Well ah was passing through and wanted to see you, let you know I'm ready fer the next big lesson," Apple Bloom said.

"Wow, that's great," Tender Taps said. "You can join us now if you want to, we just got started."

"Oh, that'd be nice," Apple Bloom said. "Ah could use a little exercise, I've been all mopey the last week, could barely buck apples. Thankfully Sugar Belle was around to help pick up the slack, but I'm ready to get back into it."

"That's good, and I know your situation is tough, but we're here for you," Tender Taps said.

"Thanks," Apple Bloom said, rubbing her belly. "It is a bit scary, but mah family made it easy for me to come to terms with. Might be neat being a mama."

"Fluttershy loves it," Laura said. "She's a great mom to Rina, and myself, sort of."

"How does Fluttershy deal with the fact that she has a stepdaughter that's around her age?" Dinky asked.

"Well, she sees me more of a little sister, and I see her as my big sister, so it makes it less weird," Laura said. "I mean, maybe it can be weird, to call Fluttershy my sister while my actual sister is her mother. One of my sisters at least."

"One? You have more?" Pumpkin asked.

"Yeah, totally," Laura said. "Like my sister Gabby, well she's technically my clone but since she came out perfect, she counts as my sister. Then there's my other sister named Kirika, and one named Jimmy. I probably have more that even I don't know about, Logan isn't exactly that open about his prior relationships."

"Does Fluttershy know about those other kids?" Pumpkin asked.

"Probably, Logan likely never went into full detail," Laura said. "I haven't seen my siblings in years, hopefully they're alright. Except Daken, that guy could rot in hell for all I care."

"I take it you don't like that one," Apple Bloom said.

"You wouldn’t either, if she showed up with Sabretooth those months back, I guarantee things would have been much worse," Laura said.

"Sounds like we dodged something terrible," Tender Taps said.

"That's an understatement," Laura said. "Well let's get to some dancing."

"Sounds good to me," Tender Taps said. "Ready Apple Bloom?"

"Sure am," Apple Bloom said, tapping into the dance floor. "Show me your moves, Tappy."

Tender Taps sheepishly rubbed his head, blushing from the comment, "Sure."

"By the way, how's Rumble doing?" Silver Spoon asked.

Apple Bloom immediately went silent, feeling a bit awkward, "Well, he's fine. Haven't seen him since finding out ah was pregnant with his baby. But maybe ah should make time to see him soon, there's a lot we need to discuss."

"Well, whatever happens, we're here for you," Tender Taps said. He then started playing some intense samba music. "Now, let's kick it up, time for you lovely ladies to work up a sweat."

"I hate sweating..." Diamond lamented as the dancing started.

---

Back in his own dimension, Ryu was doing some practice martial arts in a training room at a base of operations built by Doctor Light for Capcom's warriors to gather.

He wasn't alone of course, he had Ken as his sparring partner while Sunset observed from nearby alongside Chris and Dante, amazed with Ryu's abilities.

"Those two really bring out the best in one another," Sunset stated.

"That's the mark of a martial artist," Dante said. "Having a rival pushing you past your limits is the best way to get strong, one of them at least."

"I don't think I would have gotten as good of a shot I am without the competition from my friend Forest," Chris said.

"Competition is always a good thing, something I learned from Rainbow Dash," Sunset said, checking her power. "I feel like I could do much better in magic if I pushed myself too, I can probably be as good as Twilight."

"If you need magical competition, it's only a dimension away," Chris said. "Plenty of options to test yourself."

"You got a point," Sunset said, placing magic at the tip of her finger. She aimed it like a gun and fired it, away from the sparring but it did get a nice distance.

"Great shot, if you were better, you could be Chris's new target shot rival," Dante said.

"Forest is hard to replace, but I could probably teach Sunset a thing or two about proper aiming," Chris said.

"Oh that'd be neat, if anything I can learn to fight better," Sunset said, aiming her finger gun again. "I'd be able to protect my friends better."

"HADOUKEN!" Ryu shouted, sending a ki blast at Ken, his friend blocking it, though knocking him back in the process.

"What drives Ryu to be stronger?" Sunset asked.

"He wants to master his fighting style, it's what really drives him," Chris said. "That's why he travels a lot, he is looking for worthy competition."

"It's why he travels to other worlds too after all," Dante said. "Plus the rest of us join because we all want to be the best in some way. We're a competitive world."

"I hear a lot about his rivals from other worlds, what about this one?" Sunset asked. "He mentioned a man named Sagat a few times."

"Sagat is a Muay Thai martial artist and one of Ryu's original rivals," Dante said. "Back when Ryu competed in his first Tournament, he ended up leaving Sagat, the previous tournament Champion, with a pretty nasty scar."

"It would lead them down a hard rivalry path, culminating in one of this world's most famous Tournaments," Chris said. "Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Guile, Zangief, Blanka, even Bison, all of the strongest came together for one big, grandiose battle."

"Akuma was there too, it was around that point where it looked like Bison bit the dust, but that guy always comes back somehow," Dante said.

"Even the more recent one, in addition to other things to worry about, like S.I.N.," Chris said. "Times like that, I wish we could help Ryu, but unfortunately I have my own things to worry about."

"Same here," Dante said.

As Sunset thought everything over, she heard Ken unleash a powerful attack. "Shoryuken!" This attack hit Ryu hard enough to leave him on the floor for a few seconds, the other warrior not getting back up. "Hey, you alright buddy?"

"I'm fine," Ryu insisted, pulling himself up. "Let's keep going."

"I think you're done man, don't push yourself too had," Ken urged.

"I can handle it,” Ryu said.

"Ryu, you really should take a break," Chris urged. "A few minutes won't hurt, if you keep fighting, you're just going to injure yourself."

Ryu groaned in frustration, reluctantly giving in, "Alright fine..." The martial artist sat by his friends, grabbing a water bottle, and chugging most of it down, using the rest to dampen his head.

"I swear you get stronger everyday Ryu," Sunset said.

"Thanks, I still have a long way to go, however" Ryu said.

"Still got Vegeta on your mind?" Ken asked, making his way over.

"He was one of the most powerful men that I've encountered, not only that, his ally Goku was too much even for Spider-Man," Ryu said. "I never imagined someone could be that strong."

"What about Superman?" Sunset asked.

"Besides him I mean," Ryu said. "I think I can catch up to Vegeta, his power is probably around Thor's level, and we're able to keep up with him to an extent. I just need to practice more."

"It's easy to see why Thor barely fights us, whether we want to admit it or not, he's too strong for a lot of fighters here," Dante said.

"So is The Hulk, but that never stopped us," Chris said. "Times like that, we fight smart."

"I'll continue growing my strength, and reach the level of The Saiyans," Ryu said. "Who knows, by that point, I might be able to beat Spider-Man in a fight."

"Lot of competition to think about," Ken said. "Just remember Ryu, this world still has a lot to offer. New fighters are coming in each day. Not too long ago we had to deal with the likes of Laura and Rashid. Recently a new face joined the Street Fighter scene."

"You mean that Luke guy?" Dante asked.

"Luke? Who's that?" Sunset asked.

"Luke Sullivan, a mixed martial artist from America who specializes in Kick Boxing," Ken said. "He joined the circuit recently, and he's been doing pretty well. He's got a bit of an ego though, I think he wants to surpass fighters like us, especially you, Ryu."

"Sounds like he's got a mouth on him," Sunset said. "Whoever this guy is, I bet Ryu can take him, no problem."

"Kind of agree with Sunset," Dante said. "This guy has a lot of balls to be talking shit about a man who's fought guys people here have only read about in comic books."

"He has a mouth but...fact is he could back it up, guy's been doing well for himself," Ken said. "Guy might be the future, if he does well enough, he could very well surpass us."

"Well wait til he goes up against you, or Ryu here," Dante said. "Hell I bet Chris could knock the guy off his pedestal, I'd sure love to."

"I'd like that too, but it did get me thinking," Ken began. "Do you think we're all getting old?"

"Old? Ken, you're mid-30s, so is Ryu," Dante said. "Me, I'm part demon, I won't age like a normal human."

"Eh, some people say you show a bit," Ken said.

"How? My white hairs?" Dante joked. "I got plenty of fight in me."

"I'm almost tempted to agree with Ken," Chris admitted. "I hate to say it, but I'm not exactly a spring chicken, neither is the wife. I know Jill and I would love to keep doing what we do, but at this point, we may need to consider retirement, focus on being a family. Dante, you probably should consider that as well, I mean, you and Trish are pretty close."

"Eh, she looks way too much like my mom, it feels weird," Dante said.

"What about Lady?" Chris said. "Honestly, maybe you should just leave the business to Nero and V. They even got a girl who can supply them with the weapons they need."

"Oh yeah, cool chick, reminds me a lot of Applejack," Dante said. "Still, I can't just step down. I mean, what about you? Who's gonna take over for you? Sheva? Or that Piers guy?" Dante tapped his chin, "Wait, I think he's dead...or was he just injured?" Dante shook his head, "Never mind, how are you going to prepare for your retirement Chris?"

"There are plenty to take over, with the right training," Chris said. "It's on us to train the next generation. Or at least let them take the stage."

"The Monster Hunters continue to train younger generations as well," Ken said. "Two new kids popped up, Leo and Leia."

"Oh, that reminds me, I'd like to see more of those islands," Sunset said.

"We'll be happy to take you," Dante said. "Just watch out for Rathalos."

Moments later, Chun-Li made her way inside with Guile, Mega Man and Cloud. "Hey, how's it going in here?"

"Pretty good," Ken said. "Just coming to terms with our old age. Hope you got someone to replace you, grandma."

"Don't make me hurt you," Chun-Li said. "I'm still young at heart. But if I had to pick a successor, it'd be my daughter, Li-Fen."

"Daughter!?" Sunset shouted. "You never mentioned a daughter!"

"You never asked," Chun-Li said. "I adopted several children; Li Fen is the oldest."

"Wait, so are you married?" Sunset asked.

"No, not yet," Chun-Li said.

"She's waiting for Strider Hiryu to propose," Ken jokingly stated.

"Hey, shut up!" Chun-Li shouted. "My personal life isn't any of your business."

"He already babysits for you on occasion, might as well make it official," Ken said.

"Can it," Chun-Li said. "Anyway we just wanted to check on you. Cloud's bringing some friends from his world, partially to train, but also to see you Sunset."

"We might go back with them too," Cloud said. "Tifa, Barret and Squall should be here, Squall's bringing some friends. I have other friends like Lightning, Terra and Tidus, maybe even Aya Brea. Then if we're lucky, we can go to Insomnia and see Prince Noctis."

"I told him to invite Crono, but he said it's difficult," Mega Man said.

"My world's a bit more complicated than this one, so of course it's difficult," Cloud said.

"Hardly complicated, if I can travel through time to see X and Zero, you can travel to find Crono, or even that 2B Android you heard about," Mega Man said.

"You really want to see that Android woman, don't you?" Cloud lamented. "Look, she and robots aren't exactly the best of friends you know."

"Aren't robots and androids the same thing?" Sunset asked.

"Not exactly, according to her at least," Cloud said. "Granted she admits it's a bit fuzzy."

"We can discuss this later, we have company to greet," Dante said.

"I'll call Morrigan and Felicia," Chun-Li said.

"Is that necessary? Those two don't get along at times," Dante said.

"I thought Morrigan liked Felicia," Sunset said.

"It's a bit rocky, Morrigan does like Felicia, she considers her funny," Dante began. "But she also likes to tease her, and no it's not playful, not for Felicia at least. She hides it well but she really can't stand Morrigan sometimes."

"Honestly I don't think anyone here likes Morrigan all that much, she's way too seductive," Mega Man said. "She's sexually attracted to pretty much everyone and everything."

"She is a succubus, it's in her nature," Ryu said.

"And she is our friend, I don't feel right leaving her out of things, a good friend is accepting," Chun-Li said.

"I bet Morrigan appreciates that," Sunset said. "I think she's neat too, even if she can be flirty even with me. I mean it's not as bad as a Changeling but still."

"At least she never has to worry about getting old, girl's like super ancient," Ken said. "And she still looks attractive, I mean not as attractive as Eliza but objectively speaking, she can get the attention of a lot of guys."

"Speaking of Morrigan, wonder if she knows about that tall, sexy vampire lady from that village Chris was inspecting?" Dante said.

"Don't get any funny ideas Dante," Chris warned.

"Just saying," Dante said.

"When will they be here? I still have some training I want to get done," Ryu said.

"Shouldn't be long, you're free to continue, I know you're gonna be busy soon, you, Cloud and Rock," Chun-Li said.

"And me," Ken bragged. "So I gotta train myself."

"Oh, um, actually, would it be alright if I joined as well?" Sunset asked, taking the martial artists by surprise.

"You want to train with us too?" Ryu asked.

"Yeah, I want to get stronger, just like you," Sunset got into an amateur stance. "Ken, Ryu, I want to fight just like the two of you. More than that, I want to fight like all of you." She turned to Dante, "I want to learn how to use a sword again." She turned to Chris, "I want to learn marksmanship." She turned to Chun-Li, "I want to be able to throw mean kicks!"

"Wow, she looks serious," Guile said.

"Seeing your fights here, seeing the warriors compete at the King of Fighters tournament, seeing the warriors compete at the King of the Iron Fist tournament, it made me want to train and get strong, just like all of you!" Sunset said. "What do you say? Can any of you train me too?"

"It won't be easy, martial arts is very difficult," Chun-Li said.

"I'm no stranger to hard work," Sunset declared. "I'm ready for it."

"If you feel that way," Ryu began, offering a confident smile. "Let's see you back it up. I will train you."

"We all will," Dante said. "You're truly gonna be one of us in no time, Sunset Shimmer."

---

Within that same world, deep within a secret base, Wesker and his allies, Vergil, Juri Han and Tron Bonne, along with two Servbots, were making their way to an office room in a secret building.

"Why are we doing this again?" Juri asked. "What's the point of it all? We should be focused on our own invasion plans."

"You'll see in due time Juri," Wesker said. "Just stay close to me."

"Yeah, yeah," Juri replied.

Wesker along with his allies had entered a room occupied by various guests, "Good evening, glad you could all make it."

"This better be worth my time, Wesker," came the voice of Doctor Doom, who was sitting in the room alongside the Dread Dormammu of the Dark Dimension, the robotic fiend Ultron, and Kazuya Mishima of Namco. One chair seemed to be empty, to the annoyance of the Capcom villains.

"Surprise, surprise, Urien didn't show up, pain in the ass," Juri groaned in annoyance.

"I wouldn't have brought you here if it was going to be a waste Victor," Wesker insisted. "I merely offer an alliance."

"With you? Last time we worked together, you failed me," Doom said.

"How did we fail you? We're the ones who lasted longer," Vergil said, before getting a gesture of silence from Wesker.

"Behave..." Wesker turned back to Doom. "I know things worked out poorly for us, but if we learn from our mistakes, we can avoid such an unfortunate situation."

"I am learning from my mistake, teaming with you was my mistake," Doom said. "Nothing got accomplished in my end, it was a waste of my time."

"Hey come on, we all did our best," Tron said. "We came close, if we just practice our old formula, we can pull off the win this time. What do you say?"

"My answer remains 'no'," Doom said. "Seems as though you wasted my time again."

Vergil was about to unsheathe his sword, again Wesker prevented it, "Don't start a fight."

"Doom, perhaps you are being too quick to judge," Ultron said. "Wesker has created a marvelous plan, one I am quite eager to take part in. We'll be able to bring down the world of Equestria, harvest its power and use it to conquer our dimension as well. Do you not want revenge on those who have wronged you?"

"I shall do so at my own leisure," Doom said. "If you wish to waste your time, be my guest, I do not wish to be dragged into it."

"I am on Doom's side, while I am interested in Equestria, it is not within my immediate goals for the future," Dormammu said. "I still desire to bring down my world first and foremost."

"Which you can! You just have to trust us!" Tron said. "Ultron is giving us a chance, why can't you?"

"For starters, your robots are quite shameful," Doom said, gesturing to the two, causing them to hide behind Tron. "A complete joke."

"Hey! My robots are faithful servants, and they're cute too," Tron said.

"Exactly, cute, like that does anything," Doom said. "You know what else is 'cute'? Those ponies, the same ones you let yourselves get defeated by! While I suffered a loss, at least I can say I lost to warriors."

Wesker himself was reaching his limit of patience, but for the sake of things, he hoped to keep things civil. "That, will not happen again, I assure you Victor."

"Mere words, nothing but empty promises," Doom said, standing up. "I am done here, if you waste my time with nonsense again, it will be your last mistake."

"How dare you!" Vergil shouted. "We offer you a chance at revenge and you throw it in our face! Especially given how you did so little to help during the invasion compared to us. We went to Equestria, we conquered an empire, we brought the fight to Spider-Man, all you did was hide in the background while we did all the work!"

Doom charged up some energy, glaring at Vergil, "Perhaps I should end you right now."

"Hold on a second," Kazuya spoke up. "I don't know much about these creatures, but I did spot one traveling the dimensions with Ryu. She gave off quite an interesting vibe, one of pure power and potential. It matched perfectly with something I heard from Jin. He mentioned feeling stronger in that world, like it had valuable magic that can boost a person's power. Now, most of it was second hand since I didn't converse with that boy, but if Equestria truly has this power, it would serve beneficial to us. I can finally bring down that son of mine, along Heihachi and truly reign supreme in my world as head of the Mishima Zaibatsu."

"Those ponies are indeed powerful, nothing to be trifled with," Wesker said. "I can confirm, I felt stronger in that world, once I got past the power drop."

"Yes, in Equestria your power will fade while you get used to that world, but the more you control your form, the stronger you become as a result," Vergil said.

"Whatever you're planning then Wesker, I'm in," Kazuya said.

"As am I," Ultron agreed.

"Good, along with Balrog and Kraven, that puts our immediate group at eight," Wesker said. "Nine if I can get into contact with Starlight Glimmer."

"You really believe this is worth the effort?" Dormammu asked.

"I believe so," Wesker said. "In a year's time, a war will rage, my plan is to attack after the war and strike them while they’re all down."

"How do you know of this war?" Ultron asked.

"I was tipped off by a creature named Discord, who wishes to ravage the land with The Green Goblin and other villainous creatures," Wesker said.

"You mentioned spotting The Green Goblin back then, to think he's still alive in that world," Doom said.

"Why wait though?" Kazuya asked. "Why not strike now? Side with those attempting to bring down Spider-Man, then when the time is right, take what's rightfully ours."

"I'm down with that," Juri said.

"That is an idea you should heed," came another voice. Wesker turned and spotted a scientist woman in glasses and bushy red hair.

"Who are you? How did you get here?" Wesker asked.

"Where did you come from?" Vergil asked.

"I'll introduce myself later," the woman said, adjusting her glasses. "Wesker, I have a message from Discord. He is prepared to offer you just about anything for you to join his team."

"Is he getting desperate?" Vergil asked.

"Seems like it, something about a boy named Franklin Richards startled him," the Scientist Woman said.

Doom gasped in surprise, "Franklin Richards? Yes, that boy does possess an incredible amount of strength."

"You are Doctor Doom, correct?" the woman asked. "Discord could use your input as well, in addition to your cooperation."

" I am no fool to trust a woman I just met," Doom said.

"I can tell you about myself, but my origin could cause confusion, even for dimensional travelers like yourself," the woman said.

"Spare us the dramatics, tell us all we want to know," Vergil said. "Only then will we consider that fool's offer."

"Very well then, I shall compromise," the woman said. "Sit tight, it might be a long story."

---

In the depths of Marvel Space, Loki and his group stopped to take a break on a distant planet in the galaxy, off the coast of Planet Knowhere.

Loki and his allies were resting at a bar, Storm King bragging his status to some nearby alien girls, Mystique sitting to herself and Tempest just enjoying a drink while sitting next to Sephiroth.

"The drinks here certainly have an odd taste," Tempest said. "I suppose it makes sense. What do you think?"

"It makes no difference to me," Sephiroth said.

"You're not much for conversation, are you?" Tempest asked. "That's fine, neither am I."

"On the contrary, I am quite the people person, I just love talking, especially when I have the chance to get into someone's head," Sephiroth said.

"Huh, can't tell if you're serious or not, you're quite a mystery Sephiroth," Tempest said. "You're a human from Earth, correct?"

"Barely, I am not like most humans, I wasn't born from a typical loving family, I was created in a lab to become a weapon," Sephiroth said. "My employers spent years treating me like a test subject without my knowledge, I made sure to pay them back in full."

"Sorry you went through that, life really sucks sometimes," Tempest said. "You think you have friends, then they turn on you the moment an Ursa Minor breaks your horn."

"Is that why your horn was gone?" Sephiroth asked.

"Yes, when I was a kid, some friends of mine lost our ball in a cave, and when I went to go get it, out came that beast," Tempest said, placing her fingers on her scar. "I was never the same after that."

"You took a traumatic incident and used it to make yourself stronger, a lesser person would have given into despair," Sephiroth said. "I commend your inner strength."

"Thanks, but none of that matters unless I right the wrongs," Tempest said. "To get my horn back, to destroy that Ursa Minor, and to bring Equestria to its knees. I am hoping The Storm King can help with that."

"Truthfully, that man seems rather inept," Sephiroth said.

"Maybe, but he is powerful, I'd rather not cross him," Tempest said.

"He doesn't seem that strong, he is not someone you should be serving under, perhaps you are better off as your own ruler," Sephiroth said.

"I appreciate the confidence boost, but that won't work for me," Tempest said. "I still need to get stronger before I consider that."

"I can assist you, if you so desire," Sephiroth said. "I've seen your training sessions with Mystique, I believe you are quite formidable. I can teach you a thing or two to enhance your strength."

"Huh, that's oddly generous of you, why would you do that for me?" Tempest asked. "Are you planning to get something out of it?"

"Perhaps a minion of my own," Sephiroth said. "While I am not one for casual company, having a sparring partner to increase my own strength would be beneficial. Your talent is wasted on that so-called king, I can bring more out of you."

"Huh, well you've piqued my interest," Tempest said.

Suddenly a weird Raccoon creature stand by them, gesturing over his friend, "Hurry up!"

"I am Groot," came the voice of a tree as he sat near the raccoon.

"Uh..." Tempest was a little surprised by the sudden visit, glaring curiously at the creature, not that it went unnoticed.

"Sup, name's Rocket, you new around here?" the raccoon asked.

"Uh, yeah, sort of," the woman said. "I am Tempest."

"Well Tempest, you came to a great place, this is a great epicenter for interspatial commuting," Rocket said. "So, what planet are you from?"

"I...guess, Equestria?" Tempest herself wasn't sure how to answer that.

"Equestria, never heard of it," Rocket said, then turned his attention towards Sephiroth. "Hey big fella, you her date or something?"

Sephiroth barely acknowledged Rocket, he simply stood up and grabbed his Masamune, "I will meet you at the ship."

"Hey! Wait! How much for that sword!" Rocket called.

Sephiroth stopped to glare, "This sword is not for sale, and even if it was, I doubt a creature as puny as yourself could do much with it."

Sephiroth walked off again, Rocket looking a little fumed, "The nerve of that guy, I was ready to make him a nice offer too."

"I am Groot," his tree friend said.

"Exactly, some people are so inconsiderate, probably a spoiled rich guy, I mean did you see his freaking coat? How many missions you and I gotta pull off for some fancy shit like that?" Rocket asked.

"I am Groot."

"Damn right that many, ah screw him," Rocket turned back to Tempest. "So, you know him then?"

"He's a friend of mine, nothing more," Tempest said.

"So, does that make you single?" Rocket asked, this being Tempest's turn to leave. "Eh, worth a shot. Let's grab a few rounds, Quill's gonna be here for a while."

As Storm King continued to show off, he found himself leaning towards a green alien woman, "Sup, I'm a king."

"Good for you," the woman said.

"So...you come here often?" Storm King asked.

"Hey," came a man's voice. Storm King turned to see a guy with blondish-brown hair. "Who are you?" He turned to the lady, "You know this guy Gamora?"

"He just showed up Quill," Gamora said.

"Look pal, she's kind of spoken for, so do me a favor and turn to the side and take about fifty steps away from here," Quill said.

"Hey pal, I'm a King," Storm King said.

"Do I look like I give two shits, kindly take a hike," Quill said.

Storm King got into a fighting stance, "Give me one good reason not to slug ya, one damn good reason."

Suddenly he was lifted off the ground by a brute of a man, "Who is this guy?"

"A 'King'," Quill said. "You know what to do Drax."

Drax immediately spun the king around and tossed him away, right towards where Loki was sitting.

"What in Odin's name!?" Loki shouted, then turned to see where the Storm King came from. "Peter Quill and his Guardians, of course they had to be here."

"Loki, should we leave?" Mystique asked.

"Yes, let's hurry, if we get their attention, it won't be long before we have to deal with the Nova Corp," Loki said. "Come now, quickly."

Loki grabbed Storm King, taking him back to his ship where fortunately both Sephiroth and Tempest had boarded. This didn't go unnoticed by Quill.

"Was that...Loki?" Quill activated his Star-Lord mask, grabbing his guns and pursuing the God.

"Let us hurry," Loki said, getting the ship ready for take-off.

"Hey! Get back here!" Quill fired his blasters, trying to stop the ship from leaving. As he got close, Loki opened a hatch and blasted Quill back toward the bar stools, freaking out everyone there as the ship sped off.

"Damn...so much for that," Quill said as he stood up, dusting himself of. "Pain in the ass."

"What should we do?" Gamora asked as she and the others regrouped.

"Should we follow them?" Rocket asked.

"By the time we get in our ship, they'll be long gone," Quill said. "We should probably make a quick trip to Asgard."

"Sounds good to me," Drax said. "Let's go."

---

In the city of Manehattan, Bobby and Rarity had arrived in the condo that Tony rented out for them, along with their daughter, who immediately went to explore.

"Careful walking around dear," Rarity called to their child, then turned to her husband. "This place is lovely."

"Leave it to Tony Stark to go all out," Bobby said. "Perks of being on The Accords."

Rarity dropped off some luggage near her bed, as usual she packed a lot, meaning a lot for her to unpack later, or Bobby if she works up the charm. "Spending some time here would be a delight, it would give me a chance to check on my store, and see Coco."

"And I get to do hero work in a city," Bobby said. "Starting with finding Martin Li."

"Oh yes, you are here for work, and it is meant to be temporary," Rarity said, looking out the window. "Still, I have always liked Manehattan, this could be my chance to see if living in the city is the right life for me."

"You sure about that Rares?" Bobby asked. "You told me that you turned down living in Canterlot because you would miss your friends."

"That is true, in the end I can't be without my friends," Rarity said. "Things do change of course, so let's see what life has to offer."

"Sounds logical to me," Bobby said, heading toward the window. "I should find Daredevil and the others, see you in a bit."

At Martin Li's building, the disguised villain himself was seen working through some paperwork, though as he did so, he continued to feel strange in the head.

"More are coming, we should strike now before it is too late."

"This pestering is quite bothersome, leave my head," Martin said.

"Do not be a fool, do what you must before it is too late!"

Martin held his head, trying to dispel the words when he heard a voice, "You must be Lee."

"Huh?" Martin turned around to see Daredevil, the hero standing on the window still. "How did you get in here!?"

"I asked where the manager's office was," Daredevil said. "I have a few questions for you regarding the recent troubles in this city."

"I know nothing about them," Martin insisted.

Daredevil could already tell this wasn't true, he could hear a change in Martin's heartbeat. "Really? Because I do find it strange that these gangsters showed up just as you came to town, that is quite the strange coincidence, wouldn't you agree?"

"Bad luck, that is all," Martin insisted.

"Alright, well let me ask you this, a few weeks ago, a marenamed Coco Pommel was attacked as she left Stark Industries," Matt said. "This same mare has been given offers by you to join her company, she even said she saw you shortly before she got attacked. Care to explain that?"

"I...can't really say," Martin said, feeling very stressed.

"He's on to you, dispose of him this instant!"

"Coco Pommel was then targeted a little over a week ago when that gang attacked Tony Stark's building, by Mr. Negative, a villain from New York," Daredevil said. "This was witnessed by the Human Torch, who claims Mr. Negative resembled you, after seeing you at Appaloosa where, I might add, ponies were acting unusually aggressive, in a similar manner to the ponies here, and the ones back home on Earth!"

"I...I..." Martin began to sweat.

"Explain yourself Lee! Or should I say, Martin Li!?" Daredevil said. "Honestly, that name really isn't that convincing, different world or not, I figured you'd pick a better name."

"It's not...what you think!" Martin said, his heartbeat accelerating, losing control of himself.

Moments later, Suri had barged into the room, looking rather annoyed, "What is going on in here?"

"I would suggest you leave ma'am," Daredevil said.

"You heroes again!?" She then saw Martin panicking on the ground. "What are you doing to Lee? Are you trying to give him a heart attack!?"

Suddenly Martin had grabbed a stapler and attempted to attack Daredevil, but the hero blocked and kicked him against the wall.

"Lee!" Suri wanted to help but suddenly Elektra had made her presence known, leaping in front of Suri's path. "I don't think so."

"Out of my way!" She tried to throw a punch, but Elektra had blocked and used her Sai's helm to knock Suri back.

"Careful, she's still a civilian!" Daredevil said. He turned to Martin but by this point, he made a mad dash out of the window and jumped onto the streets of Manehattan, trying to get to safety.

"Night Thrasher! Lee's escaping!" Daredevil said.

"I'm on it!" Night Thrasher began to skate into action, hoping to find Lee. As he got close, several thugs showed up to attack. "Shit! He's got back up!"

"I'm on it!" Came the voice of Night Glider, the newly assigned mare taking down the villains with her kicks. "Take that!"

"Nice work newbie!" Night Thrasher said, knocking some villains away/

Daredevil rushed outside with Elektra, the two on Martin's tail when more of them started to come.

"Not good," Daredevil said.

Elektra aimed her sais, "Time to end these guys, once and for all."

"Elektra, wait!" Daredevil called. Fortunately, the thugs got frozen, Bobby making his grand entrance.

"Whoa, so cool," Night Glider said.

"Sup my fellow heroes," Bobby greeted.

"Iceman, you made it," Daredevil said.

"Yeah, so these the Demon guys?" Bobby asked.

"They are, I nearly had Martin Li, but he managed to give me the slip," Daredevil said.

"Oh well, you got close at least," Bobby said.

"And you seemed to have confirmed his identity, now we know who to find," Elektra said.

"Yes...I just hope it's not too late," Daredevil said.

---

Things were definitely changing, as the robots made by Reed and Doc were starting to spread across Ponyville, that town being its first real destination.

One stopped near Remy as he was training with Sugar Belle, curious by the machine, "What's this supposed to be?"

"It looks small," Sugar Belle said.

The machine started scanning Remy, the mutant looking confused, "Remy LeBeau, Hero Name, Gambit, Status, Unregistered. No violations thus far."

"You got gotta be kidding me," Remy said.

"Did that thing just say your name?" Sugar Belle asked, then suddenly she got scanned.

"Sugar Belle, Equestria. Status, Avengers Trainee. No violations thus far."

"Uh...that's kind of weird," Sugar Belle said.

"Eh, come on, let's find somewhere more private," Remy said. "At least you met your co-worker."

"That is not my idea of a co-worker," Sugar Belle said.

---

Off in the distance, The Pony of Shadows began to grow in power, hoping to find what he needed to do so. "Hollow Shades...Hollow Shades."

Suddenly Discord appeared, getting his attention, "Might I be of assistance?"

A new partnership may be in the distance.

Crumbling Foundation of Trust

Weeks had passed by, as things continued to progress through Equestria. Martin Li was still out there, but now hiding in the shadows given that his Lee persona was uncovered. With both Bobby and Night Glider in Manehattan, things were definitely going to be different.

The Pony of Shadows was still nowhere to be found, to the annoyance and frustration of Starswirl, the pony spending most of his time researching while his fellow Pillars branched out a bit.

---

Meanwhile Cap was still trying to bring Celestia's words to proper fruition. She believed she wanted him to free Equestria of the Accords rules, something she didn't feel confident doing herself.

Up at the Academy, a young stallion had finally realized his goals, after weeks of training, he had finally become a Wonderbolt. That stallion course was Rumble, the boy standing proudly before a mirror as he wore his official suit.

"I feel like a Superhero, this must be what Peter feels," Rumble said. "Now I can save the world, just like he does. I'll be the greatest Wonderbolt in existence!"

"This is so cool!" Came the voice of the other recently promoted Wonderbolt, that being Silverstream, the first Hippogriff on the team. "I feel like I'm part of something now."

"Be proud, you're among the elites," Rumble said. "But now's the hard part, proving your worth. Think you can pull that off?"

"I think I can,” Silverstream said.

"Don't think, know," Rumble said, turning to his former Wing Griff. "You need to show confidence in yourself. Believe that you can be one of the greats. Show the Wonderbolts why you're among them."

"Show them why huh?" Silverstream said. "How do I do that exactly?"

"By being great, remember you trained with me, so it would make me look bad if you ended up sucking," Rumble warned. "So do us both a favor, and don't suck."

"Uh, right, don't suck," Silverstream said.

"Come on now, Spitfire's waiting,” Rumble said.

The two had made their way toward Spitfire's office, the mare was looking through some typical paperwork. Upon a knock, she gave permission to enter, "Come in."

Rumble opened the door, "Spitfire, ma'am. It's Rumble and Silverstream."

Spitfire looked up from her work, "Oh, the newly registered Bolts. Here for your assignments?"

"Sure am," Rumble said.

"I'm eager to get to work!" Silverstream said.

"Good, I'm assigning the both of you to Mount Aris," Spitfire said.

"Mount Aris!? Wait, you mean my aunt's Kingdom?" Silverstream asked.

"You can thank Tony Stark, given how well you did here, she's finally decided to allow official Accords members to patrol. The deal was it had to be you," Spitfire said.

"Oh! I'm so happy!" Silverstream said. "Wait, both of us? So Rumble's coming too?"

"We wanted more than one assigned, but she didn't want any of the superheroes, which is fine, they're kind of spread thin," Spitfire said. "I know a girl named Firestar offered but Queen Novo is still a bit reluctant to trust Earth Heroes, even though she trusts Doctor Strange but I guess he’s a special case."

"Why was I selected?" Rumble asked.

"Because you were her Lead Pony, so the Queen figured to invite someone Silverstream could trust," Spitfire said. "That won't be a problem, won't it?"

"Uh, well, I guess not," Rumble said, a little disappointed but still eager. "I won't let you down!"

"Good, you may leave," Spitfire said. “I gotta head to Canterlot myself, Tony needs something from me there, so you’ll have to set off on your own.”

Rumble and Silverstream took their exit, the boy thinking this whole thing over. "So, Mount Aris."

"Guess you're stuck with me a bit longer," Silverstream said. "But hey, if Auntie Novo lightens up, maybe you can swap with someone."

"It's fine, I really don't mind," Rumble said. "I'd feel better if I were there, to you know, supervise you and make sure you do alright."

"Aw, you do care," Silverstream said, rubbing Rumble's mane.

"Watch the mane!" Rumble said, slapping her hand away. "Truthfully, I kind of hoped I could have gone with Wind Sprint, I heard she was located in Griffonstone with a lady named She-Hulk."

"She-Hulk? Is she related to The Hulk?" Silverstream asked.

"I think they're cousins. That is one strong family," Rumble said.

"Wind Sprint should be fine," Silverstream said. "Truthfully, I kind of hoped I'd go to Ponyville. I know they still have a few heroes patrolling, and that might be enough, but I miss my friends."

Rumble could tell Silverstream was disappointed, while he couldn't care less about her friends, he did sympathize with the girl beside him, "Look, we technically have time before we start, I don't think it will be all that bad to go to Ponyville and see those lo...I mean your friends. Plus, you might need to pick up your stuff, I know I will."

"Oh, that'd be great," Silverstream said. "Plus while you're there, you can see Apple Bloom."

"Yeah, hopefully," Rumble said. "There's a lot we need to talk about and there's only so much you can do with just letters."

"At least she's replied to them," Silverstream said. "That's a good sign."

"Alright, we'll stop by Ponyville, but we can't take too long, last thing we want to do is make a bad first impression," Rumble said. "You get branded with a nickname that lasts forever if you do. Let's try to avoid that."

"Wait, since we're both Wonderbolts, let's just nickname each other, so we get something cool," Silverstream said.

"I could do that, if you were actually cool," Rumble teased. In the past Silverstream would be a little annoyed, but she could tell he was messing around.

"You're too much," Silverstream said. "Thanks though, you're a really nice guy, and I like you a lot."

"Uh..." Rumble cleared his throat to toughen up. "It's nothing, honestly I just did this because I pity you. I don't want you showing up to work all mopey and making me look bad. You're probably my first apprentice and I want you to be a success."

"That's kind of you," Silverstream said. "I like you better this way."

"What way? I'm the same as always," Rumble said. "Look, don't get me wrong, compared to me, you're basically a Silver Medal."

"Silver Medal?" Silverstream took a second to think about it. "Wait, like my name. Aw, you gave me a cool nickname."

"Huh? No I didn't! Don't be stupid!" Rumble said.

"Aw, you're one Humble Rumble, aren't you?" Silverstream said.

"Never call me that, it's so lame, and I don't want it catching on!" Rumble warned.

"But it's a good name, lets ponies know you're a sweet guy," Silverstream said, nuzzling against the boy.

"Quit it!" Rumble said, turning away with a blush. "Geez, why do ponies even like you?"

"I don't know, why do you like me?" Silverstream teased.

"I don't like you! What makes you think I like you?" Rumble said, preparing to fly off. "Look, I don’t want to waste time. Get your ass in gear."

Without another word, Rumble took off, leaving his partner behind. Despite his tough demeanor, Silverstream felt at peace with her partner. He won't admit it, but she and Rumble had bonded well over their training together, something she never expected to happen. He always took their training seriously, he never purposely sabotaged her. Even when she struggled and had a good reason to separate from her, he stuck by her, even if he claims it's for his own benefit.

"He's really charming sometimes, still has a tough guy act but it's not so bad. He's sweet deep down, cute too," Silverstream's eyes widened. "Cute? Did I just find him cute? I can't do that; he's got a girlfriend. Uh, maybe it's nothing, anyway I should hurry and catch up before he gets annoyed."

Now she had a lot of questions for herself, ones she had to figure out soon as she followed after him.

---

In Manehattan, troubles continued for the citizens of the city. Despite Martin Li being exposed by Daredevil, Demons continued to rummage through the streets.

This time at least, the heroes had more help, with Daredevil, Elektra, Night Thrasher, Bobby, and Night Glider keeping the streets safe, however it was not without some consequence.

Suri was furious by what happened to Martin that she decided to sue the Accords for the damage she insists they caused, of course she has no real case since her partner was running a crime syndicate.

"Dude, we rule," Bobby said, keeping some villains frozen. "These streets have never been safer, especially with me around."

"Someone's full of himself," Elektra said, placing her sais away. "Some things never change."

"Whatever gets the job done," Night Thrasher said. "Having Iceman around definitely lightens the workload. Even more with Night Glider around."

"My partner of the Night," Night Glider said, hoof bumping Night Thrasher.

"Two Night based heroes working the daytime," Bobby said. "Seems a bit strange."

"Well sometimes I do patrol at night, just not into the late hours," Night Rider said. "Some days, I'm not even here, I go back to Stamford."

Daredevil swung over, having taken out a group, "And I return to New York, which can disrupt my work ethic here."

"It worked out in the end at least,” Bobby said. “You exposed Martin Li's identity."

"Yes, but that's only half the problem resolved," Daredevil said. "I still need to find and apprehend him; he could be anywhere. My plan wasn't the success I wanted it to be."

"At least you did something rather than drag your feet," Elektra said.

"I had to work with the rules given," Daredevil said. "Normally that wouldn't be an issue for me in New York, but the Accords made things harder than I wanted them to be."

"If it wasn't for the Accords, we probably would have caught him by now," Elektra said.

"Yes well...huh?" Daredevil noticed a Patroller Robot flying over. "Oh, it's one of those drones."

"Greetings, I am here to inform Elektra Natchios that she has a meeting with Tony Stark in Canterlot," the drone said.

"Huh? What does Tony Stark want with me?" Elektra wondered.

"Maybe he's switching you to another town," Bobby theorized.

"Well, I guess I'm off to Canterlot," Elektra said.

"Want me to join you? I have some words for Stark myself anyway," Daredevil said.

"Be my guest," Elektra said. "Dwayne, you're in charge."

"Wait, why Dwayne?" Bobby asked.

"Because I trust him more," Elektra said.

"You heard the lady," Night Thrasher said. "Keep combing the city."

"Alright, but can I check with my wife first? She's been getting some trouble from Suri Polomare ever since we 'ruined her business' or whatever," Bobby said.

"That woman's a pain, she's another reason it took so long to expose Martin Li's secret," Elektra said.

"I do pity her, but if she does continue bothering your wife, be sure to let us know," Daredevil said.

"You bet, well good luck in Canterlot," Bobby said.

"Come on Elektra," Daredevil said, leading the former Hand member to the train station.

---

Back in Ponyville, Peter is seen surveying the town, ensuring it's safety like he normally does, plus he knew that Autumn Blaze would be coming by, so he wanted to keep an eye out for her too.. He could see many of the townsfolk minding their own business, some shopping, some enjoying the weather. What weirded him out was those Patroller Robots.

Since their unveiling, many of them were stationed around many towns, mostly to reduce the roles of the heroes to play. Peter understood the concept, but he wasn't too sure about its execution. He hoped these things wouldn't be too invasive of privacy.

"Hey Peter," Came the voice of Firestar.

"Sup Angel, how's your day so far?" Peter asked.

"Uneventful, but that's a good thing, it means ponies are safe, especially from that shadow creature," Firestar said.

"Not just him, Martin Li hasn't been seen in some time either, I don't want him sneaking to Ponyville and causing trouble," Peter said.

"Well, no one's acting strange, so we're good so far," Firestar said.

"As long as it stays that way," Peter said. "Man, to think that Martin came all the way here. I mean, I had my suspicions, and I'm glad Daredevil confirmed it, but I hope things aren't worse now."

"How or why is he here?" Firestar asked.

"Probably something to do with Discord and this weird plan he has going on," Peter said. "That guy's nothing but trouble."

"So I've heard," Firestar said. "He also sounds tricky to find."

"It's like a needle in a haystack," Peter said. "His magic is incredible; he can be anywhere."

"Can he even leave this world?" Firestar asked.

"He can, that's what makes him more dangerous," Peter said. "Celestia had the portals to the other realms shut down, hoping that it would make tracking Discord down easier, but so far it hasn't worked."

"How would it have made it easier?" Firestar asked.

"Celestia can somewhat sense if a portal to another world has been opened, same with Luna, they were hoping that less portals meant an easier time tracking Discord," Peter said. "Guess it was just a bad hypothesis, that or Discord's sneakier than I thought. First he snuck The Winter Solider over several weeks ago, sometime later, he got Wizard and Scorcher, then he got Martin Li. He's difficult to keep track of and this going to make Celestia worry more. At the very least, Discord is probably aware that prolonged use of his dimensional travels could be his undoing, but he may have enough magic to get a villain here, even if one at a time."

"Well, who else could Discord bring in?" Firestar asked.

"Well, there are guys like Doom, Dormammu and even Thanos who could show up, the odds of that happening are slim but any possibility is worth considering," Peter said.

"Well try not to get too worried, last thing you want is for paranoia to take over," Firestar said.

"Not wrong there," Peter said. "I already have enough to worry about lately. Being a father to two kids, helping Twilight run her school, finding Martin Li, Finding The Pony of Shadows, helping Felicia out of the Dungeon, helping out Apple Bloom."

"You're a regular Superman," Firestar joked.

"I wish," Peter said. "Anyway, I'll manage, it is my duty after all."

"Just don't get too carried away, you have to think of yourself too," Firestar said.

"You know me Angel, thinking of my own needs is not one of my strengths, the moment I relax I run the risk of things spiraling," Peter said.

"Being a hero starts with you, your wellbeing is just as important," Firestar asked.

"Now you sound like Twilight," Peter said. "I know I should lighten up and take it easier but, I can't let anyone down."

"Well there's a reason we're all here Peter, to help," Firestar said. "We're all heroes too, and even you can't shoulder everyone's responsibility. I must admit though, your dedication to helping everyone is a very attractive quality, Twilight is lucky to have a devoted husband like you, and your kids are lucky to have a strong father to look up to."

"Appreciate the pick-me-up," Peter said. "So what about you? Considering a family of your own?"

"I've thought about it a lot, I've had my fair share of dates, it's just hard for me to settle down," Firestar said. "Seeing just how well off you and Bobby are though, I kind of want that for myself soon."

"If things don't work out on Earth, you can always start over in Equestria, worked for me, worked for a lot of my friends, it can work for you too," Peter said.

"Well it is a nice world, I just still feel weird knowing I'm a pony," Firestar said.

"It takes a lot of getting used to," Peter said. "Even I struggled with it for quite some time."

"Do you ever miss being human? Or living on Earth?" Firestar asked.

"Sometimes, at the very last I miss having fingers, and it took a lot of getting used to when it came to clothing, or lack there-of," Peter said. "But as long as I'm with my family, then I'm good."

"I gotta say, your daughter is a really sweet girl," Firestar said. "She also seems to have a knack for inventing. I take it she's gonna be a scientist when she grows up."

"Seems like it, I'm really proud of the prodigy she turned out to be," Peter said. "Plus, she's super cute, I still can't believe an adorable little child like that calls me her dad. Being a parent is hard work but so worth it."

"Is she developing any of your powers?" Firestar asked. "Or is she going to be, well...normal?"

"Define normal," Peter joked. "She did mention feeling strange the other day, it's possible she might develop something. All my friends are wondering how their kids’ powers might develop, especially Remy, Bobby and Logan. Since my daughter is the oldest, she might show certain symptoms first, so we're all keeping a close eye out."

"As long as it's not a nuisance for her like my powers were for me," Firestar said. "Getting judged for being different can be a terrible thing."

"Yeah, totally," Peter said. "I'm worried about my daughter going through that myself."

"Well ponies seem to be nicer, so maybe she won't go through that," Firestar said. "I mean, how is she in school?"

"Mayday doesn't go to a regular school, she's actually homeschooled by me and Twilight," Peter explained.

"Oh...yeah that makes sense, I haven't seen her with the other students," Firestar asked. "Still, I'm surprised you homeschool her."

"All my friends are, they insisted she should go to regular school, even Trixie says Mayday should enroll at Twilight's school," Peter said. "Look, if Mayday wants to she can but she told me she's not interested in the idea, and she seems happy being homeschooled by me, so I went along with it. Kind of wish my friends got the hint."

"Is she learning?" Firestar asked.

"Yeah, she is," Peter said. "When Twilight and I quiz her, she usually does well. She's even taken tests Twilight gives to other kids, she aces them all."

"Well that's all that matters then, as long as she's learning," Firestar asked. "Who else but her genius parents are better suited to educate her, and now Twilight's able to educate other kids. I mean, school's tough anyway, some kids learn at different paces, some can't understand the material."

"It all falls down to teaching methods, something Twilight herself learned when trying to help Rainbow Dash study for her Wonderbolts Entrance Exam," Peter said. "She played to her strengths, just like I play to Mayday's. All I care is that she's learning the material, she's even learning on her own. Home schooling is hard work and discipline, but it pays off. I plan to homeschool Benjy too."

"Sounds like you have everything planned out, and I really do think it's great that you're helping her with her studies," Firestar said. "Never mind what your friends say, you know what's best for your daughter."

"Glad to finally have someone understand," Peter said. "It works out, because even Twilight admits how awkward it could be to treat Mayday like a regular student."

"Yeah, I'd feel the same way," Firestar asked.

"I guess, the only downside is a lack of social skills," Peter said. "But you don't need school for that, so far she's made at least one friend, Franklin Richards, thanks to Twilight setting up a playdate. Once again, Twilight shows that she knows what's best for our daughter."

"Well she is the Princess of Friendship," Firestar said. "And having at least one good friend is a start."

"Hopefully she gets more good friends," Peter said. "She has to want it though, and she's usually reluctant to talk to other kids. It's a miracle that she's taking a liking to Franklin, but since her talk with Logan a few weeks back, she's become more interested in the idea. Guess he got through to her as well."

"I think she'll get there, all it takes is one good start," Firestar said.

"Yeah, a good start," Peter added.

---

Meanwhile Mayday is standing in front of the school of Friendship, alongside Franklin, the boy marveling the sight.

"So, your mom made this school, to teach Friendship?" Franklin asked.

"Yeah, pretty much, Mayday said. "She worked really hard on it, and she loves being a teacher. She actually is good at teaching, even if she can be strict."

"Your parents homeschool you, right?" Franklin asked.

"Yeah, it's neat, at least dad makes it fun," Mayday said.

"My parents would rather homeschool me, since you know, I have those powers," Franklin asked. "Of course my mom doesn't want me away from other kids too much, probably why she was so eager to let me be friends with you."

"So you never made friends with other kids?" Mayday asked.

"Actually, I know some kids, their names are Alex, Julie, Jack and Katie," Franklin explained. "The Power Pack."

"The Power Pack?" Mayday asked.

"They each have superpowers," Franklin explained. "Alex can manipulate gravity, Julie can fly really fast, Jack can control mass and Katie has energy powers. Together as the Power Pack, they are Gee, Lightspeed, Mass Master and Energizer."

"So, a group of super powered kids huh? How'd that happen?" Mayday asked.

"I think an alien gave them powers to rescue their parents from evil aliens called Snarks," Franklin explained.

"Aliens? Well that makes sense, probably," Mayday said. "I don't know these aliens so I can’t comment much.”

"It's a long story, you may need to ask them yourselves, they can explain it better," Franklin said.

"Well if I ever go to Earth, or they somehow come to Equestria, then maybe I will get that story," Mayday said.

"I think Katie would love this place, she's actually a really adorable little girl," Franklin said. "Uh, don't tell her I said that, she might take that as a crush or something."

"How cute," Mayday said. "Well I doubt this would come up if I did ever meet her."

"Would you ever like to come to Earth?" Franklin asked.

"Yeah, that'd be nice, I'd have to ask daddy first though," Mayday said.

"I hope he says yes, I'd love to take you to some neat places," Franklin said, then focused back on the school. "Oh, does this school have dorms?"

"Yes, it's where a lot of the students stay, mainly since a bunch of them are from out of town, Especially the non-ponies," Mayday said. "Miss Starlight Glimmer lives there too, so does Nightcrawler and Jubilee from the X-Men."

"Oh, I know them." Franklin said. "Are there a lot of rooms?"

"I think so," Mayday said. "Oh, and recently they turned a room into a type of Church."

"A Church? Oh, for the Princesses or something?" Franklin asked.

"Sort of, it combines some Equestrian beliefs with Christian beliefs that Mr. Wagner follows," Mayday said.

"That would explain some of the recent construction I've heard," Franklin said.

"It's a nice room, a good place to unwind," Mayday said.

"Have you been inside the school much?" Franklin asked.

"A few times, just to explore it," Mayday said.

"And you've never wanted to attend?" Franklin asked.

"No, I'm not interested," Mayday said. "My parents cover my education after all."

"Doesn't this school also teach about Friendship?" Franklin asked.

"Yeah, but I don't need to be taught Friendship," Mayday said. "Honestly I don't get how it can be taught, it seems like something that happens naturally. My mom didn't need a school to make friends, neither did my dad. If anything my dad struggled to make friends in school, so that more than doesn't help."

"You think this school is a waste of time?" Franklin asked.

"Honestly, I do" Mayday said. "I know mom poured her heart and soul into it, and she had the right idea, but I just don't see the point to it. What are the students learning? Why do they need semesters about Friendship? I mean, I get it, from the way dad makes it sound, schools in general stretch out these semesters by adding pointless and meaningless things that students will never use in life, but how does Friendship tie into that?"

"That's a bit harsh to say, my dad's a college Professor," Franklin said.

"And my mom's a principal while my dad teaches chemistry," Mayday said. "Well my dad can teach a lot of things, but he majored in Chemistry when he went to college and wants to make some use of it. I don't even think my dad even finished college, he doesn't even have a degree. Not that it matters, a degree isn't symbolic of your intelligence."

"If my dad heard that, oh boy," Franklin said.

"Come on, your dad sounds like a really smart guy, I don't think he needs a piece of paper to tell him that, and neither do I," Mayday said. "I mean, mom has considered sending me to a real school when I'm older, but I can go the rest of my life without going to school, and I guarantee I'll turn out smarter than most kids who do."

"Wow, you really don't sound like you're a fan of school," Franklin said.

"I can promise that some of my dad's hero friends feel the same way, they just won't say it because they don't want to upset my mom, especially Johnny," Mayday said. "Apparently she used to chase him around the moment he said something dumb."

"That...sounds mean," Franklin said.

"Well during that time, everyone was rude and mean for some reason, according to my dad," Mayday said. "He theorizes that the shift in dimensions and all the rifts started messing with everyone's psyche, turning even the nicest people into complete jerks."

"That's an interesting theory," Franklin said.

"Anyway, dad said it's up to me if I want to come to this school. So I chose not to, besides, I didn't need it to make a friend either," Mayday placed her foreleg around Franklin. "You're proof of that. I mean, personally I see myself as a lone wolf, not one for friends. But you're a good start, and if I never make another friend, that's fine with me. As long as I have you."

"I appreciate that, May," Franklin said.

"That is such a shame," came the voice of Cozy Glow, the filly having landed nearby and overhearing the conversation. "To think all the work you mom put into this school, and you think it's a waste?"

"Not you again, didn't I tell you that neither Frankie or I are interested in playdates with you or those weirdo friends of yours?" Mayday asked.

"It's not a Playdate, it's a bonding moment, think of us as mentors," Cozy Glow said.

"What could you or any of those posers have to mentor me or Frankie about?" Mayday asked. "None of you are fit to teach us anything."

"Mayday, be nice," Franklin said, turning to Cozy Glow. "I'm really sorry about that."

"It's fine wittle Fwankie," Cozy Glow cooed, flying down to pat his head. "Such an adorable little guy, I bet you'd love to be my friend. I can be like your sweet older sister."

"Better than my younger one," Franklin muttered, then focused on Cozy. "That's nice of you, you're really kind."

"And you have an annoying speech impediment," Mayday said, much to Cozy Glow's annoyance. "I mean really, you're a teenager that talks like a filly. I mean I get you're short for your age but still, just because you look like a toddler doesn't mean you should talk like one."

"Mayday!" Franklin scolded. "Please, you're gonna hurt Cozy Glow's feelings."

"It's fine Fwankie," Cozy Glow said. "Mayday's just a wittle girl herself, she can't help it."

"I'm also smarter than you and your friends combined," Mayday said. "I still don't get why my mom likes any of you, or why she always gushes about your relationship. I mean, I do agree you're all close-knit friends and that's good for you, but is it really anything that special? Is it because you're all different species so it somehow makes things special? Coming from a girl whose mother is from Equestria, and my dad is from Earth, while also having an uncle that's a dragon, it really isn't that big of a deal."

"How sad, Sandbar and the others say such nice things about you, yet you don't seem to want to return that favor," Cozy Glow said. "Did it ever occur to you why your mom likes them?"

"Because they fit this mold she wants to make, they're the perfect students she won't stop going on about," Mayday said. "Honestly, she needs a better example, because your friends certainly aren't perfect."

"Mayday, you really shouldn't be getting upset every time Sandbar and his friends are the subject of a conversation," Franklin said.

"I'm just tired of them," Mayday said. "I can't wait for them to graduate and go back to their own homes. At least Silverstream is nearly out of here, by some miracle she made it onto The Wonderbolts, Rumble must have had to work extra hard just to pull her weight."

"We both know Rumble is talented, and really awesome," Cozy Glow said. "But Silverstream isn't so bad."

"Surprised you care, seems like most of Sandbar's friends don't even like you, including Silverstream," Mayday said. "They only keep you around because Sandbar and Ocellus like you."

"That's silly, all of them like me, I'm their perky little friend," Cozy Glow said.

"Yeah, they had such faith in you during that Buck Ball game," Mayday said. "I heard rumors that you did something to Gallus, forcing him out of the game."

"Oh that? It's just a silly rumor, I would never do anything to my dear, sweet fwiends," Cozy Glow insisted.

"I don't know, something about you seems suspicious, what with your overly nice attitude, this cute way of talking, I'm willing to bet you're hiding something," Mayday said, leaning in to face Cozy Glow. "And I'm gonna find out what it is, watch yourself. Then I'm gonna expose you and leave you feeling all alone!"

At this point, Cozy Glow was getting angry, ready to lash out at this girl for being so bratty as rage filled her eyes. "This...this little brat...why I oughta..."

Suddenly Mayday heard loud ringing, the girl grabbing her head in pain, "Ugh, not again! What's with this stupid headache!?"

"Mayday?" Franklin asked, checking up on her. "What's wrong?"

"Hey! What's happening over there?" Came Sandbar's voice as he and his four friends trotted over.

"Oh! Sandy!" Cozy Glow said, feeling peppy again, causing the ringing in Mayday's head to stop. "I was just talking to Mayday and Franklin."

"Yeah, seems like things were getting tense," Sandbar said.

"Oh, maybe a little," Cozy Glow admitted. "Mayday still won't let us be friends with her."

"Kind of weird to be friends with a bunch of adults," Mayday said. "Assuming you are adults, I still have my doubts."

"We're in our twenties, we can show you ID," Gallus said.

"You needed permission slips to go into the city though, that's a bit unusual," Mayday said.

"That was more to keep our Kingdoms in the loop, unfortunately compared to most dragons, I'm still a kid so I have to abide by their stupid rules," Smolder said.

"Thorax is protective of his subjects so I needed to get clearance from him," Ocellus said. "After that trip, he's not comfortable with any more travels though."

"I could tell you my reason but it's really none of your business," Gallus said. "But enough on the past, let's focus on the now."

"Yeah, were you saying mean things to Cozy Glow?" Sandbar asked.

"I was speaking my honest feelings; didn't Auntie Applejack teach you Honesty in school?" Mayday asked.

"Yes, she did, and she taught us how to be Honest," Gallus said. "See, you need this school more than we do at this point, you're not friendly at all."

"Easy Gallus, she's only a kid," Ocellus said.

"Yeah she's like five years old or something," Smolder said.

"I'm eight!" Mayday shouted. "I just had my birthday not too long ago! It was right around Winter Wrap-Up! Do they teach math at that school of yours!?"

"You mean the school your mother made? Totally," Gallus said.

"There's a lot to learn Mayday, we think you'll have fun," Ocellus said.

"I have fun learning with my daddy, he teaches me important stuff, my academics far exceed what any of you could learn in my mom's school," Mayday said.

"It's not just about the education, it's about socializing," Sandbar said. "Don't you want to make a lot of friends?"

"I have Frankie," Mayday said, gesturing to the boy. "Quality over quantity."

"Keep acting like this and you'll have no one," Gallus said.

"Gallus...come on...work with me," Sandbar said.

"No! I'm done! I'm tired of her acting line this! She thinks that just because her mom's a Princess and her dad's a Superhero means she can act however she wants!" Gallus shouted. "No one is putting her in her place!"

"That's not our job, that's her parents' job," Sandbar said.

"Well they're being too soft because she's their little girl," Gallus looked straight at Mayday. "You are quite frankly the brattiest kid I've met in my life! And I'm a Griffon! We’re a very greedy type and are not really known for Friendship. Even Smolder gets it better than you, and she's a dragon!" He turned to his friend, "No offense Smolder, you know we're pals."

"No, you're right, Dragons aren't exactly friendly either," Smolder said. "We're just as greedy too, and aggressive."

"And there you have it, I'm from a greedy village, Smolder is from an aggressive land, Ocellus is from a tribe that was known to steal love, Yona was from a stubborn tribe who thought they knew everything and Silverstream is from a Kingdom where apparently the Queen isn't too trusting!" Gallus said. "But we made it work, better than you could, so think twice before you act all high and mighty."

Mayday huffed in annoyance, before offering a sarcastic clap of her hooves, "Congratulations, you're not stereotypes, good for you. Look, this is just who I am, I'm not gonna pretend to be something I'm not, unlike the rest of you. My dad homeschools me because he knows what I need, and I owe all my intelligence to him. I don't need your school to get smarter, or to make friends. If I never make another friend besides Franklin, that's fine with me. You can be all happy and merry that you're together all you want, just leave me out of this."

"Mayday...we just want to help," Ocellus said. "We're not trying to upset you or anything, we just don't want you to be lonely."

"Alright see, that's the thing, you don't know how I feel, maybe I'm happy not having a lot of friends, some ponies, like me, aren't very social, and I don't need the likes of you judging me for that," Mayday said.

"No one's trying to judge you," Sandbar said.

"Then leave me be and stay the hell out of my business!" Mayday shouted. "I, don't, need, this, stupid, school! I have everything I need at home because unlike the rest of you, I'm happy enough with who I am, and I don't feel the need to have a bunch of parasites like you and most other ponies latching onto me!"

"The only parasite is you, making a mockery of everything your parents stand for, you are such a disappointment, and I hope your brother turns out better than you," Smolder said.

"Yeah, you're a lost cause," Gallus said.

Mayday looked very much bothered by this, the shock of their words turning into anger, the filly losing her patience, "At least I get to see my parents you bunch of low-life rejects!"

"Mayday Parker-Sparkle!" Came the voice of Twilight, the mare standing right behind them along with Susan, Derpy, Nightcrawler and Jubilee. "You are in SO much trouble."

"But they started it!" Mayday shouted.

"Enough! Go inside, your father and I will have a word with you in a second!" Twilight said.

"But mom!" Mayday pleaded, Twilight not budging her stance. Mayday began to tear up, feeling even more frustrated, turning her attention to Sandbar and friends. "I hate you so much!"

"Mayday!" Twilight shouted. "Inside."

"Alright! Fine! God!" Mayday stomped off in a huff.

"Don’t give me that tone!" Twilight ordered, Mayday ignoring her as she continued to stomp off.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't ponies usually say 'Celestia' or something?" Susan asked.

"It's because Peter says 'God' in ways like that as well, like when he gets startled and shouts, 'Oh God', so Mayday picked up on that a little," Twilight said.

"Hope that doesn't bother Kurt here," Jubilee said.

"It is common, not something I would do but I won't condemn those otherwise," Nightcrawler said. "Christianity is about tolerance, not judgement."

"Well Mayday's behavior is not something I will tolerate," Twilight said, then focused on the students. "I'm sorry about my daughter, I don't know what gets into her sometimes."

"It's fine Professor," Sandbar said. "She's just a kid, she doesn't know any better."

"Well I'm going to teach her better," Twilight said.

"I know it's not my business to say, but maybe she does need this school to help her with...whatever this is?" Gallus suggested.

"She doesn't want to enroll, and Peter would rather she not get forced in," Twilight said. "Which I do agree with, I don't want to evaluate her as a student, it might make things awkward at home. Don't worry, I'll straighten her out."

"Excuse me, Miss Sparkle," Franklin said, getting her attention. "Does this mean Mayday's going to be grounded?"

"She might be, I know you like spending time with her, and I am relieved that she seems to like you, but I have to teach her that some things are not ok to say," Twilight said. "So you probably won't be seeing her too much."

"Aw, well you do have a right to be upset," Franklin said. "But Miss Sparkle, you do love Mayday, right?"

"Well, of course, she's my daughter. Even when she's being bratty, I still love her, that's why I have to punish her, so she turns out better," Twilight said.

"That makes sense, but Mayday may not think so, I think she's feeling a little insecure," Franklin said. "Like, probably a little jealous."

"But why does she need to be? She should know I love her and will always put her first," Twilight said.

"Twilight, you've mentioned being really busy as of late, have you had any time for Mayday?" Susan asked. "You think she feels like you're not paying enough attention to her?"

"Oh...um, I don't mean to be, am I?" Twilight wondered. "Still, even if that's the case, it doesn't excuse what she said."

"Well, even so, try to go easy on her," Franklin said, looking up at Twilight. "She really didn't mean any harm. Things just got out of control."

Twilight looked down at the boy, the pleading look in his eyes making her feel sympathy. She's happy that Mayday at least has a friend like this one so far. "Well...I guess I can figure something out for her."

"Franklin," Susan called. "This way."

"Uh, alright," Franklin said, making his way towards his mother.

"Twilight, you do what you need to do to properly discipline Mayday," Susan said. "Even if it means she can't see Franklin."

"But mom!" Franklin pleaded. "I really like being with Mayday!"

"I know you do, but she did something she wasn't supposed to," Susan said.

"But..." Franklin turned his attention toward the six students, somewhat glaring at them, almost believing them to be just as much to blame given how a few of them antagonized Mayday. "It was really just a misunderstanding. Some of those students said some not nice things to her."

"That's enough," Susan said. "We're going now, come on."

"Aw, but mom..." Franklin said.

"Twilight, I'm taking Franklin back home, I'll see you later," Susan said, leading Franklin away.

Cozy Glow kept a close eye on him, then kept an eye around her, knowing that Franklin could very easily cause some type of disruption. She did feel worried about what he could do, especially since she herself was butting heads with Mayday.

"I'm sorry you six had to go through that," Twilight said. "Mayday will be properly disciplined."

"Not just her though," Jubilee said. "Franklin was right, some of you were antagonizing her."

"So?" Gallus said, almost bluntly and surprising his friends.

"So? Gallus she's a little girl, you're an adult, you shouldn't be arguing with her," Jubilee said. "If she says something she shouldn't, tell her parents or someone else, don't make her angrier."

"Hey she was disrespecting the school! I mean, Professor Sparkle, are you really alright with your own daughter not liking this school?" Gallus asked.

"I can't say that I'm proud of that, but that is my concern," Twilight said. "Don't worry if she doesn't like it, she's getting her own education and that's all that matters to me."

"She needs more than an education though!" Gallus said. "She needs manners!"

"Gallus, that's enough!" Nightcrawler scolded. "I know you're upset but please mind your tone when talking to Twilight."

The griffon boy groaned in annoyance, "Alright fine."

"Twilight, allow me to take over from here, your daughter needs your parenting," Nightcrawler said.

"Thank you, Kurt," Twilight said. "I leave it to you and Jubilee."

As she left, Nightcrawler focused back on the students, "Look, I know you're all good kids, and that you never like to cause trouble."

"But you did cause trouble for Mayday, and you seemed to be trying to make her mad," Jubilee said.

"She's just so frustrating," Gallus said. "How could anyone tolerate her?"

"You must remember, even if she is being impolite, Mayday is still a child," Nightcrawler said. "I'm not saying it is right for her to be disrespectful, there is no excuse, but it is even worse when an adult feels the need to behave as poorly as a child. As adults, you must set a better example, trying to upset her is not a good example.

"This type of stuff could get you expelled, luckily Twilight's more understanding of that, but if this went back to Peter, he would not be too happy," Jubilee said. "Also keep in mind, you're guests and you somewhat represent your countries. Not saying that you are completely representative of what it means to be a Griffon, a Changeling, a Yak, a Dragon or a Hippogriff, as I do believe each of you have your own personalities, but you still have some type of influence and I know you don't want to be a negative one."

"First chance you get, I believe you should apologize," Nightcrawler said. "It is the right thing to do."

"Yeah, he's got a point," Sandbar said. "We need to be bigger; it'd be a good example for Mayday to follow."

"Right on the mark Sandbar," Jubilee said. "Now, we can't make you do this, so I hope you choose to do the right thing for yourselves."

"You have nothing to worry about, we'll do our best not to repeat any offenses," Ocellus reassured.

"Glad to hear," Nightcrawler said. "Now, I have some paperwork to attend to, along with some pastor duties."

"Stay out of trouble," Jubilee said. As she said that, a Patroller Robot had passed by, getting her attention. "Oh, this thing again."

"Those things are so weird," Smolder said.

"Yeah, kind of hate them sometimes, but as long as they don't bother me, then I'm good," Jubilee said.

The robot began scanning her, "Jubilee, Status, Unregistered. No violations thus far."

"Yeah, yeah, your other buddies said the same thing," Jubilee commented.

The same robot scanned her fellow X-Men member, "Kurt Wagner, Hero Name, Nightcrawler, Status, Unregistered. No violations thus far."

"Nightcrawler is more of a code name, I am not exactly a hero," the teleporter insisted.

"What makes you say that? You've saved lives, and you fight off bad guys," Jubilee said. "You're also a morally good person."

"I am merely following God's will, that does not make me a hero, it just helps me feel human," Nightcrawler said.

"Wow, heavy stuff," Jubilee said. "Anyway, we got some work to take care of."

Nightcrawler nodded and turned his attention to the students one last time, "Also make sure to keep up on your studies. I won't say names but a couple of you are falling behind."

As the two mutants left, Ocellus began to lament, "He probably means me, I got nervous on the last test and didn't do so well, and I've been slacking on assignments."

"Same here," Gallus said. "We should go get that sorted out."

"Well, first thing's first, we should go apologize to Mayday," Sandbar said.

"Wait really?" Gallus asked. "Is there even anything to be sorry for?"

"Huh? Of course there is, we did upset her, and like both Kurt and Jubilee said, even if she was being immature, it's our jobs as adults to be better," Sandbar said. "Plus I don't want to leave this unresolved."

"Eh, I'm not too bothered by it," Gallus said.

"Dude, we promised Kurt and Jubilee we would," Sandbar said.

"Uh, no we didn't, Jubilee said it should be up to us," Gallus said. "I mean we are adults; we have a right to not listen to someone else's suggestions."

"Gallus..." Ocellus scolded. "Kurt and Jubilee are our friends, and our teachers, we should respect their wishes."

"Come on, think for yourself why don't you?" Gallus said. "I'm going off to study, at a school that is arguably way more important than daddy's little girl thinks it is."

"I'm kind of with Gallus, Mayday can take a hike," Smolder said.

Sandbar shook his head in annoyance, "Fine, just, do whatever you wanna do, I'm gonna go make things right with Professor Sparkle, on all of our behalf."

"Pretty sure you can't speak for me, just because you think you're the leader of our group doesn't make you one," Gallus said.

"When did I say I was a leader!?" Sandbar shouted.

"Well, Spider-Mane did call you our group's 'Twilight', didn't he?" Gallus asked.

"You know that's not what he meant, and I thought we agreed not to take that stuff too seriously," Sandbar said.

"Please, no fighting, we friends," Yona said.

"If you want to apologize to Mayday, be my guest, but leave my name out of it," Gallus said.

"Mine too," Smolder said.

"Fine, be that way," Sandbar said. "I'm going to do the right thing; I hope you come to your senses and do the same."

Sandbar immediately trotted off, leaving his friends behind. Ocellus was not too pleased by this turn of events. "What was that about? You were like a different Griffon a moment ago."

"I'm just done with Mayday's crap, she thinks being Spider-Mane's daughter lets her act how she wants," Gallus said.

"She's eight, she's still learning how to behave properly," Ocellus said. "I'm not saying it's alright for her to act this way, but it's even worse when we do it. Like it or not, Jubilee did have a point. We're almost like ambassadors for our nations, we have an example to set."

"Look, we'll think about it alright?" Smolder said. "I still agree with Gallus that Mayday is being a brat."

Ocellus glanced at Yona, both equally disappointed by these responses. She turned back to the duo, "Fine, have it your way. Yona, Cozy Glow and I will be joining Sandbar in making this right."

"Uh, where is Cozy Glow?" Yona asked.

Ocellus looked around; the little Pegasus was nowhere to be found. "Cozy Glow? Where'd she go?"

The little Pegasus had actually flown to catch up to her friend, "Sandy! Wait up!"

"Huh?" Sandbar turned to see his Pegasus friend. "Cozy Glow? Oh, you coming with me?"

"You don't mind, do you?" Cozy Glow asked.

"Not at all," Sandbar said. "It's really nice of you to come."

"Oh yes, we must make things right with those kids, especially Franklin," Cozy Glow said. "He is a guest to this world after all."

"You seem quite fond of him, you've mentioned him a lot," Sandbar said.

"What can I say, he's an adorable little colt, I just wish he and Mayday would let the seven of us get close," Cozy Glow said. "Or, at least us two."

"Well Franklin might be willing, Mayday's the one suspicious," Sandbar said. "Seems like she has a lot of personal issues to work out."

"Which is why she needs friends, and why we'd be perfect for it," Cozy Glow said.

"Maybe we're too old, she needs friends that are younger," Sandbar said. "My little sister should be around her age, so there's that option."

"Doesn't Celly have two little sisters herself?" Cozy Glow asked. "It's the perfect playdate!"

"Let's run it by Professor Sparkle," Sandbar said.

The two were about to enter the Library when Spike stepped outside, greeting the students, "Oh, not a good time to visit, Twilight's busy parenting."

"Yeah, we know, it's probably because of what happened between us and Mayday," Sandbar said. "We kind of felt bad."

"Well most of us, at least," Cozy Glow said.

Sandbar briefly glanced at Cozy, then back at Spike, "Yeah, most of us."

"That's really nice of you, but let Twilight handle it," Spike said. "You can come back later when things are settled."

"Uh, alright then," Sandbar said. "Come on Cozy."

"But wait, what about Franklin?" Cozy Glow asked. "Maybe he can help too."

"Franklin's talking to his mom about something, whatever you two have to say to him or Mayday, it's gonna have to wait," Spike said.

"We'll be back later then," Sandbar said. "If you can, tell Professor Sparkle that the two of us stopped by."

"That being Sandbar and her little favorite assistant, Cozy Glow," the filly said.

"Uh...sure..." Spike said, a little confused. "Twilight's recruiting kind of young, doubt Cozy's as good as I was though. But she needs someone since I have more personal duties now."

"See you around Spike," Sandbar said as he and Cozy Glow made their exit.

Just before Spike closed the door, Janet got his attention, "Who was that?"

"Sandbar and Cozy Glow," Spike said. "They wanted to see Mayday and Franklin, mainly since they feel responsible for what happened."

"Oh they worry too much, Mayday's just growing up and that comes with a lot of bumps in the road for girls," Janet said.

"Think Hope will be like that?" Spike asked.

"Oh if she's anything like me, hell yeah she will," Janet said. "But we got this in the bag. Plus we're not alone either, so I'm not too worried."

"That makes me a little less worried," Spike said.

"Well speaking of kids, I think Trixie's having some trouble feeding Benjy, let's give her a hand," Janet said. "Such a cute boy he is, makes me want to have another child."

"Hey I'm down to at least try for one," Spike said.

"Yeah, you would be," Janet teased.

---

Sandbar and Cozy Glow continued to trot ahead when they heard a familiar voice calling to them.

"Sandbar!" it was Silverstream flying in with Rumble by her side.

"Silverstream's back!" Sandbar cheered.

"Oh, and she brought Rumble!" Cozy Glow said, making Sandbar a little less excited.

"Hey Sandbar!" Silverstream brought the stallion in for a hug. "It's been a while, how's it been?"

"It's been pretty good," Sandbar said, briefly returning the hug before Silverstream pulled away and taking note of her costume. "Wow, so you're officially a Wonderbolt, huh?"

"Sure am, Rumble and I just got promoted and assigned!" Silverstream said. "We're going to Mount Aris!"

"Oh, you're going back to your Kingdom?" Sandbar asked.

"My aunt Novo requested me, and since Rumble was my teammate, he got to come with me," Silverstream said. "We're gonna be real heroes! Just like The Avengers!"

"Wow, little surprised you're still stuck with Rumble though," Sandbar said.

"Oh he's not so bad, we're actually friends now," Silverstream said, rubbing Rumble's mane. "We're super close."

"I've told you to stop touching my mane," Rumble said, pulling away.

"See, normally he would slap my talon away," Rumble said. "And he would tell me to stop calling me his friend, he's totally warming up to me."

"We aren't friends, I'm just trying to be professional," Rumble said.

"Hey, you could have left my side the moment we came to Ponyville, but you didn't, I bet you wanted to keep me company a bit longer," Silverstream said.

"Hey I'm just making sure you don't get lost or anything, remember I do have to keep an eye on you since we're partnered together, and I am not going to catch hell from Spitfire, Tony Stark or your aunt because you're difficult to keep under control," Rumble said.

"Is this guy really your friend Silverstream?" Sandbar asked. "He's acting a bit arrogant."

"Like you can judge me," Rumble said. "Anyway where's your posse? That's the whole reason Silverstream wanted to come back, aside from getting her stuff."

"Oh, that's right, if you're going back home, you can't come to school with us," Sandbar said.

"Yeah, it's a bummer, but maybe I'll get lucky and be able to transfer here so I can attend and do my job," Silverstream said.

"At this point, do you even need it? I think you should focus more on your Wonderbolts career than going to school," Rumble said.

"That's a good point too," Silverstream said. "Still, I like that school, so many fond memories, and I'll miss seeing my friends every day."

"That's growing up Silver, I'm not gonna be able to see my friends much either but...oh damn," Rumble had his own self-realization. "My friends are all gonna be here, and I'm gonna be at Mount Aris..."

"Not just them either, don't forget the girl you got pregnant," Sandbar reminded.

"Yeah, I know about that, don't need you rubbing it in my face," Rumble said. "At least I got intimate with a girl, bet you're still a virgin."

"I'll wait until I find a girl that I actually love," Sandbar said, Cozy's ears perking up at the sound of that.

"Hey, don't get anything twisted, I love Apple Bloom, I want to be with her, but her family isn't letting that happen," Rumble said.

"Yeah that's kind of weird," Cozy Glow said. "But a lot of time has passed, maybe they're not so angry by this point."

"That's what I'm hoping for," Rumble said. "I gotta make things right."

"I'll be right there with you," Silverstream said. "A good Wonderbolt helps their partner out."

"Doubt there's much you can do to help, even Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle struggled with this," Rumble said.

"Maybe I can help, I'm really good at charming ponies with my cuteness," Cozy Glow said.

"Cozy don't get mixed up in this, honestly Silverstream shouldn't get mixed up in this either," Sandbar said. "Rumble made his mistake, he has to deal with the consequences on his own."

"You're really ticking me off, I don't know how Silverstream put up with you or those other losers," Rumble said.

"Hey easy Rumble, they are my friends," Silverstream said.

"Well maybe you need better friends, you're at least somewhat cool," Rumble said.

"My friends are cool too, you just have to get to know them," Silverstream said. "I really think you can hit it off if you tried to."

"I can vouch that Ocellus is a great friend to have," Cozy Glow said. "And Rumble, I think you and Sandy should be friends, you both have so much in common."

"How? I'm smarter, faster, better looking, not a virgin and I'm basically best friends with the Parker-Sparkle family," Rumble said. "Meanwhile the rest of those lame-Os got dissed by Mayday on a molecular level. At least Silverstream stepped up."

"You know, I'm starting to think you're one of the reasons Mayday's a brat, she had a bad influence of an older brother figure," Sandbar said.

Rumble glared a hole through Sandbar, "What did you say about my little sister Mayday? You haven't been bothering her, have you?"

"I don't bother little kids," Sandbar said.

"Yeah, if anything she was kind of mean to us first," Cozy Glow said.

This time Rumble focused his glare at Cozy Glow, startling the girl a bit, "What'd you say?"

Sandbar stepped between the two, "Back away from her dude."

"Rumble, come on, please don't start a fight," Silverstream said.

"I just want to make sure Sandbar didn't do or say anything to Mayday that he should not have," Rumble said. "Floor is yours, 'Sandy'."

"I just told her what was on my mind, that's all," Sandbar said. "I didn't say anything rude or mean to her."

"Yeah, only Gallus and Smolder did," Cozy Glow said.

"Cozy!" Sandbar scolded.

"Gallus and Smolder!?" Rumble shouted in annoyance. "Ugh, those two are the worst! When I get my hooves on them..."

"Rumble!" Silverstream scolded, getting his attention. "Look, I know you care about Mayday, but please don't get into a fight about it. Remember, you're about to be a Wonderbolt, a hero, just like you've always wanted. Please don't throw all that away over this, it's not worth it."

Annoyed as he was, Rumble knew Silverstream had a point, this would not make for a good start to his career. "Just...don't bother Mayday again, next time you find yourself disagreeing, just step away. I don't want you stressing her out."

"Have it your way," Sandbar said.

Rumble turned his attention toward Silverstream, "I'm gonna go check on Apple Bloom, you spend the time you want to with the rest of your friends. We'll meet up in a couple of hours at Sugarcube Corner."

Silverstream nodded in agreement as Rumble quickly flew off, leaving the young Hippogriff Wonderbolt feeling uneasy. She hoped that even if Rumble still didn't like her friends, at the very least, they could avoid conflict.

"Silverstream, is he really as good as you think he is?" Sandbar asked. "At the rate he's going, he's gonna get booted from The Wonderbolts, and he's gonna end up taking you with him."

"Sandbar, I know you and Rumble don't get along, and for good reason, but I figured even you could try to see the good in him," Silverstream said.

"To be fair, Rumble did call Sandy and our friends 'losers', so Sandy did have the right to be mad," Cozy Glow said.

"I kept my cool to the best of my abilities, but even I have my limits Silverstream," Sandbar said.

"Still, it seemed like you were already in a sour mood by the time you saw Rumble, I mean give him a chance to be better before you assume the worst," Silverstream said. "I don't know what happened with Mayday, if that's why you're in a bad mood, but this was not what I was hoping for. I really want to put this rivalry aside. I know Rumble's arrogant, but I've seen for myself that he can still be the nice pony he was when we first met him."

"I'm starting to wonder if he even wants that for himself though," Sandbar said.

"Well, I've seen the potential, Rumble's actually been a great partner for me," Silverstream said. "It was a rough start, but he helped me get better at flying, he always gave me tips and he made sure I improved. It's thanks to him that I'm a Wonderbolt."

"You were both assigned together though, he probably only helped because it was for his own benefit, Sandbar said. "Face it, I don't think he really cares about you."

"Well, I think he does," Silverstream said, her tone becoming somber. "Anyway, I'm going to find our other friends, I'll see you later."

Silverstream quickly flew off, leaving Sandbar and Cozy Glow behind.

"Golly, something tells me she's not too happy now," Cozy Glow said. "And she's always in a happy mood."

"Yeah, maybe I was too hard, but I just want her to be careful around Rumble," Sandbar said.

"Speaking of Rumble, thanks for standing between me and him," Cozy Glow said. "He looked mad."

"Yeah, I won't let him intimidate you," Sandbar said, rubbing Cozy's mane. "You're my friend after all."

"You too," Cozy Glow said, looking up with admiration. "Also, you're not mad that I told Rumble about Gallus and Smolder being not so nice to Mayday, are you?"

"Probably should be more careful in the future but, I could tell you were just trying to get him off my back," Sandbar said. "Just try not to place blame on our other friends."

"Alright," Cozy Glow said. "What about Silverstream, should we go and check on her? I know you don't want her mad at you, and I'd hate to see your friendship fall apart."

"I don't think this is enough to break apart our Friendship," Sandbar said. "But we should go and check on her, it is the right thing to do."

"Ok, let's go!" Cozy Glow said, following Sandbar back to the school.

---

At the Apple Family farm, Rumble bravely trotted toward the front door to meet with his girlfriend, or at least hope to meet with her. He knocked and awaited an answer.

It wasn't long before the door opened, revealing Applejack, the mare not looking to happy, "Huh, so yer back."

"Hey Applejack, I became a Wonderbolt," Rumble nervously greeted.

"Good on you then," Applejack said, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Let me guess, you wanna see Apple Bloom."

"Well, yeah, I am kind of worried about her," Rumble said. "After all, she is...you know."

"Yes, I'm quite aware," Applejack said.

"Hey, I know I messed up but, I do want to make things right, that should count for something, shouldn't it?" Rumble asked.

"I'll give you that one, at least yer accepting responsibility, I'm just really disappointed this happened," Applejack said. "You two are too young to be expecting a baby."

"It worked out for Twilight, didn't it?" Rumble asked. "I mean, consider this. Apple Bloom still has a family like you to watch over her, and now I'm about to start my career as a Wonderbolt, so I can provide for her and the baby. So it works out."

"It ain't that simple, ah mean, yeah Twilight had a baby young, but it still wasn't easy fer her either, it's not exactly something she would condone or suggest fer another couple," Applejack said. "But you do make a point, at least a small one. Apple Bloom and her baby will be fine, we'll make sure of it. And if yer serious about providing then ah can respect that too."

"So...can I see her?" Rumble hopefully asked.

"Sure, just let me go get her," Applejack said. "You just wait here."

"Alright," Rumble said, taking a step back while Applejack went to get her little sister. Rumble tapped his hooves a bit, waiting for the arrival of his girlfriend.

"Howdy Rumble," came Apple Bloom's voice, getting Rumble's attention.

"Apple Bloom!" Rumble rushed over and greeted her with a kiss. "Oh I've been waiting so long to see you again, how are you feeling? How's the baby?"

"I'm fine, we both are," Apple Bloom said, taking a step back. "Uh listen, we got a lot to talk about, let's go to the Treehouse."

"Sure, anything for you," Rumble said, following his girlfriend into the Cutie Mark Crusader Treehouse, the two having a lot to discuss with one another.

---

Outside of town, observing from the distance was Discord, alongside two allies of his. Martin Li and the Pony of Shadows.

"There it is, Ponyville, home of Spider-Mane," Discord said. "Now, you know what to do."

"Why am I doing this? My quarry is with The Pillars of Equestria, not some spider powered pony," the Pony of Shadows said.

"You'll get access to the Pillars in due time, if you help me with this little mission, I'll help you find all the power you need to take revenge," Discord said. "I could really use you for my plans, but you do need to go through a little trial. Martin here will help you, after all, he has his own goals of defeating Spider-Mane."

"In addition, I will wipe out those other heroes in Manehattan, they will regret the day that they crossed me," Martin said.

"Then it works out, now go do what you have to do," Discord said, sending the two on their merry way. After a few moments, Discord turned to some nearby trees. "Alright, you're good to come out."

Emerging was the group of Adagio, Aria, Sonata, Shocker, Electro and Mysterio.

"So, why did you need us exactly?" Adagio asked.

"Martin Li and The Pony of Shadows are going into town to say 'hello' to Spider-Mane, I need you stand guard and keep an eye on things, report anything you might find," Discord said.

"That's it? You brought six of us out here to just, stand guard?" Shocker asked.

"Well yeah, that and I need you to find Cozy Glow, I've pinpointed the location of Grogar's Bell, and I want you to let her know that she's going on a Journey soon, with all of you," Discord said.

"What is the point of this bell?" Mysterio asked.

"It contains the power of the legendary villain, Gorgar, I believe with this bell's power, all of you can grow exponentially," Discord said. "In addition, this bell could theoretically weaken even the magic of the Princesses, it's an incredible magical artifact that I believe will work wonders for our plans."

"So this thing could make us stronger?" Adagio asked. "Huh, you've actually piqued my interest."

"Glad to hear, now go down and keep an eye on things, try to stay out of sight," Discord said. "For now I need to go and get that Alicorn Amulet, apparently it's being sold at some random vendor, who would have thought."

"Are we also getting that Pearl?" Sonata asked.

"Uh, hold off on that one, too tightly guarded at the moment," Discord said. "Shame too, it really could work wonders. But if Goku Black agrees to join our side, and I have a small feeling it could happen, then I don't think we'll have to worry too much about that issue."

"You sound confident," Shocker said. "Honestly with that guy's power, he could probably handle this invasion plan of yours himself."

"Oh, don't sell yourself short, all of you play a crucial part to my plan," Discord said. "After all, it's all about having fun more than total power."

"What the hell does that even mean?" Shocker asked.

"It means do your job for now and you'll figure it out later, ta-ta," Discord said, snapping away.

"I know it's been said before, but I still do not trust that guy," Aria said.

"Oh let him think he's still running the show, we'll make our own move soon enough," Adagio said.

"Adagio is correct, if we continue playing the part of his underlings a bit longer, we'll see the window of opportunity take the spotlight for ourselves, and then this world will be ours to rule," Mysterio said.

"Why stop there? Let's take over Earth too while we're at it," Electro said.

"We'll conquer all we want to soon, for now let's just go along with this silly plan," Adagio said.

In the town itself, Peter is swinging from rooftop to rooftop, keeping an eye on things. From one distance, he could see Lyra and Bon Bon near Sugarcube Corner, from another distance, he could see Cheerilee and Sugar Belle walking with some groceries, and in another distance, Tender Taps walking with a bunch of fillies, including Laura, Lightning Dust, Pumpkin Cake, Lily Valley, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

"Everything looks to be in top order here. Maybe I should try going down to Manehattan and see how Bobby's doing, or if anyone there has gotten any closer to finding Martin Li." Peter looked up and saw that some clouds were blocking the sun. "Huh, could have sworn that Rainbow Dash said Ponville was going to be sunny the next few days, guess even weather ponies can be wrong."

"MONSTER!" Came the voice of Golden Harvest, the mare seen running the opposite direction away from danger, along with some other ponies.

"Wait, monster!?" Peter looked ahead and saw a giant shadowy creature marching into town. "What in the world!?"

"Where is Spider-Mane!?" The Pony of Shadows shouted, stomping through town, crushing some vendors, including one being operated by Big Macintosh.

"Hey mister, those apples were fresh!" Big Mac shouted. This just resulted in the Pony of Shadows grabbing him in his hoof. "Uh-oh."

Big Mac got flung across town, where fortunately Peter was quick to leap up and catch the stallion, "Got ya bud!"

They landed safely down on the ground, Big Macintosh looking relieved, "Thanks Peter."

Peter nodded and turned to the direction of the Pony, "Listen, I just saw Cheerilee and Sugar Belle near the grocery store, get them and make a run for it. I'm gonna go fight this thing."

"Be careful, that is one strong pony," Big Macintosh said, dashing off to find his wife and friend.

Peter leapt onto the roof, just as the Pony of Shadows now had Vinyl Scratch in his hooves, "Where is Spider-Mane?"

"Dude! Not cool!" Vinyl Scratch shouted, trying to break free. Fortunately she was pulled away when Peter latched his webs onto her, bringing her to safety.

"You alright Vinyl?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, I'm good web-head," Vinyl said.

"Are you Spider-Mane!?" Pony of Shadows shouted.

"Get home Vinyl, I'm gonna drop this guy harder than you drop a bass," Peter said.

"Sounds sick, kick his ass Spider-Dude!" Vinyl said, quickly finding a safe path off the rooftop.

"Hey! Tall, Dark and Bulky!" Peter called. "Next time you have a request from a DJ, call in the old-fashioned way!"

"Spider-Mane, you are what stands between me and my goals!" The Pony of Shadows said. "I will defeat you!"

Suddenly the monster threw a punch that Peter narrowly dodged as he leapt back onto the ground, where the Pony of Shadows sent another attack, this one destroyed part of a house.

"Crap, I should move the fight, don't want too much property damage," Peter said.

"Danger!" Came the voice of a Patroller Robot, many more following, all shouting "Danger!"

"It's those robot things that Reed and Doc made," Peter said.

"Threat encountered, stand down or be subdued," a Patroller Robot said.

"Begone!" The Pony of Shadows whacked them all away. A few turned into Iron Stallion robots and tried attacking, briefly stunning the villainous pony before he whacked those away as well.

"Never leave a robot to do a hero's job!" Peter jumped and tried kicking the creature in the face, but he took a hit that knocked him through a house.

Peter sat up, shaking off the blow, then turned to see that he was in the house of Cherry Berry.

"Uh, what's going on?" the mare asked.

"Sorry, I'll get that fixed for you, after I beat this villain," Peter leapt out to face the Pony of Shadows once again.

As the shadowy creature stepped forward, he was blocked by Firestar, "I don't think so! Face the light!" She sent a heat blast at the Pony of Shadows, stunning him quite a bit.

"Great work Angel!" Peter called. However this was short lived as the Pony of Shadows punched her away. "Spoke too soon."

Peter leapt in again, webbing the monster in the face, trying to disorient it as he jumped in for a punch, clocking the monster. The Pony of Shadows quickly retaliated with a strong blow that knocked Peter into an oncoming Firestar, the two hitting the ground hard.

---

The disruption was felt from the distance as Twilight stepped out of her library along with Janet, Spike, Trixie and Susan.

"Something's happening," Twilight commented, flying up and seeing the same creature she saw once before. "The Pony of Shadows!"

"Pony of Shadows? You mean that monster you freed from Limbo?" Spike asked.

"Yes, and it looks like Peter and Angel are already fighting it," Twilight said.

"Then I guess we should join them," Janet said. "Come on Spike."

"Yeah, sure," Spike said. "Let's protect the town!"

"You coming Sue?" Janet asked.

"I would, but I'm not sure if I can actually help, I'm not registered in The Accords," Susan said.

"Oh right, that lousy rule," Janet said. "It's fine, technically I'm allowed to fight in Ponyville, so is Spike."

"We'll help Peter out," Spike said. "Let's hurry!"

As they dashed off, Susan turned her attention to Twilight, "Aren't you going to join them?"

"Maybe, but I do have a theory I need to test out, I'll need The Elements of Harmony first though," Twilight said. "Mind staying inside my house?"

"Sure, rule is that I can at least protect, I'll use my forcefield to keep your home safe," Susan said.

"Sounds good to me," Trixie said, dashing inside.

Twilight took to the air, "I'll be back!"

Susan nodded and quickly went inside, ready to protect this home whatever way she could.

---

Other heroes were ready to fight too, such as Deadpool, who grabbed his gear, "All of you stay safe! I'm gonna go find Pumpkin and bring her home, then I'm gonna kick that monster's ass!"

"Please be safe!" Pinkie called.

"We're counting on you to save our daughter Wade!" Carrot Cake called.

"I won't let anything bad happen to her!" Deadpool said, dashing off, ready to embark on a fight.

---

From the School of Friendship, Nightcrawler and several other X-Men were helping bring the students inside, each of them ready to protect the school as Jubilee looked to the distance.

"Should I do something?" Jubilee wondered.

"You are not registered to fight, but it should be fine," Nightcrawler said. "Peter is out there, and so are others."

"Last time you tried fighting, you found yourself in hot water," Smolder said. "Let Peter handle it."

"And me," Silverstream said, the newly established Wonderbolt ready to fight. "I'll protect Ponyville."

"Silverstream, wait, are you even allowed to fight?" Gallus said. "What about the rules?"

"Huh? But I gotta do something, I can't just let this creature ruin the town," Silverstream began to take off. "I'm sure that Tony Stark and Spitfire will understand. Time to save the world!"

"Silverstream!" Gallus called, unfortunately she was gone. "Well crap...That's probably not going to end well."

At Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack had seen what was happening in town, the girl becoming worried. "Big Macintosh is out there, so are Cheerilee and Sugar Belle!"

"I'll go bring them back," Remy said, passing her by. "You stay here with Granny Smith and keep the kids safe."

"No way, if yer going, then so am I!" Applejack said. "I'm not letting anything bad happen to mah brother or my friends!"

"You are one determined lady," Remy said. "I respect that, come on."

Also peeking out from the treehouse was Rumble, the boy certain that something bad was happening, "Silverstream..."

"Rumble..." Apple Bloom said, getting his attention. "You ain't gonna do anything reckless, are ya?"

"...No, but I am going to stop my partner from doing so," Rumble said, flying off and leaving his baby's mother behind.

"Be careful..." Apple Bloom said.

---

Even Logan looked ready to do something, the X-Men member stepping out of the cottage, "I'm gonna go find Laura and Lightning Dust."

"Just be careful, and try not to get into any trouble," Fluttershy urged.

"Can't make that promise, darling," Logan said, then dashed off into town, hoping to help put a stop to all this.

"Just be careful!" Fluttershy called.

---

Back in town, Peter and Firestar were fighting off the Pony of Shadows, hoping to get the villain away from the houses and more into the outskirts.

"Keep it up, at the very least we have to make sure the damage to town is minimized!" Peter said, webbing the monster back.

"I'm trying!" Firestar said, blasting it.

As they fought it off, Janet had shown up on top of a nearby roof, "Hey you big ugly jerk ward!" She flew in blasting at the Pony of Shadows. "You're not welcome in this town!"

Spike had also shown up, ready for a fight as he flew in and blasted the monster with his fire.

"Good, the back-up's here," Peter said. "Everyone, try to get him out of the village!"

"You got it Peter!" Janet continued to blast at The Pony of Shadows.

---

Not too far off, Silverstream was flying in herself, ready to fight, "My big moment!"

"Silverstream!" Rumble shouted, standing in front of her path.

"Rumble? What are you doing? We need to go fight that monster," Silverstream said.

"You know you can't do that, this isn't our town," Rumble said. "Our duty is to protect Mount Aris."

"Huh? But there's a monster here! We can't just let it destroy the town!" Silverstream said.

"Peter's taking care of it, this isn't our job," Rumble said.

"I thought you wanted to be a hero!" Silverstream said. "Would a hero just do nothing!?"

"I do want to be a hero, but part of that means following the rules, we can't just go and break them, that would be setting a bad example," Rumble said.

Silverstream couldn't believe her ears, she thought Rumble would understand this situation better, given his previous headstrong desires to rush into a fight, "Rumble, you always had this urge to fight villains, what happened?"

"Things are different now," Rumble said. "I need this Wonderbolts job to work, I can't risk any screw-ups! If I can't make this work then...things between me and Apple Bloom will be done for good."

"Huh? Wait, did something happen?" Silverstream asked.

Rumble shook his head, "It's nothing we can't work out, so don't worry about it."

"Well, you don't have to fight, but I want to," Silverstream said, about to fly past him, to which Rumble stopped her by grabbing her tail.

"I can't let you!" Rumble shouted, trying to pull her back.

"Rumble, let go!" Silverstream shouted, pulling her tail back. "Look, I know it would make you look bad if something happened to me but-"

"It's not that," Rumble said. "I...just don't want you to lose this. You worked really hard, and I'm actually really proud of you. Being a Wonderbolt made you so happy, and I can't stand the idea of you losing this because you acted recklessly."

"Rumble..." Silverstream sympathized.

"Don't you get it? I'm trying to make sure you don't screw up like I did! Now stop being stupid and just do as I say!" Rumble shouted. "I'm not letting a friend of mine mess things up for herself!"

Silverstream's eyes widened, her smile grew, "You called me your friend!"

"Well, yeah, you are," Rumble admitted. "As your friend, you need to-"

Suddenly Silverstream pulled him into a hug, a tight one at that, "You made me so happy! I knew this day would come!"

"Silverstream, now's not the time to-" Rumble could see a large piece of roof coming. "Watch out!"

The two took a blow that knocked them out of the air, the two hitting the ground hard right near a trio of familiar ponies.

"Is that Rumble!?" Sweetie Belle said, taking note of the injured boy.

"Oh no! Rumble!" Scootaloo rushed over to check on him. "Dinky! Sweetie Belle! Find some help!"

"Uh, right," Dinky said. "Come on Sweetie Belle, hurry!"

As the two fillies dashed off, Scootaloo could see that Silverstream was also hurt. "She's here too?"

"Silverstream..." Rumble pulled himself up, seeing his partner on the ground, her wing a little bent. "No! Silverstream!"

Despite his pain, he went to check on his partner, to the surprise of Scootaloo, "Huh, never expected you to be concerned about one of Sandbar's friends."

"She's not just his friend, she's mine too," Rumble said, stroking her head. "Damn, I shouldn't have let this happen. I'm supposed to protect my partner."

"She'll be fine," Scootaloo said, at least she hoped. "Let's get you two to safety while the heroes beat up that monster."

"Yeah, of course," Rumble said.

---

Meanwhile Laura was trying to lead her group to safety, "Hurry, the Cottage is this way! It should be far away enough out of town!"

Suddenly a rock landed on a nearby roof, knocking some debris off and nearly falling on the ponies.

"Watch out!" Diamond Tiara shouted.

Fortunately the rocks were quickly destroyed, to the confusion of the ponies. Things became less confusing when Scott in his Ant Man gear grew back into normal size. "The rest of you keep running, I gotta keep the other ponies safe."

"Thanks dude," Laura said. "Come on! Hurry up!"

Scott quickly dashed off, looking for other ponies to protect, "I may not be registered, but I can still help!"

"Yo! Lang!" Deadpool said. "Have you seen Pumpkin Cake?"

"Yeah, she's with Laura," Scott explained. "She's taking her to Fluttershy's cottage."

"At least she's safe," Deadpool turned to the direction of the Pony of Shadows. "Logan will keep her safe, I gotta stop that guy."

Meanwhile Remy and Applejack had finally caught up with Big Macintosh, Cheerilee and Sugar Belle, the couple relieved to see the others safe.

"Glad you're alright, big brother," Applejack said.

"Ah almost wasn't, thankfully Peter was there to help, otherwise I'd be in a body cast, or worst," Big Macintosh said.

"Let's get you and the ladies to safety," Remy said, then heard the monster. "Wow, this is getting bad."

"Come on, y'all," Applejack said, leading her brother and sister-in-law away. However Sugar Belle noticed that Remy wasn't moving.

"Remy, what's wrong?" Sugar Belle asked.

"Go with my wife," Remy said, readying his Bo Staff. "I got to handle this mess.

Remy dashed off, leaving Sugar Belle behind. "Remy! Oh no..." She was about to go with Applejack, but she was too worried about her mentor and friend. “Wait up Remy!" She followed him into battle.

As Remy got close, one robot tried blocking his path, "You are not registered to do battle, please-"

"Can it," Remy tapped the robot to fill it with kinetic energy and then whacked it into the air, letting it explode. "Piece of junk."

Back at the fight, the heroes were close to getting the Pony of Shadows out of town, hoping to really bring the fight to him then.

"Come on, we got this! Let's beat this guy!" Peter said.

Each of the heroes took turns attacking, Janet with her lasers, Spike with his fire, Firestar with her heat blasts, Deadpool with his swords and Peter with his webs.

Remy and Sugar Belle eventually arrived at the sight of the battle, given the monster was far away enough out of town, they figured this was their chance to really go all out.

"Pick a card!" Remy shouted, sending a bunch of exploding cards at the Pony of Shadows.

Sugar Belle rushed over and blasted him in the face, putting some precision practice she did with Remy to use. "Here's an order of justice for you!"

"Remy? Sugar Belle too? Peter noticed. "Hope Tony won't mind, eh, he doesn't need to know anyway."

As the heroes continued fighting, Martin stood nearby, using his magic to secretly power the Pony of Shadows. "Yes, destroy Spider-Man, along with his pitiful friends. I shall rule again soon enough. For now, Stygian, use your anger, let it take over and crush those in the way!"

"Uh, what are you doing?" Came the voice of a nearby girl. Martin turned to see Autumn Blaze. "Are you...powering that monster? Are you manipulating his anger!?"

"Who are you!?" Martin asked.

"You look so weird too! Wait, are you a Nirik!?" Autumn Blaze asked. "And you're trying to destroy the world with anger! That's not very nice pal!"

"Away with you, before you get hurt," Martin warned.

"Oh, someone's definitely getting hurt, and it's you!" Autumn Blaze shouted, her own Nirik form taking hold.

"What in the world?" Martin asked, then took a headbutt from Autumn Blaze.

"I won't let you hurt Peter! Or any of his friends you big bully!" Autumn tried attacking again but Martin leapt aside.

"This is a bit troubling, what is this creature meant to be?" Martin wondered. Autumn tried attacking again, but Martin summoned his naginata and blocked her incoming attack, then parried and punched the Kirin away with a mighty blow.

Peter's sense went off, alerting him to Martin's presence. "Mister Negative spotted!"

"Mister Negative!?" Firefly turned to see Martin, the villain noticing that he had been found out.

"Damn, my position got compromised," Martin said, generating a lot of power. "No matter, a little something for the road!"

He sent all the magic he could at the Pony of Shadows, powering him up and making him much more aggressive.

Peter's sense was going off the charts, this creature was not messing around, "Everyone, be careful!"

As the Pony of Shadows stomped around, Martin quickly made his escape, "I'll come back to confirm your destruction, Spider-Man. After that, your precious town is next on my list of cities to take over."

The Pony of Shadows slammed down, trying to crush any hero in his path as each of them quicky leapt out of harm's way, trying to avoid his path of destruction.

"We gotta slow this guy down!" Remy shouted, throwing some cards at his face.

"How? He's too strong!" Sugar Belle said, trying to distract him with literal mud pies.

Firestar gathered a bunch of energy, blasting the Pony of Shadows, trying to weaken him with her powers when it let out a huge shockwave that knocked all the opposing heroes back.

"I will not allow any of you to defeat me!" The Pony of Shadows said. "I will destroy Spider-Man! And the Pillars of Equestria!"

"Why do you hate the Pillars dude!? Weren't they your friends once!?" Peter asked.

"They were...until they betrayed me!" The Pony of Shadows shouted, punching Peter back into town, the villain in pursuit.

"No! Don't let him destroy the city!" Spike called.

Deadpool leapt onto a roof, throwing grenades at the beast, then took a whack from the monster as he continued following Peter into town.

"Danger!" More Patroller Robots showed up, trying to slow the monster town, all of them getting whacked away as he maneuvered through town.

This was noticed from a distance by the students and teachers at Twilight's school, many of them growing nervous.

"What should we do?" Toola Roola asked.

"Is there anywhere for us to hide?" Coconut Cream wondered.

Ocellus continued to look around, "I can't find Sandbar or Cozy Glow! What if they're hurt."

"I'll go look for them," Nightcrawler said. "Jubilee, you and the others keep the students safe."

Without waiting another second, Nightcrawler teleported away, leaving everyone behind.

"Come on everyone! We need to...Ocellus!" Jubilee saw that the young Changeling flew off, "What's she thinking? Kitty watch the students! I'm gonna get Ocellus back!"

"Be careful!" Kitty urged. "Gallus, Smolder, Yona, come on, quickly."

"Yeah, sure," Smolder said, worryingly glancing at Ocellus's direction.

In addition, Starlight was also seen heading toward the danger, hoping to keep the school and her friends safe, but also wanting to see The Pony of Shadows up close.

Peter got smacked toward her direction, Starlight using her magic to catch him, "Got you Peter!"

"Whoa, thanks," Peter said, leaping down. "Man, that guy's mad."

"What could he want with this town?" Starlight wondered.

"It's not the town he wants, it's me, he wants revenge on the Pillars," Peter explained.

"Revenge? What for?" Starlight asked.

"Something about them betraying him," Peter said. "I don't know what that could mean though."

"Well, maybe we can talk things out," Starlight said. "Maybe it's just a big misunderstanding, I mean Starswirl wouldn't just betray him for no reason, would he?"

"I can't be sure," Peter said, then heard some yelling.

"Put him down!"

"That sounded like Cozy Glow!" Peter said.

Indeed, the Pony of Shadows had Sandbar in his hooves, "You dare to stand in my way!?"

"I just wondered why you were attacking Peter! And this town!" Sandbar shouted.

Cozy Glow flew in front of the face of the Pony of Shadows, "You let my friend go! Do you have any idea who you're messing with!?"

"Out of the way!" The Pony of Shadows smacked Cozy Glow aside.

"NO!" Sandbar shouted, then glared at the Pony of Shadows. "That's crossing the line!"

"Don't worry, you'll be joining her soon, both of you will endure this town's destruction together!" The Pony of Shadows said.

"Sandbar!" Nightcrawler teleported and grabbed the boy from the beast's hoof, bringing him safely to the ground. "I got you."

"Insolence!" The Pony of Shadows smacked Nightcrawler hard, knocking him away.

The mutant flew past an oncoming Ocellus, the girl turning toward his attention, "Kurt!" She flew to him and saw that his watch was malfunctioning, and his form changing shape. To her surprise, what she saw was not the pony version of the X-Men member, but rather a Changeling.

"My head..." Nightcrawler rubbed his forehead when he noticed his differently shaped hoof. "My watch!" He quickly fixed his watch to send him back to his pony form, relieved he got that fixed when he noticed Ocellus ahead, the girl looking surprised by what she had seen. He knew he had been found out, "Oh no..."

"Kurt?" Ocellus asked in confusion, then was immediately distracted by the shouting from the Pony of Shadows.

Starlight used her magic to try and restrain him, but he powered through, knocking her back as Peter readied to fight. Suddenly fire came from the sky, hitting the beast.

"Yo Peter! Back-up is coming!" Came the voice of the fire's source, Johnny.

"Back-up, where?" Peter asked, then dodged a blow.

"Just help me slow him down!" Johnny shouted, sending more fire the way of the Pony of Shadows as soon the other heroes caught up and helped in any way they could.

Starlight shook off her blow, then noticed that Twilight had returned, and not alone. She was with not only her friends, but also the rest of the Pillars. "You're back!"

"Don't worry, I have a way to stop this," Twilight said, placing a crown on her head while her friends applied their necklaces. Even the Pillars brought out some artifacts of their own.

"Are those...The Elements of Harmony?" Starlight asked.

"It's been a while since we've needed these, but they can theoretically seal away The Pony of Shadows," Twilight said.

"But wait, if you do that, what's gonna happen to Stygian?" Starlight asked.

"He chose this path, this is his price to pay," Starswirl said. "We have little tolerance for those who threaten the order of harmony."

"Hey wait up though," Peter said, trying to get Starswirl's attention. "If there's a way to reason with him, we should take it."

"Enough, Twilight, do what you must," Starswirl said.

Each of the magical items blasted The Pony of Shadows, as they tried pushing him back into Limbo.

"No! I will not lose to you again!" Pony of Shadows said, struggling to break free.

"Keep pushing! We'll be done with him in no time!" Starswirl ordered.

"Wait!! There's gonna be a..." Peter then noticed a pony trying to escape the beast form. "I see somepony?"

"Could it be Stygian?" Starlight wondered.

The pony again tried to escape; however the darkness was pulling him back in. Something about this reminded Peter of the Symbiote, and he wondered if this was just a similar situation. Peter kept his eye open as as the pony once again placed his foreleg out, Peter used his webs to grab him.

"I got you pal!" Peter said, trying to pull Stygian out.

"Peter!" Starlight used her magic like a lasso to help Peter, using it to drag Stygian away from the Darkness.

"Hey! Peter and Starlight are doing something!" Rainbow Dash said.

"They're trying to save somepony," Rarity said.

"Then we have to help, keep weakening the monster!" Twilight ordered as the magic continued, this time further powered by Friendship.

As the Pony of Shadows tried fighting them off, it found itself getting attacked by the other heroes, each of them attacking in their own ways until the monster was weak enough to be pushed into the Limbo while Peter and Starlight pulled Stygian to safety.

"Yes! We did it!" Rainbow Dash cheered.

"And we saved that Pony," Fluttershy added.

"Double bonus!" Rainbow Dash said.

Peter seemed relieved that the threat was over and that he could save an innocent pony from potentially being banished. "Great work everyone."

"How's the Pony doing?" Rarity asked.

Peter looked to Stygian, the pony looking out of it, "He's fine, probably just exhausted."

"The poor dear," Rarity said.

"Poor dear? He rampaged this town, nothing poor about him," Starswirl said.

"It wasn't him, it was that monster," Peter said. "Stygian was probably being mind controlled or something."

"It was no mind control, he allowed himself to be covered in that darkness, he chose this path, and he must pay the consequences," Starswirl said, taking a step forward.

Peter stood in Starswirl's path, "Back off before I knock you back to Middle Earth."

"Peter..." Twilight worriedly stated.

Stygian slowly regained some sense of awareness, taking note of his surroundings, "Where am I?" He turned to the Pillars, "Starswirl?"

"Stygian..." Starswirl said. "I am very disappointed in you."

"As am I," came the voice of Carol Danvers, the woman descending down with some guards. "Looks like the problem has been resolved. Time for you to answer for your transgressions. Take him away."

"Wait, hold on!" Peter urged. "Don't get carried away, we can figure this out. Just let him compose himself, he's been through a very traumatic experience."

"He'll have all the time to compose himself in a cell," Carol said.

"Whoa easy there Carol," Johnny said. "I think you need to slow your role."

"Weren't you on Probation? Yet you came to fight when you know you shouldn't have?" Carol asked.

"That's really none of your business," Johnny said.

"Tell that to Spitfire, Rainbow Dash got a temporary pass, but you didn't," Carol said. "Speaking of which, a Patroller Robot recently went offline, and it was scanning Gambit if I recall."

"Gambit?" Peter said, turning to the Cajun fighter.

"Can't deny that, stupid thing wasn't gonna let me do my job," Remy said.

"So not only did you destroy the robot, but you also directly violated The Accords," Carol said. "You know the rules of the Accords, don't you?"

"That monster was threatening my town, so I took action," Remy said. "If that makes me a bad guy, well you really gotta work on that definition."

"Explain it to Tony Stark," Carol turned to the guards. "Arrest him too."

"Wait hold up!" Applejack shouted. "I don't want any of you near mah husband!"

"Be quiet or you're next," Carol warned.

"What was that?" Applejack trotted over, getting in Carol's face. "Lady, while you were off kicking yer dang hooves up, the rest of us were trying to save a town. So I'd watch yer tone if I were you."

"Guards, get this country hick out of my face," Carol said, then turned to Sugar Belle. "Detain her too."

"Wait, why me!?" Sugar Belle asked.

"You are a trainee, not certified to do battle, you violated the Accords as well," Carol said. "Detain her guards."

"Carol!" Twilight shouted. "This is not proper! You can't just decide these things!"

"Take it up with Tony Stark and Princess Luna," Carol said.

"Oh I will!" Twilight said, then turned to the guards. "As for you-"

"Remember Twilight, even you have no authority against them, it's the rules of the Accords," Carol said. "Even Celestia can't make excuses. Also guards, Johnny Storm broke the rules too, so arrest him."

"The hell are you talking about!?" Johnny shouted.

"Johnny!" Rainbow Dash shouted in concern.

"Carol, they just saved the town, don't treat them like crooks!" Peter said.

"Set a better example Peter, you don't want your kids to think being a delinquent is excusable," Carol said.

"Hey, don't bring my kids into this!" Peter warned.

"Peter, it's fine," Johnny said. "We'll go to Canterlot and resolve this and be back doing what we do best.”

"Let's go," The guards said as they escorted those under arrest to Canterlot.

"Now, I believe there were two Wonderbolts here, ones that were assigned for Mount Aris,” Carol said.

"Right here ma'am," Rumble said, getting Carol's attention as he assisted Silverstream. "My partner's hurt."

"Silverstream!" Sandbar shouted, rushing over to her. "Hey, how bad is it?

"It's just a sprain, I think," Silverstream said. "Nothing feels broken."

Sandbar turned to Rumble, "What did you do to her!?"

"I didn't do anything to her, stupid, she got hurt by the monster!" Rumble said.

"You weren't fighting, were you?" Carol asked.

"No ma'am, we came to town to get our stuff to move, when the monster attacked, we let the assigned heroes fight and stayed out of their way," Rumble said. "Silverstream got injured when a piece of a roof hit us."

"Better not have used her as a shield," Sandbar said.

"I wouldn't do that to her!" Rumble shouted. "You need to grow up dude!"

"You're one to talk," Sandbar said.

"Enough! Rumble, for now, get Silverstream to a doctor, just to be sure," Carol said.

"I'll take her," Sandbar said.

"Uh no, she's my partner, I'll take her," Rumble said. "You go back to doing whatever."

"She's my friend though!" Sandbar said.

"She's mine too!" Rumble said. "Honestly she's too good to be your friend anyway!"

"Rumble, please, no more fighting," Silverstream said. "You too Sandbar. Just let Rumble take me, he needs to get checked up too."

"Fine...I gotta find Cozy Glow anyway," Sandbar said, frustratingly trotting off.

Rumble shook his head in annoyance, "What a tool, Silverstream's better off on my side than on his." He turned to Silverstream, "Come on, let's get you checked out."

"Sure...hey where did Scootaloo go?" Silverstream asked.

"I think she went to check on her house, make sure her family's alright," Rumble said.

Carol began taking to the skies, "I'm returning to The Crystal Empire. Peter, I suggest you stop letting your emotions get in the way of doing the right thing."

As she flew off, Peter grumbled in annoyance, trying to think this over. "I was hoping Stark wouldn't find out. Thankfully they don't know about Autumn...Crap, I gotta find her and make sure she's alright, she took a really bad blow."

"Did someone else break the rules?" Starswirl asked.

"Not your concern," Peter said and left to find Autumn.

"Eh, it makes no difference to me anyway," Starswirl said. "Perhaps her injury is punishment enough."

"Starswirl, I really don't think what you did was the right move," Twilight said. "I mean, I really think you and Stygian should work things out."

"You have so much to learn," Starswirl said. "It's like Carol Danvers said, allowing emotions to impede on your decision making will lead to nothing but travesty. Please take my advice young one, I do not wish you to fall into a trap."

Starswirl teleported himself and his pillars away, Starlight looking very disappointed. "Some role model you found yourself Twilight. Apparently making a mistake means being judged for life, by his logic, I'm still one of the villains."

"I'll fix this," Twilight insisted. "I hope so."

Moments later, she got a spell call from Sunset Shimmer, "Hey, Twilight? Are you there?"

"Oh, hi Sunset, how are your travels? And your training?" Twilight asked.

"Awesome, I saw that fast hedgehog from when we visited Sega the other day," Sunset said. "He and Mega Man spent a lot of time catching up too."

"That's great," Twilight said. "How about your training? You told me that Ryu and his friends were giving you martial arts lessons."

"Oh they all are, they even brought guests from other worlds, and let me tell you, it is hard!" Sunset said. "Sometimes it feels like my body is going to fall apart, but it's so worth it because I feel like I'm getting stronger."

"I'd love to hear about it..." Twilight said, sounding a bit sad.

"Hey, is something wrong?" Sunset asked.

"It's...complicated," Twilight said.

"Well, tell me about it, get it off your chest," Sunset said, as she and Twilight prepared for discussion.

Also observing everything nearby were Susan and Derpy, the two having left Twilight's house to see the aftermath of everything.

"So, my brother got arrested for doing his job, along with his friends," Susan said. "And a pony who could use help is just branded a villain, and I thought my world was flawed."

"Guess there is no such thing as a perfect world," Derpy said.

A Patroller Robot passed by the two scanning them both," Muffins, Civilian. No Violations thus far. Susan Storm, Hero Name, Invisible Woman, Status, Unregistered. No violations thus far."

"It called you Invisible Woman instead of Invisible Mare? Derpy asked.

"Probably an oversight, or since Reed made it, he subconsciously programmed my Earth name into it," Susan said. "Surprised it called you Muffins."

"Well Doc made it, so he would use my real name," Derpy said. "It's a fitting name for me, I love muffins. But I prefer Derpy, Doc said it's cuter and more whimsical."

"It is," Susan said, turning back to the robot. "Still, I can't believe Reed would make that, I mean he hates things like that, and I do too. It reminds me of the Doombots in Latveria."

"Doc mentioned that Reed was uncomfortable, he kept talking about a guy named 'Victor'," Derpy said. "Doc had to reassure him that it's not entirely the same, that it's for protection, and not oppression."

"Implying that protection and oppression are total opposites," Susan said. "When Ben found out, he was very disappointed in Reed, and after what happened to Johnny just now, well let's say he probably won't be keeping his opinions to himself much longer."

None of this went unnoticed by Logan, the established warrior looking up at the guards escorting their prisoners filling him with mistrust. "Something weird's happening, I sure as hell don't like it."

---

Nearby, Cozy Glow was trying to recompose after her attack from the Pony of Shadows, "Discord better not have sent that stupid thing or I'm gonna-"

"Hey Cozy Glow!" Adagio said, startling the filly.

"Don't DO that!" Cozy Glow shouted. "You scared the daylights out of me!"

"You're such a wuss," Adagio said. "Anyway, sounds like you met The Pony of Shadows. Too bad he lost."

"Like I care," Cozy Glow said.

"Well Discord won't be too pleased, but at least it led to some interesting developments," Adagio said.

"Anyway, what are you even doing here? The invasion thing isn’t starting yet, is it?" Cozy Glow asked.

"Not yet, we just wanted a bit of fresh air," Adagio said.

"We?" Cozy Glow asked.

"Hi Cozy!" Sonata said, getting her attention as the others also made their presence known.

"How many of you are here?" Cozy Glow asked.

"Just us six," Electro said. "Also, Discord has a message for you."

"We're going to find Grogar's bell," Aria said.

"Including you," Shocker added.

"That bell again, I read about it in Twilight's Library, it seems like a myth though," Cozy Glow said.

"Well apparently it's not a myth, Discord found it, and it can give incredible power," Adagio said.

"We shall use it to give out a performance of grand magnitude," Mysterio said. "You, Cozy Glow, can be a shining star."

"I do like the sound of that," Cozy Glow said.

"Cozy!" Called Sandbar. "Cozy Glow, where are you!?"

"Oh, that sounds like Sandy," Cozy Glow said.

"Who?" Electro asked.

"One of my friends, actually more like one of my crushes," Cozy Glow said. "He's cute but I can't decide between him and Rumble."

"Aw, that's so cute, nothing like young love," Sonata said.

"Sounds like a pain in the ass," Electro said.

"Cozy Glow!" Sandbar called again.

"I should go find him before he gets worried," Cozy Glow said. "Just let me know when you go find this silly bell of yours."

"Sure thing kid," Adagio said as Cozy Glow made her exit. "Wonder why Discord even wants that girl anyway?"

"How did she even find out about Tirek?" Electro wondered.

"Ask later, we must return to Tartarus, discreetly too," Mysterio said.

"Right, back to that hell hole," Aria said as the villains made their leave.

As Cozy Glow went to find Sandbar, she came across another familiar filly, one who looked surprised.

"Cozy Glow!" Sweetie Belle said. "At least you're safe."

"Hi Sweetie Belle, didn't expect to see you here," Cozy Glow said.

"I came by to see if anyone was hurt, especially Peter," Sweetie Belle said, then noticed some scuffs on Cozy Glow. "Oh, are you hurt?"

"Maybe a wittle, but Sandy will make me feel better," Cozy Glow said. "But if you want to help, I won't say 'no'."

"Aw, you're so cute sometimes," Sweetie Belle said, stroking Cozy's cheek. "Scratch that, you're always cute."

"Thanks, so are you," Cozy Glow said.

"Want me to take care of those bruises for you?" Sweetie Belle asked. "I'm somewhat good with first aid, I've seen my sister do it for my brother-in-law."

"Sure, that sounds great," Cozy Glow said.

"Hey! Cozy Glow!" Sandbar said, finally catching up to her. "There you are, I was so worried."

"I'm fine Sandy," Cozy Glow said.

"Yeah, I was gonna take her back home and get her cleaned up," Sweetie Belle said. "How about you? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," Sandbar said. "I just wanted to make sure Cozy Glow was safe."

"I love it when you worry about me," Cozy Glow said, flying up to kiss Sandbar on the cheek. "You're the best."

"It's nothing," Sandbar said, bashfully rubbing his head. "Well if you want Sweetie Belle to patch you up, then I guess that's fine. Just come straight back to the dorms afterwards."

"I will," Cozy Glow said.

Sandbar turned his attention to Sweetie Belle, "And Sweetie Belle, make sure she comes back better than before, not worse."

The stallion left, leaving Sweetie Belle confused, "What was that about?"

"Oh he's just protective of me, it's really sweet," Cozy Glow said.

"Are you two dating?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"No, not yet," Cozy Glow said. "I do like him, but I worry that I'm too young for him. I like Rumble too, but he has his own love problems."

"Oh, well if I were you, I'd stick with Sandbar," Sweetie Belle said. "I don't think your age is that much of an issue, and it's definitely less complicated than with Rumble, plus he already likes you and you two are already friends, so it's easier."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Cozy Glow said.

---

A bit later at Canterlot castle, Johnny, Remy, Applejack, Sugar Belle and Stygian were placed before Tony, Spitfire and Luna, all of them ready to pass judgement on what they had done.

"Alright let's see here, Stygian, according to Starswirl, you used ancient magic to try and destroy The Pillars out of sheer jealousy, is that right?" Tony asked.

"I suppose there was a hint of resentment toward my former allies," Stygian said.

"And the rest of you violated The Accords, especially Rule Three," Tony said. "Only Registered Heroes are allowed to do battle."

"Uh, I didn't violate the rules, I'm registered," Johnny said.

"Ah didn't violate any rules either, technically Rule Five saves me," Applejack said. "Ah was sent to Ponyville because only ah could use mah Element of Harmony."

"Alright, so only Gambit and Sugar Belle made violations," Tony said. "Still, you two broke rules of your own."

"Yeah, you violated your probation," Spitfire said as she trotted towards Johnny. "My rule for that is, you're done!"

"I'm done?" Johnny asked.

"I'm firing you from The Wonderbolts," Spitfire said.

"You're firing me?" Johnny asked. "Wow, I can't even say that I'm mad too, honestly this is great, I don't to put up with your stupid bullshit. Hell, I no longer must follow these stupid rules that you bunch of whackjobs instilled upon this world. I mean, getting mad at heroes for rescuing people? Wow, such an amazing concept, isn't it? I mean, imagine what this'll do to Earth, hopefully your crap won't mess that place up like you're trying to do to Equestria!"

"You have quite the mouth on you, don't you Matchstick?" Spitfire said.

"Well gee, at least we're still close enough to use our nicknames," Johnny taunted as he tossed away his goggles. "This is fine by me, honestly I don't even need The Wonderbolts. The Wonderbolts need me, without me you're back to being a bunch of losers who've barely done anything heroic since you became captain, Spitfire."

"Big talk, remember, your wife is still under our rule," Spitfire warned.

Johnny immediately began to fire up, "Do anything to her, and-"

Luna used her magic to restrain him, "Enough Torch! You're disgracing yourself."

"What is with you Luna, this ain't like you," Applejack said. "I mean, you used to be so friendly. Now all of a sudden yer letting Tony Stark and Spitfire get in yer head. Even worse, you let that tramp Carol Danvers take over too."

"Applejack, it is a shame to see you here, I expected so much better from you," Luna said.

"Tony, this is ridiculous," Came the voice of Daredevil.

"You're still here?" Tony asked. "I figured you'd be off consoling Elektra."

"Huh? What happened?" Johnny asked.

"Elektra was fired by Tony, apparently he wasn't fond of how she did her job," Daredevil said. "Some of those Patroller Robots caught her in a bad light."

"And now she's on her way back to Earth, banished from this realm," Tony said. "It was my fault really; I don't know what I was thinking in hiring that nut."

"She may have been flawed, but she still got the job done," Daredevil said. "At the very least, she protected innocent ponies."

"Are you really going to stand there and defend her actions? I mean I know you're friends, but even you have to admit she was not a good fit," Tony said. "Honestly, I paired you two together because I thought you could get through to her, but she had you wrapped around her fingers worse than Felicia Hardy did with Peter."

"Speaking of Felicia Hardy, how goes her unfair imprisonment, did she even get a proper trial?" Daredevil asked. "It's one thing to fire her, but throwing her in a cell, to this day, over a mistake is crossing the line."

"Look, I don't have time for this, just take the first train back to Manehattan, you still have a job to do," Tony said. "Or would you rather just go back to Earth? Your call."

"I know where I am needed," Daredevil said, then turned to the others. "I wish you all the best of luck."

"We'll be fine," Johnny insisted.

"Guards, escort them to their cells, we will finish this later," Luna said.

"Yes ma'am," the guards said, and escorted their prisoners away.

Tony looked a bit bothered by this, despite how tough he sounded before, even he wondered how well these Accords were working out. It isn't his goal to prevent heroism, he just wants control, and as the creator of The Accords, he must abide by the rules he created.

"It'll ll work out Tony, just keep at it, The Accords can work!"

Not too far off, Steve had overheard everything that happened. If Celestia were still in complete control, this could have gone better. Just recently she was placed on vacation leave, at Tony Stark's insistence, with help from Luna and Spitfire, all of them saying she needs to clear her head.

Steve still remembers Celestia's order about Freedom, and now was as good of a chance to take it. He was done with these rules, they were not working, and if words weren't going to work on Tony, then action would.

Down at the cell area, many of the prisoners there took note of the new residents, especially one very familiar.

"No way..." Felicia commented. "Johnny? Remy? Applejack?"

"Huh?" Sandman turned to see them as well. "What's going on?"

"Get the keys," one guard said.

As he searched through the keys, Steve had made his way down, alerting the guards to his presence.

"Sir, did you need anything? a guard asked. His question was answered when Steve threw his shield at a guard's head, which rebounded and hit the other guards, knocking them all out, surprising everyone present.

"Cap!? What what’s going on!?" Johnny asked.

Steve grabbed his shield, searching for the keys, "Freedom." He used the key to unlock Felicia's cell. "Come on."

"Wait, are you freeing me!?" Felicia asked.

"Halt!" Came the voice of a Patroller Robot as it transformed.

"Damn, let's hurry!" Steve said, using his shield to whack the robot back. Soon more began to come and sounded some alarms.

"Prisoners Escaping! Prisoners Escaping!"

"This way!" Steve said, leading the ponies away. Felicia noticed the keys to her cell were still attached. She quickly grabbed them and followed Cap, but not before tossing them to Taskmaster.

"Thank Captain America for your Freedom!" Felicia called.

Taskmaster grabbed the keys, a devious look on his face, "Payback time..."

Steve led his group through the castle, several guards alerted to this situation as they pursued the escaped captives.

"Keep going!" Steve ordered, stopping a moment to use his shield to knock out several guards. In the middle of the rebounds, he grabbed a radio, "Bucky, Sam, it's time!"

As the prisoners kept running, more guards surrounded them. Before they could fight, one guard got knocked out by Bucky's metal arm, and the other was grabbed by Sam and tossed into a bunch of other guards like bowling pins.

"This way!" Sam ordered, leading the heroes away.

"Wait, did Cap plan all this?" Johnny asked.

"Sort of," Sam said. "He suspected this could happen.

"Sure did," Bucky said, then saw a familiar friend of his. "Hey Sugar Belle, how's it going?"

"Fine...hey where are Party Favor and Double Diamond?" Sugar Belle asked.

"In the Courtyard training with Thunderlane, no doubt they're gonna be alerted to this, but I doubt they'll try anything," Bucky said.

"Keep running!" Steve said, escorting everyone out while more guards and Patroller Robots followed after them.

The situation eventually found its way to Tony, the Avenger not looking too happy, "What the hell is going on!?"

"The prisoners escaped! Captain Equestria is feeling with them!” A guard said.

"He’s doing WHAT!?" Tony shouted, then grabbed a radio. "Clint! Natasha! Vision! Find Steve and apprehend him!"

"Uh, did you say 'Steve'?" Hawkeye asked. "As in Steve Rogers?"

"Yes, find him and apprehend him! He's assisting in a jailbreak!" Tony shouted.

"This doesn't add up, why would Steve do something like that?" Natasha asked.

"I don't freaking know! Just find him!" Tony ordered, then turned off the radio. "Did any of the prisoners escape?"

"AAAAHHHH!" A guard shouted.

Nearby, sand was filling up the halls as many of the guards were knocked out by Flint Marko. Many of the other villains were knocking out the guards while Taskmaster led them to freedom.

"Come on guys, we gotta help Cap," Taskmaster ordered.

"Why though? Since when do we care about Cap?" Scorpion asked.

"Well for starters, I respect the guy, and Flint here's an old pal of Cap," Taskmaster said. "Plus I just want to wipe that stupid smirk off the face of Stark and his buddies."

"Is that so!?" Tony said, walking over and activating his Iron Stallion suit with Luna by his side. "Come and try it."

"Oh I'm gonna enjoy this!" Taskmaster said. "For victory!"

The villains charged in to attack Tony and Luna, both ready to fight them off while Spitfire had gone to find Steve.

By this point, the group had escaped to the outside, and Spitfire was close behind. "Cap!"

Despite her speed, she was unable to dodge as Steve immediately tossed his shield and whacked Spitfire in the face, stunning her as Johnny flew in with a kick to his former boss.

"Loved that," Johnny said.

"Let's hurry!" Steve said, leading them out of the city.

Hawkeye landed on a nearby roof, aiming his bow and arrow, "Sorry Steve, but rules are rules."

Suddenly he took a hit to the back of the head, courtesy of Elektra, the woman having used her Sais to do so. "Good thing I didn't leave yet. Things are just about to get interesting."

"Elektra!" Natasha rushed over to attack, Elektra doing her best to fight off the talented spy.

Meanwhile Vision was flying overhead, something noted by Stygian. "Sir! There's another problem!"

Steve looked up and spotted the problem, "Vision." He held up his shield just as Vision fired his laser beam.

"Sugar Belle, lift that manhole cover," Remy instructed.

"Got it," Sugar Belle used her magic to lift it, Remy using his powers to activate it.

"Quick, fling it in his direction," Remy ordered, Sugar Belle doing so as the cover exploded, knocking Vision out of the air.

"Is he dead?" Felicia asked.

"That won't be enough to destroy him, but it will buy us time, let's hurry!" Remy said, the team finally escaping the city.

"Where are we going now?" Felicia asked.

"We'll go to Rainbow Falls, it's not too populated and The Accords don't reach there," Steve said. "Come on!"

"Ooh, that's gonna be a trip," Johnny said.

Minutes later, Tony was seeing flying out of the roof of Canterlot castle, looking quite displeased. "So, you've turned against me, huh Steve?" He communicated to his radio, "Attention every hero registered with The Accords. This is Tony Stark speaking. I have a new Number One objective for all of you. Find, and apprehend, the former Avenger, Steve Rogers. I repeat, Steve Rogers is now Public Enemy Number One."

This revelation surprised everyone in Equestria, from Wind Sprint and She-Hulk in Griffonstone, to Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Jessica Jones in Las Pegasus, to Bobby, Night Thrasher, and Night Glider in Manehattan, to all in Ponyville, especially Peter.

"What just happened?" Peter wondered, unsure of what to make of this.

The Avengers were beginning to fall apart.

---

Meanwhile, in Asgard, one more surprise was developing. Thor had returned home, having put his search for Loki on hold.

As he passed through, he heard a familiar voice. "Thor."

"Lady Sif, nice to see you again," Thor said. "How has Asgard held up in my absence?"

"Quite well, sounds like you have yet to find Loki," Sif said.

"No, he along with his allies, including that fiend Sephiroth and that so-called Storm King continue to evade my grasp," Thor said.

"I believe you will find them soon," Sif said. "However, as of now, you seem to have a visitor."

"Huh? A visitor? Who?" Thor asked.

"I'm not sure, he's a strange man, but he said you've fought before, and he wants a rematch soon," Sif said.

"Hey! Thor!" came the voice of a familiar person.

The Thunder God looked ahead to see someone he had done battle with not too long ago, "Son Goku?"

Indeed, Goku was there, waving at the God of thunder. "Hey Thor, it's been a while. Done with your travels?"

"What in the world is he doing here?" Thor asked.

"You'll have to ask him yourself," Sif said.

Things were about to get a lot more interesting for Thor real soon.

Embarking for Change

It's been a full day since The Pony of Shadows had come to Ponyville. While the situation with him was resolved, a bigger situation bloomed in its place.

Right now, everyone on the Accords had their mission, to find and apprehend Steve Rogers, along with his allies. This was obviously a very uncomfortable mission for many of the heroes. None of them couldn't imagine Captain America as an enemy.

Things were already bad enough, given how many heroes were taken in for violations of The Accords, a mark that resonated with their friends and families.

The Apples were worried about Remy and Applejack of course, Big Macintosh taking it hard with knowing that his little sister was taken in like she did something wrong and is now on a list of ponies to apprehend. Cheerilee worried for her in-laws, along with Sugar Belle, who also got wrapped up in this. Plus there's Apple Bloom, who believed her sister would never do anything wrong, and believes all this to be a terrible misunderstanding.

Rainbow Dash waited at home with her daughter, both her parents visiting to check up on her, knowing this is hard on her. She could not understand why any of this had to happen, first with her and Johnny being blamed for the destruction of a Manehattan building, now Johnny being taken in and basically fired for violating his probation. For the first time, Rainbow Dash started to hate The Wonderbolts, and wondered why she even wanted to be part of their group so badly.

This had of course reached Manehattan, with Night Glider worrying for her friend Sugar Belle, hoping she was alright. Of course, she also knows that if she finds her, she had to bring her in, and she wasn't sure if she could handle doing such a thing. Bobby was also surprised with what Rarity and Daredevil told him when they got back.

---

Back in Ponyville, Peter was seen contemplating his situation as he sat on top of his Balcony. He knows that Captain America is not a bad guy, and he knows he would never intentionally cause trouble. He figured there had to be a misunderstanding.

Of course, he knows calling a prison break a misunderstanding is a stretch longer than even Reed Richards could manage. When Steve ran off, he didn't just take those who were recently arrested, he even allowed several villains to break out.

According to Tony, while he and Luna managed to round most of them up, a couple had escaped themselves and could be anywhere. Peter needed answers, and to do that, he needed to find out where Steve went.

Even now more than ever, he's happy that Autumn Blaze didn't get into any trouble for attacking Martin Li, he'll keep that a secret for her sake.

"Peter?" Twilight said, getting his attention.

"Hey Twilight," Peter greeted. "Need something?"

"Not in particular, though I did want to check up on you," Twilight said. "After what happened yesterday, I could imagine just how surprised anyone would be right now. First, you fight some monster, then the person you rescued from that monster got taken in for actions he could not control, plus the rest of our friends, then that thing with Captain America."

"Nothing makes sense anymore," Peter said, sighing heavily as he looked into the sky. "I mean, the Accords were supposed to help Equestria, seems like it's just been making everyone miserable."

"Yes, those rules certainly are flawed, restricting heroes is typically a poor idea, especially when the damage done to town was actually not too bad," Twilight said.

"I'm gonna need another word with Tony then, though I can't imagine he's in the best state of mind either," Peter said. "I mean, he and Cap are like best friends, so this is obviously upsetting to him."

"Oh! Maybe I can help!" Twilight said. "Friendship is my expertise after all. I can help Tony and Cap with their troubles."

"Well, we'd still need to find Cap," Peter said. "Plus, I know you're good when it comes to Friendship, but this goes well beyond what you have done in the past."

"Please Peter, I've helped worst," Twilight said. "After all, I helped Starlight Glimmer and her friend Sunburst. I think that was a bit worse than Tony and Cap, I mean Starlight was an actual villain, so if I helped her then I think I can help a pair of heroes."

"Well, you are great at social communication," Peter said. "Alright, we can try your plan, first thing's first, we need to find Cap. Problem is, I have no idea where he went."

"Does anypony have a clue?" Twilight asked. "Like anyone in Canterlot?"

"Not to my knowledge," Peter said. "But knowing Cap, he wouldn't take them to a town where heroes are stationed, at least I don't think he would."

"So it's best to search towns where no one is patrolling," Twilight said. "But how many places could that be?"

"Last I checked, no heroes were assigned to Appaloosa, after the chaos after the Buck Ball game, they decided they wanted no hero shenanigans," Peter said. "Also King Thorax never signed on with The Accords.

"They could have retreated to Starlight's old village, especially since Sugar Belle's with them, they might be hiding at her house," Twilight said.

"Then there's the Yaks, they're not fully on board either, they believe they can protect themselves," Peter said. "Very gusty bunch."

"There's also Klugetown, which is a shadier place to hide at," Twilight said.

Peter tapped his chin, trying to rack his brains, "There's gotta be more to it than that though, I feel like Cap wouldn't go anywhere that feels too obvious."

“Those places are a start," Twilight said. "We should let Tony know."

"Yeah, good idea, hold on a sec, I'll call him right now," Peter said, grabbing his radio. "Tony, you there?"

"Yeah Peter, what is it?" Tony asked, the hero looking over the Canterlot Balcony.

"Any update regarding Cap?" Peter asked.

"Not yet," Tony said. "Why, do you have any leads?"

"No, but Twilight and I were brainstorming places he could have gone," Peter said. "Ideally he'd want to go somewhere there aren't any heroes."

"Yeah, that much makes sense," Tony said. "Our Accords didn't reach that far out, unfortunately. Got any places you'd like to suggest?"

"Twilight believes they could have ended up at Starlight's old village since that's where Sugar Belle lives," Peter said. "There's also the possibility of Appaloosa since Applejack has family there. But if I'm being honest, Cap might expect those places to be checked first."

"Couldn't hurt to try, though I do see your point, Steve's not a fool," Tony said. "This is such a pain, I still can't believe Steve would just run off like that, with a bunch of prisoners no less."

"Some of the villains we've captured over the years were with him too right?" Peter asked. "Didn't he break a bunch of them out?"

"Yeah, though we managed to catch a good chunk of them, so only a few got away," Tony said. "Taskmaster, Sandman, The Lizard ,and Black Cat are out there too, and so is Elektra. Now we have more to worry about. Anyway, we're sending those other villains back to Earth, let Fury deal with them now.

"Probably should have done that in the first place," Peter said.

"We didn't think this would be much of a problem, plus it was less paperwork to deal with," Tony said. "Not to mention, they should have been well guarded here."

"Well no use dwelling on the mistakes," Peter said. "Anyway, I'm gonna go out and look for Cap myself, since I'm one of the only heroes who can explore outside his town."

"Yeah, you do that, Twilight too if she can," Tony said. "At this point, I might as well deputize some other heroes. I know several of the X-Men are at that school of Twilight's but, if any of them could help, that'd be great."

"If they even want to, not all of them want to get involved," Peter said.

"Yeah, that's a pain," Tony said. "Well, I think I can at least get Reed to help too since his Brother-in-law is one of the people we need to find."

"Tony, if I'm being honest, I really think Carol screwed up yesterday," Peter said. "She went way over the line, treating everyone like they're nothing but garbage. I mean, I get that Remy and Sugar Belle technically violated The Accords, and maybe Johnny should not have violated his probation, but it was still too much."

"Look, if Johnny had not run off like he did, the two of us could have worked something out," Tony said. "I can't speak for Remy or Sugar Belle. I mean I told Remy before not to involve himself, and Sugar Belle should have known better."

"What about Stygian? Or even Applejack!" Peter said. "Applejack is an Element of Harmony, she's kind of important to Equestria."

"I...Yeah, I agree that might have been crossing the line, and I will have a word with Carol about that," Tony said. "But, she is on the run, and she is technically breaking the law, if she gets caught, I can't promise a slap on the wrist for her or any of them."

"Tony, I'm worried, I don't know if these Accords are a good idea," Peter said.

"Peter, I get your concern, but you have to bear with me, things take adjusting and getting used to, nothing changes overnight," Tony reminded. "I promise, we'll find them and figure this out. This is hard for me too, I don't want to arrest Steve, but I have to do what's right for this world, and you know that too."

"Yeah, of course," Peter said, rather reluctantly.

"I'll figure out a fix for this, I need you to trust me though Peter," Tony said.

"Sure thing boss," Peter replied.

"Also, don't call me 'boss'," Tony said. "Just see if you can find Steve and hopefully we can work this out peacefully."

"Yeah, on it," Peter said, hanging up his receiving, still feeling a bit disappointed. "What a pain."

"Sounds like the conversation didn't go over well," Twilight said.

"Tony wants to talk things out reasonably, but honestly, the fact that Cap even resorted to these measures makes me wonder if that's even possible," Peter said.

"Hey, it's possible, I mean it wouldn't be my first experience with mending a broken Friendship," Twilight said. "Of course, if any of the villains set free did really bad damage, well that might be a bit harder to fix."

"I'm gonna go round everyone up, maybe I can get Logan to help out, I know he doesn't care for The Accords but he would want to be part of this," Peter said. "From there we can spread out across Equestria."

"I'll help too of course," Twilight said. "I'll have to round the girls up too, see if they want to help."

"Considering Applejack is one of the ponies with Cap, I'd say they'd be more than willing," Peter said. "Plus, Rainbow Dash would want to find Johnny."

"Rainbow Dash...she must be so heartbroken right now," Twilight said.

"Of course, not just her either, The Apple Family probably isn't taking this well either," Peter said. "Applejack and Remy are on the run too, along with Sugar Belle."

"Like they don't have enough to worry about with Apple Bloom expecting a child," Peter said. "Ugh, Carol really screwed up, this never should have happened! If Tony doesn't get through to her, I just might have to."

"Not without me, after what she pulled, she has a lot to answer for," Twilight said. "We should start planning."

"Yeah, let's head inside," Peter said. "Oh, is Sue coming by?"

"She should be, not just for Franklin, but because she's probably worried about Johnny," Twilight said. "Speaking of which, did you find time to talk to Mayday?"

"Yeah, she seemed really upset," Peter said. "Looks like it had to do with those students."

"This isn't even the first altercation Mayday's had with them," Twilight said. "I really don't know what it is about them that causes this. They're normally good students."

"They have caused trouble, like that that Bug Bear prank," Peter said. "I mean, I'm all for pranks but cutting school I can't get behind."

"At the very least, I think they learned their lesson from those experiences," Twilight said.

"They're improved, I think they're good students, but it sounds like there's still a mean streak to worry about," Peter said.

"I'm worried about that myself, Franklin himself seemed a bit distraught," Twilight said. "Seems like one of the reasons for the fight was because of Mayday's lack of interest in joining the school."

"Oh come on, like hearing it from my friends wasn't enough, I hope none of them put those students up to peer pressuring Mayday to join," Peter said.

"I doubt it, none of them would want to upset Mayday," Twilight said. "Well, except Bobby but he'd want to do it himself, plus he's not even in town, unless this was just some elaborate prank."

"I'll question those students too, but it sounds like they need some extra lessons in knowing how to talk to children," Peter said.

"So what did you tell Mayday?" Twilight asked.

"I told her to just not talk to those students," Peter said. "She didn't set out to cause trouble, if anything she felt like they were picking on her. So we don't need to ground her, at least not for a long period. She should still be able to spend time with Franklin, he's a good influence on her."

"He is, I do like that boy, I'm glad he and Mayday are friends," Twilight said.

"Mayday's happy too," Peter said. "Anyway, I might need a word with those students myself, make sure they know what's up."

"I should run that by Starlight too, if I'm gonna find Cap and our friends, she's gonna need to watch over the school," Twilight said. "That means keeping an eye on those students."

"I think she can handle it, let's hurry now," Peter said, as he and Twilight went to round everyone up.

---

Meanwhile at Ponyville Hospital, Rumble was checking on Silverstream's wing. "Does it still feel sore?"

"Not as much as yesterday, I think I can fly with it," Silverstream said.

"We'll check it out later, I don't want you doing more than you're able to and risk injuring yourself even more," Rumble said. "A bad wing could end your career in flying."

"That would be terrible, losing my career before it takes off," Silverstream said.

"Sorry I let this happen," Rumble said.

"You didn't hurt me though, The Pony of Shadows did," Silverstream said.

"Yeah, but it's my job to keep you safe," Rumble said. "I should have been able to move us to safety, I know I was faster than that."

"It took us by surprise," Silverstream said. "Look, what matters is that we're both alright, and my wing will get better, so we can go to Mount Aris. I'd love to introduce you to my family."

"Your aunt's a Queen right? Do I need to be like, fancy or something?" Rumble asked.

"Oh no, not really," Silverstream said. "She's usually pretty relaxed, just don't do or say anything to annoy her. She isn't too trusting of those outside her Kingdom, not at first at least. Took her forever to trust Doctor Strange."

"Well I think I can pull it off, I mean even Princess Luna likes me," Rumble said. "Of course there's Twilight too, the mare who's like a mother to me."

"Speaking of mothers, you never mentioned yours, or your dad," Silverstream said.

"They aren't alive, my brother said they were involved in an accident," Rumble said.

"Oh...I'm so sorry to hear," Silverstream said. "Wow, so you’re an orphan, just like Cozy Glow."

"Yeah, it sucks," Rumble said. "But, I try not to let it get me down, I still have a family in my big brother, my niece, my foalsitters who are like older sisters, Peter and Twilight who are like a second set of parents, Trixie who's like my aunt, and of course Mayday, who's like a little sister. Now I have Benjy to be an older brother too."

"You seem so happy when you talk about Peter and Professor Sparkle," Silverstream said. "It's amazing you got to live with them."

"Best three months of my life," Rumble said. "Shame I had to move, but Cloudsdale is right above Ponyville, so I didn't go far. Have you gotten to spend time with Peter or Twilight?"

"Well, aside from them being teachers, not a lot," Silverstream said.

"Guess it makes sense, they're both busy nowadays," Rumble said. "Twilight has that school to run, Peter is off being a superhero, and they're both busy as parents. Plus now this whole thing with Captain Equestria is really gonna have their hooves full."

"I'm still confused, why would he do what he did?" Silverstream asked. "Break free some prisoners and make a run for it?"

"I mean, I almost can't blame him, don't tell anyone I said this but, I think it was wrong of Carol to do what she did regarding Johnny, Applejack, and the others," Rumble said. "I mean, Johnny Storm is one of my favorite heroe, and one of the best Wonderbolts in recent memory. Then there's Applejack and her husband Remy, the Apples are kind of a big deal in Ponyville, they do supply foo for us, and all of Equestria, what Carol did will not go over so well with some folks. Plus my girlfriend won't be too happy that her sister and brother-in-law got taken in like that."

"If I may ask, how are things with you an Apple Bloom?" Silverstream asked.

Rumble looked aside, feeling a bit ashamed, "Things could be a lot better. We talked about the night we had sex, seems like she has some regrets. I mean, I thought she wanted it, I asked her if she was alright and she agreed. But, I'm worried it was reluctant on her part because she seems kind of regretful. Doesn't help that she got pregnant, I didn't even know she was in heat. That might have been why she agreed to it, she wasn't thinking clearly."

"Well, if you asked her and she said yes, then it's not all on you," Silverstream said. "I mean, yeah she got pregnant but she took that risk."

"Regardless, her family's pretty peeved, and Apple Bloom isn't even sure she wants to stay with me now," Rumble said. "She told me that she doesn't think I'm mature enough to be her baby's father. I don't get it either, I'm a Wonderbolt, I am on the path to a very successful career. I was certain that I was making her happy, I had it planned out too! I stay a Wonderbolt for a few years, climb the ranks to Captain, reap the benefits, then propose to Apple Bloom, taking her in as my wife while we raised many children together."

"Sounds like you put a lot of thought into it," Silverstream said.

"Apple Bloom tells me I can be a bit of a pervert, and I admit I get excited around her, and other girls, but I really do love her, I would not have gotten intimate with her if I didn't," Rumble sighed in pity. “If all I cared about was sex, I would have done it sooner. I've seen how some girls look at me, especially Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Dinky, Wind Sprint and Cozy Glow. I could have taken any of them to bed with no trouble. Apple Bloom was supposed to be special, my first true step to solidifying my future with her." The boy looked away, trying to hide a tear coming to his eye. "Some start this is, soon I may not even have a girlfriend, I'm gonna end up like my brother. Broken up with the mother of my baby."

"You don't know that, there's still a chance isn't there?" Silverstream asked.

"I think so, maybe if I prove myself as her boyfriend then she'll stay interested in me, but I can't even be sure if that will positively work," Rumble said. "You know, it's funny. Back when Peter and Twilight were dating, he got her pregnant well before the two got married. I remember he said that despite getting Twilight pregnant, he still gave proper proposal. He made it clear to Twilight that he wanted to marry her because he loved her, not just because they were having a baby together. His friends joked that he had to marry her, and that it was a given, but I know now that is far from accurate. Sharing a child does not equal love, if it did, my brother would still be with Felicia, and I wouldn't have to worry about whether or not Apple Bloom likes me or not."

"Love's tough, isn't it?" Silverstream said. "I'm sorry this is happening to you. I can't personally relate since I've never had a boyfriend, but I'm positive things will work out for you."

"I appreciate it, hopefully things will work out," Rumble said.

"Well, in the event that it doesn't, you can always come to me, I'll be sure to cheer you up," Silverstream said. "But, you're one determined boy Rumble, if anyone can figure it out, it's you."

"Thanks, you're a really cool girl Silverstream," Rumble said.

"You know, being in this hospital room, it reminds me of the time we fought the Weapon X team," Silverstream said. "We both got hurt during the fight, I was worried that my family would want me to come back home."

"I do remember you saying something like that," Rumble said. "That Weapon X team though, one reason I needed to get stronger, and it looks like you did too. We just gotta stay on top of our combat skills."

"Yeah, become unstoppable as a team," Silverstream said. "The best Wonderbolts duo since Rainbow Dash and the Equine Torch."

"Yeah...just let's not say that out loud, we might give the higher-ups the wrong idea," Rumble said.

"Well you know what I mean," Silverstream said. "Well hopefully I can get out this room soon, maybe see my friends again. I know they were worried."

"Yeah, Sandbar sure let me know that," Rumble said. "I get he's your friend but it was kind of a jerk thing to blame me for your injury."

"To be fair Rumble, you don't really get along with him well, and for a time, you really didn't like me," Silverstream said.

"Even so, I wouldn't wish harm on any of you, even if sometimes I want to clobber some of your friends," Rumble said. "I mean, I won't, mainly since I respect that they're your friends, and because I don't want to lose my Wonderbolts position but...I have to wonder, how are you friends with any of them?"

"I can't say, it just happened," Silverstream said. "One day the six of us hung out and suddenly we were all best friends. Something just clicked."

"I guess that's a somewhat understandable answer," Rumble said. "You said 'six' though, there's seven of you."

"Cozy Glow became our friend later, though I'd say she's more a friend to Sandbar and Ocellus," Silverstream said. "Gallus and Smolder don't like her, Yona's indifferent. I kind of like her, but she can be a bit bratty, and she gets upset too easily at times, and when she is, she usually runs to Sandbar or Ocellus. I mean, I thought it was cute, until I found out she was a teenager, she just looked small for her age."

"I thought she was like ten, maybe she has a growth defect," Rumble theorized. "It's not too bad, she's only a few inches shorter than me and the Crusaders. Well anyway, seems like you have another weird friendship situation."

"Well, I still consider Cozy one of us, maybe I'll get close to her too," Silverstream said. "Some things take longer to click, I mean, how fast did you make friends with The Cutie Mark Crusaders?"

"Well at one point, the Crusaders were barely my friends," Rumble said. "Sweetie Belle pretended to be my date so she can sneak off and hang out with villains while Scootaloo and Apple Bloom tried to beat me up once because Sweetie Belle ended up being at their mercy."

"Uh...I'm gonna need some serious context here," Silverstream said.

---

Elsewhere at Rainbow Falls, Steve is seen trotting toward his camp with the rest of the ponies he had freed. The area they were residing in was mostly unpopulated. According to Johnny, it is a spot normally used for teams to prepare for the Equestrian Games, but since that season was not yet in session, it was good for a temporary resting spot, but they would need to move soon.

It was at this point that realization began dawning on everyone, they were on the run from the law, and they knew that soon Tony Stark and the heroes would be after them. This was not a good situation for anyone involved.

Applejack was distraught, feeling very anxious about the situation she was in and what this would mean for her family's farm. She knows they're likely very worried for her, just like she is for them. She especially feels worried for Apple Bloom, her little sister was pregnant and now she couldn't be there to help her out. Granted she's gotten better emotionally; she'd still rather be around for her.

Remy did his best to calm her nerves, but he knew that would be difficult. He's no stranger to being on the run, even if he's very rusty. Sugar Belle also did her best to comfort Applejack, but she was too scared herself to do a good job. She hopes her actions won't have a negative impact on her friends.

Johnny was taking his mind off things by doing a few wing-ups, but nothing could alleviate the worry he now had for his wife. Spitfire may hold a grudge against Rainbow Dash for this, he had to go and find her before things really got bad. Only Felicia seemed to notice the tension he bore, she can't recall the last time she's seen him this stirred up, if at all.

Stygian was also very worried himself. Though free of the Pony of Shadows, right now he was paying for his sins. He's off in an unknown location with a group of ponies he doesn't even know, nor does he even understand what's happening. How he regrets allowing his anger at his friends to get this bad.

Bucky and Sam sat nearby, both aware of how bad this was for everyone, and wishing there was something either of them could to help everyone feel less worried. Of course the two were speechless and figured it'd be best to let Cap figure out what was next.

"Sam, Bucky," Steve greeted, getting their attention. "How are things this morning?"

"See for yourself," Sam said, gesturing to the camp. "Everyone's on edge right now."

"That's understandable," Steve said.

"I know you probably have a plan; I just hope whatever it is will be helpful to everyone here," Bucky said.

"I understand this is probably a gamble, but I had to do something to send the message to Tony," Steve said. "Everything he's doing is hurting the country more than it's helping it, and the last thing I wanted was for this to reach Earth."

"No one 's gonna want that, that’s for damn sure," Sam said. "What was Stark even thinking with these rules?"

"I'm not sure, none of this feels like something Tony would do, he would not have gone to these extremes," Steve said.

"Think Celestia or Luna got in his head?" Sam asked.

“I can’t say for sure," Steve admitted. "I know Celestia wanted order, and that Tony was just trying to find the best compromise. Every time I tried talking to Tony, or anyone else of high authority about this, it usually got brushed off, like they're not even thinking ten steps ahead."

"Unusual, given Stark's businessman etiquette," Bucky said.

"Figure it out later, we're burning daylight," Sam said.

"Yes, time to set a new course of action," Steve said, clearing his throat. "Attention everyone!"

Everyone immediately turned their attention to Cap, each of them curious as to what the First Avenger had to say.

"Got our attention Cap, go on," Felicia said.

"First off, I hope everyone is doing well this morning, or at least as well as you can be," Steve said. "I know yesterday was a huge leap in risk taking."

"That's an understatement, you basically freed a bunch of prisoners," Johnny said. "Not that we aren't grateful."

"It was wrong of any of you to be treated like prisoners, none of you had done anything wrong," Steve said. "At least, for the most part."

"I was better off in a cell, especially after all the trouble I've caused," Stygian said.

"Nah dude, you're good," Johnny said. "I mean you were just being possessed by that evil thing, it wasn't the real you."

"But it was my real feelings, I was so angry at The Pillars," Stygian said.

"Any reason?" Remy asked.

"Yeah, weren't you old friends or something?" Applejack asked.

"Once upon a time we were," Stygian said. "See, I was the one who brought them together, so they could keep Equestria safe with their combined talents."

"So, kind of like how Nick Fury brought The Avengers together," Johnny said.

"Pardon me?" Stygian asked.

"We'll explain later, go on," Steve said.

"Right, so after I brought them together, I helped them with all of their missions, including research on the beasts they did battle with," Stygian said.

"So not only did you Assemble them, you were also their tactician?" Sam asked.

"Yes, and it was great, for a while," Stygian said. "The more time went on, the more I wondered if I was truly any use to them. I never had power or great magic, so I was never truly one of them. They saw me as a subordinate than an actual friend, that realization pained me."

"You just wanted to be appreciated," Applejack said.

"Yes, I suppose so. Maybe it was a bit selfish. This happened because I tried making my own copy of their artifacts, but that led to a misunderstanding. Starswirl thought I was trying to steal their power when I just hoped for one of my own," Stygian said. "All I wanted was their respect, but I suppose that's something I was never going to get.

The entire campsite felt sympathetic towards Stygian, the poor pony being the victim of a terrible misunderstanding.

"Stygian, let me be the first to say, you are not selfish for wanting to be respected by yer friends, Applejack said. "Seems like you never meant any harm, yer friends jumped to conclusions."

"Yeah, that was seriously messed up of them to do," Felicia said. "You seem like a pretty nice guy after all, assuming your story is true."

"Felicia..." Johnny scolded.

"Hey, just keeping everyone alert," Felicia said.

"It's fine, I suppose I have no proof to my claim, it's my word against Starswirl's," Stygian said.

"Honestly, that guy is stuck up snob, I wouldn't be surprised if he screwed up royally like that," Johnny said.

"Plus, ah can tell yer being honest, it's kind of mah specialty," Applejack said.

"I thank you, but I don't think any of this matters," Stygian said.

"It does, it furthers my point," Steve said. "The Accords was set to unfairly punish you, unfairly punish all of you. Stygian, you were just a victim of circumstance, that is not something to place blame on you for. Johnny, Gambit, Sugar Belle, you three stepped up to save others, that should not be condemned, but praised. Applejack, all you did was speak the truth, that too should be praised. Felicia, you may have made a mistake, but I know you did not mean the harm you caused, and even if I do agree that you being on that mission was a bit of a compromise, you too were unfairly punished for it. The system is flawed, and I aim to prove that."

"Tony's silly plans are done," Bucky said.

"The system is getting reworked," Sam said.

"I have a new goal, I am going to put an end to The Accords, and set this country back in the proper motion," Steve said.

"How are you gonna pull that off?" Johnny asked.

"Yeah, do you even have a plan?" Felicia asked.

"I do, it may not be perfect, but it's the best chance we got," Steve said. "We'll need to return to Canterlot and confront Tony, but as we are now, it won't make a difference. No doubt Tony is ready for a fight, and while I' rather solve this in a non-violent manner, we need to prepare for a showdown, which means recruiting allies."

"Who's gonna help us?" Sugar Belle asked.

"How about Heroes in Equestria?" Johnny suggested. "I mean, some of them might dislike The Accords too, we know Daredevil is pretty outspoken about them."

"Some heroes ain't even signed up with The Accords," Remy said. "Scott Lang never did, neither did Wolverine."

"I don't suppose you have back-up from Earth," Felicia said.

"Only Bucky and Sam were in on this, I did not want to risk contacting anyone else," Steve said.

"Yeah, for all we knew, Stark could have gotten to any of them first," Falcon said. "Still, I say we could have at least asked Cable or something, he wouldn't have sided with Stark, and he could have brought The X-Force."

"Nothing against Cable but, I do worry about the Destruction he could have brought to Equestria," Steve said.

"Let's stick with who we got here then," Applejack said. "Ah say this is a pretty good start."

"One question though, what about our other friends?" Felicia asked.

"Yeah Cap," came the voice of Taskmaster as he trotted over with Sandman and Lizard. "What about us?"

"Wow, nice timing, were you waiting for this opportunity to show up or something?" Bucky joked.

"Good for a dramatic entrance," Taskmaster said, then focused on Steve. "Seriously though, you got room for us in your plans?"

"With all do respect, you are a criminal, and I don't think we would work well together," Steve said.

"Hey come on, it's thanks to us 'criminals' that you were able to make that getaway," Taskmaster said. "You could use us in this plan of yours to liberate Equestria."

"And why would you be interested in doing so, Masters?" Steve asked. "What's your agenda?"

"Yeah, why would you be so willing to help us, after what you did when you first got here!" Applejack said. "Don't think ah forgot about you shooting an arrow through mah leg."

"It wasn't anything personal," Taskmaster insisted. "I just came to this world to fight, mostly at the suggestion of some weird guy with white hair who did really crazy magic."

"Discord?" Steve asked.

"Yeah I think that was his name," Taskmaster said. "He told me he would pay me good money to raise hell in Equestria, so I did. Never got paid for it though, so I'm hoping to find that guy and get my due cash."

"Always after the quick buck, aren't you?" Steve asked.

"Hey, we all gotta get paid, that's life after all," Taskmaster said. "Look, you don't gotta trust me, but like I said, I have a lot of respect for ya. Even if we're usually on opposite sides, you bring the fight like a man, instead of hiding behind others like a lot of higher ups do. What Tony Stark is doing ain't right, you gotta let me help you out. You do that, I go back to Earth and I don't bother the ponies here, deal?"

Steve seemed understandably reluctant, Taskmaster is an enemy after all. But he always seemed to have a code of honor, though despite that, Tony Masters is a man with a greedy nature.

"If it's alright with you, I'd like to consult with my teammates," Steve said.

"Excuse me, but what about us?" Lizard said, getting their attention. "I believe we are all in this together now."

"Yes, of course, this goes for you as well," Steve said, then turned to his allies. "It's everyone's call, what do you think should be done?"

"Bring them along," Johnny said. "If any of them act up, I'll personally deal with them."

"I'm with Torch, it's safer to bring them along so we can keep an eye on them," Bucky said.

"Having a few extra allies couldn't hurt," Sam said. "Plus, Marko here was an Avenger once, wasn't he?"

"And Connors really isn't so bad, especially when he has better control over his transformation," Felicia said.

"I think they should get a chance to prove themselves, Equestria is about second chances after all," Sugar Belle said.

"I wasn't too different from them, but that didn't stop you from trusting and believing in me," Felicia said. "I freed them for a reason, aside from the diversion. But because I think they're pretty decent guys, even Tony Masters here."

"Very well," Steve said, focused on the three villains. "You three may join us. But, you will be under careful watch."

"Thanks Cap, we won't let you down," Sandman said.

"I trust you Flint, when push comes to shove, you can be a very dependable man" Steve said, then turned to Lizard. "Doctor Connors, you were well respected in your profession, I trust there is some goodwill in you as well."

"Of course sir, thank you," Lizard said.

"I know the two of you also have families back home, I hope after all you've been through, that you will consider going home and putting an end to this life of crime," Steve said.

"I wish I could make that promise, truth is I failed once, I might fail again," Sandman said. "But...that won't stop me from trying."

"That's all I ask Flint, I know you have it in you to put this behind you," Steve said.

"For my daughter's sake," Sandman said.

"And my son's," Lizard added.

"As for you Taskmaster, I'm going to trust you, please do not break that trust," Steve said.

"I make a promise, until this is over, I am completely on your side," Taskmaster said.

"Good, now we should get a move on," Steve said. "Bucky, you have that map I gave you?"

"Yeah," Bucky pulled it out. "Now, if we take a train to the east, the next major landmark will be Griffonstone, if we keep going down then we'll end up in the Dragon Lands."

"Griffonstone, that's where Jen Walters is stationed, and the Dragon Lands have Hercules," Steve said.

"That's one option, the other option is going south and we'll end up in Manehattan," Bucky said.

Sugar Belle looked over the map herself, "Oh, we're actually not too far from my hometown, it's actually on the way to Manehattan. The Accords don't reach there so we can stay there for a bit."

"Wait, if her hometown was nearby, why couldn't we have stopped there?" Felicia said.

"Even if we knew, it wouldn't have been a smart move," Sam said.

"Exactly, Tony may have had someone check that area," Steve said. "We can try passing through just in case if at least to get some supplies, but I think our next best move is going to Manehattan. We need to bring The Accords down, and one way to do so will be to turn heroes away from it. I feel like we will have an easier time in Manehattan with Daredevil, Iceman, Night Glider and Night Thrasher, plus that's more allies than if we just hoped for She-Hulk and Hercules."

"Speaking of Manehattan, what do you think is gonna happen with Elektra?" Johnny asked.

"Hard to say, she might get sent back to Earth, that's my best guess," Steve said.

"I wouldn't be surprised, I heard she got into a fight with Black Widow," Taskmaster said. "Of course me and the other captives were busy fighting Stark and that Moon Princess."

"What happened to the rest of them anyway?" Felicia asked. "How come only you three followed us all the way out here?"

"We got overpowered by the end," Taskmaster said. "Stark is tough but the power that Moon Princess had was more than even we expected. I managed to slip away, and I was joined by Marko and Connors. Sounds like Rhino, Scorpion and Vulture weren't able to make an escape."

"Almost feel sorry for them, Tony may not show any mercy," Johnny said.

"More than that, Luna may be without mercy too," Applejack said. "I'm kind of worried, ah feel like these accords are changing folks fer the worst."

"Unfortunately that's what happens when someone gets too much power," Bucky said. "Having power defines a person's character."

"That's why Peter always says 'With Great Power comes Great Responsibility," Johnny said. "Seems like neither Stark nor Luna are being responsible with that power."

"And neither is that skank Carol Danvers," Applejack said.

"Spitfire's certainly gone off the deep end herself," Johnny said. "Shame too, she used to be really cool. Man, you die a hero or you live long enough to become the villain. Feels like that's what's happening to the Higher Ups in the Accords.

"We'll stop this, not just for Equestria either, but also to free Tony, Luna, Spitfire and Carol from what they've become," Steve said. "Tony is still my friend, I'm not giving up on him, but now is the time for some tough love. Now come now, Manehattan awaits."

Steve led his team away toward the city, hoping to find a way to put a dent in the Accords.

---

Meanwhile in Canterlot, Tony is seen rounding up the villains from the previous day. After defeating them, they were placed back in their cells, temporarily.

"Time to send you to The Raft," Tony said as some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents from Earth escorted the group. "Good luck breaking out of there."

"At least I'll be a damn human again, I could never take you ponies seriously," Scorpion said. "This felt like it's own kind of hell."

"Yeah, yeah Gargan, just take a hike," Tony said.

"We'll be glad to be rid of you," Luna said.

"My only regret, I never got to kill that damn Spider-Man, that's the only reason I came to this stupid world," Scorpion said.

"You should probably put a clamp on that mouth of yours Gargan," Vulture said.

"Yeah, kind of raising the tension here," Rhino said.

"Oh come on, don't tell me you two have grown soft," Scorpion said. "Seriously, I'm just tired of things! I get sent here to take down Spider-Man, something I was glad to do! And for what? To get trapped in a damn cell for nearly two years, got blown off when Mysterio escaped, and when I get my second chance, things go to hell due to incompetent teammates!"

"Ugh, can we move this along? His complaining is already tiring," Luna said.

"Yeah, keep moving along, you three have caused enough trouble," Tony said.

"Oh, you want trouble Stark?" Scorpion warned, reading his tail. "I still got some fight left in me."

"Hey, did you damage your brain when we whooped your ass?" Tony said. "You couldn't beat us when Taskmaster, Sandman and Lizard were here, what makes you think you can do so now?"

"Because now, I don't have anyone holding me back!" Scorpion lunged into attack, but in a quick second, he was taken down by an oncoming Spitfire, who kicked him against a wall.

"Thanks Spitfire, but I had that under control," Tony said.

"I know you could have whooped him, I just needed to unload a bit," Spitfire said. "Nothing like kicking a bad guy in the face to calm some stress."

"Yeah it is therapeutic at times," Tony said. "Now someone drag his sorry self off to Earth."

"Hold up Tony," Came Carol's voice as she flew in, getting attention of everyone here.

"Carol, any sign of Steve?" Tony asked.

"No, not yet, we're still looking," Carol said. "However, there is something we need to address, it involves these villains here, and their escape."

"What about it?" Tony asked.

"For starters, you might need better prison security, a place prisoners can't easily escape from," Carol said.

"We had good security, we just didn't account for Steve breaking the prisoners out," Tony said. "I still don't even know why he did that."

Rhino took a moment to think, "Wasn't it Black Cat who-"

"He broke us out for Freedom! Because that's what Captain America stands for!" Vulture interrupted. "Be envious Stark, for you are dealing with a man twice your capabilities."

"Put a sock in it you old fossil," Carol taunted.

"I swear, no one ever explained about Magneto's age," Vulture said.

"Would you upset a guy like that? Figures it took his overpowered daughter to finally do him in," Rhino said.

"That reminds me, where is Wanda Maximoff and her friends?" Carol asked.

"After Toad recovered from his injury, the six of them went on a pilgrimage across Equestria, they've been gone for like a year I think," Tony said.

"You let a girl like that wander off? With her powers, she should be locked in a high-security room, she's too dangerous," Carol said.

"I mean...it was Steve and Celestia who wanted them free, mainly since she and her friends took Friendship Lessons from Twilight and the Elements," Tony said. "Wanna really isn't that bad, she could be worse. Plus she did save Equestria from Magneto."

"Still, I would find her, it's not even just Wanda I'm worried about, don't forget her brother, speedsters can be very dangerous," Carol said. "Find Wanda Maximoff and The Brotherhood, and bring them to me, I'll know what to do."

"Is that necessary? She hasn't done anything bad," Tony said.

"She might though," Carol pointed out.

"That's a bit extreme, isn't it?" Tony asked.

"Do you trust her? Can you say with absolute certainty that she won't bring the world into chaos?" Carol asked. "You know how strong her magic is Tony, and in a world like this, she could be unstoppable."

Tony took a moment to think that over. It was true, Wanda's power was nothing to scoff at, but even he knows that locking her up for something she didn't do was crossing the line. "Look, we'll find Wanda and if anything, I'll convince her to join The Accords or something, that way we can keep an eye on her without going to any extremes."

"Have it your way," Carol said. "Now, about the security. I get that planning for Cap's betrayal wasn't on anyone's mind, even I didn't see that coming. I didn't think he had the guts to turn against us, but here we are. My suggestion to you Tony, is to find a better place for the prison itself. Now we could just send them to The Raft or whatever other prisons Nick Fury has in mind, but I was also thinking about better guarded locations."

"Like where?" Tony asked.

"Do you have access to The Negative Zone?" Carol asked.

"Uh, any other suggestions?" Tony asked. "I mean, that sounds a bit inhumane."

"How about Tartarus?" Luna asked. "We already sent a bunch of prisoners there."

"That's another good one," Carol asked. "Refresh my memory, who's currently in Tartarus?"

"Well, aside from most monsters, we did recently send the one called Mysterio there, along with some giant bug looking monster," Luna said.

"Annihilus, the leader of The Negative Zone," Tony said.

"Wow, if that place could hold him, then that is a better prison area," Carol said.

"I don't know, it still sounds inhumane," Tony said. "Isn't that place basically hell? At least according to Greek Mythology."

"Wow, you know your Greek literature?" Carol asked.

"Considering Hercules actually exists and isn't some myth like many Earthlings thought, then I'd say I know more than just literature," Tony said.

"Tony, if I may say, Tartarus is well guarded, and despite the monsters present, most if not of them are caged," Luna said. "It actually would be a better idea than holding them in a cell, I would argue that all who oppose us should just be sent there. I ran that by my sister, but she too believed it should be reserved for the truly dastardly. But, given the abilities of recent prisoners, I'd say just send them all there, it would be much safer for Equestrians."

"I'd say it's the best place to send Captain America and that group of traitors too," Carol said. "Let them rot with the monsters."

"...I guess, we should consider that, if it meant the safety of Equestria but..." Tony still seemed unsure. Much as he wanted to capture Steve, he couldn't handle the idea of treating him like a villain. "Just bring me Steve and we'll figure things out."

"So, what of these villains then?" Luna asked, gesturing to Rhino, Vulture, and a recovering Scorpion.

"S.H.I.EL.D. came all this way, let them have some of them," Carol said, then went over to grab Scorpion. "But since this one wants to run his mouth, I say we try this upgrade with him first."

"Unhand me!" Scorpion shouted, trying to break free.

"Tony, Luna, we should all stop by Tartarus later, see if we can make proper building plans," Carol said. "For now, I'll drop him off."

Carol flew off, Scorpion in tow as she made her way to Tartarus.

"A bigger prison could be a good idea, or a disaster waiting to happen," Tony said. "For now, time to focus on the bigger picture. We need leads to Steve."

"I suggest we search Klugetown, Felicia Hardy has some contacts there," Luna said.

"Alright, I'll get that done," Tony said. "Luna, you stay here and make sure this escort to the Raft goes smoothly. Also make sure the ponies don't freak out, I saw a few of them worked up not too long ago."

"As long as the Princesses stand tall, and the heroes, the ponies have nothing to fear," Luna said.

"Need me to join Stark?" Spitfire asked.

"I can handle it myself," Tony said. "You should regroup with The Wonderbolts, keep their morale high. In fact, why don't you try to have a night off, you work really hard and you could use a break."

"A night off huh? Well Soarin's been wanting to take me somewhere nice, but is that really alright?" Spitfire asked.

"I don't see why not," Tony said. "If there's an emergency, I'll contact you, or I can contact your third in command, assuming you and Soarin have that date."

"Fleetfoot is already ready for duty," Spitfire said. "Thank you Tony, you're a cool guy."

Spitfire flew off as well, Tony checking his virtual map, "Alright, set course for Klugetown."

"Tony, what about my sister?" Luna asked. "What will we do if she hears of this?"

"That, Luna, I don't have an answer for," Tony said. "After all this, she's gonna need another vacation."

"I might need one myself, I'd love to go to a beach resort," Luna said.

"You did that a few years back right? Back when Peter and everyone took a vacation?" Tony asked. "If I recall, Peter personally invited you."

"Yes, he wanted his family there, and he includes me in that," Luna said, fondly reminiscing. "Peter is very kind and lovely, I wish I had more time to spend with him, and his family."

"What's stopping you?" Tony asked. "You're allowed to visit once in a while."

"I do, sometimes," Luna said. "It just feels awkward sometimes. I worry that I still have feelings for him, and each time I'm there and I see his daughter, part of me wishes she was mine. I know that's a bad mindset to have, but Peter was the first pony I fell in love with. To this day I always wish I had said something first. He may have returned the feelings, he may not have, that I will never find out."

"Sounds like there's awkward tension then," Tony said. "Did it get bad when you two went to Klugetown?"

"No, mainly since Felicia Hardy showed up, acting like the third wheel on a date," Luna said. "I mean, not to call my time with Peter a 'date', but it was nice spending time with him. Does that make me a bad pony?"

"Being attracted to someone doesn't make you bad, even if that someone is married," Tony said. "It's probably not the best position to be in, but not too bad. What would make you bad is if you actively pursued a relationship knowing that he's happily married. If I were you, I'd get over these feelings, I mean, how long has it been?"

"Nine years they've been together," Luna said.

"Right, that's kind of a long time for unrequited love," Tony said. "Then again, you're immortal, so years to you must feel like days, but from a human perspective, that's too long. You really need to move on."

"Yes, I should," Luna said. "Still, how do I do that when I am constantly reminded of my mistake? I have considered relationships with others. I have thought about Thor, I have thought about Scott Lang, I even once considered Bucky Barnes."

"Given how Celestia feels about Steve, you four could have had one hell of a double date," Tony joked.

"I once went on a date with Lightning Dust, it was really awkward," Luna said.

"...Do you even swing that way?" Tony asked.

"Not really, I just went because I was bored and desperate," Luna said.

"Well, you still have options, I mean, Thunderlane's single," Tony said.

"I would rather not honestly, especially one who has been that intimate with Felicia Hardy," Luna said.

"Look, we'll talk about this after we catch Steve, I'm going to Klugetown, but remember Luna, you have all the time in the world to find someone else, you'll be fine," Tony activated his suit and levitated. "I'll be back later."

The Armored Avenger flew off, leaving Luna to herself and her thoughts. "Tony's charming in his own way, if he wasn't married, could we have...no, it wouldn't work."

---

Outside in the courtyard, Thunderlane is flying around and kicking down targets, using much more aggression than normal. He seemed to be in a very unhappy mood, one that Double Diamond and Party Favor noticed.

"Should one of us say something?" Double Diamond asked.

"Uh, he looks kind of mad," Party Favor said.

"Well, given what happened yesterday, I guess everyone's a little shook up," Double Diamond said.

"I know I am, I'm so worried about Sugar Belle, I hope she'll be fine," Party Favor said.

"You don't think she's an actual traitor, do you?" Double Diamond asked.

"Of course not, it's Sugar Belle, she's our friend, we both know she would never do anything bad, something else must be up," Party Favor said.

"Yeah, I want to believe that, but..." Double Diamond had his own worries.

"Sugar Belle will come back, I'll go find her myself if I have to," Party Favor said.

"Just tread carefully, last thing you want to do is potentially tick off the boss," Double Diamond said.

"I won't do anything out of line," Party Favor said. "Still, what about Thunerlane?"

"What about me?" Came Thunderlane's voice, the pony landing near the two. "Shouldn't you both be training right now?"

"Well, we're kind of lost since our instructor kind of turned traitor," Party Favor joked.

"Practice on your own, that's what I'm doing," Thunerlane said. "If you guys want to be Avengers, put the work in."

"We do, but we also can't help but notice that...well..." Double Diamond struggled to find the right words.

"You look angry and frustrated," Party Favor bluntly stated.

Double Diamond nodded, "What he said."

Thunderlane sighed in frustration, "If I were you, I'd worry less about me and more about getting better."

"We will, we're just kind of worried about you," Double Diamond said.

"I don't need anyone to worry about me, I'm fine," Thunderlane insisted.

"Are you sure?" Party Favor asked.

"Yes, I'm fine, I really don't care that the mother of my daughter is basically a traitor to Equestria, or that she ran off," Thunderlane said. "I mean, she's pretty much never been around in the first place, so why should I care that she's off doing something this stupid? It makes no difference to me, she's a grown mare, let her do what she wants, if this doesn't negatively affect my daughter...which it probably will because she's gonna be known as the daughter of an underhoofed mare who screws up every chance she gets!"

"Whoa..." Double Diamond said.

"I mean...Felicia, she's just so..." Thunderlane groaned in annoyance. "I mean, doesn't she realize what she's doing? It's like she doesn't care how our daughter's gonna take this. She's fine now, but in a few years, Felicity is gonna realize that her mother is a lousy pony, and is probably going to hate her. This means I need to work extra hard to ensure that she still grows up as well as she can. I have to work to fill the void her mother left behind because it seems like she doesn't give enough of a damn to fix her own flaws."

"Sorry you're going through this...is that why you're so frustrated?" Party Favor asked.

"Probably," Thunerlane said. "I'm just worried about my daughter, this is not what I envisioned when I became a father. I wanted a nice, happy, normal family, instead I have this. Me, a single father with a baby from a thief of a mother, while my brother is having relationship issues of own that's about to get much more serious."

"Well, is anything truly normal?" Double Diamond asked. "Some families are different than others, no such thing as normal."

"Yeah, what matters in the end is that you want to be a good father for your daughter," Party Favor said. "The best way to do that is to show your daughter that you love her, and that you'll always be there for her. Even if she doesn't have the best mom, at least she'll have a good dad."

"And your brother will be fine too, just look after him," Double Diamond said. "You got this, Thunderlane."

"I appreciate that," Thunderlane said, stretching his forelegs. "This is just a big surprise to me, I never expected any of this. I mean, I get it's tough for you too, Sugar Belle is your friend."

"Everyone's affected, us, you, Mr. Stark, Spitfire, even The Pillars," Double Diamond said.

"I saw Starswirl earlier today, he looked really unhappy," Party Favor said.

"Point is, we'll get past this, and make things right again," Double Diamond said.

"Yeah, we will, we have to. For now, I should get back to training, hopefully we can all get promoted soon. Given what's happened recently, I think some new spots have opened. We'll work together and bring our friends home."

"Yeah, you got it," Double Diamond said.

"Together," Party Favor added.

"Good," Thunerlane said, getting back into position. "Let's do this!"

---

Meanwhile Carol had tossed Scorpion inside Tartarus, "This is where you belong, don't worry, a new building will be made here, you'll be back in a cell in no time."

"You're out your mind you crazy broad," Scorpion said, then took a punch to the jaw, knocking him back.

"Watch your damn tone with me," Carol warned. "It's over for the likes of you. Between myself, Luna, Tony Stark and Princess Cadance, there is no hope against us, so if you want to stay alive, then don't do anything stupid."

Scorpion scattered off into the depts, away from Carol as this situation was observed by Adagio and Mysterio.

"Well, this should be interesting," Adagio said. "Should we let Discord know that your old pal Scorpion found his way to Tartarus?"

"I think he should be more aware of Captain Marvel's plans," Mysterio said.

"Guess you're right, let's go, but be quick, we don't want to attract that muscle head’s attention," Adagio said, scurrying off with Mysterio.

While Carol scouted the area, she contacted her sidekick in the Crystal Empire, "Kamala, any sign of Cap?"

"No, he didn't come up here," Kamala explained.

"Well, keep checking," Carol instructed.

"Hey, what could have caused Cap to do something like this? He's usually pretty cool," Kamala said.

"He broke the law, that isn't 'cool'," Carol said. "Remember he and his team are criminals now, they deserve no mercy."

"Uh, alright then," an unsure Kamala said. "Whatever you say Carol."

"Also keep an eye and ear out for Wanda Maximoff, be sure to let Cadance know as well," Carol instructed.

"Sure, will do," Kamala said.

"If you learn anything about her location, tell someone immediately, she may be too dangerous to allow wandering Equestria," Carol said. "Same with her team."

"Yes, you got it ma'am," Kamala said, turning off the radio.

"Kamala! Wanna see a drawing I made!" Came Flurry's voice.

"Oh you know I love your drawings," Kamala said, making her way over to the young princess.

---

At Sweet Apple Acres, Apple Bloom is seen leaning against a fence, looking into the distance, "Applejack, wherever you are, ah hope yer doing alright." She rubbed her stomach, thinking about her would be born baby, "Looks like yer auntie's got herself into a pickle. Hopefully this gets resolved soon."

"Hey Apple Bloom," Tender Taps greeted, trotting over to the girl.

"Hey Tender Taps, what brings you out here?" Apple Bloom asked. "Another dance lesson?"

"No, just checking up on you," Tender Taps said. "I could give you some private lessons if you want though."

"Maybe later, actually ah was thinking of inviting our class for some square dancing at the barn," Apple Bloom said.

"That sounds fun," Tender Taps said, leaning next to Apple Bloom. "Sorry about your sister and brother-in-law. How's your family taking it?"

"They're not taking it too well, at this point they're too distracted to work," Apple Bloom said. "It's fine, we have some reserves but soon we're gonna have to get back out into the fields."

"Hey if you need help, let me know," Tender Taps said. "That could be another class project."

"Well ah appreciate that, but we'll be good fer now," Apple Bloom said. "Ah still got some bucking in me, gonna stay that way fer a few more months. Plus mah friends can come help too, I'm not worried. I'm more worried about mah sister, mah brother and our friend Sugar Belle."

"I think they'll be fine," Tender Taps said, then turned Apple Bloom to face him. "If you ever get too worried, I'm here for you."

Apple Bloom blushed a bit, turning her head away, "Thanks."

"I don't suppose that, if you're not busy, the two of us can go out some time," Tender Taps said.

Apple Bloom giggled a bit, "Uh, you know ah have a boyfriend. I'm carrying his baby."

"Oh, right," Tender Taps said. "I guess, you know, the rumors and such, and I-"

"Listen, let me squash those rumors," Apple Bloom said. "Ah haven't broken up with Rumble, we're still technically dating. We're just working out some issues. Until ah say otherwise, he's still mah boyfriend."

"Yeah, of course," Tender Taps said.

"Besides, would you really date a girl who's pregnant?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Well, yeah," Tender Taps said. "If she's pretty. I mean, you're one of the prettiest girls in Ponyville, top three."

"Who else is there?" Apple Bloom teased.

"Well, there’s Princess Twilight, she's absolutely beautiful," Tender Taps said.

"Won't argue that," Apple Bloom said.

"And there's Laura, she's kind of adorable, especially when she gets kind of mad," Tender Taps said. "I think she's having her own relationship issues though."

"Who? With Limestone Pie?" Apple Bloom asked. "Are they even still dating? Were they even dating at all? Or just experimenting, because it looks like that experiment is failing."

"I can't be sure," Tender Taps said. "Anyway look, I won't ask you out again, but if things do fall apart between you and Rumble, I just want you to know that you being pregnant isn't a bother to me. I would love to take you on a date regardless. And when you have that baby, I'll help you take care of him, or her."

"I'll keep that in mind," Apple Bloom said. "Rumble's a nice guy, but we did definitely rush things, and I'm paying fer it. Ah want this to work between us but, ah need to see growth from him, otherwise, it's going downhill."

"Well, I wish you luck on that," Tender Taps said. "Hey, if you don't mind, I can help with some farming, I'm not busy and I could use a little workout."

"Let mah brother know, he'll tell you what should be done," Apple Bloom said. As Tender Taps trotted off, the girl looked back at the boy, "Thinking about it, he is a nice boy...no, ah gotta be fair to Rumble. It's his baby, and ah should be patient with him, ah owe him that much."

---

Outside at the school of Friendship, Sandbar and his friends had finished up and were making their way toward the center of town, on their way to the hospital.

"Think Silverstream's feeling better?" Smolder asked.

"She insists the injury wasn't bad, so hopefully she's going better," Sandbar said. "Maybe it was just a minor scruff."

"She's tough, I mean given what she's been through before, I think she'll be fine," Gallus said.

"She has heart of warrior," Yona added.

"Maybe we should stop by Sugarcube Corner, get her a nice treat," Smolder said.

"Oh yeah, she'd like that," Sandbar said. "Everyone down for that?"

Totally, only the best for our pal," Gallus said.

"We show her what good friends we are," Yona said.

"That sounds neat," Cozy Glow said.

"Uh-huh..." Ocellus said, barely uttering a word, the Changeling feeling distracted.

"Huh?" Sandbar turned to his friend. "Hey Ocellus, are you feeling alright?"

"Huh?" Ocellus looked up. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I just have a lot on my mind."

"Is it that issue with Captain Equestria?" Sandbar asked.

"Y-yeah, that..." Ocellus said. While she was concerned about that, it wasn't what was bothering her at the moment.

"I'm still confused, is he a bad guy now?" Gallus asked.

"No, at least, I hope not," Sandbar said. "Maybe it's a misunderstanding."

"Seems like a major one then, he basically fled town with a bunch of prisoners," Smolder said.

"To be fair, it seems like those prisoners were unfairly punished," Sandbar said. "I mean, taken in for protecting the town? That's majorly bogus."

"He's not wrong, I mean would anyone consider Sugar Belle to be a threat?" Gallus said.

"Or the Apple Family," Yona said.

"Yeesh, the Apples, I feel so bad for them now," Gallus said. "You know, we should go by the farm and check on Apple Bloom some time."

"Wow, that's oddly kind of you, Gallus," Cozy Glow said.

"How is it odd!?" Gallus shouted.

"Gallus!?" Came a voice from the air. Landing nearby was a griffon that Gallus immediately recognized. "Huh, I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see you."

"Gilda?" Gallus said. "Uh, what are you doing here?"

"I heard about what happened to Johnny Storm from one of the heroes in Griffonstone, so I came by to check on Rainbow Dash, make sure she's holding up alright," Gilda said. "Still, good to see you, and you actually have friends too."

"I mean, that's why I was sent here, for Friendship and stuff," Gallus replied, almost sarcastically.

"Well I'm just happy you made the effort, and it paid well," Gilda said. "I got kind of worried when one of the Wonderbolts talked trash about you, but then mentioned some friends so I became less worried, but more curious."

"A Wonderbolt was talking trash about me?" Gallus asked.

"Yeah, young filly named Wind Sprint," Gilda said. "I'm kind of amazed she is a Wonderbolt, she looks really young. In fact, I think she mentioned being a teenager, that's impressive."

"Well I could have been a Wonerbolt myself, but I decided in the end that I did not want to put myself through that," Gallus said. "One of my friends is a Wonerbolt, we're going to see her now."

"Good to know, well I should go check on Rainbow Dash," Gilda said, turning around before seeing another surprise. "Oh cool, I see Spider-Mane and some other mare."

"Huh?" Sandbar looked up to a nearby roof, seeing both Peter and Angel conversing with one another. "Oh that girl is Firestar, she and Spider-Mane were friends back on Earth."

"She's got heat powers, similar to The Equine Torch," Ocellus said. "Except his is more fire-based, I think hers has different elemental properties."

"He also nice, normally don't like Spiders, but Peter is good spider," Yona said.

"Dash has a lot of nice things to say about him too, you know it's funny, it's thanks to him that me and Dash ended up on speaking terms again," Gilda said.

"What happened?" Ocellus asked.

"Well when I first came here, I tried catching up with Rainbow Dash, but Pinkie Pie kept getting in the way of that, which soured my first impression on her. Then an incident regarding pranks occurred at a party that Pinkie Pie hosted, and I got mad and left, which hurt my friendship with Rainbow Dash," Gilda said. Apparentlyy Peter found out about that day and encouraged Rainbow Dash to come to Griffonstone and put the past behind us. It was quite an adventure but over time, we made peace with each other and now we're friends again. I also made peace with Pinkie Pie, and she promised not to be as annoying as she was that day."

"Aw, that's so nice. It's great that Peter helped save your Friendship with Rainbow Dash," Ocellus said.

"Peter's quite the guy I should say, fitting that he's married to The Princess of Friendship with those skills," Gilda said.

"And that he helps at the School of Friendship," Ocellus said. "He's really great at capturing the attention of the students."

"Especially the girls," Gallus joked.

"Well, yeah, he is a pleasant treat for the eyes," Ocellus said, blushing a bit. "But, he's also just nice and charming."

"Good father too, any of you meet his kids yet?" Gilda asked. "His daughter's cute, and pretty sassy. I know his son was just recently born as well."

"His daughter definitely is sassy," Gallus lamented. "She has such a mouth on her."

"She's a spoiled brat," Cozy Glow said.

"Gallus, Cozy, behave," Sandbar warned.

"Right, sorry, probably shouldn’t say anything since she's still a kid...one that infuriates me," Gallus said.

"I hope you're minding your temper, Gallus," Gilda warned. "Don't do or say anything to upset her parents. Twilight went out of her way to get you into her school, and we both know how troubling it was for her. The last thing I want you to do is cause a scene."

"Hey, she bad-mouthed me first," Gallus said.

"It's true, she said some weally mean things to us," Cozy Glow said.

"She's eight, how bad could it have been?" Gilda said. "My point is, even if she's being a brat, don't make things worse. Just let her parents know and let them handle the discipline."

"But they barely do," Gallus said.

"Gallus, give it a rest, it's not worth getting angry about it," Sandbar said. "Professor Sparkle already scolded her for what she did."

"But it keeps happening," Gallus said.

"No one changes that fast Gallus," Sandbar said. "Look, we might have to put up with it a bit more but it's better to just ignore it."

"Mayday need School of Friendship more than anypony right now," Yona said. "Wish Peter send her there."

"He doesn't want to," Smolder said. "Plus do we really want her as a classmate? Might make things awkward."

"Man, how bad did it get between the six of you and Mayday?" Gilda asked.

"To be fair, a good chunk of it was also fueled by Rumble getting in her head," Sandbar said.

"Rumble? Who's..." Gilda thought a moment. "Wait, is he a gray Pegasus with slicked back hair? An older brother who has a mohawk?"

"That's the one," Sandbar said.

"I think I remember him, saw him during the Wedding Week," Gilda said. "I almost thought he was a filly."

"Heh, filly face kid," Gallus joked.

"Well I don't know Rumble that well, so I can't say anything but just try to get along better with Mayday," Gilda said. "Can you do that?"

"I'll do my best," Gallus said.

Gilda could already tell this may not go well, Gallus has always been stubborn, something not foreign to Griffons. She hoped being at the School of Friendship and being surrounded by friends would improve his attitude and at least make him aware of when to be forward or when to hold back, but that is taking longer than she hoped. Of course, even she took a long time to get better, so she can't judge too much.

"Hey Gilda!" Peter called from the roof. He jumped and landed down beside her. "Good to see you."

"Hi Peter, I saw you earlier talking with a friend, so I didn't want to interrupt," Gilda said.

"Oh you saw Angel? Too bad, I would have introduced you, but she had to go patrol. I just needed to catch up with her on, certain issues," Peter said. "Not sure if you know what happened."

"That's actually why I'm here, I know about Captain Equestria, and Johnny Storm, so I came to check on Rainbow Dash," Gilda said.

"She'd be sure to appreciate that, she was really depressed last night," Peter said.

"Dash acts tough, but she's a big softie under that hard shell," Gilda said.

"Huh...starting to see why she liked having a pet Turtle," Peter commented. "Well I'll let you be off."

"Sure but first," Gilda gestured Peter away a second, speaking in a hushed tone. "How has Gallus been doing?"

"Uh, fine, for the most part," Peter said.

"Has he been bothering your daughter?" Gilda asked.

"Uh, well, they certainly haven't been getting along," Peter said. "Actually, I did plan to speak to them about it."

"Gallus is blunt and kind of immature, but he's really nice when he wants to be, so I hope you don't judge him too harshly," Gilda said.

"I won't, they're all nice in their own way, everyone makes mistakes, I just need to correct those mistakes," Peter said.

"Good to know," Gilda said, then turned back to Gallus and company. "I'm off now, take care."

Gilda flew away, leaving Peter behind to face the students, "So, how's it going?"

"Good," Sandbar said. "We're off to get a treat for Silverstream."

"That's really kind of you," Peter said. "So...how are you taking this whole thing?" Peter asked. "Regarding Cap and the others."

"It's very surprising," Ocellus said. "We never would have expected something like this."

"Well just so you know, everyone is hard at work in finding them, we're hoping to resolve this peacefully," Peter said. "Cap has always been a good man, and the captives he was with, well they're our friends. We know they're not a bad group."

"Golly, I sure hope not, that would be so terrible," Cozy Glow said. "Who knows what they could do to Equestria. Especially with that much power."

"I know them well Cozy Glow, you have nothing to worry about," Peter said.

"If you say so..." Cozy said in an almost sing-song type voice.

Peter raised his eyebrow at the filly, for as cute as she was, she seemed to have a mischievous side to her. "Anyway, moving on. Mayday tells me you had an altercation with her yesterday."

"Y-yeah, there were some disagreements," Sandbar said. "We didn't mean any harm."

"I know you didn't, but there was harm," Peter said. "Mayday was really upset when I got home. More than that, she was crying because of what happened."

"Crying?" Ocellus asked.

"Were they real tears or fake ones?" Cozy Glow asked. One glare from Peter freaked her out and caused her to latch onto Ocellus, "Hold me!"

"Cozy..." Ocellus lamented in annoyance.

"You know we didn't mean to make your daughter cry, right Peter?" Sandbar asked.

"Of course, you're great students and Twilight always speaks fondly of you," Peter said. "It doesn't change the fact that you did upset my daughter. So let me set a few things straight. First off, understand that my daughter does not want to go to my wife's school. It's her choice, one that Twilight and I are fine with. She doesn't need the school, she has me and my wife to teach her everything she needs to know. Even Starlight tutors her on occasion, she has the resources, and she feels more comfortable learning at home than in a classroom, and her education is more important than going to school."

"That's an unusual way to say it," Gallus said.

"Dude, not now," Sandbar scolded.

"Second, I know it's not easy to take insults in stride, and Mayday should not have said some of the things she said, I let her know that, but remember that she's a little girl, and she's emotionally sensitive," Peter said. "Mayday is not good with social situations, tough as she acts, it's just to hide her discomfort. She gets really shy around others at times, especially if she doesn't know them. Going to Twilight’s school isn't going to 'fix' that."

"It worked for Ocellus," Gallus said.

"Please stop interrupting him," Sandbar said.

"Yes, Ocellus has friends, but she's still shy by nature," Peter said.

"It's true, I'm still not too comfortable around others," Ocellus said.

"Introverts can make friends, it's just harder, and I'm fairly certain Ocellus would rather just stick with the six friends she has now than venture off to make new ones," Peter said. "Which is fine, not everyone can be like Pinkie Pie and make millions of friends. My daughter is working on the idea of Friendship, and she has a good start with Franklin Richards. The closest she's had to friends prior to him was The Cake Twins and her cousin Flurry Heart. She's slowly understanding this, but it needs to be at her own pace, and you need to understand and respect that."

"Yeah, we understand," Sandbar said. "We're sorry if we came off impolite, we just thought it would help if she went to the school, we thought it'd make her happier."

"You had good intentions, but they were misguided," Peter said. "Next time ask if someone's happy and not assume they aren't just because they don't have a lot of friends. Don't think that just because Twilight is the Princess of Friendship means that Mayday has a bar to reach. Even Twilight had trouble making friends in her youth."

"Hard to imagine," Smolder said. "She seems to like everypony and every creature she sees."

"Well that's because Celestia sent her on a journey to make friends because she thought it would help her..." Peter began to have a sudden realization. "Wait a minute..."

"Uh, what's wrong?" Sandbar asked.

"Nothing, it's just...I don't know, something dawned on me," Peter said. "Never mind it, look for the foreseeable future, maybe just limit your interactions with my daughter."

"Wait, so we can't talk to her?" Sandbar asked, looking very confused.

"If you're in the same room and you want to say 'hi', then that's fine," Peter said. "If you pass her in the park or something and say 'hi', that's fine. Just try not to engage in conversation for a bit."

"Fine with me," Gallus said.

"Good, now I should be off, stay out of trouble," Peter thwipped away on his web.

"Well that felt weird, guess we have to avoid Mayday for a while," Gallus said.

"This is so ridiculous," Sandbar muttered.

"Is it really that bad? I mean do you even like Mayday?" Gallus said.

"Gallus, you still have so much to learn about not saying certain things," Sandbar said. "That goes for you too Cozy Glow."

"I just asked an honest question," Cozy insisted.

"Cozy!" Sandbar shouted, causing her to flinch. Seeing her look scared did calm Sandbar down a peg, frustrated as he was, he couldn't handle upsetting Cozy Glow. Gently he stroked her mane, getting the girl's attention again. "Just promise me you won't make things worse for Mayday."

Cozy looked up at Sandbar, her cheeks turning pink as she took in the sight of what she considered to be a very handsome pony. "Sure, I promise."

"You're a cute kid Cozy Glow," Sandbar lifted her mane so he could kiss her forehead. "Just show that inner cuteness to. Sound good?"

Cozy's face turned completely red as she began giggling to the point of fainting, confusing the students around her.

"Cozy Glow!?" Sandbar shouted in worry as everyone surrounded her.

Smolder rubbed her chin as she began observing the situation, "You know Sandbar, I'm getting the feeling that Cozy Glow has a crush on you."

Ocellus could tell that Cozy indeed felt something for Sandbar, she found it adorable. She used her magic to levitate Cozy onto her back, "Let's get a move on."

"Right..." Sandbar said, feeling more awkward now. "By the way, has anyone seen Kurt at all today? He hasn't been outside the little Church room."

"Guess he's been busy praying due to this whole Captain Equestria situation," Smolder said. "He'll be fine, once he finds comfort again he'll be the cheerful guy he always is."

Ocellus again grew worried, the girl having a feeling as to why Kurt did not want to be seen.

---

At the Capcom world, Sunset was communicating with Twilight through their spell, the Princess informing her friend of everything that had happened.

"Captain America ran off!?" Sunset shouted in disbelief.

"Yeah, it's quite a surprise," Twilight said. "No one expected him to just run off like that, and with a small little group too."

"I mean, it sounds like they were unfairly arrested, and maybe Cap thought they deserved better," Sunset said. "But it sounds like he went to quite the extremes. Like, is there any reason he could have done this?"

"Well, Peter did spot his enemy Mr. Negative yesterday, and he has the ability to change your personality, make you the opposite of what you are," Twilight explained. "That's my theory as to why Cap acted this way."

"Think things will get better?" Sunset asked. "Do you need me to go back to Equestria?"

"No, we have this under control, or at least Tony Stark and Princess Luna should be on it," Twilight said. "If things really get bad, then maybe we'll need your help. Until then, we should be good."

"Well I'm only one call away," Sunset said. "I trust you will have things under control."

"I hope to," Twilight said. "By the way, I don't suppose you've heard any updates regarding Thor. I know he's in his own world but has he passed by Capcom by chance?"

"No, but I know everyone here is curious about that whole Ragnarök thing, we'll definitely let you know if we do anything regarding that," Sunset said.

"Alright, well I'll let you get back to your training," Twilight said.

"Thanks, good luck with this Captain America situation," Sunset said, ending the call.

"What Captain America situation?" Came the voice of Chun-Li, the girl joined by Nathan Spencer and Strider Hiryu.

"Oh, hi Chun-Li," Sunset greeted. "There’s some trouble back in Equestria, it almost sounds like Captain America started a rebellion of sorts."

"He did what?" Spencer asked.

"Should we be concerned?" Strider chimed in.

"Twilight says Iron Man and Luna have it under control," Sunset said. "But I told her I would go back to Equestria if I needed to."

"We can definitely make another portal...I think," Chun-Li said. "If not, we can go there through Marvel."

"Speaking of Marvel, Twilight asked us about Thor, should we do something about that soon?" Sunset asked.

"We can give it a try later, but I do know that Thor is awfully protective of Asgard," Chun-Li said.

"He is, he even seemed reluctant to let me join, but I still want to check up on him, make sure everything is alright," Sunset said. "Plus with Akuma and Sephiroth being potentially involved, I'm willing to be that Ryu and Cloud would want to lend their assistance as well."

"She's got a point, plus Thor knows how tough we are, we can take whatever gets thrown at us," Spencer said.

"I'll try to contact Thor later, for now Sunset, your training must continue," Chun-Li said.

"Got that right," came the voice of Tifa, the girl walking over and cracking her knuckles. "Hope you're ready Sunset, I'm coming at you full force."

"Sparring against Tifa huh? This should be fun," Sunset said. "Alright, let's get to the training ground."

---

Meanwhile in Equestria, Twilight had put her spell mirror away and heard a door knock. She opened to reveal Susan, Derpy and Franklin. "Oh good, you're here. Mayday's beenwaitingg."

"Well, I'm here for another reason of course," Susan said. "I'm going to find my brother, and bring him back."

"Yes, of course," Twilight said, then turned to Franklin. "Mayday's upstairs, go say 'hello'."

"Yes ma'am," Franklin said, running up to find the girl.

"Come inside, let's talk," Twilight said, gesturing the mares in.

Upstairs, Franklin knocked on Mayday's door, the filly opening to see the boy she's grown fond of, "Frankie!" She pulled him in for a hug.

"Hey Mayday, got anything planned for today?" Franklin asked.

"Tons, come on," Mayday said, pulling the boy into her room.

---

Elsewhere, Thor was making his way through Asgard, making sure that everyone was prepared for the big event. Sif seemed ready, the Warriors three seemed ready, he just needed to prepare the forces and build some battle tactics.

"Loki is still out there and Ragnarök is upon us, this may not bode well for Asgard, if we're not careful, we could lose our entire civilization," Thor said.

"Yo! Thor!" Came Goku's voice, the Saiyan getting Thor's attention.

"Yes Goku, what is it?" Thor asked, somewhat annoyed.

"Sorry to bother you, I know you're busy because you're worried your brother might come by, I just wanted to know if there was any place nearby that I can train," Goku said.

"Didn't Heimdall bring you to Ymir to do battle against Frost Giants?" Thor asked.

"Yeah, and it was pretty fun, but I need a bit more," Goku said.

Thor rubbed his forehead in frustration, "How long do you even plan to stay if I may ask."

"Not too much longer, I still need to get back, Beerus has a big fight set up for me," Goku said.

"Beerus..." Thor remembered the God of Destruction. It was he and Whis who had brought Goku to Asgard after Goku told them abut Thor. It was amazing that Whis's Cube could even make it to this realm. "I wonder what he's doing now?"

"Last I saw, Beerus along with Whis were trying out some Asgardian delicacies," Goku said. "Good thing he likes the food here, otherwise he might destroy this place."

"As if I would let him," Thor said. "Or my father for that matter. Strong as Beerus is, even he would struggle against the might of Odin, even if his lifespan is nearly at an end."

"It's amazing the strength Gods can possess, usually at least," Goku said. "Even your brother seemed pretty strong when I went against him."

"Yes, my brother is powerful, with some underhanded tricks," Thor said. "It takes more than just strength to defeat him."

"Is there a reason that your brother is like this? I mean I know my brother was evil because he was raised like a typical Saiyan, he conquered worlds for a living," Goku said. "But Asgardians look more peaceful than Saiyans."

"I can assure you that we are not a peaceful people, in fact my father has waged wars against other realms, it is how Loki came to our family," Thor said. "My father had killed his and took Loki in as his own son. Loki and I were close once, we were truly brothers. But father seemed to favor me more as Asgard's successor, and in general, which led to my brother feeling hate and resentment due to his feelings of neglect. It did not help that he was prophesied as the instigator of Ragnarök, all that hatred led his eventual fall into darkness."

"Sounds rough," Goku said. Sorry that happened, you know it's funny, despite finding out I had a brother, I felt almost nothing for him. I never knew him, and the first thing he did when he came to Earth was trying to kidnap my son. You however, you knew your brother, and you felt the sharp pain of betrayal, that's gotta be awful."

"It truly was," Thor said. "Some days I wish Loki would put aside his villainy and come back home. He has good in him, I know he does, I just wish he knew that too."

"Well, Loki may not know it, but he's lucky to have a brother who cares," Goku said. "But it sounds like the issue also boils down to your father."

"Yes, perhaps," Thor said. "Once we defeat Loki, hopefully we can be rehabilitated, but it would take some time. Perhaps Twilight Sparkle can help me with that, she is very good at making friends."

"Twilight Sparkle, she's the purple pony with a horn and wings, " Goku said. "Wonder how she's doing lately?"

"I wonder myself, perhaps she has given birth by now, I hope to see her child for myself," Thor said. "You never met their oldest child correct? Their daughter Mayday?"

"Uh, I think I saw her at the castle, never actually spoke to her," Goku said.

"She's a bright young girl, I sense a great future ahead for her," Thor said.

"Does she fight?" Goku asked.

"Uh, no, she's more of an aspiring inventor than an aspiring warrior," Thor said.

"Sounds like my friend Bulma," Goku said. "Speaking of who, I bet she'd find this place pretty cool, same with all my friends, and Vegeta."

"Vegeta is that other Saiyan correct?" Thor asked. "Where is he?"

"He went to train somewhere in space, usually he's on Beerus's planet but he needed some peace and quiet for a bit," Goku said. "So since I got curious, I decided to ask Beerus and Whis to bring me here."

"Shame, I am interested to learn more about him, he may have more insight into Planet Vegeta," Thor said. "I am curious about Saiyan culture."

"Well, he says that Saiyans like to fight, not sure if there's more to it than that," Goku said.

"Do you ever wish to know more about the Saiyans?" Thor asked.

"Sometimes, but I'm fine being an Earthling," Goku said. "I was not born on Earth, but I was raised there, so for all intents and purposes, Earth is my home, and it means more to me than Planet Vegeta."

"Respectable," Thor said. "Now, I must be off, I must meet with The Warriors Three."

"By the way, how long til this...uh, Ragged Rock event?" Goku asked.

"You mean Ragnarök." Thor corrected.

"Yeah that, how long until that happens?" Goku asked.

"I am not too sure, could be within the month," Thor said.

"Kind if wish I had a more concrete time, but that's fine," Goku said. "It seems like you might need help protecting your home, and I will be there to do so."

"I cannot ask you to risk your life," Thor said.

"It's no trouble, you seem like a nice guy and the people here seem nice too," Goku said. "I don't feel right leaving them to potentially die if I know I can do something to help. Like I said, I'm not a superhero, but I don't like seeing people getting hurt. Plus, it sounds like it will be a really fun fight."

"Ever the warrior," Thor said. "Perhaps we can work something out. Maybe even Lord Beerus can help."

"Not a chance," Came Beerus's voice as he walked over, picking some food out of his teeth. "This is your problem, not mine. Figure your own mess out."

"Come on Lord Beerus, Thor's a God too, isn't there some sort of Brotherhood?" Goku asked.

"Please, I wouldn't do anything even if was my actual brother," Beerus said. "I have more important things to do."

"What? Like sleeping for another hundred years?" Goku stated in a snarky tone.

"What do you know about my job, put a cork in it," Beerus said.

"In spite of his rudeness, Lord Beerus does have a point," Whis said. "While it's true that this is an event involving Gods, Beerus's duty is to Universe 7. He would only step in if this Loki fellow caused trouble in our Universe."

"Well that's a bummer, but fine, more fighting for me," Goku said.

"Speaking of which, it's time to head back, you've done enough sightseeing for two days," Beerus said.

"Aw come on, can't I stay a bit longer?" Goku asked.

"We will bring you back once Ragnarok starts, if you truly desire to help, but Beerus cannot stay in this realm long, and leaving you behind would not be ideal, plus your wife did ask that you not stay to far off in another realm, just in case she needed you back home," Whis said.

"Oh fine," Goku said. "Hey Thor, do you have anyway to contact us?"

"Not that I am aware of," Thor said.

"Here, use this," Whis said, manifesting a crystal ball for Thor. "This should work even between our realms."

"This is for the Ragnarök even only, do not bother us with anything else, or I will personally destroy this place myself," Beerus warned.

Thor clenched his hammer, as if ready to strike Beerus down now, but it wasn't worth starting a fight over a petty threat, "Very well."

"Let's go Goku," Whis said.

"Bye Thor, hey maybe I can bring my family here one day, after Ragnarök. Chi-Chi's been dying for a vacation," Goku said. "Plus I think my two sons and my granddaughter will love this place too."

"Very well, farewell Son Goku," Thor said as he flew off to meet with The Warriors Three.

"Such a fascinating fellow," Whis said as his group made it's way back to the cube.

---

In Manehattan, Rarity was busy with her clothing line, hoping to use it to take her mind off of the troubles that have emerged as of late. To imagine ponies turning traitor to the country, and that one of them was her dear friend Applejack, along with her husband and one of her friends' husbands.

This was equally disappointing to Bobby, some of those ponies were his friends too, now he had to seek them out and place them under arrest.

As she worked on her clothes, Bobby had come into the room, carefully closing the door behind them as to not wake their sleeping daughter, "Hey Rares."

"Oh, hello dear," Rarity said. "How was your patrol so far?"

"Alright, since Martin Li got exposed, there haven't been as many of the Demons, though we still get a few from time to time," Bobby said. "With any luck, we should be able to find him."

"That’s great to know," Rarity said. She could still feel some tension in the room, as evident by Bobby's lack of his usual relaxed tone. "So...have you located anything else?"

"Not yet, which really kind of sucks," Bobby said. "Honestly, I can barely focus Rarity, how am I supposed to accept the fact that our friends turned traitor like this, like what were they thinking?"

"I don't know, I wish we had more information, the suspense is unbearable," Rarity said.

"Tell me about it, I hate it so much," Bobby said. "I need answers, I need to know why Remy and Johnny did this, I need to know what Cap was thinking."

"You'll find out soon my dear," Rarity said. "We all will, with all the heroes scattered about, it's only a matter of time before we find Steve Rogers."

"Yeah, you're right, justice always wins after all," Bobby said. "Plus with those Patroller Bots everywhere, we should be able to find his exact location sooner than later."

"Exactly, we'll get to the bottom of this," Rarity said.

"What's gonna happen with Applejack?" Bobby asked. "Same with Remy or Johnny?"

"They might have a lot to answer for, but as their friends, we'll still be there for them," Rarity said. "I would never abandon a friend in a time of need."

"You're a stand up gal Rarity," Bobby said, leaning against the table she was working on. "Always know just what to say."

"I try my best," Rarity said.

"You know, maybe we should take our mind off the troubles, how about we go to that nice restaurant down the street later," Bobby said.

"Only if we can get a foalsitter for our little Gem," Rarity said, gesturing to the direction of their daughter.

"Think Coco's free tonight? Or I can go find Babs Seed," Bobby said.

"Uh, I don't think it's a good time to bother Babs, or any of the Apple Family relatives," Rarity said.

"Right, well we'll keep that in mind, worse comes to worse, we order out, we'll wine and dine here," Bobby said. "Maybe try giving our little Gem a brother or sister?"

"You would love to try, wouldn't you?" Rarity teased. "Do you think we can handle having another child?"

"Hey with the success of your stores and me being part of The Accords, I think we're financially able to support four more kids," Bobby said.

"I wasn't just talking about finance, the fact is we're both busy, I just want to be sure we'll have time," Rarity said.

"We'll make time, your call, but I still kind of want to have sex with you later," Bobby said.

"Oh I know you do, it's fine, I don't think I'm in heat anyway, so we can do it risk free," Rarity said. "Allow me to finish up here at least."

"New line?" Bobby asked.

"Sort of, nothing fancy," Rarity said. "Just some average clothes. By the way, how is my store? Suri hasn't been by, has she?"

"So far no, I did ask Daredevil and the others to keep an eye out," Bobby said.

"That's good, the less trouble the better," Rarity said. "At this point I don't think I have the patience for her."

"Who does? It's a miracle Martin Li even did," Bobby said. "Anyway I should go back out and patrol, you keep doing what you're doing."

"Of course my dear," Rarity said as Bobby made his exit.

---

That evening, Cap's team had arrived at Manehattan, it was a longer trip than they hoped. They had made their way down the mountains and briefly stopped off at Sugar Belle's house to grab supplies before venturing off again.

Some like Steve, Bucky, Sam and Johnny had the natural speed to help them through the journey, others like Sandman had assisted a few using his abilities, and everyone else trotted on foot.

"Wow that was a long trip," Felicia said, wiping some sweat off her head.

"It wasn’t that long, and we stopped plenty of times fer you to freshen up," Appleajack said. "You even rode on my back for part of the journey."

"I'm surprised you didn't take her hat and shout 'Yee-Haw' while riding on her back," Johnny said.

"Look alive everyone," Cap said. "Keep an eye out for any heroes in town."

"I hope this plan works, I don't think I have the energy for a fight," Sugar Belle said.

"Hopefully there won't be any fighting, this is a diplomatic mission," Steve said.

"Cuz?" the group heard. Applejack turned and saw Babs Seed. "No way."

"Babs, what are you doing out so late?" Applejack asked.

"It ain't that late, plus I'm nineteen, not a kid," Babs said. "Still, what are you doing in town? It's only been a day since you...uh, you know."

"Ran off with Captain Equestria?" Applejack said, Remy raising an eyebrow at that statement. "Wait, that came out wrong."

"I know what ya mean," Babs said. "Still, what happened?"

"It's a long story, just know that we ain't trying to take over the country or nothin'," Applejack said.

"Your cousin and friends were unfairly arrested, so I broke them free of captivity," Steve explained. "I know it wasn't the smartest choice but it was the only option I had left."

"Well, if I know my cousin, I know she wouldn't do anything to mess with Equestria," Babs said. "Plus you did save me and my family once Cap, you and that guy with the metal wings."

"You did?" Bucky asked.

"I remember, it was the day we found you in Equestria," Sam said. "We saved her and an older couple from the Demon Gang."

"Hey Babs, they still giving you trouble?" Applejack asked.

"Nah, since Daredevil busted that Lee guy, there haven't been as many Demons, and ones that do show up usually get their flanks kicked by the heroes here," Babs said. "Daredevil is awesome, but I think my favorite is the guy with the skateboard."

"Night Thrasher?" Johnny asked.

"Yeah, that one, such a badass name too," Babs said. "Anyway, you're alright in my book, all of you are, I mean, I don't know some of you but if you're with Cap and my cuz, then you must be good."

"Do you know Sugar Belle at least?" Applejack asked. "She's the one who's been helping at the farm since around the time Apple Bloom got pregnant."

"She's also my apprentice," Remy said. "And makes a good pie."

"It's nothing really, I just like baking," Sugar Belle said. "It's a good back up if I can't cut it as a hero."

"I appreciate you doing that for Apple Bloom, can't believe Rumble knocked her up," Babs said. "He's taking responsibility, right?"

"He is, at least he's trying to," Applejack said. "Apple Bloom is rethinking their relationship, but ah do think it's great that Rumble genuinely cares. Good kid, just kind of scatterbrained at times."

"So are we done here yet? You've been babbling on forever," Taskmaster said.

"Huh? Who's this guy?" Babs asked.

"An ally," Steve said.

"Call me Taskmaster, you need a job done, I'm your guy," the villain greeted.

"She needs no job done," Steve said.

"Wait, why does that name sound familiar? I think Apple Bloom mentioned it in a letter," Babs said.

"Don't worry about it right now," Steve said. "But to his point, we should get going, we have heroes to find."

"They might find us, check it out," Felicia said, gesturing to some Patroller Robots.

"Scanning...scanning..." Suddenly alarms rung out, startling ponies nearby. "Danger! Traitors of Equestria spotted!"

"Traitors? Not cool dude," Johnny said.

It wasn't long before the heroes in the city began honing in, starting with Night Thrasher, then Bobby, then Night Glider, and finally Daredevil.

"Were you all nearby?" Johnny asked.

"I was actually at the other side of the city, but I'm pretty dang fast," Night Glider said.

"Cap..." Daredevil said, stepping forward and facing off against Steve.

"Daredevil..." Steve replied.

"I'm almost surprised to, see, you here," Daredevil said, a statement more metaphorical than literal.

"Uh, weren't there five of you?" Babs asked.

"Elektra got fired," Bobby said. "Too violent for the job."

"Aw, bogus, she was really cool," Babs said.

"Let's cut to the chase, why did you come Steve?" Daredevil asked.

"This place is my first step to setting this country free," Steve explained.

"Excuse me?" Daredevil asked. "Setting it free?"

"Daredevil, tell me, do you believe in The Accords?" Steve asked. "Do you think they are in the best interest for this country? Do you think this will keep anyone safe?"

"What's he going on about?" Night Glider asked.

"Tony's Accords have caused trouble for months, Daredevil," Steve explained. "His Accords placed Johnny Storm and Rainbow Dash on probation after they fought hard to save ponies in Tony Stark's building. They got Felicia Hardy arrested just because she wanted to help Peter fight off some pirates. They tried arresting everyone here just for saving Ponyville from an evil shadow creature, and even wanted to exercise punishment on one of the shadow's captives."

"All that really happened?" Babs asked. "Dang, that sounds rough."

"Daredevil, I know you've been looking into change, this is your chance," Steve said. "Help us change Equestria for the better, if we don't, not only will this world suffer, but so will ours."

While this was going on, Bobby had contacted Canterlot, "Tony? Spitfire? Luna?"

"Yes Bobby?" Luna answered. "What is it? I see alerts showing up for Manehattan."

"Yeah, Cap's team just got spotted, they're in the city right now," Bobby said.

"Really!?" Luna said. "This is perfect. Is the team there assembled?"

"Yes, and it almost looks like Cap is trying to talk to Daredevil about something, not sure if he's buying time or what," Bobby said.

"Try to capture them, I will have allies sent to your location soon," Luna said.

"Will do," Bobby said, slowly making his way into view.

"Daredevil, I implore you, help me do away with the Accords, the two of us can snap Tony out of this mindset of his and retore Equestria to its former glory," Steve pleaded.

"I..." Daredevil wasn't sure what to do. He knew Steve had a point, but doing this did spell risk. Of course, what is risk without reward, he isn't called Daredevil for nothing. In the end, he knew Steve was right, and he knew this was the only way to break the control of The Accords. "When you put it that way-"

"ICE BRIGADE!" Bobby shouted, sending an avalanche of ice to cover everyone in Steve's team, taking them by surprise.

"Bobby! What are you doing!?" Daredevil shouted.

"My job, same as you should be doing," Bobby said. "Look, Steve's just trying play divide and conquer right now, and you nearly fell for it. I already contacted Luna and she'll be sending back up so we can get Steve back to Canterlot and resolve this situation."

"Isn't that kind of harsh, I mean some of them are your friends," Night Glider said. "More than that, one of them was my friend!"

"Your friend shouldn't have been part of a group of traitors, but with any luck, maybe Luna will go easy on them," Bobby said. "Look, it's not like I wanted to do this, but I had to, we can't let our personal feelings interfere with our work."

Suddenly part of the ice began to melt as Johnny freed himself from his icy prison, "Did you really think that would work!? I'm the Human Torch! Even your ice isn't a match for me."

"That's what you think!" Bobby sent an ice beam at Johnny, to which he countered with fire. "You may be heat incarnate, but even you can't melt my ice!"

Johnny tried pushing back, but Bobby was a lot stronger than he anticipated, for all the fire he put out, Bobby matched with more ice. Johnny had to be careful, there were ponies nearby and he didn't want to risk endangering them with his heat, something Bobby probably knew too.

"Just give it up Johnny! Surrender peacefully and I promise Luna will take it easy on you!" Bobby shouted. "Think of your daughter! Do you really want to make things worse!? Imagine how this will impact her!"

"Bobby! Stop"! Daredevil ordered. "Don't fight! It's not worth it!"

"Daredevil, pick a side, are you with me or them!?" Bobby said.

Johnny had to act quickly, so using his powers, he was able to free some of his allies, including Steve, Bucky, Sam, Lizard and Sandman.

Steve quickly rushed in and tossed his shield at Bobby's head, knocking him for a loop while Bucky ran in and punched him against a pole.

"Well we know who's side he's on then," Sam said. "What about the rest of you?"

"I'm..." Night Glider had to think quickly, while she's happy to be a Wonderbolt, she also doesn't want to fight her friends, at least not Sugar Belle. Despite that, she couldn't just break the rules, she couldn't turn against those who gave her this opportunity, a chance to really let her skills shine. "I'm sorry, but I can't, I have to stop you!"

"Night Glider hold up!" Night Thrasher said, but too late, the mare rushed to attack.

Sam flew up and kicked her in the face, then knocked her out of the air.

Johnny had freed everyone else, Sugar Belle rushing over to check on her friend, "Night Glider!"

"Watch out!" Sam flew in and to snatch Sugar Belle out of the way before Bobby had a chance to attack again.

"Bobby! Stop this!" Remy called.

"It's my job Remy, you should have surrendered!" Bobby said, ready to attack. He then found himself surrounded by sand. "What the hell!?"

Sandman had enlarged himself and grabbed Bobby to throw him through a nearby building.

"Easy, mind the ponies!" Steve urged.

"Cap..." Night Thrasher said, standing in front of the hero.

"Dwayne, what will you do?" Steve asked. "Fight with me? Or against me?"

"I.." Night Thrasher thought it over, before concluding. "Do you really think this is the right call?"

"Yes, I believe it is," Steve said.

"Well then...I-" Night Thrasher's answer was interrupted by Night Glider getting back up and fling in for a kick to Steve.

"Enough! All of you need to surrender!" Night Glider then dodged an attack from Falcon but was left open for her friend to magically restrain her. "Sugar Belle!?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you stop Captain Equestria," Sugar Belle said.

"But, we're friends! How could you!?" Night Glider asked.

"Please forgive me," Sugar Belle tearfully said as she flung Night Glier into the same building Bobby went, the two colliding against each other.

"That's gonna cause some dramatic tension," Felicia teased.

"Not funny," Sugar Belle said.

Steve had pulled himself up, once again finding himself face to face with Daredevil, the hero still looking conflicted. "Matt?"

"Steve, what makes you so confident about this?" Daredevil asked. "What makes you so sure that this is the right thing to do?"

"I can't make any promises, but I will try my hardest to abide by them," Steve said. "What I'm asking for is risky, and you don't have to join me. I could never force someone to really put themselves in danger. Even if you do not side with me, that doesn't mean we have to fight, not unless you give me a reason to."

"Well, I may have to fight," Daredevil said.

Not too long later, two Wonderbolts, Sky Stinger and Vapor Trails had landed nearby.

"Wonderbolts reporting from Fillydelphia," Sky Stinger said.

"Fillydelphia? Wow you were fast getting here," Daredevil said.

"We are top on the line in speed, we're Wonderbolts after all," Sky Stinger said.

"Looks like you've found the traitors," Vapor Trails said. "Captain Equestria, as per the rules of The Earth-Equestrian Alliance Accords, I'm afraid we must ask for your surrender, failure to do so will result in force."

"Is she serious?" Taskmaster said. "After what we did to Iceman and that other pony? Honestly I didn't even have to do much, that's how easily we dispatched them."

"Well, they aren't us, so don't give us a reason to show you our awesome teamwork capabilities," Sky Stringer said.

"Final warning Captain, surrender or we use force," Vapor Trails said.

"I got this," Daredevil said. "No need for you to use any force."

"Thanks, but we cannot take any chances," Vapor Trails said. "Now then Captain, will you-"

Suddenly Daredevil whacked her in the head with his rod, surprising Sky Stinger.

"Hey what in the-" Suddenly he took a whack to the face too, both Wonderbolts knocked out.

"Huh, didn't expect that," Steve said. "So, are you in?"

"Yes, I'm on your side Captain," Daredevil said.

"Good to hear," Steve replied. "That just leaves Night Thrasher."

"Hey I'm with Daredevil, so you can count on me Cap," Night Thrasher said.

"Excellent, now let's keep on the move," Steve said.

"Where to?" Johnny asked.

"If we keep down south, we'll find another town, Balitmare," Steve said. "Last I checked, that's where Tigra was assigned, and I believe she also has her own pair of Wonderbolt assistants."

"Probably the Barrel Twins," Johnny said. "I know they recently got located into one of these nearby towns."

"We should be careful, according to the map, it's right across the lake from Griffonstone," Applejack said.

"We'll keep an eye out," Steve said. "Let’s go everyone."

"Yeah, those damn robots are coming," Sam said, gesturing to the Patroller Robots.

The team made their exit, on their way to the next town.

Meanwhile Babs had looked over the area, seeing the damage done. Not too much to worry about, some property damage but nothing that couldn't be quickly fixed. She spotted a pony with a blue mane.

"Hey! Blueberry!" Babs called.

"Huh?" Blueberry Curls turned to the young girl. "Oh Babs, what happened here?"

"Big fight, listen I saw my cousin earlier and I gotta talk to her, tell my family I'm gonna be gone for a while," Babs said.

"Your cousin!? Wait you mean Applejack!? Was she here? Was Captain Equestria here!?" Blueberry asked.

"Just do it, I'll be back later!" Babs said, rushing in the same direction as Applejack.

"Babs wait!" Blueberry called to no avail. "Oh, this could be trouble."

Not too long later, Bobby had recovered from the attack, looking a bit frustrated as he contacted Luna, "Hey, small problem, they got away."

"They escaped!?" Luna shouted in annoyance.

"Yeah, looks like it. Sorry, I thought I had it, my powers should have contained all of them, even Johnny, but they one-uped me," Bobby said.

"What of the two Wonderbolts that I sent your way?" Luna asked.

Bobby looked out the window, he saw the duo getting up, "I see them, guess they got beat up too."

Sky Stringer looked up and waved to Bobby. "Vapor, I see Ice Mane."

"Good, he should know what's happening," Vapor Trails said, flying up to greet the hero.

"Cap got the upperhand on you as well?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah, after we got betrayed," Sky Stinger said. "That hero in red knocked us out!"

"He did what!?" Bobby asked.

"Bobby, what's happening?" Luna asked.

"Apparently Daredevil's on Cap's side now," Bobby explained. "He totally betrayed us!"

"You have got to be kidding me, what of Night Glider and Night Thrasher?" Luna asked.

"Night Glider's here, she took a beating too, but I don't see Night Thrasher, either he's out of my sight or he turned on us too," Bobby said.

"He probably did," Night Glider said, sitting up. "Steve Rogers was talking to him about switching sides, guess he took him up on his offer."

"Alright, that makes two traitors," Bobby said. "I'll search around just to be sure but this is getting worse Luna."

"How unfortunate," Luna said. "Well, you did your best at least, we will contact you again. Tell the two Wonderbolts you're with to return to base, I will see if I can make any replacements for you in Manehattan."

"Don't worry about replacements, I can take the Demons by myself if I had to, and Night Glider is more than enough of a partner, just find Cap and the others," Bobby said. "We'll keep an eye out just in case they return."

"Very well," Luna said.

As Bobby turned the radio off, he could see the rage on Night Glider's face, "Hey, you alright Glide?"

"Sugar Belle...I can't believe she would just turn against me," Night Glider said. "After all we've been through! She turned against me! Then Night Thrasher ditches me!? Why would Dwayne do something like that? He was my Partner of the Night!"

"I know how you feel, I'm upset about Applejack and Remy, and Rarity won't be too happy about this either," Bobby said as he held his hoof out to her. "We'll fix this, together."

Night Glider took his hoof, "Yeah, together."

---

Meanwhile Luna had contacted Stark, letting him know the situation, "Tony, we have a problem. Daredevil and Night Thrasher have betrayed us, Cap's team led an attack on Manehattan, they got past Bobby Drake, Night Glider, Sky Stinger and Vapor Trails."

"Are you serious!?" Tony shouted in annoyance. "Damn, now things are going to get more complicated, It's fine though, at least we have an idea on where Steve is, well get that side of the country better guarded."

"Indeed, so how are things in Klugetown?" Luna asked.

Tony, who was in his armor, had just knocked out a resident, "They could be better. I couldn't find Felicia's old contact, but that's fine, he's useless now."

"Uh, were you in a fight per chance?" Luna asked.

"They attacked first, but I doubt they'll retaliate, they don't have the guts to go against an Avenger," Tony said. "Not anymore at least. I'm on my way back to Canterlot."

As Tony left, Capper, who was hiding nearby, stepped out to take in the view, "Dang, that armored pony beat the tar out of everyone. Still, it sounds like my girl Felicia's been up to trouble, after what happened between her, Spider-Mane and Celaeno, things have gotten even more chaotic." Capper tapped his chin, "Come to think of it, I haven't even seen Celaeno around for weeks, Klugetown's gonna lose a good supply of goods, at this rate I might need to skip out. Where to go next though, don't want to go crawling back to Abyssinia, not yet at least. Eh, I'll figure it out."

Tony made his way back to Canterlot, hoping to further fix this underlying issue of Steve and his team. Deep down, it still nagged at him to even consider Steve a traitor, but rules are still rules, he has to do what's right, for the sake of Equestria.

---

Meanwhile, Steve's team was still making their way to the next town, unaware of the friend that would be joining them.

"Hey wait up!" Babs called. "Wait for me!"

"Babs?" Applejack said.

"Don't tell me she wants to come," Remy said.

"Looks like it," Steve said.

"Hey! You need some extra muscle right!?" Babs said. "Count me in!"

"Dang it Babs..." Applejack said. "Like we need another bad apple."

"Hey, we're the good guys," Remy said. "But still, Babs, this ain't safe."

"Well, I'm joining ya's regardless, I'm ready for duty Captain!" Babs said.

Steve couldn't help but get a laugh in, he respects her tenacity, though he hopes this wouldn't be one recruitment he wasn't going to regret later.

Faith Diminishing

The following day out in the east part of Equestria, Team Captain America had just rested up comfortably at their campsite, their numbers growing after a recent adventure. With Daredevil, better known as Matt, and Night Thrasher, better known as Dwayne having joined them, alongside Babs Seed, Applejack's city cousin.

Steve kept his eyes and ears open for any sign of potential danger. So far no sign of The Heroes or The Wonderbolts. Of course he wasn't alone, this was a task both Bucky and Sam shared, especially during their campout that night.

At the crack of dawn, the group had continued on toward Baltimare, where the next batch of Heroes were and Wonderbolts were.

"Pick up the pace y'all," Applejack encouraged.

"Ugh, how can you be so full of energy this early in the morning?" Felicia whined.

"It takes a lot of getting used to," Johnny said, wiping his eyes. "Being in The Wonderbolts helps."

"Well I'm not a morning person, I'm more of a nighttime lady," Felicia said.

"I'm in a similar boat," Dwayne said. "I'm Night Thrasher after all, not Morning Thrasher."

"Y'all would never make it as farmers with that type of mindset," Applejack said.

"We're not interested in being farmers," Felicia said. "That job is way too dirty for a girl like me."

"Less chatting, more walking," Bucky said. "You can sleep all you want later once we find a place to stay at."

"We could have stayed at Fillydelphia," Felicia said.

"You mean where Sky Stinger and Vapor Trail are stationed?" Bucky reminded. "Keep in mind that Daredevil knocked them out cold, which means next time they see us, they're gonna want payback."

"So going to a town that they guard over isn't the smartest move," Sam said.

"Alright fine, hopefully we'll have better luck at Baltimore," Felicia said.

"Baltimare," Matt corrected.

"Same thing, just ponified!" Felicia snapped.

Stygian himself seemed to be walking while dozing off, accidentally bumping into Taskmaster.

"Hey watch it!" the villain warned, waking Stygian up a moment.

"My apologies," Stygian said. "I'm afraid I do not do well in early mornings myself, rather I am very out of practice."

"It sucks for me too, this is why I ain’t in the country," Babs said as she trotted in a woozy way.

"Hang in there," Steve said. "It won't be long until we reach Baltimare.”

"You think Tigra will side with us?" Bucky asked.

"I can't be sure," Steve said. "This is a risk we need to take, if we can't get her to join us, then weakening that town will be difficult."

"Is weakening the towns even a good idea?" Johnny asked. "I know Stark got carried away with this Accords stuff, but he did do this for a reason, to protect Equestria."

"I'm aware Torch, but until we get Tony's attention and get him to change his mind about the way he's doing things, we're still going to be in a vulnerable position," Steve said. "Tony is trying too hard to place security on the world, that's going to backfire in a bad way."

"I knew that power would one day corrupt Stark's mind," Taskmaster said. "Don't matter how noble a person is, once power corrupts, there ain't no going back."

"I won't let that happen," Steve said. "I'll save Tony from himself, before it's too late."

"It probably already is," Taskmaster said. "Tony Stark is corrupted with power."

Steve grumbled in annoyance, though he himself began to wonder if Tony's moral character truly has taken a hit, or if there's a way to help his wayward friend.

"Hey once we get to that town, what then?" Felicia asked. "How do you even plan to talk to this girl?"

"Preferably like a friend, I'd hope not to treat her like a foe," Steve said.

"Considering that we greatly outnumber her, I think we'll be fine," Taskmaster said.

"We will be, as long as you let me do the talking," Steve warned.

"Keep in mind that she has two Wonderbolt allies," Johnny said. "Pickle and Barley are young but very talented, they've been doing professional flying since they were kids."

"Do you know them personally?" Sugar Belle asked.

"Well I did help mentor them, so did Dashie," Johnny said. "They actually grew up admiring her, hearing about all of her daring escapades. It was an honor for them to meet up with her."

"Good kids those two are," Applejack said.

"Yeah...wonder how Rainbow Dash is doing right now?" Johnny said, thinking about his wife.

"Miss your wife, Torch?" Sam asked. "Silly question, I know. What man wouldn't miss the woman he loves."

"I remember the look on her face when Carol had me arrested, she was heartbroken," Johnny said. "She already had her hopes dashed when Spitfire placed us under probation over that accident in Manehattan, now she has this to deal with. Didn't help that her Wonderbolt start was a bit of a disaster, with her getting stuck with an annoying nickname. Then there’s getting pregnant, but that had a happier outcome for us, even if she got no fanfare when she got back.”

"Your wife is quite the attention hog, isn't she?" Felicia teased.

Johnny could not fully deny it, but he didn't appreciate Felicia's comment, "Maybe she does like attention, but I think she's earned it. She's done way more than any other Wonderbolt, even her captain. Yeah Spitfire has a few championships to her name, and has helped fight off villain armies, but Rainbow Dash fought the toughest baddies, from King Sombra, to Albert Wesker to Magneto. Dashie is more suited to being the Wonderbolts Captain than Spitfire honestly."

"That's nice of you to say Johnny, but if ah know Rainbow Dash, being Captain would have gone to her head," Applejack said.

"Come on AJ, you know Rainbow Dash is better than that," Johnny said.

"Gotta be honest," Applejack said.

"Well I still say she'd be a better captain than Spitfire," Johnny said. "Actually Sam, you're a pro flyer, maybe you'd be better at leading The Wonderbolts."

"I don't have time for something like that, but I appreciate the offer," Sam said.

"Speaking of Wonerbolts, I'm kind of worried, about Night Glider," Sugar Belle said. "I think our Friendship is in danger."

"I know what you're feeling, I'm surprised I even had to fight Bobby," Remy said.

"Rarity ain't gonna like this either," Applejack said. "Ah hope we don't regret anything."

"I'm sorry you're all feeling worried, I am too," Steve said. "But, we have to exercise caution, keep in mind that anyone on Tony's team may see us as an enemy. Hopefully we can avoid too much fighting, but it will depend on the other side and anyone under Tony's employment. Daredevil and Night Thrasher chose our side, but unfortunately, Iceman and Night Glider did not.”

"Then they got their asses kicked for it," Taskmaster said.

"Will you put a lid on it?" Sandman scolded. "This is hard enough on everyone here, we don't need you making things worse."

"I must concur, don’t make things difficult," Lizard said.

"I’m just being brutally honest, like that farmer chick said," Taskmaster explained.

"Ah ain't that brutally honest, also the name's Applejack," The Apple Farmer said.

"Applejack?" Taskmaster said. "I swear, getting used to these ponies names is gonna be tough, most of ya's got weird sounding names."

"Isn't your name kind of ironic too?" Sandman said. "Your name is Tony Masters, and you are the Taskmaster."

"Got me there," Taskmaster said.

"I still wonder how Night Glider's doing," Sugar Belle said.

---

Back at the edge of Manehattan, Bobby, Rarity and Night Glider were on their way out of the city, alongside Sky Stinger and Vapor Trail.

"What do we do once we catch these traitors?" Sky Stinger asked.

"Orders are to keep them in place and contact Tony Stark," Bobby explained. "Either he, Luna, Captain Marvel or Spitfire will come and pick them up and figure out what to do with them."

"I still can't believe Sugar Belle would turn against us, I mean, I thought we were friends," Night Glider said.

"I have a few words for Applejack myself," Rarity said. "I am quite disappointed in what she's done, she should know better than this."

"We'll get answers, even if we have to go through hell to get them," Bobby said. "Just be aware of what they can do. Sandman's got incredible power, Taskmaster can memorize moves, Johnny's heat will give you more than a tan, and Cap is an old pro who's been at this for years. Don't underestimate any of them."

"We won't," Vapor Trail said.

"We have your back," Sky Stinger said.

Bobby grabbed a radio, contacting the hero in Fillydelphia, “Tigra, we’re on our way to your location, has Captain America arrived yet?”

“He hasn’t, we’ll be ready if he does,” Tigra said.

“If that’s even possible,” Pickle lamented nearby.

“Hey come on, how bad can it be?” His sister Barley asked.

“He’s got a large group, including villains, and they’re ready to fight if they have to, don’t let them past you, we’re on our way,” Bobby said.

“I think I got all the names, we’ll hold them off, hopefully bring a couple down,” Tigra said.

“Just do your best,” Bobby said, then switched his radio. “Hey Jen, has Tony contacted you?”

“This morning, he believes that Cap and the others are on their way to Fillydeplhipa,” She-Hulk said.

“Griffonstone is right across the lake isn’t it?” Bobby said. “If so, we may need you as well. Did Tony give you clearance to come by if needed?”

“I’ll be ready, and so will Wind Sprint,” She-Hulk said.

“Good, keep an eye out just in case Cap tries to change route to Griffonstone instead,” Bobby said.

“If he does, I can take him,” She-Hulk said. “Even if he slips past me through some miracle, might be hard if he keeps going down south, that’s where Hercules and the dragons are. But I think we’ll have them caught long before.”

“The dragons…” Bobby thought them over a bit, knowing how bad things could get if Steve reached that area. “Let’s hope it doesn’t get that bad.”

“It won’t, at least I hope it won’t,” She-Hulk said. “Good luck out there.”

“You too,” Bobby said, turning off his radio. “Dammit, this is ridiculous. Why would Cap do this? Why is Remy siding with him? What’s gonna happen to the future of heroes?”

---

A bit later in Ponyville, Peter was holding a meeting with Twilight, Susan, Derpy, Autumn Blaze, Rainbow Dash, Scott Lang, Gilda, Bon Bon, Spike, Janet, Deadpool, Pinkie Pie, Firestar, Fluttershy, Logan, Trixie and Starlight.

"According to a report that Tony got from Bobby, Cap's team showed up in Manehattan last night," Peter said. "They were trying to get the heroes there onto their side, which Daredevil and Night Thrasher agreed to."

"Bobby and Night Glider refused to join and tried to apprehend them, with assistance from two Wonderbolts that flew in from Fillydelphia," Twilight said.

"So if Captain Equestria was trying to recruit them, that would mean that he went to that town for a reason, and not by accident," Starlight said.

"Makes sense, he knows that town is guarded, he wouldn't have gone in without a plan," Rainbow Dash said.

"He knows that all the towns that are guarded," Peter clarified. "Any place he ends up with that has heroes is no accident."

"Does that mean he's going from town to town and recruiting heroes on his side?" Spike asked. "What's he planning?"

"Is this a rebellion?" Starlight asked.

"Sure looks like one," Peter said. "I really don't get it, even if he doesn't care for The Accords, I don't think he would just do something like this."

"It ain't too surprising," Logan said. "Consider all the drama that's been happening since The Accords started, from Appaloosa, to Manehattan, to Las Pegasus, even this situation with The Pony of Shadows. It's clear that Stark doesn't know what he's doing, Luna and Spitfire are just blindly following after him, then you got Carol Danvers making things worse than they should be. I don't blame Cap for drawing the line at Danvers having Torch and the others arrested just for protecting the town."

"Steve probably broke them free because he didn't believe they should have been imprisoned," Janet said. "But that doesn't explain why those villains were set free."

"Maybe it was by accident," Starlight said. "Felicia Hardy was set free as well, maybe in the process the other villains broke out."

"Have the villains gotten out of the city?" Scott asked.

"Tony managed to apprehend Rhino, Vulture and Scorpion," Peter said. "Two of them were sent back to Earth, the latter Carol flew off with, not sure where."

"I may have an idea, but my mind is on the other three villains," Twilight said. "Taskmaster, Sandman and Lizard escaped and were spotted with Cap."

"Peter, you know at least two of them pretty well, don't you?" Spike asked. "Can you explain why they would have joined Cap?"

"Sandman isn't too surprising, I mean he was never really a bad guy. He has fought alongside heroes," Peter said.

"He was even part of The Avengers at one point," Janet said.

"A villain was a superhero?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"My that's quite intriguing," Trixie said.

"It's not surprising," Peter said. "Gambit used to be a thief, so did Hawkeye."

"I was a thief too at one point," Scott pointed out.

"I ain't exactly got a clean past myself," Logan said. "I was a Horseman for Apocalypse at one point."

"Someone explain this to Starswirl, see if that messes with his head," Janet teased.

"My point is though, Sandman is a crook but he seems like the type of guy who's just down on his luck more often than not and unfortunately turns to crime," Peter said. "I feel bad for him, not that it’s an excuse for breaking the law."

"He did try wrecking Ponyville a couple years ago, so yeah, some sympathy but not a lot," Janet said.

"What about The Lizard?" Twilight asked.

"Lizard's a pain too, but before he transformed, Curt Connors was a good man and a brilliant scientist," Peter said. "The Lizard thing was meant to help people actually, not turn them into Lizards, but to help humans gain regenerative properties. One of his experiments just mucked up his head, but I think he has some control from time to time."

"So at least two of the villains that are with Cap have some good in them," Twilight said. "What about the last guy? The one known as Taskmaster."

"Whom I helped defeat I might add," Trixie said, getting a few side-eye glances.

"I can answer about Taskmaster, I know the guy personally after all," Deadpool said. "Compared to Sandman and Lizard, I'd say he's a lot less nice, but he's not really an evil guy per say. For the most part, he just wants to get paid. I doubt he has that much of an ulterior motive, he said he came to Equestria just because Discord told him there would be a reward."

"How do you know this?" Starlight asked.

"Oh I visited him when he was imprisoned in Canterlot," Deadpool said. "Yeah we had some good chortles together."

"Did you say 'chortle'?" Peter said. "Well anyway, so you think he's alright with Cap and the others?"

"Taskmaster may be a thief but he's not that underhanded," Deadpool said. "He has nothing to gain from betraying anyone, at least I don't think so."

"If he causes trouble, Johnny can take him down, no sweat," Rainbow Dash said.

"Alight, moving on, so Cap's basically done in Manehattan, he got the heroes there on his side," Peter said. "If he's really going to these towns then we gotta find a town near Manehattan that has heroes stationed."

"I have the map of Equesria here," Twilight said, spreading it across a table. "This one is updated to show some of the lands beyond."

Peter looked over the map, treading down from Manehattan, "The closest city is Fillydelphia, where the two Wonderbolts flew in from to help."

"Rainbow Dash, do you know who those Wonderbolts were?" Starlight asked.

"Probably Sky Stinger and Vapor Trail, two newer recruits with a good load of talent," Rainbow Dash said. "Sky Stinger's a bit full of himself but Vapor Trail keeps him mostly down to Equestria."

"The next town is Baltimare, which is where Tigra guards,” Peter said.

"Not just her, a couple of Wonderbolts are there too, a pair of twins," Rainbow Dash. "Pickle Barrel and his sister Barley Barrel. Really talented kids."

"So Cap's team may find themselves dealing with a real pickle," Peter said, chuckling to himself, getting some groans and head shakes.

"Really Parker?" Logan said.

"Yeah, come on Peter," Twilight said.

"Eh, I thought it was clever," Autumn Blaze said.

"That’s why you’re my new best friend Autumn," Peter said.

"Hey! I thought I was your best friend!" Trixie quickly pointed out.

"So it's not Johnny then?" Rainbow Dash asked.

“What about me and Bobby?” Firestar asked.

"Hey I can have more than one Best Friend, having friends isn't a contest," Peter said.

"Tell that to Scootaloo, she mentioned creating an army of friends to prove she's better than that Sandbar guy," Rainbow Dash said.

“That might need to be addressed later," Peter said. "Right now though, we agree that Baltimare might be next."

"It might, but across the water there Peter," Gilda said. "My hometown is right across from Baltimare, that could be within Captain Equestria's goals too."

"Good point, if I recall that's where She-Hulk is stationed," Peter said.

"Along with a Wonderbolt named Wind Sprint," Gilda said.

"I’ll touch base with Tony, see how much of this he may have figured out himself," Peter said.

"According to this map, if they keep going down, they may even encounter the Dragons," Autumn Blaze said. "That's if they end up going to Griffonstone right after."

"If they go to the Dragon Lands, then that means likely running into Hercules," Wasp said. "He's a literal God, so he might be a tough challenge for them."

"That reminds me Janet, we should probably head back there soon," Spike said. "If anything we can try to intercept Cap before he gets there."

"Question, if Steve's team does get stopped and brought to Canterlot, what will happen to Johnny?" Susan asked. "What will they do to him?"

"It depends, the lightest he'll get is being fired from The Wonderbolts," Peter said. "But he could also be banished from Equestria if things really get serious."

"Worst is if they imprison him," Rainbow Dash said. "Getting banished is one thing, but at least he'll be safe, for the most part. Of course, if he leaves Equestria, then so will I."

"Huh? But Dashie, we don't want you to leave," Pinkie said.

"I don't want to leave either, but my Loyalty is to my husband first and foremost," Rainbow Dash said.

"That won't happen, I'll see what I can do to make sure of that," Peter said. "Right now, all we can do is try and find Steve and his team. If they're going to Baltimare, then that's where we go, if they end up in the Dragon Lands, we'll do there too."

"My home is actually south of The Dragon Lands," Autumn Blaze said. "If they try retreating to the Kirin Grove, Rain Shine can report on this."

"That's a great idea, but I don't think she has any way to do so, Kirin Grove isn't signed with The Accords yet," Peter said.

"Oh yeah!" Autumn Blaze shouted. "That just reminded me of why I came to Ponyville the other day! I was gonna tell you something, but then I ran into that weird pony who looked like this black void, almost like a Nirik but I don't think he was one-"

"Autumn," Peter said, getting her attention, snapping her back into the conversation.

"Right sorry, anyway Rain Shine said she'd be alright with The Accords, assuming me getting hurt didn't make her want to change her mind or anything, but I doubt it would since I’m a big Kirin and I can take a punch," Autumn said. "She just has one suggestion, she'd rather the town protects itself without the need of a hero there."

"Any reason she doesn't want a hero there?" Twilight asked.

"We're not used to outsiders just yet, and she wants to basically dip her hooves in before going in full force," Autumn Blaze said.

"That's understandable, but I can't promise that, Tony would rather at least one hero or Wonderbolt in town, just so he can keep an eye on things," Peter said.

"More like so he can have better control," Logan brought up. "All I'm hearing is that he don't trust anyone unless they're fully on board with how he wants things run."

"At this point, do you even want someone on The Accords in that town, you're probably better off without it," Susan said. "All The Accords seems to mean is giving Tony Stark an iron grip around whatever freedom you think you might have."

"Whoa, that's a bit heavy Sue," Peter said.

"Well that's what it is so far, isn't it!?" Susan said. "Give me one good reason my brother was placed on probation and placed under arrest just for trying to save lives!"

"I mean...yeah I can't justify that," Peter admitted.

"The Accords isn't helping anyone Peter, in the long run it's going to do more damage," Susan said. "I can't think of anything good that's come out of it."

"Look, I know it's not perfect, I'm still working on it with Tony," Peter said.

"Peter, it's been weeks, you can 'work it out' with Stark all you want, but nothing's gonna make a difference," Logan said. "I mean, does the guy even hear out your concerns?"

Peter thought back a bit, truthfully Tony has often brushed off concerns, constantly insisting that The Accords were helpful while dismissing a lot of the flaws, referring to them as kinks that needed to be worked out.

"Alright, I guess you have a point," Peter said. "Still, talking to Tony is all I can really do. Not like I can make him listen."

"Aren't you also close with Princess Luna?" Starlight said. "Maybe she can help too."

"Oh, that's a good idea," Trixie said. "Then Luna can talk things out with Tony."

"In the meantime, let's start making plans to set out and find Captain Equestria," Fluttershy said.

"I might be able to track them, anyone want to join me?" Logan asked.

Before anyone could offer assistance, Deadpool took the time to speak up, "Whoa, hold on there shorty. I don't think you can actually go out and find anyone."

"And what is that?" Logan asked.

"Well, you're not exactly, you know, registered on The Accords," Deadpool pointed out.

Everyone was immediately speechless, out of everyone here, Deadpool was the one to point out the rules.

"Uh, since when did Deadpool become a voice of rationality?" Twilight asked.

"Is it that hard to believe? I do have a family now Twilight, I kind of have to be responsible once in a while," Deadpool said.

"I don't disagree, I'm just surprised you managed to come to that realization on your own," Twilight said. "I mean, you're usually so carefree, I don't think anyone expected you to take your role in The Accords seriously," Twilight said.

"Well, we all gotta grow up at some point," Deadpool said. "This is my chance to prove that I can be just as much of a hero as Spidey, Torch and even Iron Man himself," Deadpool said.

"Wade's really been taking his new role seriously," Pinkie said. "Being a father really opened his eyes."

"I'm still kind of speechless, this world really is full of surprises," Scott said.

"Point is that Logan, you can help track down Cap and the others, but you gotta sign on with The Accords first, this could be your chance, we could use a guy like you," Deadpool said, then turned to Scott. "Offer's open to you too Ant Man."

"I ain't joining The Accords, I don't trust Stark or his rules," Logan said.

"It's a shame to hear you say that Timber-Wolverine," Bon Bon said, finally speaking up. "Regardless of what you may think, he would trust you to keep our world safe."

"The Accords will always say otherwise. Fact is that he's creating this false sense of security for Equestria out of belief that control equals safety. Well it doesn't, even things disguised as good turn out to be more trouble than it's worth," Logan said, this statement somehow catching Peter's attention. "He wants others to trust him? Let him earn that trust first.”

"Sounds like you have some deep issues," Bon Bon said. “Not very professional Timber-Wolverine.”

"What are you, a therapist?" Logan said. "Also, would ponies please drop the 'Timber' from my name? It don't roll off the tongue well, and it's unnecessary."

"That reminds me, what do ponies call me?" Scott asked. 'Ant Mane? Ant Stallion? Ant Pony?"

“Do I have a pony name?” Firestar wondered.

"It doesn't matter if you're not signed with The Accords, you might as well just be plain Scott," Bon Bon said. "Like Deadpool said, only those signed on The Accords may join in this pursuit of Captain Equestria. Moral support is fine, but that's where it ends."

"So I can't find my brother unless I'm part of The Accords?" Susan asked. "Is that what you're telling me?"

"I understand your frustration Mrs. Richards, but rules are rules," Bon Bon said.

"Of all the nerve..." Susan said, frustration seeping in.

"Don't worry Sue, I'll personally go out and find Johnny," Rainbow Dash said. "I mean, I gotta be off probation by now, Stark, Luna, Danvers and Spitfire need all the help they can get."

"It's honestly ridiculous that you had to be placed on probation in the first place, all because you did your job as a hero," Susan said.

"Let's not delve into this again, it's just going to cause more grief," Peter said. "And as much as I hate to do this, I do have to enforce rules of The Accords.”

Susan groaned in annoyance, "This is nonsense, I'm going to have a word with Reed about this."

"He should be at home with Doc, I can take you there," Derpy said.

"Please do," Susan said, storming off with Derpy. "I really hate these Accords."

Trixie sighed in disappointment, "What a shame, our friends are out there, seen as villains to an extent, and there is so little we can do to help them."

"There's plenty we can do within The Accords, so long as ponies actually have faith in them," Bon Bon said.

"Are you even signed on The Accords?" Gilda asked.

"Yes, me and the Agents of S.M. I.L.E." Bon Bon explained. "Which, is technically classified information, I trust I don't have to worry about you blowing my cover."

"I believe everyone here can be trusted Bon Bon," Peter said. "Or, would you prefer Sweetie Drops?"

"Call me what you want, just be sure everyone knows the rules of this game," Bon Bon said. "Like Deadpool, I have a family to think about as well, of course now Lyra wants to join Tony's Equestria Avengers Division."

"Lyra wants to be an Avenger?" Twilight asked. "I never would have expected that."

"Well there's a lot of things you can learn about Lyra, if you bothered to remain in contact with her," Bon Bon said.

"Huh?" Twilight replied. "Remain in contact?"

"You and Lyra were foalhood friends right?" Bon Bon asked. "Before Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Applejack, you had Moon Dancer, Lemon Hearts, Twinkleshine, Minuette and Lyra. Amazing how little contact you have with your childhood friends while holding the five you made here in high regard, and now one of them is considered a traitor to Equestria."

A brief but somber silence fell over everyone present, Peter being the first to speak up on his wife's behalf, "Being a little unfair, I mean Twilight does see her friends, including Lyra, she's just been really busy as of late."

"Not too busy for her Ponyville friends though. I can understand Twilight not being able to see Moon Dancer since she lives in Canterlot, but Lyra lives in Ponyville, what excuse is there on that?" Bon Bon asked. "Peter, even you've spent more time with Lyra than Twilight has, maybe not as much lately but your first few months, she was practically one of your closest friends, she and Octavia were very fond of you. But she can't even get that from a foalhood friend?"

"It's not that I don't care about Lyra, she's more than welcome to come see me at home or the school," Twilight said.

"Yeah, I mean we both made it to your wedding," Peter said.

"A wedding that Twilight was barely involved in, she wasn't even a Bridesmaid, Minuette was more supportive while Twilight stayed with her Ponyville friends. Given the weddings she helped plan for them, the least she could have done was give my wife the same treatment. If that's too much, at least a proper toast," Bon Bon said. This really stuck with Twilight, she hadn’t really thought about how her relationship with Lyra had barely evolved despite how long she knew her.

"Any reason this is being brought up now? Kind of in the middle of an emergency," Trixie said.

"Very well, I'll let Twilight get back to her friend, the one she cares about enough to maintain contact with," Bon Bon said, making her way to the door. "You know Twilight, Lyra doesn't say it much, but she really misses when you two were closer."

With an abrupt exit, Twilight sadly sighed in disappointment, wondering if she's hurt yet another old friend without realizing it. Many in the room weren't sure how to respond, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie feeling the most awkward. They contemplated speaking up, but didn't out of fear of making things worse for Twilight, yet they each felt annoyed by Bon Bon's rant and did want to drag her back in and make her apologize for her remarks.

"Listen, we still have a lot to figure out, maybe I'll call each of you later and we'll figure out how to reach out to our friends," Peter said.

"Yeah, sure thing," Gilda said. "Come on Dash, maybe we can fly over to The Wonderbolts Academy, see if we can convince Spitfire to lift your probation."

"If that's even possible," Rainbow Dash joked.

"I can be quite persuasive when I need to be," Gilda said, stretching her talons. "I mean seriously, Johnny's your husband, you damn well have the right to bring him home yourself if you need to."

Rainbow Dash tapped her chin, grinning somewhat sinisterly, "I do have the right to bring him home, don't I?"

"You planning something Dash?" Gilda asked.

"Come on G, I have a lot to fill you in on," Rainbow Dash said as the duo made their way out of the house.

"Looks like our Dashie is eager about something," Peter said.

"We should go too," Fluttershy said. "Ready Logan?"

"Sure," Logan said, then turned to Peter. "Good luck on yer mission."

"Thanks, and I know you want to help, and I wish I could give you the authority to, but I can't do that, so I have to trust that you know what that means," Peter said.

"Huh?" Logan replied, Peter's tone seemed a bit unusual.

"I can't tell you to, go find Johnny, that's the rules, I can't give you that permission," Peter said, his tone showing signs of hints. "But if you wish to find peace with that decision, maybe go out for a bit, travel, get some fresh air, who knows what you may find."

It took Logan a second, but he seemed to have an idea of what Peter was saying, "Guess yer right Peter, maybe I'll take you up upon that offer."

"Take this," Peter said, handing a radio to Logan. "I have a spare, contact me if you find anything interesting, maybe I can check it out myself later when I have the time, I may do some traveling myself."

"Can do," Logan said.

"Family trips help too," Peter said, gesturing to Fluttershy. "Why go alone when you have a lovely wife by your side, unless you think she's not up to travel."

"I'll leave that up to her," Logan said, glancing at his wife, winking at her while flashing a coy smirk.

"Huh?" Fluttershy seemed so confused.

"Talk later, let's go," Logan said, leading his wife outside.

Deadpool seemed a bit suspicious by this recent banter, something told him to keep an eye out for anything suspicious.

"Keep an eye out for anything suspicious," a voice said.

"Yeah, I think I got that from the narrative," Deadpool said, then pulled Pinkie Pie to his side. "Well I should go too, unless there's something more you need to say there web-head."

"Not right now, I'll keep looking over the map and see if there's anything more I can find to help us out," Peter said. "Keep your radios on."

"Sure thing, Spidey," Deadpool said, trotting off with Pinkie Pie.

"Hey, am I missing something?" Pinkie asked.

"Tell you when we get off-screen," Deadpool said, taking his exit from the library.

"I'm going back on Patrol," Firestar said.

"And I'm going back home," Scott said.

"I'll call you later Angel, and Scott, offer is always there if you do decide to join The Accords," Peter said. "Unless you can think of other ways to help, I can't ask you to find Cap but you can make choices on your own."

"Uh, sure, alright," Scott said, making his exit, Firestar leaving as well.

"Janet, why don't you and Spike return to The Dragon Lands for the time being?" Peter asked.

"Sure, let me just check on Hope first," Janet said, making her way to Aunt May's room where her daughter was being babysat.

"Should I leave too?" Autumn Blaze asked.

"Why don't you go to the School of Friendship with Starlight and Trixie, they could use an extra helper," Peter said.

"We can?" Trixie asked.

"Oh! That sounds amazing! What can I do there?" Autumn Blaze asked.

"Starlight can think of something," Peter said, turning to the mare. "Right Star?"

"Uh, right," Starlight said, not sure what Peter expected, but she was not gonna let him down. "Let's go girls."

"Lead the way!" Autumn Blaze said, following Starlight with an annoyed Trixie joining them.

"Peter, are we really going to call Applejack and the others, 'traitors'?" Spike asked.

"Well, I'm not, because they aren't," Peter said. "They're still our friends, we need to have faith in them and hope we can resolve this issue."

"True friends would not abandon others in their time of need after all," Twilight said.

"Yeah, you got it," Spike said. "We'll stick with them until the end."

Janet came back down with Hope, the hero getting her husband's attention, "Alright Spike, we're heading off. Say bye to Hope."

Spike took his daughter in his arms, planting a kiss on her cheek, "Bye Hope, behave for Uncle Peter and Auntie Twilight."

"Bye-bye daddy," Hope said as Spike handed her to Twilight.

"Let's fly," Janet said, taking her Breezie form as she and Spike flew off, enroute to the Dragon Lands.

"That just leaves us," Twilight said. "What should we do now?"

"Wait until we hear any notification about Cap, Johnny, AJ and the others," Peter said. "I just hope whatever this is can be resolved easily, but something tells me we're gonna go through a bit of trouble in the process."

"Unfortunately you may be right," Twilight said, looking down at her niece. "Hey sweetheart, do you want to go back to Aunt May?"

"I want to play with Benjy too," Hope said.

"Well you know where to find him, go tell Aunt May," Twilight said, sending her little niece off.

"Spike and Janet have one cute daughter," Peter said.

"They hinted at wanting more kids," Twilight said. "More little nieces or nephews running around."

"Think we should have more kids?" Peter asked.

"Give it time, I need a break from being pregnant," Twilight said. "It's very exhausting."

"I can only imagine," Peter said. "So glad I'm a guy, and not a seahorse."

Twilight giggled a bit at Peter's response, "Nothing like a little science humor."

"Perfect calculation for fun," Peter said, getting a slight chuckle from them both.

Despite her good mood, Twilight slowly felt hints of disappointment, "Peter, do you think I'm a lousy friend?"

"Is this about Bon Bon?" Peter asked.

"Harsh as it was, she had a point, I rarely see my friends from Canterlot," Twilight said. "I haven't even talked to Lyra in forever, ask her how her marriage is, if she's planning on being a mom, if she needs help with that."

"I can stay out of that last one, right?" Peter said.

Twilight giggled at Peter's response, "I guess I can take added comfort that you have no interest in being with another mare." "One less pony to feel resentment toward." Twilight's eyes widened in shock, "Wait, where did that come from?"

"I like Lyra, but not to that extent," Peter said. "Still though, I don't think you're a bad friend, at least you care about your friends in Canterlot, plus didn't you and Moon Dancer make peace?"

"Yeah, but not a lot has changed," Twilight said. "I visit only once in a while."

"It's still something, you keep in touch with your childhood friends better than I do," Peter said.

"Your childhood friends are on Earth," Twilight said. "You have even more of an excuse. Me, once I moved to Ponyville, I hardly noticed my old friends, it's like the ones I made here just became my entire world."

"That reminds me, you came here because Celestia told you to make friends," Peter said. "Why would she do that if you already had friends? If Celestia was worried, shouldn't she have asked you to rekindle your old bond?"

Twilight was about to answer, though she needed a second to think, "I never thought of that, I barely thought about my Canterlot friends much when I came to Ponyville. Of course Celestia did want me to have friends so we could use The Elements of Harmony, maybe she didn't think my Canterlot friends couldn’t use them or something."

"Why wouldn’t they?" Peter said. "I mean, they're really nice ponies, I think they could have used The Elements if they wanted to. I hope Celestia didn’t just deem them unworthy or something.”

"I don’t think she would think that, it was something else probably,” Twilight insisted. "I always believed that destiny allowed us to be friends because we were supposed to, at least that might be how Celestia saw it, she believes that all of us have a purpose in life."

"Still, it did seem like she threw you into The Lion's Den and expected you to figure things out on your own despite the danger, just to make friends you technically already had," Peter said. "Actually she did something questionable twice, the second time being King Sombra."

"I suppose she did," Twilight said. "I just figured it meant she had trust in me."

"Celestia's a nice lady, I don't think she would have intentionally done something that could have gotten you hurt, but she has made a few odd choices,” Peter said. “I mean I still can't imagine why she hired Felicia as her personal agent.”

"That I don't get either," Twilight said. "All that did was cause a lack of faith since Felicia ruined a mission you and Luna went on, she basically got half of Las Pegasus destroyed."

"I take fault in that too, I couldn't stop Celaeno, but to your point, Felicia got too comfortable with Celestia, now she's out there with ponies and heroes dubbed as 'traitors'," Peter said. "What really sucks is that Celestia completely lost control over this whole Accords things, I mean where has she been lately?"

"Tony said she's on vacation, not sure where," Twilight said.

"Is she there because Tony encouraged her? Or because she didn’t want to deal with things?" Peter asked. "Regardless of the answer, I feel like Celestia should be doing something in this situation rather than kicking her hooves back.”

Twilight furrowed her brow, not appreciating that crack at her mentor, "Celestia works really hard Peter, she had to run the country for a thousand years on her own, I think you're being a bit harsh."

"I don't mean to be, but I do have to call things how I see them," Peter said. "Celestia is not a terrible ruler, but she's not great either. She gets too nervous when it comes to trying new things, any time I show her something Mayday and I invented, she's usually hesitant and reluctant to allow it in Equestria. I mean, come on, what's wrong with phones? Or a lot of human appliances? I know some of it is dangerous, like the time I suggested cars, but Equestria can benefit from a lot of human stuff. I just hate when my daughter works hard on something and it gets rejected, then I have to make up some reason it got rejected."

"Well she might be changing her mind given the Patroller Robots," Twilight said. "That's progress."

"Wonder how Tony convinced her of that?" Peter said. "Still, then there's the issues with The Portals, like would she really start banishing heroes the moment things get bad? Even before The Accords we did a good job of keeping Equestria safe, or minimizing damage, honestly, things got worse then Tony tried controlling things too much."

"Peter what are you even saying?" Twilight asked. "Are you against The Accords now?"

"I just really want them to get reworked, things clearly aren't working out," Peter said. "Logan was right about a lot of things. Tony's making mistakes, Spitfire's getting carried away with her power, Luna is...I can't even figure her out, and now we have Carol throwing her weight around and Celestia basically left her post for us to figure out. I'm honestly kind of frustrated Twilight, and I need things to change, and they need to change now."

"Well, how would you go about it?" Twilight asked.

"For now, the most important thing is finding Cap, and then getting both sides to work their issues out," Peter said. "I do agree with Tony's vision to an extent, but his execution is off. I'll stick by him for the time being, but at this point, I don't think I'm fully on board with The Accords as much as I used to be.”

That was a heavy statement from Peter, something that took Twilight by surprise. To think he went from being an avid supporter of Tony to being a doubter. Twilight wasn't sure what to think herself, she wanted to believe in The Accords, but hearing Peter's faith being shaken did hurt her resolve a bit as well.

"Well, hopefully your plan can work," Twilight said. "I want things resolved too, I don't want our friends fighting each other. Maybe once this is resolved, I can try making further amends with my Canterlot friends, including Lyra.”

“Did Celestia even know about them?” Peter asked.

“She should have, we all went to the same school,” Twilight said. “But she probably knew I wasn’t speaking with them much at one point.”

“Why didn’t she ask you to fix that?” Peter asked. “I’m still trying to figure out this whole Friendship thing.”

“Well, it’s possible she didn’t think our friendship was working out, and she thought I needed friends with better chemistry,” Twilight said.

“Huh? That’s a weird way to put it, I mean not all Friendship Chemistry is the same, some people just express Friendship differently,” Peter said. "Thinking about it, has Celestia ever forced you into a social position where you weren't comfortable?"

"Huh? What does that mean?" Twilight asked.

"I've been thinking since yesterday, about Sandbar and his friends," Peter said. "And the things they've said to Mayday."

"What about it?" Twilight asked.

"Mayday is clearly introverted, we both know this, we know she's not good in social situations and she never had an interest in making friends," Peter said.

"Yes, that's true," Twilight said.

"We both agreed that it's fine right? That she isn't social?" Peter asked.

"Well, to an extent, I would like for her to have friends," Twilight said. "I mean, I still think about sending her to the school, she has education covered but the school still can teach her more about Friendship."

“We’ve been over this though, the school is not enough for her. You know, why does the school even exist?" Peter said. "Like, how do you 'teach' Friendship? That's not something you're taught in a school setting, it's something that happens organically. I mean you didn't make your childhood friends because a school told you to, you did it because you found common interests."

"Wait, are you saying that you don't think my school is a good idea?" Twilight asked.

"It's great that you have a school, and the name's fine, but you can't teach this stuff in a classroom," Peter said. "This is what social groups are for, the school should have that in addition to the educational system, not be part of it. Classes about Generosity, Honesty, that's not stuff you need to teach, that's stuff everyone should know."

"Not all ponies are capable of it, especially non-ponies," Twilight said.

"Come on, I doubt non-ponies have a hard time making friends," Peter said. "That brute Garble has friends doesn't he? Silverstream's family seem friendly enough, the Changelings have gotten better thanks to Thorax. I know Griffons and Yaks are 'typically stubborn' but even then I feel like that's blown out of proportion. Yaks are friendly once you get to know them, and Rainbow Dash didn't need a friendship school to bond with Gilda. You have a great idea Twilight, but like Tony's Accords, you need to work on the execution. The School of Friendship’s main concept just doesn’t work like you hoped it would, I mean I certainly have not seen much progress on it either, all the friends I’ve seen were just either pre-existing or they bonded after school and did things their way.”

"Peter..." Twilight began, some irritation in her voice. "If that's how you felt, why didn't you say anything sooner!? Why are you bringing this up now in the middle of a crisis!?"

"Because Twilight, when Mayday told me that those kids told her she needed friends to be happy, it kind of upset me," Peter said. "When Sandbar assumed she might be happier with friends, it really bothered me. Between Celestia sending you out to make friends and Sandbar's comment, I started to get worried about the direction of Friendship in Equestria. Even Pinkie Pie to an extent has this mentality, that everyone needs a friend. I mean, I get it, it's good to have friends but what would be bad is forcing the relationship instead of letting it happen naturally, such as her throwing parties and pushing ponies together. Gilda told me about the first time she met Pinkie and how obnoxious she was being, and while Pinkie meant well and Gilda didn’t handle it properly, I did understand the frustration. It’s a borderline unhealthy mindset.”

"First off, Pinkie Pie isn't that bad when it comes to socialization, at the very least she's not forcing it on her sister Marble," Twilight said. "Second, Sandbar meant well, he's not trying to be mean to Mayday."

"He still did something he shouldn’t have," Peter said. "Look, my point is that if ponies develop this mindset and it spreads to these other nations, it could backfire. Suppose it gets to a point where if you're not social, then you're some type of weirdo? What if it leads to ponies being outcasted? What if it leads to some type of oppression?"

"Oppression!?" Twilight shouted, the princess losing her temper. "How can you say that!? I do this to make ponies happy and you're telling me it's oppression!?"

"Tony started the Accords to help and in doing so, made mistakes," Peter said. "I'm just trying to make sure this doesn't lead to similar mistakes Twilight, I don't want ponies turning against you like they might turn against Tony."

"I can't believe you, my husband of eight years is doubting me and my ability to be a Princess of Friendship!" Twilight said, fully agitated.

"That's not what I'm saying!" Peter insisted. Much as he loved Twilight, he hated when she got like this, she can be quite stubborn to talk to at times. "Twilight, let me spell it out. You, have, the, RIGHT, idea...it, just, needs, work!"

This is ridiculous, I need some air," Twilight said, marching to the door.

"Twilight wait don't-" Suddenly the door slammed, leaving Peter annoyed. Peter grumbled in annoyance, "Oh for f-" He then noticed Mayday at the corner of his eye, Franklin beside her. "Fudge sake."

"Daddy, what's going on?" Mayday asked.

"It's nothing, mommy and I are just having a bit of a disagreement," Peter said.

"Oh, um, alright..." Mayday said.

Franklin gently stroked her back, "It's gonna be fine Mayday, my mom and dad have talks like that too, mom says it's good to get the frustration out of your system, as long as it's done properly."

"Yeah, that," Peter said. "Sometimes moms and dads argue but that doesn't mean we don't love each other, I know Twilight and I know she'll come around, it's not the first time we've argued, it won't be the last. At the very least we both know our marriage is more important than a petty disagreement."

"Things will be fine May," Franklin said.

"I hope so," Mayday said. "Daddy, I'm really sorry mom got mad."

"You don't need to be sorry kid, it's not your fault," Peter said, stroking her mane.

"It is, it's because I'm different than other kids," Mayday said, tearing up a bit. "I'm sorry I'm not a normal little girl like I should be."

Peter immediately furrowed his brow at that remark, feeling some frustration return, not at his daughter, but rather for her. "Mayday, you are fine the way you are, so don't ever apologize because you're different and don't ever say you aren't 'normal'."

"But Sandbar and the others say I'm unusual because I don't have a lot of friends," Mayday said, wiping a tear from her eye. "It's not just them, sometimes Bobby says it, I overhear Uncle Johnny and Auntie Rarity say that I should have more friends, I'm just not good at it. Maybe I should go to mommy's school, so I can fit in."

"Fit in where?" Peter asked, tilting his daughter's chin up to make her face him. "There's nothing wrong with you, and if Sandbar, Bobby, Rarity or anyone else say differently, well then shame on them. No one, and I mean NO one should tell you how to be. You're a good kid, you follow the rules, you don't set out to be mean to anyone or hurt them in any way. Maybe you're not like some other kids, but that's good. Whether it's Earth or Equestria, to be yourself when others try to make you something else is a great accomplishment Mayday. Don't ever forget that."

"Alright daddy," Mayday said, cheering up a bit.

"That's my girl," Peter said, then turned to Franklin. "That applies to you as well, be yourself."

"I'll try," Franklin said.

"By the way, I really appreciate you befriending my daughter," Peter said. "I do agree that Friendship is important and great to have, but what matters is that you two became friends genuinely, and if you're the only friend my daughter makes, well, quality over quantity."

"Well, I also have Flurry Heart, don't I?" Mayday asked. "Can she count as my friend?"

"Of course, cousins totally count, it does for Apple Bloom," Peter said.

"Speaking of Apple Bloom, how is she doing?" Mayday asked.

"I haven't spoken much with her since Applejack's situation, but she's a tough girl, and she has good friends of her own by her side, family too," Peter said.

"Can't go wrong with family, they're always there for you," Mayday said.

Peter shrugged it off, "Not to be a downer, but family is not necessarily always going to be reliable, I mean thankfully I haven't experienced that but my friend Harry has, and I think my old bully Flash Thompson went through something similar."

"Oh yeah, even that demon guy Dante has issues with his brother," Mayday said. "Also during the Storm King Invasion, I think I heard Mr. Wagner mention something about his mother, and his friend Ms. Jubilee seemed worried."

"There's a reason for that, one that thankfully you won't have to experience," Peter said. "I do feel bad for Kurt though, hope he's doing alright."

---

At the chapel in the School of Friendship, Nightcrawler was seen praying at the Altar, trying to find his inner peace. He would not be alone long, and would soon be joined by another. "Kurt?"

Nightcrawler stopped to face the student, "Greetings Ocellus."

The Changeling girl cautiously approached the X-Men member, still unsure what to feel. "You've been busy lately, praying a lot the last couple of days."

"I suppose so, I am quite worried about our friends, I worry for Captain America, a great leader and a true hero," Nightcrawler said. "I worry for Johnny Storm and the grief this may be causing his wife and daughter. I worry for Applejack and my X-Men comrade Gambit, this being hard on The Apple Family as well. I worry for Sugar Belle, such a kind mare with a good heart. I worry for the poor man who was corrupted by the darkness, and hardly given a chance to find redemption for his actions. I also worry for those others involved in this unfortunate situation, and I pray that God will help them find the light."

"It's admirable that you care, it's what I always liked about you," Ocellus said. "You are a kind man and a true believer in your faith, and if there's one thing you've taught me, it's to always help others," Ocellus said. "Right now, I'm more concerned about you."

"There is nothing to be concerned about," Nightcrawler said. "I am doing quite well."

"You aren't though, you're hiding something, and I know what it is," Ocellus said. "I saw a glimpse of your true form."

"Perhaps you were imagining things," Nightcrawler insisted, hoping Ocellus would buy it.

"I wasn’t! I see through deception like it's second nature, because I grew up with it!" Ocellus said. "I'm a Changeling Kurt, and so are you!"

Nightcrawler groaned in frustration, trying to keep his composure, "There is nothing to discuss..."

"There is, I want to know why you kept that secret," Ocellus said. "Why wouldn't you show anyone before?"

"It's...nothing, nothing at all," Nightcrawler insisted.

"Did you just want to fit in? Is that it?" Ocellus asked. "Or do you really feel like being a Changeling is a bad thing? Am I a bad creature?"

"No, I would never say that," Nightcrawler said.

"All this time, you kept this a secret, why are you so ashamed of being a Changeling?" Ocellus asked. "Do you think the form's hideous!?"

"Ocellus, please," Nightcrawler said.

"Tell me Kurt, if you really are my friend, tell me why you tricked me!" Ocellus demanded.

"ENOUGH!" Nightcrawler shouted, a rare expression of anger on his face. "Ocellus, I like you but there are some things you should not pry into!”

Nightcrawler turned away, not wishing to face Ocellus. It wasn't long before he heard a sniffle, the mutant turning back to see a sad look on the girl's face, "All this time, you told me to not be ashamed of myself, that being a Changeling among ponies is great. Was that all a lie? Am I a bad thing? Am I a disgrace?"

Nightcrawler started to feel terrible, the last thing he wanted was for Ocellus to feel like she didn't belong, "No dear, I meant what I said. You have nothing to be ashamed of, you should be proud of yourself. It's me that is troubled, I am just ashamed of who I am."

"But...why?" Ocellus asked.

"You remember my mother, she has shapeshifting abilities, just like a Changeling," Nightcrawler turned his watch off, revealing his form in full. "When I came to this world and took the Changeling form, I felt ashamed, because I worried I would end up just like my mother. Angry at the world, and full of deceit. I guess I fulfilled that regardless, I tried hiding who I was instead of embracing it. This is not what God expects of me, he would want me to love myself as I love others. I was too weak, a disgrace," Nightcrawler wiped a tear from his eye. "I just didn't want you to feel that way, that's why I always told you to be happy with yourself, because I didn't want you feeling like me."

"Kurt..." Ocellus pitied the man before her, "I'm sorry you feel this way."

"Don't waste your sorrow, I am not worthy of it. It is I who should be sorry, for treating you so poorly, and trying to hide from my issues," Kurt said. "I have sinned, I failed to live up to God's teachings, and in turn, I deceived one whom I was supposed to educate. I am not worthy of being your Professor."

Ocellus shook her head, "Kurt, you made a mistake, you're allowed to do that. Doesn't God forgive mistakes? Won't he love you regardless of them? You always told me that God's love is limitless, that he always sees the best in others. You also taught me that when you're sorry, he forgives and forgets. Well, I forgive you for not telling me sooner, so I think God will forgive you too, he loves you just like I do. Don't you love yourself enough to forgive your own mistake?"

Nightcrawler chuckled to himself, amazed by what this young girl had to say, "You truly understand God's teachings, I feel ashamed to have forgotten myself that the Almighty one is capable of great love and forgiveness." Nightcrawler looked to Ocellus, eyes full of admiration, "Thank you, my friend."

"Of course," Ocellus said, standing beside Kurt. "If you don't mind, I'd like to join your prayer, though I don't think I'd be good at it."

"Praying comes from the heart, there isn't a right way to do it," Nightcrawler said. "But, I do welcome you to try."

Ocellus nodded her head, taking her place beside Kurt, the two deepening their bond through prayer and remaining optimistic for a better future.

---

Not too far away, Cozy Glow is checking through the library, trying to find any book that relates to Grogar, angrily muttering to herself, "Why do I have to look through this stuff, can't Discord just tell those villains what they need to know? He's old enough to know enough about Grogar after all, what a pain in the neck."

As she searched through the library, Sandbar had made his way inside, then overheard some muttering. He didn't fully understand what was being said but he did recognize the voice. He looked up and spotted Cozy Glow near the bottom shelf, searching through the books rather frantically.

"Hey, Cozy Glow?" Sandbar said, stepping forward, the girl still not hearing him as now he could understand some of what she was saying, mostly just her cruising the 'stupid book' she wanted to find. "Cozy Glow!"

"Ah!" Cozy Glow immediately ducked her upper body down. Moments later she turned around, looking directly behind her and seeing Sandbar.

"Sup?" Sandbar greeted. Cozy Glow looked a bit worried, like if she had gotten caught doing something wrong. "Uh, everything alright?"

Cozy Glow had to think of something, anything to break the awkward silence that would plague them in a moment. It took her a second to realize her backside was fully in the air and pointed at Sandbar, the boy noticing as well and turning away in embarrassment.

"Oh, were you staring at my butt?" Cozy Glow teased, shaking her flank a little as she propped herself up. "Naughty Sandy."

"Haha, real funny," Sandbar said, still feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," Cozy Glow said. "Still, I wouldn't mind you staring."

"Drop it," Sandbar warned.

"Oh fine, I will…" Cozy Glow teased. "Well anyway, did you need something from me?"

"Not particularly, I just happened to be passing through and saw you looking for something," Sandbar said. "Sounded like you were a bit frustrated by your search."

“Oh it’s nothing really, I was just trying to find a good book to pass the time, and something that would hold my attention,” Cozy Glow said. “But there’s nothing that’s catching my eye.”

“I can suggest a few ideas to you, wanna come to my room?” Sandbar asked.

Cozy Glow did a mock surprise gasp, “Sandy, inviting little ol’ me to your room? Where it’d be just the two of us? Oh I don’t think my heart can take such a thing.”

“Actually, Gallus will be there too,” Sandbar said, a little less than amused.

“Son of a…” Cozy muttered, then did her best to maintain her composure. “Well that’s fine, as long as he doesn’t bother us.”

“Or you can use this as a chance to get to know him, he’s a really awesome dude,” Sandbar said. “I know he’s a bit stubborn, and he runs his mouth a bit, but when it comes down to it, he’s the type of guy who has your back.”

“Sounds like you have a lot of faith in him,” Cozy Glow said.

“I have faith in all my friends,” Sandbar said. “That includes you.”

“Golly, that’s nice of you to say,” Cozy Glow said.

“You know I love you,” Sandbar said, though quickly caught himself. “In a friendly like manner.”

Cozy Glow pouted in response, not that she should be surprised, “Sandy, is there a reason you don’t like me as more than just a friend?”

“Well, you are kind of young for me, you’re still a teenager and I’m in my early 20s,” Sandbar said. “If you were a bit older then I’d think about it.”

“Well can’t you wait for me to get a bit older?” Cozy Glow asked. “Like how much older? A year? Three years? Five?”

“I mean, it’s just a crush, you had one on Rumble and you moved on, you might move on from me too,” Sandbar said. “Don’t spend your life waiting for me, just find another boy you like.”

That of course disappointed Cozy Glow, she wasn’t getting what she wanted, and it started to nag at her. “Well, what if the years go by, and I haven’t found anyone? Would you consider me then?”

“Well maybe, but there’s a good chance I might find someone,” Sandbar said. “I doubt a cute filly like you would have trouble finding a coltfriend through, that way we can both be happy with our true loves.”

“Oh yeah, totally, I think I will be happy with my true love,” Cozy Glow said, sinisterly grinning. “I just have to keep those other fillies away from my sweet Sandy, then he’ll be all mine, and no one will take him away from me.”

---

Meanwhile at Sweet Apple Acres, as promised Tender Taps brought most of the dance class to help on the farm. The colt himself was on the field with Big Macintosh, Bulk Biceps, Lily Valley and Pumpkin Cake, along with two newer students, Kettle Corn and Skedaddle.

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were working as well, the former looking very reluctant to do so.

“This is lame, why am I working? I’m practically a Noble,” Diamond Tiara whined as she pulled a cart.

“Suck it up, will you? You could have turned it down,” Silver Spoon said.

“I wanted to, but if I did, no one would let me hear the end of it, plus daddy insists I help since my family and the Apples are really close,” Diamond Tiara said. “Of course I don’t see Laura Kinney or Lightning Dust anywhere around.”

“They’re probably helping Fluttershy and that husband of hers with this whole Captain Equestria situation,” Silver Spoon said.

“Knew it was a matter of time before those Earth heroes caused trouble,” Diamond Tiara said. “Thunderlane predicted this with Spider-Mane, Doctor Hooves and Bon Bon also sided with him, and that DJ pony until she changed her mind because Spider-Mane complimented her noisy music. I mean, didn’t ponies use to hate Spider-Mane too?”

“At first they didn’t trust him, seems like some still don’t but don’t wanna say anything,” Silver Spoon said. “You can’t deny that he saved the world many times, he and the other heroes. Plus doesn’t your dad work with Tony Stark?”

“Yeah you’re right, he does,” Diamond Tiara said. “So why am I stuck on this field!?”

“Because Apple Bloom needs our help, and it’s the right thing to do,” Silver Spoon said.

“It’s a pain in the flank though,” Diamond Tiara said.

“Hey! Silver Spoon! Diamond Tiara!” Sweetie Belle called. The girl was seen laying against a log alongside Dinky, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. “This way!”

“Oh are they on break too?” Diamond Tiara muttered.

“Just go along with it Di,” Silver Spoon said as the two rich girls trotted toward the four fillies.

“Putting in some actual work, huh Diamond Tiara?” Dinky teased. “Guess you’re not some spoiled little princess.”

“Yes, I’m working, unlike you,” Diamond Tiara snapped.

“And you’re working really hard to, so take a break,” Apple Bloom said. “I’m about to get back on the field mahself. Big Mac hates when ah work but I still got plenty left in me and ah don’t want to gain too much weight during the pregnancy. Cheerilee gives me advice on how much I should exert mahself so I’ll be fine.”

“All I heard was ‘take a break’,” Diamond Tiara said, unstrapping and plopping onto the ground. “Can’t believe you do this every day.”

“Someone has to,” Apple Bloom said.

“Here you go Di,” Sweetie Belle said, using her magic to levitate some lemonade.

“You’re the best Sweetie Belle,” Diamond Tiara said, gulping it down as the unicorn girl gave some to Silver Spoon as well.

“And let me take care of this for you as well,” Sweetie Belle said, using her magic to wipe Diamond Tiara’s sweat with a towel.

“Thanks, I’m gonna need a spa day after this,” Diamond Tiara said.

“Spa day sure sounds nice, ah remember going with Rumble to the spa a couple of times,” Apple Bloom said. “Good way to relax yer muscles and work out any stress.”

“Too bad Rumble’s not here,” Scootaloo said. “He could be out in the field.”

“Yeah, seeing him using those muscles of his to buck trees and pull carts, working up a sweat, especially his mane,” Sweetie Belle said, the girl blushing a shade of pink.

“Ah know that feeling, I’ve seen it, it really gets the heart beating,” Apple Bloom said. “But he’s off being a Wonderbolt, trying to be a hero just like Peter.”

“If anyone can be as great as Peter, Rumble can,” Scootaloo said.

“Oh totally, Rumble’s talented and dreamy enough to match Peter in the perfect heroic charisma,” Sweetie Belle said.

“So who’s cuter between the two?” Dinky asked. “My money’s on Peter.”

“Same, Rumble’s nice but Peter is really cute,” Silver Spoon said.

“Rumble’s obviously cuter, I’d like a night with him” Diamond Tiara said.

“Blunt much?” Apple Bloom said. “But ah pick Rumble, we’re already dating and Peter’s more like a brother.”

“I’d pick Rumble too, Peter’s a handsome guy but Rumble just seems more my speed,” Scootaloo said. “What about you Sweetie Belle?”

“Um, hard to decide,” Sweetie Belle said. “I’d like both of them, just to live out my greatest fantasy.”

“What fantasy?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Oh…nothing,” A sneaky Sweetie said.

Not too far off, Tender Taps passed by with some apples, the colt glancing at the mares, “Hey girls, on break?”

“I’ll be out there in a sec!” Apple Bloom said.

“Take your time, pretty girls like you really should be letting tough guys like me do the work,” Tender Taps said.

“Pfft, who’s he calling ‘pretty girl’?” Scootaloo said. “I mean, I am an attractive filly, but I can put in the work.”

“He doesn’t mean anything by it, he’s just trying to be smooth,” Dinky said. “Really does seem like he tries his hardest to pick us up, especially you Apple Bloom.”

“Well he’s wasting his time, I’m already spoken for,” Apple Bloom said. “Like ah told him yesterday, I’m still dating Rumble.”

“I mean, you can still give Tender Tap a chance, not like Rumble has to know,” Diamond Tiara said.

“Don’t go and say something like that, I’m not gonna cheat on Rumble, he wouldn’t do that to me,” Apple Bloom said.

“Can you be sure?” Diamond Tiara asked. “I mean, much as I like Rumble, I can’t see colt like that resisting urges. Who knows how close he may have gotten with some other fillies, he and Wind Sprint went to the Wonderbolt Academy together, didn’t they?”

“Well yeah, but she’s just a friend,” Apple Bloom said.

“I mean, she does kind of like Rumble though,” Dinky said, getting a concerned reaction from Apple Bloom.

“Wait, she does?” Apple Bloom asked.

“You never picked that up? Since she met him she’s seemed kind of interested in him. I can’t blame her, he is cute, any other time I would have gone for him myself, but I wouldn’t do that to you,” Dinky said. “None of us would, but Wind Sprint is newer to our group. While we may be hesitant to hurt you like that, Wind Sprint may not have that restriction.”

Somehow Sweetie Belle showed signs of nervousness, as if she knew Dinky wasn’t entirely on track. Fortunately no one seemed to suspect her true feelings.

“Well…even so, Rumble would know better,” Apple Bloom said. “Plus it’s just Wind Sprint, he and her barely flew together and they’re in different towns.”

“Yeah, with another girl,” Diamond Tiara said. “What if Silverstream gets interested?”

“Silverstream? But he doesn’t really like her much, remember our rivalry with Sandbar and his friends?” Apple Bloom said.

“He did seem concerned when she got hurt the other day,” Scootaloo said. “Regardless of how he feels about Sandbar or the other ponies he’s with, he may have grown a soft spot for Silverstream.”

“Still, that’s not enough,” Apple Bloom said. “Ah trust Rumble, ah know he wouldn’t cheat. He’s a nice guy, well he has bad moments but the pros outweigh the cons. Plus remember, he wants to be like Peter, and we all know how much Peter loves Twilight.”

Again Sweetie Belle grew nervous, immediately remembering the time she, her sister and their friends were invited to see Peter’s memories, especially those revolving her future self. Seems like Apple Bloom either forgot or did not take into consideration. Of course Peter’s situation was much different, it still showed it could be possible. Sweetie Belle was older now too, and more resembled her future self, just without the skin-tight black suit, though she had to admit, she looked really good in black.

“Look, we don’t want to worry you, and we do think Rumble’s usually a great guy, but even you admitted he was a bit immature,” Scootaoo said. “Not saying he would do that, in fact I really hope he doesn’t and I want to believe he won’t.”

“Yeah, we don’t mean to worry you, it’s probably nothing too, I bet Rumble’s in Mount Aris right now thinking about how much he misses you too,” Dinky said.

“I hope so,” Apple Bloom said, standing up. “Better get to work.”

As she trotted off, Diamond Tiara flipped her mane back, “I still say she should give Tender Taps a chance, if she doesn’t like him, she dumps him. What Rumble doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

“Do you really mean that, or do you secretly hope he does find out so he breaks up with her and you get him for yourself?” Dinky asked.

Diamond Tiara did a mock gasp, “I would never say that. The nerve of your accusation.”

“Come on, let’s not talk like this, Diamond Tiara deserves more credit than that,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Why thank you Sweetie Belle,” Diamond Tiara said, hugging the Unicorn. “You are such a good friend…oh and your fur is so soft, what shampoo do you use?”

“Something Rarity sent me from Manehattan,” Sweetie Belle said.

Diamond Tiara nuzzled against her, “You’re like a soft pillow, I could take a nap on you right now.”

“Thanks but that sounds really abrupt, so can you…” Suddenly she heard some snoring, Diamond Tiara really did fall asleep on her, making the filly feel awkward. “Are you freaking kidding me?”

“You’re like a cuddly marshmallow,” Dinky said.

“DON’T…call me that,” Sweetie Belle said. “Seriously, why does everypony call me and my sister ‘Marshmallows’?”

“I’m gonna go back out there myself, gotta get the apples ready,” Dinky said.

“Same,” Scootaloo said.

“I still got some energy to work,” Silver Spoon said. “Sweetie Belle, you stay here with Diamond.”

“Not like I can do anything else,” Sweetie Belle said, glaring down at the rich filly.

“Great, see ya,” Silver Spoon said, trotting off and leaving Sweetie Belle behind.

“What a pain,” Sweetie Belle said, looking down at Diamond Tiara. Looking around quickly, she began to hug her closer. “But, I suppose this is kind of cute, and it’s not really so bad. As long as-“

“Aw, that cute,” Came Yona’s voice, Sweetie Belle awkwardly turning to the Yak.

“Why are you here?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Came to help with Apples, make enough for Ponyville, maybe send some back home to Yakyakistan,” Yona said.

“Go talk to Big Macintosh, now go,” Sweetie Belle said, gesturing the yak away.

“Ok, me go see big pony,” Yona said, making her leave.

“She better not tell anyone or I’ll destroy her,” Sweetie Belle said, then turned back to Diamond Tiara, stroking her mane. “Well I suppose I shouldn’t be embarrassed, Di is my friend after all, and I do care about her. I just wish this was Rumble. Wonder how he feels about black suits, not that I know where I can even get one.”

---

Meanwhile with Rumble, the colt was at Mount Aris with Silverstream, taking in the large sight of the place, “Holy whoa.”

“Pretty cool right? This is my home,” Silverstream said.

“Wow, your home is amazing Silver,” Rumble said, taking a look around. “I really get to stay here?”

“Yeah, that’s what it means to protect it,” Silverstream said. “Of course you can go back to Cloudsdale on your breaks and stuff.”

“Yeah, totally…” Rumble said, still marveling at the sight. “This place is pretty, I would love to show my family this.”

“Oh you probably can…one day,” Silverstream said. “My aunt, the Queen, she’s a bit reluctant, which is weird because she’s friends with Princess Celestia, so I don’t see why she’s that worried, could be the Storm King or whatever, still, it’s a work in progress. You’re the first real step to Queen Novo trusting those outside our Kingdom.”

“Hope I can earn it then, but still, I feel so important now, like I’m representing ponies everywhere,” Rumble said.

“That’s how I felt in Ponyville,” Silverstream said.

“Well, we should probably check in with the Queen, hope she’s not too scary,” Rumble said.

“That depends,” a voice said, that belonging to Queen Novo. “As long as you stay on your best behavior, you have nothing to worry about.”

“Queen Novo!” Rumble shouted in surprise, then immediately bowed. “It’s an honor ma’am, I’m Rumble, Silverstream’s partner.”

“And my best friend,” Silverstream said. “One of them at least.”

“Yeah, totally her friend,” Rumble said.

“That’s good to know,” Novo said. “I hope this friendship is genuine though, I mean, my niece is a princess, and everyone wants to be friends with royalty.”

“Oh he’s used to royalty, he’s close with Princess Twilight Sparkle,” Silverstream said. “He’s super nice, I think you’ll like him.”

“Hm, super nice huh?” Novo said. “You should know Rumble, some of my subjects went to a game recently, a Buck Ball game, I trust you’re familiar with that sport.”

Rumble gulped, the boy feeling nervous, “Y-yeah?”

“You beat my niece in that game, didn’t you?” Novo said.

“I…suppose I did, yes,” Rumble said.

“It was a fun game, even if we lost,” Silverstream said. “Rumble’s a great athlete.”

“Was he also a good sport?” Novo asked.

Now Silverstream grew worried, “Uh…well, he was pretty…ok.”

“Ok huh?” Novo said.

“Look, auntie, I don’t know what you heard about that day but, it doesn’t reflect the now,” Silverstream said, placing her talon on her partner’s back. “Rumble’s my friend, and he means a lot to me. He looks out for me and he cares about me. Please, judge him now for who he is, not for what he’s done. I mean, maybe he wasn’t perfect but he didn’t do anything that bad.”

“Hm, very well, just stay on your best behavior Rumble,” Novo said. “Princess Silverstream, I’m trusting you to keep an eye on him.”

“Yes auntie,” Silverstream said.

“Yes, QUEEN,” Novo corrected.

“Right, yes Queen Novo,” Silverstream said.

“Good, now I’m off to get my pedicure,” Novo said, flying off.

“Phew,” Rumble wiped away some sweat. “Thanks Silver.”

“Nothing to it, you would have done the same for me,” Silverstream said.

“You really think that? I haven’t always been nice to you,” Rumble said.

“Like I told my aunt, that’s in the past,” Silverstream said. “You’re a good friend, and I hope one day you’ll like all my friends too.”

“That’s gonna take some work,” Rumble said. “I mean, are you sure they’re good friends? They’re not just taking advantage of your kindness?”

“You worry too much,” Silverstream said. “I know I can be a bit…ditzy, but I’d like to think I have a good judge of character. I did it with you when you seemed difficult, I knew you were nicer than you acted. Please trust my friends.”

“I’ll…do my best, but regardless, there’s always room for you in my group of friends,” Rumble said. “I really like you Silverstream.”

“Yeah…me too,” Silverstream said, hiding a blush. “Just as a friend of course.”

“Huh? Well yeah of course, I don’t like you that way,” Rumble said. “Uh, not that you aren’t pretty or anything, but I have a girlfriend and I love her a lot. Honestly, this place looks like a great place to marry her.”

“Marry?” Silverstream asked. “You’re gonna ask Apple Bloom to marry you?”

“Well, I have thought about it,” Rumble said. “I didn’t plan to do it this soon. My goal was become a Wonderbolt and Avenger, rake in success, make lots of money, then once I had enough to support her, ask Apple Bloom to marry me. But, since she’s pregnant with my child, I kind of want to do it now, that way the baby will be born to parents who are married.”

“Well, does it matter if you’re married? Being together is more important,” Silverstream said.

“I know, but I just really expected to have been a father after I got married, not before,” Rumble said. “Though I’m afraid to ask now, she might think I’m only asking because I got her pregnant.”

“She won’t think that, I mean you love each other, don’t you?” Silverstream said.

“I love her, I just hope she loves me still,” Rumble said.

“I think she does, you just have to rekindle that spark,” Silverstream said. “Tell you what, you make sure you stay on my aunt’s good side, and I can set up a date for you and Apple Bloom here, she’ll remember how much she loves you.”

“That sounds great, thanks,” Rumble said. “If this woks out, then I’ll return he favor and help you find someone, I know some guys back in Ponyville that could be a good fit, though they might be a few years younger than you.”

“As long as they’re at least older than Cozy Glow,” Silverstream said. “I think she’s about 15 or something.”

“Wow really? She looks like she’s 10, can’t believe she’s only two years younger than me” Rumble said.

“We were all surprised, she’s a bit petite for her age, isn’t she?” Silverstream said.

“She sure is,” Rumble said. “Well, anyway, we should get to patrolling. Especially with Captain Equestria going rogue, not sure if he’ll end up here.”

“Well he knows about this place, still I can’t believe he turned traitor,” Silverstream said. “Unless there’s more to it than that.”

“I can’t say, what really worries me is knowing I would have to bring in Applejack and her husband Remy, and I don’t think Apple Bloom is gonna be too happy with that,” Rumble said.

“Right…well I can handle those two, plus with your influence, maybe you can help get them out of any type of punishment,” Silverstream said.

“I don’t think I have enough influence…but Peter and Twilight do, I just have to use my connection to them to help my girlfriend’s family. That could help our relationship too! Oh this could turn out great, let’s get to planning,” Rumble said.

“Yeah! Let’s do it!” Silverstream said. “Oh, but first, can I introduce you to my brother Terramar and my cousin Skystar? I think you’ll love them!”

“Uh, sure, I guess I should get closer to your family too, and all your subjects if I want to single-hoofingly bring ponies and Hippogriffs closer,” Rumble said, following Silverstream to find her relatives.

---

Later on, Team Cap had finally arrived at Baltimare, and there was no time wasted in a showdown. Steve and his team were standing across from Tigra, the hero with both her Wonderbolt allies by her side.

“Seeing them up close like this, it’s actually kind of terrifying,” Pickle nervously said.

“Come on, toughen up,” Barley scolded, then faced Team Cap. “Your reign of terror has gone on long enough!”

“What reign? We haven’t really caused any trouble,” Bucky said.

“We know about your Manehattan fight! You’re going down, villains!” Barley said.

“Barley,” Johnny spoke up. “Do I look like I’m a villain? I’m the same guy who’s trained you after all.”

“And I am very disappointed in you, Equine Torch,” Barley said. “You broke my heart!”

“Enough of this,” Tigra said, then focused on her rivals. “Cap, you know as well as I do that I have to turn you in.”

“Come on Greer, you know I don’t want to fight you,” Steve said. “I just want to reason with you.”

“There’s nothing to reason with, you broke the rules, don’t make this tougher than it needs to be,” Tigra said.

“I know I broke the rules, but I had a reason to,” Steve said. “The Accords aren’t working, they’ve been flawed for so long and it’s caused more misery than satisfaction. I have to put an end to this and show Tony that this isn’t the answer, this whole hero location thing, these restrictive rules, they’re not the answer.”

“Steve, you not only broke prisoners free but you ran,” Tigra said. “Then you went to Manehatten where you engaged in a fight with Iceman and some Wonderbolts, how is this any better? You can’t mask illegal actions under your way of justice, two wrongs don’t make a right.”

“I know what I did was risky, but I had no choice,” Steve said.

“Neither do I, sorry but I was given the trust to keep this town safe,” Tigra said. “I really don’t want to fight you though, don’t make me do something I’m gonna regret later.”

“Forgive me, but I can’t surrender, not until I make things right,” Steve said.

“Then you leave us no choice,” Tigra said. “Pickle, Barley, get ready.”

“Lady, we have five times more ponies than you,” Taskmaster said. “If you ain’t joining us that’s fine, but don’t think for a second-“

“Shit, watch out!” Sam shouted as a big blur of green and purple came crashing down, creating a shockwave that knocked everyone back, some like Steve, Applejack and Sandman still standing while Johnny and Sam took to the air.

“Steve, it’s great to see you,” She-Hulk said.

“Jen?” Steve replied.

“This is where it ends, you have to stop this little adventure of yours,” She-Hulk warned. “Please, before I have to hurt you.”

“Jen don’t, we’re not the enemies!” Johnny said.

“Sorry Johnny, but rules are rules, even for friends like you,” She-Hulk said.

She immediately rushed in to attack, with Steve stepping in with his shield and blocking her punch, though the force of the blow did knock him back. Taskmaster rushed to attack with his own shield but he took a blow that knocked him against a house.

“Looks like we gotta fight,” Remy said, readying his bo staff. “Who wants some!?”

“I’ll answer that call!” Tigra said, rushing in and attacking with her claws, Remy quickly using his staff to block, and allowing Applejack to tackle her away.

“Speed formation!” The Barrel Twins flew in to kick the Apple duo, then immediately flew away from the oncoming Lizard.

Tigra shook off Applejack’s tackle, then quickly found herself blocking a strike from Black Cat.

“Ready for a cat-fight?” Felicia asked.

“Honey I’m a Tiger!” Tigra said, kicking Felicia away. In came Sam who tried going for some kicks, Tigra’s reflexes keeping him at bay.

Meanwhile She-Hulk again tried engaging with Steve, the hero fighting back with his shield. Though she held back a bit, it was still a tough situation for Steve, he had to think quick As she went for another punch, he quickly grabbed her foreleg into a judo toss position, elbowing her stomach a couple of times to weaken her, but she was able to knee his back and send him flying forward.

“I’m coming Cap!” Sugar Belle said, using her magic to ready some dirt into cupcake styled projectiles and sent them flying at She-Hulk, which did nothing. “Sometimes I really don’t know if I’m cut out for this.”

“Probably not,” She-Hulk said, stomping over. “Now you seem like a nice lady, how about you-“

In an instant, Bucky came in with a punch to She-Hulk’s face, knocking her back. He turned his attention to the baker filly, “Don’t worry, I got ya.”

“Who says I’m worried?” Sugar Belle said, blushing at the sight of The Winter Solider.

She-Hulk came right back in with another punch, Bucky blocking with his arm, but the force was stronger than he hoped and he went flying into Sugar Belle, colliding hard.

“Jen!” Johnny sent some fire balls at her but her agility allowed her to dodge out the way. He attempted to pursue but suddenly his path was blocked by newcomer. “Wind Sprint?”

“Sorry Torch, I can’t allow this to continue!” Wind Sprint went for a kick but Johnny effortlessly blocked and knocked her aside. Suddenly the two Barrel twins tried to attack but Johnny created a fire shield that stopped them in their path.

“You two are way below my league,” Johnny said. “Be good kids and surrender!”

Suddenly Wind Sprint headbutted him in the back, then all three flew around in a circle in an attempt to tornado him.

“Come on, we got this!” Barley said.

“Oh you don’t got nothing!” Johnny blasted everyone back with his fire, light enough not to cause permanent damage at least.

“I got it from here,” Sandman said, using his abilities to form a monster big enough, trying to grab the kids from the air.

“Stay out of his reach!” Wind Sprint said, trying to dodge.

Nearby Tigra was fending off Matt, the hero fighting aggressively and trying to knock Tigra off balance, though one slip up allowed her to kick him away, sending him through a nearby window.0

Applejack and Remy then rushed to attack Tigra again, the tiger lady leaping to a roof, out of their reach. She tried jumping back down to attack but Remy managed to whack her aside, the mutant lady quickly getting back on her feet.

Near her Steve was again engaging with She-Hulk, the two trying to match power. Steve leapt back once Sam flew in with another kick all the while, Stygian stayed to the side and out of the fight, but amazed by what he had seen.

“Such a display of power,” the unicorn remarked.

It was around this point that Taskmaster tried to grab Tigra from behind, the woman evading and kicking him aside. Dwayne tried for a sneak attack with an ollie kick but Tigra kicked the skateboard out the way through another window and hit Dwayne with an uppercut.

Meanwhile She-Hulk knocked Sam out the air and punched away Lizard, both hitting the walls of nearby houses. Even Babs tried to attack with a tackle, big mistake, the mare was lifted up by the tail and flung away.

Sandman managed to catch Babs and bring her to safety, then grabbed both Tigra and She-Hulk, diverting his attention away from the Wonderbolts for now, “That’s enough out of you!”

“Let them go!” Wind Sprint shouted, flying in with the twins to kick Sandman, to no affect.

Bucky quickly made his way back to Cap, helping Sugar Belle along the way, “What’s the plan now Steve? They don’t seem interested in joining us.”

“We should move on, no point in prolonging this battle,” Steve said, taking a look around. Some of the houses had some damage on them. “Damn…”

“Come on, let’s leave before things get worse,” Bucky said.

“They might,” Sugar Belle said, pointing to the distance. “Is that Ice Mane?”

Coming in was the group led by Bobby, and he did not look happy, “Cap!”

“Oh boy,” Remy said, readying his cards. “Go! I’ll keep him back!”

“I’ll help,” Sandman said, turning to fight with Remy. He rushed in to attack but Bobby completely froze him, though this left him open for Remy to toss cards and knock him off balance.

“Sugar Belle!” Night Glider flew in at her old friend but Bucky’s quick thinking allowed him to shield the mare with his metal foreleg and attack with his regular one, a punch strong enough to daze Night Glider while Felicia jumped and kicked her away.

“Come on y’all!” Applejack said, about to leave when Rarity create a shield that stopped her.

“Applejack, that’s enough!” the mare warned. “This is getting ridiculous!”

“Forgive me for this Rarity,” Applejack grabbed a nearby garbage can with her lasso and flung it at the fashionista, who quickly put her shield up to block it.

“Applejack!” Rarity shouted in frustration.

“Everyone, take cover!” Johnny said, creating a huge ball of fire. He then rolled it across the ground like a bowling ball, hitting all the opposing ponies and stunning them long enough for his team to run. “That’s a Strike!”

Johnny joined his teammates as they made their escape, Team Cap’s recruitment plan failing this time, much to Bobby’s annoyance.

“Dammit, they won’t escape that easily!” Bobby said, standing up and grabbing a radio. “Yo, Hercules, Team Cap is going further south, they might be right across from the Dragon’s Lair.”

“Very well, I shall do my part,” Hercules said, while in the middle of arm wrestling with a purple dragon named Clump, the dragon struggling despite the hero being very relaxed. “How curious, seems like Cap managed to slip past Tigra and her forces. I should let Dragon Lord Ember know.”

“Hey! Focus on me! Clump whined, desperately trying to win. Bad enough he struggled, he hated that Hercules barely put in an effort, and it showed.

“Forgive me,” Hercules said, abruptly ending the game by pinning the other arm down, knocking Clump down with him. “Well, I have a duty to return to. It is truly a shame I must track down Captain America, but, I gave my world to protect this land. Of course, I would like to see for myself why the good Captain is doing what he’s doing.”

---

Back in Canterlot, Tony along with Luna and Spitfire had gotten word of Steve escaping Balitmare, and they did not seem pleased.

“Steve’s really making this hard,” Tony lamented. “Even Jen couldn’t stop him, does he have too many on his side?”

“Perhaps a different strategy is needed,” Luna said. “If we know where Cap and the others are going, it shouldn’t be hard to send more Heroes and Wonderbolts to track him down.”

“Yeah, we might need to, but that might not be enough,” Tony said. “I sent that Thunderlane guy out to see if he can help, but I still need more heroes, which means calling Earth and making deals.”

“Didn’t you have trouble getting them to agree?” Luna asked.

“Well I don’t have a choice, maybe they won’t stay in Equestria but that doesn’t mean they can’t show up even for a little bit,” Tony said. “I’ll make the calls, until then, be ready to go out there.”

“Oh I’m ready sir, I’m more than ready to get things done!” Spitfire said. “I’m so ready, I can probably take Captain Equestria on myself!”

“Whoa, easy there, I like the enthusiasm, but don’t get too carried away,” Tony said. “This is still a team effort.”

“Yeah, team effort, we do this as a team! Show those maggots who they’re messing with!” Spitfire said. “No one messes with The Accords! We run Equestria!”

“Spitfire, please, compose yourself,” Luna said.

Spitfire cleared her throat, a little embarrassed, “Sorry, got too excited, but I just feel kind of invigorated like, I really can’t explain.”

“How good was your date last night?” Tony asked.

Spitfire turned away with a blush, “Pretty good, Soarin is quite the romantic guy. I mean, I’m not delicate by any means but wow, he really makes a mare feel quite special. Really should have given him a chance much sooner.”

“Why didn’t you?” Luna asked.

“He had a crush on Rainbow Dash once, and I thought I was just gonna be a rebound girl,” Spitfire said. “Boy was I wrong, I can tell he wanted me, and I kind of want him. Tony, you get what I mean, you have Pepper Potts after all.”

“You bet I do, so glad I settled down with her, she’s a great woman,” Tony said. “Of course Rhodey did help me see just how amazing…wait, Rhodey! Oh it was so obvious, he can help too! We’ll get him back in the suit, and he can help me find some others, maybe Fury can help, he’s got some good heroes, like that one girl, Daisy Johnson, she’d definitely come in handy, or that Chris Powell guy, hopefully Clint doesn’t mind a hero with a similar name to his. I gotta brainstorm, you do the same Spitfire, see if you can think of other good Wonderbolts.”

“Two words, Misty Fly,” Spitfire said. “She slipped under the radar a bit, but she’s got talent.”

“Excellent,” Tony said, then heard a radio go off. “Think that’s yours Spitfire.”

“Huh?” Spitfire answered. “Yeah, what is it?”

“Spitfire, its Fleetfoot, Rainbow Dash is here asking about her probation, and she brought a Griffon with her,” the Wonderbolt said.

“Right, she would ask,” Spitfire said. “Just lift it or whatever, we really could use more help.”

“Think she’s a good fit? I mean, this involves her husband,” Fleetfoot said.

“Something tells me that even if we don’t, she’s gonna go out there anyway,” Spitfire said. “Lift the probation, if she helps us then that’s great, if not, well at least she won’t take us by surprise.”

“What about The Griffon?” Fleetfoot asked. “What do I do with her?”

“Uh, just tell her to go home or something, unless she wants to join The Wonderbolts, actually offer her a membership, we could use another recruit,” Spitfire said.

“Eh, alright, Fleetfoot out,” the mare hung up.

Spitfire sighed in frustration, “This is troubling.”

“Worried about Rainbow Dash?” Tony asked.

“We don’t always see eye-to-eye but I do respect her skills,” Spitfire said. “She has it in her to be great but she’s too emotionally driven sometimes, so I’m tough on her to help her sort that weakness out. Maybe I’m not doing a good job, I just hope me lifting her probation is a start to building trust again.”

“Rainbow Dash is Loyal to Equestria, for the most part,” Luna said. “But, her Loyalty to her husband may be troubling.”

“I both understand that, and worry for it,” Spitfire said.

“Well, maybe this is a good thing? I mean, if Steve can see how effective this is from the outside, maybe he’ll change his mind and be more understanding,” Tony said, getting looks of confusion from the mares. “I’m just trying to be optimistic here.”

“Let’s hope he realizes before Carol makes her move, I know she’s on our side, but sometimes, she worries even me,” Spitfire said.

“Yeah, same here,” Tony said.

At the Crystal Empire, Carol is seen relaying information to Cadance, “Seems like Cap has just left Baltimare, and it heading further down south.”

“Are you going to intercept him?” Cadance asked.

“I’m trying to get something built for Tony, anyway let the other heroes try, it’ll be a good way to figure out which one is worth their cape and which one is the weakling that doesn’t belong,” Carol said.

“Isn’t that a bit harsh?” Cadance asked.

“Princess, part of being in charge is seeing what works and what doesn’t,” Carol said. “You have to understand how to make things work to your favor. Being a Princess isn’t too different from being a hero, it involves tough choices.”

“Right, tough choices,” Cadance said.

“That’s something we have to instill into the future,” Carol said, looking to the side as Kamala was seen talking with Flurry. “Your daughter needs to see the strong will of a proper Princess like yourself, just like I need to show Kamala what it means to be aa hero. To truly show what true strength means.”

“Yes, of course,” Cadance said.

“That includes showing no mercy to those who break the law, if you’re easy on the punishment, then the flaws will not cease,” Carol said. “A strong woman can make the tough choices, show your daughter what it means to be just that.”

“Yes, me and Shining Armor will do what we can to help Flurry grow into a strong individual, just like you are, and what Kamala will be,” Cadance said.

“Right, of course,” Carol said. “Where is that husband of yours?”

“Oh a new comic book came out recently and he rushed to get it, he’s really excited to show Flurry, and I think Kamala likes them too!” Cadance said. “It’s really cute actually.”

Carol groaned in annoyance, but feigned a smile, “That’s…nice. I should go now,” Carol flew off, shaking her head, “That guy sounds more like an imbecile every day.”

---

Things continued to progress through Equestria. Janet and Spike had arrived at The Dragon Lair, ready to meet up with Ember and Hercules to discuss strategy.

Elsewhere Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Jessica Jones also prepared for the eventual arrival of Team Cap, though currently on the other side of the land, they know a meeting is inevitable, and they must brace for it.

In Manehattan, Coco Pommel is sorting through many of Tony’s materials, hoping to keep everything in tip-top shape. Tony could use some order in his life, and that includes his business. However, as she was sorting, she accidentally came across a secret button on his desk, her hoof hitting it and the room changing.

“Huh?” Coco looked around and saw the walls turn, revealing a silver metallic suit, “That must be one of Mr. Stark’s pieces of armor…” She cautiously approached it, curious by its design, “I shouldn’t but…” She gently grabbed the end placing it over her hoof as it strapped up, her eyes glowing in excitement. “Oh wow…This is…incredible…”

---

Elsewhere, Thunderlane was flying over Ponyville, ready to find Cap when he took curious notice of Logan and his family. “Hm, wonder where they’re going?”

Logan, joined by Fluttershy, Laura and Lightning Dust, were going East, knowing that’s where Steve was. Between him and Laura, Logan was confident they could find whom they were looking for.

“Is this really alright?” Lightning Dust asked. “What if we get caught?”

“You can go home if yer worried, I won’t make you take a risk,” Logan said.

“I’m not afraid of a risk but…I’m more worried about you three,” Lightning Dust said.

“I’m not afraid of risks either,” Laura said.

“Same, doing the right thing is more important,” Fluttreshy said.

“It shouldn’t take more than a few days, hopefully,” Logan said.

“At least The Cakes were willing to foalsit Rina, which was really nice of them,” Laura said. “Though is it me or were Deadpool and Pinkie Pie acting strange?”

“When are they not?” Lightning Dust joked as she continued to travel with her family.

They continued to march while Thunderlane kept an eye on them, unaware of another duo who seemed to be on their tail.

---

In Ponyville itself, Twilight had made her way back home, having taken a long time to think. Upon arrival, she spotted Peter on the Balcony, the hero with a lot on her mind. She flew up to him, getting his attention, “Peter…”

“Hey Twi…” Peter greeted. “I missed your pretty face.”

“Save the charm for now, we have a lot to discuss,” Twilight said, making her way inside with Peter following.

---

Outside their Dimension, Sunset was still training, this time sparring with Chun-Li while Spencer, Strider, Guile, Barret and Tifa observed.

“She’s really improved,” Guile said. “She already had some talent but this is incredible stuff.”

“Sure is,” Tifa said. “Soon we’ll be putting her to the test, seeing how well she does against martial artist of this world, and maybe some others.”

“She’s alright, but she still lacks that fighter’s instinct,” Barret said.

“Well Sunset was raised in a world of Harmony, maybe it’s harder to show that instinct,” Tifa said.

“You might be right, but, that can be a deterrent to her being a strong warrior,” Guile said. “Of course the Equestrians seemed to survive so far, even with invasions from our world and the Marvel world. So maybe it’s different for them.”

“Everyone has their own way, and I doubt The Equestrians have anything to worry about,” Spencer said. “Sunset will be just fine.”

“I will agree, she needs to show a little more aggression, it’s as if she’s afraid to go all out,” Strider said. “A mental block perhaps.”

“Wonder what that is?” Tifa said.

As Sunset and Chun-Li continued to spar, the latter raised her hand to end the fighting.

“What’s wrong?” Sunset asked.

“We’re not alone,” Chun-Li said. “And I’m not talking about the spectators.”

“Someone’s here?” Sunset asked.

Everyone else felt a little worried, almost as if they knew someone or something powerful was nearby.

“Be ready,” Strider said.

Suddenly Goku appeared nearby Chun-Li, “Yo!”

Chun-Li freaked and kicked Goku in the face, knocking him over, “What in the world!?”

“Ow!” Goku held his face in pain. “What on Earth was that for?”

“You snuck up on me! I thought you were an enemy!” Chun-Li said.

“Sorry about that,” Goku said, shaking off the pain. “Huh, you know this is the first time I’ve been to this world, and my first time seeing you as a human. Your legs are really huge!”

“Don’t make me kick you again,” Chun-Li warned. “What do you want? Is Vegeta here too? Does he want a rematch?”

“Well, no, I just came because Lord Beerus wanted to see this world,” Goku said.

“So far it’s unimpressive,” Beerus said, making his way over with Whis. “Where are the warriors Vegeta fought? Furthermore, what about the warriors you fought Goku? Couldn’t you have brought me there instead?”

“Well, I don’t think their princess wants outsiders,” Goku said, then gestured to Sunset. “Though that bacon hair girl might know if it’s alright to go to Equestria.”

“Bacon hair!?” Sunset asked, checking her hair. “It’s not bacon, what are you talking about!?”

“My, that’s an interesting nickname,” Whis quipped.

“Who the hell is this guy?” Guile asked, gesturing to Goku.

“That, is Son Goku, a powerful Saiyan Warrior,” Tifa said. “Hm, this might actually be interesting.”

“So…where’s the food?” Beerus asked.

Chun-Li raised her eyebrow in confusion, “The what?”

As this was going down, the lead up to Ragnarök was fast approaching, Thor had to be ready to protect Asgard, and would not rest until he wss fully prepared for waht was to come.

Words to Guide

Another day had come and gone, things not looking so well for the team led by Captain America.

In the pursuit to liberate Equestria from Tony's Accords, so far Manehattan took a blow with losing two heroes, Fillydelphia, Baltimare and Griffonstone had hardly budged. No new recruits, instead more enemies made.

Cap's team were currently camping out at the edge of a forest area, the leader looking through the map and deciding his next course of action.

"Let's see, further south, across the Celestial Sea is the Dragon's Lair, that's where Hercules is stationed," Cap noted. "Beyond that there's The Kirin Grove, to my knowledge Tony's Accords haven't reached there, though it was something he was actively working on," He looked even further down "If we continue going south past the Bad Lands, we'll arrive at Mount Aris. Who was...?" Cap took a moment to recall. "Oh yeah, those two kids, Rumble and Princess Silverstream. I wonder if..."

"Hey Steve," Bucky said, getting the Captain's attention.

"Need something Bucky?" Steve replied.

"Food's ready, we're having fish," Bucky said. "Well the humans are, the ponies are sticking to some edible plants they found."

"Be there in a second," Steve said, still checking over the map.

"Steve, I know you're worried and all, but you really need to eat, not good to plan on an empty stomach," Bucky said.

"I can handle it," Steve said. "It's more important to plan our next move, Baltimare wasn't exactly a success and Jen showed that Griffonstone won't be much different. The next place we go needs to be in our favor, otherwise we'll end up outnumbered."

"Hey come on, our only enemies right now are Iceman, a bunch of Pegasus ponies, a frilly unicorn, a kitty and She-Hulk," Bucky said. "I mean, yeah, She-Hulk's actually dangerous but everyone else doesn't seem so bad."

"Iceman froze us all in an instant, he's much more powerful than most people give him credit for," Steve said. "In battle, you never underestimate an enemy, regardless of appearance."

"Even so, we got guys like you and me, plus The Human Torch and even Sandman," Bucky said. "I say our team has a bigger advantage, but I do agree with you on the underestimating part, wouldn't mind paying Iceman back for that freezing technique."

"I figured you'd like the cold, I mean, you are The Winter Solider," Steve teased. "Personally I'm glad I was freed within seconds, and not have to wait another span of decades to thaw out."

"Imagine that happened, and the next time you woke up, Alicorn Prince Tony Stark was ruling Equestria," Bucky joked.

"Alicorn Prince Tony Stark?" Steve started laughing a bit. "I honestly believe he wants to be an Alicorn, it would explain why he designed his suit to resemble one in this world."

"The guy probably wishes he was God, of course he wants to be an Alicorn," Bucky said. "Sometimes I don't get how a guy like you could be friends with a guy like him."

"Come on Bucky, we both know Tony usually has a good heart, even if recent decisions hint otherwise," Steve said. "Tony's the type of guy who puts on an act to seem tougher than he is, but deep down, I know he's better than that, I know he's better than all this. I understand why he started The Accords, it was out of guilt. There were people we couldn't save back home, ponies we couldn't save here. Tony thinks about that all the time. He knows the pain of losing loved ones."

"Like his parents, right?" Bucky asked.

"Yes, anytime he sees someone who lost a relative, he can't help but empathize and relate," Steve said. "Then came that incident years ago with The Green Goblin."

"He took your mind on a joy ride," Bucky said.

"Lucky you weren't there," Steve said.

"Wouldn't be the first time for me anyway," Bucky said.

"That happened to us not once, but twice, Tony hates knowing he was indirectly responsible for so much destruction, that even when he's in control and fails, he takes it seriously, like any hero would," Steve said. "The Accords were meant to keep ponies safe, and hopefully people, but he focused too much on the long term and didn't look at what was happening before his eyes. That's why I had to do what I did, I needed to wake him up."

"By breaking the law," Bucky said. "Not some goody two-shoes hero now, are you?"

"I never was, I am not Captain America because I follow the American Government, I follow The American Dream," Steve said. "I believe in Freedom, that's why I joined the Super Solider initiative, to maintain freedom. Not just for America, but for all places that need it. Equestria is one such place, and I will not allow it lose that freedom, nor will I stand by and allow Tony Stark to become something out of Hydra."

"Well aren't you the passionate one?" Applejack said, getting the attention of the two. "Forgive me fer intruding, when Bucky didn't come back with you, ah figured I'd come get you mahself. Dinner's gonna get cold and you really need to eat up."

"Told you," Bucky teased.

"Sorry Applejack, I just need to plan a few steps ahead so things don't go sour," Steve said. "The way I see things, going south isn't the best idea."

"Well let's go somewhere else, ah mean it's one thing to try to go to each town and convince the heroes, but maybe you should focus on the biggest hero influence," Applejack said. "Aside from you and Tony Stark, who can you talk to that can help? Who's the biggest hero registered on The Accords?"

"You really think Captain Marvel can be reasoned with?" Bucky asked.

"Ah ain't talking about prude Captain Marvel," Applejack said. "I'm talking about Peter."

"Peter?" Bucky asked. "You mean Spider-Man?"

"She's right," Steve said. "Peter has a lot of influence over the ponies, if we can reason with him, then that would give us a huge advantage."

"Exactly, Ponyville ain't too far away from here, and we'd have better luck there than going down south," Applejack said. "Ah mean, aren't Dragons further down? Ah don't think we should take a chance with them, aside from Johnny, ah don't think anyone here is fireproof."

"Those dragons can't be as bad as Fing Fang Foom, can they?" Bucky asked.

"Fing Fang Who?" Applejack asked.

"A space dragon, Tony fights him on occasion, and I think even The Guardians of the Galaxy have had a few run ins," Steve said.

"Well, point is that we're better off heading west, plus Appaloosa's not too far from here, we can meet with mah cousin Braeburn, he'll give us some temporary shelter," Applejack said.

"That would be great, but will he be comfortable with that?" Steve asked. "We are technically law-breakers."

"Oh he won't mind, for us apples, blood is thicker than applesauce," Applejack said. "Plus once Braeburn hears us out, he'll wanna help. Maybe get more apples on your side, really take it to Tony Stark.."

"So like a bunch of cowboys?" Bucky asked.

"Let's not drag too many of your relatives into this battle, I don't want to risk them getting hurt," Steve said. "Bad enough your cousin came along. I get she wants to help but-"

"Don't worry about us Apples, we're as tough as they come," Applejack said. "So, what do you say? Wanna head to Appaloosa?"

"Hm...sure, but can you answer me this one question? It's not a dealbreaker but it's imperative that I know this detail," Steve began.

"Uh, sure, what is it?" Applejack asked.

"...Does anyone there make a good Apple Pie?" Steve asked. "I wanted to check during that Buck Ball game but...things went sour."

Applejack blinked a few seconds in surprise, "Well, yeah, there should be plenty. Apple Pie is our family specialty."

"Oh good, I really like Apple Pie," Steve said. "There's nothing more American than that."

Applejack couldn't help but giggle, even the most serious heroes have their delicacies, "I'll make sure you get the plumpest pie."

"So, you got a lot of relatives in Appaloosa?" Bucky asked.

"A few, The Apples live all over Equestria," Applejack explained. "Babs came from Manehattan, where mah Aunt and Uncle Orange live too."

"Orange? Say are there any other fruits you're related to?" Bucky asked.

"That's a funny way of putting it, but in a way, yeah," Applejack said." My mah's a Pear."

"A Pear?" Bucky asked. "They are similar to apples I guess, must have really been an easy click."

"Oh no, Apples and Pears hated each other," Applejack informed.

Bucky raised his eyebrow, "Wait, really?"

"Sure do, fer years the Pears and the Apples were bitter enemies, but mah maw and paw couldn't stand being away from each other," Applejack said. "They got together despite the odds."

"Sounds like the story of Romeo and Juliet," Bucky said. "Star-crossed lovers."

"Well it's good that they got together, they deserved that happiness I'm sure, anyone does," Steve said.

"Appreciate that," Applejack said, looking up at the sky. "Sometimes I still miss them a whole lot, ah wonder what'd they think of me now, and my brother and sister, not to mention mah husband and mah own kids."

"I think they'd be happy to know their daughter's grown up so well," Steve said. "From what I've seen Applejack, you're a responsible young mare who takes good care of her younger sister and is a great wife to a great man, and a good mother to such loving kids."

"That's kind of you to say, Cap," Applejack said.

"You can call me 'Steve', we're friends after all."

"Alright, thanks Steve," Applejack said. "Now, can you please come and have dinner, ah don't like the idea of you being hungry. It's an Apple Family thing."

"If you insist, we'll be going to Appaloosa anyway, might as well get something to eat," Steve said, placing away the map and going to enjoy his dinner.

---

That same time, Twilight is seen tucking Mayday into bed, and the young filly wasn't alone. Also getting tucked into the same bed was Franklin, the young boy looking very worried at the moment.

"Is my uncle gonna be alright?" Franklin asked.

"Your uncle will be fine, Peter and I won't let anything happen to him," Twilight said. "Try to get some sleep, but if you need me or Peter, we're only down the hall."

"Alright Mrs. Parker-Sparkle," Franklin said.

"You can call me 'Twilight'," the mare said, rubbing the boy's mane. "Goodnight Franklin."

Twilight stepped out the room where Peter was waiting, the hero glancing back inside, "So, we're babysitting?"

"Susan went to find Johnny, and it sounds like Reed's going to be very busy himself, I figured we could watch over Franklin so he doesn't feel too lonely back home, plus I really like him, he's sweet.

"Well I'm sure Susan appreciates you looking after her son, and he is a good kid, I like how close he and Mayday have gotten," Peter said.

"She actually didn't want me to at first, she didn't really go into detail, other than him needing to learn control over his powers," Twilight said. "I stopped by Canterlot to consult with Reed and he said he was able to keep them suppressed. Curiously he asked me about Wanda Maximoff, and when I told him she stayed with us, he seemed less worried. He just says to keep him feeling safe, and he's always happy when he's with Mayday."

"What does Wanda have to do with Franklin though?" Peter asked.

"Well, she's a powerful mutant," Twilight said. "According to Susan, Franklin himself is a mutant, not just because his parents have powers, but he has the X-Gene that Logan and the X-Men have. So I guess having experience with mutants of any kind helps."

"That reminds me, we never got Mayday tested for any superhuman abilities," Peter said. "Though, she might be developing something, recently she's told me that her head kept buzzing, I'm thinking it's the Spider-Sense but I need to test it out first."

"How so?" Twilight asked, a bit worried by what Peter meant.

"I'm not gonna endanger her or anything, the Spider Sense can react to anything potentially dangerous, even something as minor as a bump to the noggin," Peter explained. "I still want to see if she can potentially develop other abilities, otherwise she's gonna wake up really confused one day."

"That reminds me, what about everyone else's kids?" Twilight asked. "Have they developed anything?"

"Nothing yet, everyone's keeping a close eye out," Peter said. "According to the X-Men, the X-Gene can develop as late as the teen years, but it's possible for them to develop sooner, such as age ten, which Franklin currently is."

"That would explain why she's worried, it's likely a recent ability," Twilight said. "Maybe you can help in some way, you're not a mutant but you did have to get used to having powers."

"I'll do what I can," Peter said. "We'll both do our best to teach him."

"Speaking of teaching, we still have to discuss the school," Twilight said.

"Yeah...I figured as much," Peter said. "I'm really sorry if I upset you."

"No, I should be sorry, I reacted very poorly," Twilight said. "I should have heard you out and not stormed off, it was childish of me, and I should know better than to let myself get emotional like that. I'm just really stressed out lately."

"You're not overworking yourself again, are you?" Peter asked.

"A little, but I have to get work done, between my Princess duties, being head mare, helping Starswirl, my plate is full," Twilight said. "I don't mind really, I like working and I enjoy my roles, I just get tired sometimes."

"Maybe you should take a break, let me and the others handle Cap and you focus on what you can do," Peter said.

"No, I need to be part of this, this involves my friends, especially Applejack," Twilight said. "I need her to be safe, not even because she's an Element, but because she's my friend and I want to be sure she's alright. Plus I promised the Richards Family I would help with Johnny, I care about him too after all."

"Well maybe let Starlight handle the school for now at least, she's done well before and I think she has a natural talent for it," Peter said. "But we do need to address the curriculum. Now, the school is a good idea of course, the Friendship classes, not so much, but you're on the right track."

"Just tell me what you think should be done, we'll figure it out together," Twilight said.

---

As the two talked that night, elsewhere Logan was setting up camp with help from his family while Deadpool and Pinkie Pie observed from nearby.

"So, what should we do now?" Pinkie asked.

"We wait for the right moment to make our presence, right now Logan might be on guard, once he's relaxed then we'll go in and be like, 'Yo, what are you all up to? Defying the rules? Not cool'," Deadpool explained.

"But, should we do this? I mean they could just find Cap and then we make our move," Pinkie said. "Then we use our words to talk things over, make everyone friends again, and go back home and live happily ever after."

"Well, maybe waiting until they find Cap can work, but I make no promises on Happily Ever After, they still broke the law," Deadpool said.

"I don't want to get confrontational though," Pinkie said. "I came with you to help you resolve this peacefully."

"And we will, Pinkie, but I still need to do my job, I need Tony Stark to take me seriously," Deadpool said. "This way I'm not just the former trouble making mercenary, but an actual hero who's actually worth something."

"You're worth something to me," Pinkie said, garnering a look of admiration from Deadpool.

"I love you, so much," Deadpool said, then focused back on the task. "Alright, I'll try to compromise, but that all depends on Logan."

"That's fair enough," Pinkie said. "But I'd like to hope that things turn out well."

"We just have to wait, luckily I don't think Logan's spotted us yet," Deadpool said.

Meanwhile at the campsite, Laura is looking over to the bush that the couple were hiding near, "So how long are Deadpool and Pinkie Pie gonna wait before showing their faces?"

"Give them time," Logan said. "Plus, we still got one other guy following after us."

"Oh yeah, should I get his attention now?" Laura asked.

"Try not to hurt him," Logan said.

"I'll do my best," Laura said, jumping behind a nearby rock, where a scuffle could be heard.

"Hey! What in the world!?" came Thunderlane's voice, the Pegasus tossed and landing near Logan, with Fluttershy and Lightning Dust also being taken by surprise.

"Looks like we got a new friend," Lightning Dust commented.

Thunderlane tried standing and then felt the force of Laura landing on his back, "Start talking, why were you following us!?"

"I wasn't originally, I was trying to find Cap," Thunderlane said., groaning in pain. "Then I saw you and got curious, also you're kind of heavy."

"Oooh, never tell a girl she's heavy," Laura sinisterly stated, showing off her claws matched by her devilish grin. "It makes her mad."

"Laura please don't kill him," Logan said. "Also get off his back."

"Fine," Laura said, hopping off. "Still, he was being sneaky."

"Sorry, I wanted to say something sooner, but I wasn't sure how, I was actually rehearsing in my head on how I would do it," Thunderlane said.

"Dork," Laura said.

"Be nice," Fluttershy scolded, then focused on Thunderlane. "Did Tony Stark send you to find Cap?"

"I asked him, but only because my ex-girlfriend is with him too," Thunderlane said.

"You mean Felicia Hardy?" Laura asked. "The girl you knocked up?"

"Yes..." Thunderlane sheepishly admitted. "Which is why I need to keep an eye on her."

"Not really, she's your ex," Lightning Dust said.

"Yeah but she's the mother of my daughter, I owe it to Felicity to make sure her mom's safe, even if she's a lousy mom," Thunderlane said.

"That's very Kind of you," Fluttershy said.

"Real big of you, Black Cat's a lucky girl, even if she's not currently dating you," Lightning Dust said.

"Thanks. So, it looks like you're off to find Cap too, were you sent as well?" Thunderlane asked.

"You could say that," Logan said. "We're doing our part as well."

"So we're all on the same team," Lightning Dust said.

"Sweet, the more the merrier," Thunderlane said. "So...um, setting up camp?"

"Sure, wanna join us?" Lightning Dust asked.

"Sounds nice," Thunderlane said, taking a seat with the Howlett Family, forming something of an alliance with them.

---

Ponyville morning, Peter had stepped outside his home, still having a lot to figure out in regard to the Captain America situation. There was one thing he had to do today first before anything else, and that's reassure the situation to a lot of the ponies.

He first stopped by Town Hall, making his way inside to find the mayor of the town. "Hey! Mayor Mare! Are you in here!?." Peter looked around more for the oddly named Pony. "Wonder if that's even her real name. Was she born into this? Is it like the thing with The Smurfs? Like what's the deal?"

"Spider-Mane?" Mayor Mare called, this getting the hero's attention. "Oh, this is a surprise, what brings you here?"

"Hey Mayor, I need to set up a town meeting, I feel like ponies should know as much as they can regarding this situation with Captain Equestria," Peter explained.

"Oh, yes, that is a good idea, some ponies are worried, especially after what happened with Applejack and her husband," Mayor Mare said. "Those Accords rules are quite strict."

"That's less The Accords and more of Captain Marvel misusing her power over something stupid," Peter said. "How fast can you set a meeting up?"

"Give me an hour, two at max," Mayor Mare said.

"I really appreciate that," Peter said, making his exit from town hall.

"Wonder if he can also address those robots patrolling around, those things freak me out a bit," Mayor Mare admitted.

---

Peter sped over to Sweet Apple Acres, landing on top of a barn and overseeing the land. He spotted Big Macintosh pulling a cart. "Yo! Big Mac!"

The eldest of the Apple siblings turned his attention to the hero, "Howdy Peter, what brings you here?"

"Came to check on the farm, make sure everything's alright," Peter said.

"We're fine right now, lots of volunteers came by to make sure we stay on track," Big Macintosh said. "It's more the worry that bothers us rather than the work."

"Yeah I don't blame you," Peter said. "How's Apple Bloom been doing?"

"Great, holding it together at least," Big Macintosh said.

"How are things with her and Rumble?" Peter asked.

"Last they spoke, they cleared the air about some things, but she's expecting him to prove himself worthy of being the father to their baby," Big Macintosh said. "But she sounds like she has faith in him. Rumble's a bit troubled but mostly a good kid."

"He's just really misguided, he grew up under weird conditions," Peter said. "At least he's a Wonderbolt, a good steady job is always a great first step."

"Normally yes but these days, ah can't be so sure," Big Macintosh said.

Peter had an idea why Big Macintosh would not care much for the Wonderbolts, "Hey, we're gonna fix this situation with Applejack, she'll be back on the farm soon. You have my word."

"Ah appreciate that Peter, really do miss mah sister, Remy too," Big Macintosh said. "Apple Bloom misses them, Cheerilee does, and their kids too. Rebecca's too young to understand but Oliver knows his parents ain't around. Granny keeps him calm, but there's only so much she can do."

"How is Granny Smith holding up?" Peter asked.

"Aside from the stress of her granddaughter being on the run, not too bad," Big Macintosh said. "She's an optimistic mare, and she trusts that Applejack will be fine, especially with Remy by her side. That won't stop her from worrying of course."

"For what it's worth, she's surrounded by good folk whom she can rely on, including Johnny," Peter said.

"Right, Johnny Storm is on the run too," Big Macintosh said. "How did this even happen? Ah mean, none of them did anything really bad, did they?"

"No, nothing at all," Peter said. "That's why Cap broke them free, because they deserve Freedom."

"What does this mean for The Accords?" Big Macintosh asked.

"Hopefully some changes," Peter said. "Anyway, I have a speech to go prepare for the upcoming town meeting. Bring your family by if you want to."

"Will do," Big Macintosh said.

"Oh, and before I go, you should know that Babs was seen with Applejack," Peter said, to the surprise of Big Macintosh. "Not sure why, but it sounds like she joined with Cap and his team."

"What is that girl thinking?" Big Macintosh wondered. "Well, ah appreciate the heads up, hope she doesn't do anything too foolish."

"She'll be fine, your sister will keep her safe," Peter said. "I'm off, and remember, if you need help, you know where to find me."

Peter swung away, leaving the farm behind.

"Ah do hope Peter knows what he's doing," Big Macintosh said. "Granny's been really worried about Applejack, and so have I. At least she has Remy with her, so she ain't alone, but ah might need a word with that Tony Stark fellow about this."

"Scanning," came the robotic voice of a Patroller Robot. "Name, Big Macintosh-"

"For corn sake, don't you have anything better to do ya rickety thing?" Big Macintosh asked.

"Please do not sass the robot, thank you," the Patroller Robot said, earning a face hoof from Big Macintosh.

---

Peter had swung over to the School of Friendship as well, the hero taking in the sight of the entire facility. His opinion on the school did not go over so well with Twilight, and while she's calmed down from their argument the day prior, she is still a bit bothered to know of his lack of faith in the school, at least in its current standing.

"Taking in the sights Peter?" came the voice of Trixie, the mare trotting over.

"Hey Trixie, still helping out here?" Peter asked.

"As per usual, I was asked to fill in for Rainbow Dash and her Loyalty class since she's taken a leave of absence," Trixie said.

"Gee, wonder why," Peter smugly asked.

"Don't be cute. Originally, I filled in for Applejack but apparently I wasn't the 'Honest Type', because some of them can't seem to forget what happened the first time I came to Ponyville, and my so-called boasting," Trixie said. "I was putting on a show, they were the ones heckling me just for trying to be entertaining."

"Yeah, some ponies are jerks," Peter said, then remembered something. "Uh, don't tell Rainbow Dash and the others that I indirectly called them jerks."

"I won't," Trixie said. "Just hearing you insult them is enough."

Peter groaned in annoyance by Trixie's comment, but decided to let it go, "So if you're not in the Honesty Class, who is?"

"That Autumn Blaze girl, Starlight figured she'd be a good fit, teaching the students how to be honest with their emotions," Trixie said.

"Great role for Autumn," Peter said.

"Hm, interesting praise given your not so kind words about the school," Trixie said. "I'm almost amazed to know you don't care for this place."

"It's not that I don't care for it, I just think it needs work," Peter said. "I mean, Friendship is important, and it's great that Twilight is trying to spread that message across Equestria and beyond, but teaching it like a subject in school just feels silly."

"Twilight's always done this however, like when that mare Wanda Maximoff was staying with us," Trixie said. "Twilight turned the whole library into a classroom with you, me, Mayday, Scott Lang and Wanda as her students."

"Yeah, it was funny, but I feel like Twilight got the wrong message from that," Peter said. "Wanda didn't learn Friendship in a classroom setting, she learned from going outside and trying to interact with others, and more importantly, just from Twilight being kind to her. Though, even now it feels like Wanda has a lot on her mind."

"No one's seen her in months, or the Brotherhood," Trixie said. "Where could they be?"

"I'm not sure, honestly I'm not too thrilled with them being out there unsupervised," Peter said. "I know they helped us stop Magneto but...well, they were villains once. Not to say I don't believe in second chances, I think they should have a chance to prove themselves. But, Wanda was struggling with some internal issues and after what happened with her father, I don't even think she's in the right state of mind. Twilight insisted she should explore, and I agreed with her then because I trusted her judgement. While I do trust Twilight for the most part, she can be a bit naive to certain things. I worry she acts too much based on her heart than her mind."

"Pfft, that is so ironic coming from you," Trixie said. "You, the hero who always thinks with his heart, talking about how his wife, who always uses logic, is being guided more by her emotions rather than her intellect."

"Hey come on, I'm not that bad, am I?" Peter asked.

"Peter, you're the type of person to wear your heart on your shoulder, you always see the good in others and you always try to help whenever you can, I mean if it wasn't for you, I'd probably be out there doing who knows what," Trixie said. "You also gave a chance to Starlight Glimmer, a girl who in some ways, is probably as much of an emotional mess as Wanda was. Not to mention how you seem very adamant on bringing Cap and his team back, not for justice, but for their own safety. You of all ponies should understand why Twilight was thinking with her heart, because you would have done the same thing, you know deep down that Wanda's a good mare."

"Wanda has good intentions at times, and she gives it her best effort to be better than she's known to be," Peter said. "But, even I know that Wanda could potentially be a ticking time bomb. Maybe I'm wrong, I mean she does care about Twilight and I think she wants to be better, I just worry something may cause her to relapse."

"Eh, I do worry myself, not something I want to think about with this whole Captain America situation," Trixie said. "Not to mention that Martin Li pony still being out there."

Peter's eyes widened in worry, "Martin wouldn't be that foolish, would he?"

"Hope he isn't," Trixie said. "But, that should be a priority as well, don't let yourself get distracted."

"I won't, but Tony...I'm not so sure," Peter said.

"Guess the heroes will have to pull double duty," Trixie said. "Though, did you rule out the possibility that Martin may have mind-controlled Cap?"

"Not quite, that's still a possibility, but I am nearly sure that this is of Cap's free will," Peter said. "Kind of want to go out there myself and find Cap, see if I can talk some sense into him or at least understand why he's doing this."

"And you think sending Logan after him will work?" Trixie asked.

"Uh...when did I send Logan after him?" Peter sheepishly asked.

Trixie side-eyed her friend, "Peter, I could tell what you were planning. You wanted Logan to go find Cap because you believe he's one of the best options given his ability to track."

"That and the two have an amazing amount of respect for one another," Peter said, dropping the act. "Perceptive as always, aren't you Trixie?"

"I am a showmare, I do have a knack to tell when someone's putting on an act," Trixie said. "Of course your acting was a little subpar. I wouldn't be surprised if Starlight caught on as well."

"Well I'm not exactly a Broadway star, but as long as things go according to plan," Peter said. "I was hoping Scott could go as well, I don't think he got my hint though."

"Oh he did," Trixie said. "At least I think he did, I saw him leaving town last night, unless he's going on a secret vacation."

"Hey if he understood then that's great," Peter said. "Plus Sue's out looking for Cap, or rather she's out looking for Johnny, so that only increases our chance of finding him."

"Is it a good idea, sending them out there?" Trixie asked. "I mean, they're breaking the law."

"Hardly, they're just out to find friends and family, not to cause trouble," Peter said. "So, kind of a loophole if you ask me."

"Ha, ever so sneaky," Trixie said, focusing back on the school. "I am a bit worried, with Applejack on the run, Rarity in Manehattan, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy going to find Cap, there aren't too many ponies to keep this school running."

"Twilight should have substitutes," Peter said. "Derpy even offered to volunteer, but I suppose a bit more help couldn't hurt. I'll rally some volunteers."

"Did you say volunteers?" Came a voice, the two turned to see Cozy Glow, the filly putting on the cutest face possible. "Hello!"

"Oh, hi Cozy Glow, on break from class?" Peter asked.

"Sure am," Cozy Glow said. "I couldn't help but notice that you wanted some volunteers, and since I have some experience already helping Starlight, I figured I could throw my name back in the hat for some extra assistance. I'd love to keep this school up and running, it's my most favorite place in all of Equestria."

"You want to help run this school?" Peter asked. "Pardon me for pointing out the obvious, but aren't you like twelve or something?"

"I'm fifteen actually," Cozy Glow pointed out, slightly annoyed by the incorrection. "Which according to Twilight, is the same age you were when you became a superhero."

"Comparing Apples to Oranges here, being a superhero isn't exactly the same as running a school," Peter said.

"I don't know, technically this job should be a piece of cake compared to everything you had to go through," Trixie said. "Plus it's not like she's going to be Headmare or anything, she could help Starlight with the paperwork. Like she said, she's done it before."

"It doesn't even have to be just me, I can get Sandy and the others to help," Cozy Glow said.

"Sandy?" Peter asked.

"Sandbar," Trixie reminded.

"Oh right, you call him 'Sandy'," Peter said. "Still, this is a big Responsibility for the seven of you, are you even up to the task?"

"We all love this school, we'll do anything for it," Cozy Glow said.

"Well, I could ask Twilight, in the end this is more her school than mine, but I guess if you've done it before," Peter said. "Just make sure you don't slack off on whatever it is you need to be studying."

"We'll be fine, we learned Responsibility from the best possible teacher, that being you," Cozy Glow said, flashing an innocent smile.

Peter raised his eyebrow at the filly, cute as this was, part of him could detect some mischievous nature behind her words. "Well, I hope so. Twilight will probably give the 'ok' since she likes you and your friends. But stay on your absolute best behavior, and please don't misuse this opportunity. I'll be sure to let those your friends know too."

"You worry too much, we got this," Cozy Glow said.

"It's my job to worry," Peter said, then checked the time. "I have a speech to prepare for, I'll let Twilight know about your offer at home."

Peter immediately thwipped away, Cozy Glow deviously smirking in satisfaction, quickly hiding it the moment Trixie turned her attention to her. "This is exciting."

"Yes, quite," Trixie said, she herself developing some suspicion to the filly.

---

At Mount Aris, Rumble was seen flying over the skies, keeping an eye out for any sign of danger. He wasn't alone, many of the Hippogriff guards kept watch as well, many stationed around the city. Among them he could see Silverstream's father Sky Beak, standing firm and ready for anything.

"This place looks really well protected, makes sense why Queen Novo was hesitant to let The Accords reach here," Rumble said. "Guess Silverstream really had influence, that and this place needed help from Doctor Strange once before, so they might need it again. Still weird that I'm the only pony here, how many even come by?" He continued to look around. "Not a lot happening, but seeing the Hippogriffs certainly is interesting, they don't seem too different than ponies. They're also really friendly, especially compared to the other species of creatures. Wonder if any of them would move to Equestria, if they haven't already."

"Hey Rumble!" Called Terramar, the boy flying over.

"Terramar?" Rumble said. "Need something?"

"Just wanted to check up with you, and see what your job actually requires," Terramar said. "I don't really see many Wonderbolts, nice suit by the way."

"Oh thanks, it's skintight so it offers less wind resistance," Rumble said. "I mean, being without it helps too but Wonderbolts gotta have a signature look."

"You're new to being a Wonderbolt too, right?" Terramar asked.

"Yeah, me and your sister started around the same time," Rumble said. "Where is she anyway? She's supposed to be patrolling with me."

"She's with Skystar, I think she was coming over and then they started talking and Silverstream got distracted," Terramar said.

"Well I don't blame her, she probably missed her cousin," Rumble said. "But we have a job to do, if she doesn't take it seriously then she could lose her position. Assuming Tony Stark would take that position from a Princess, or Captain Spitfire better yet since she's the actual Captain."

"Silverstream and I were raised not to think being Royalty made us better than anyone," Terramar said. "If Tony Stark or Captain Spitfire had a problem, she's on her own in that regard."

"She is very humble, I didn't even know she was a princess at first," Rumble said.

"You knew her in Ponyville right? Were you two always friends?" Terramar asked.

Rumble began to sweat a bit, wondering how to word his response, "Uh, hasn't Silverstream told you anything?"

"Not a lot, she just said the first time you two met was in Ponyville," Terramar said. "I think she mentioned you in a letter once, she said you're brave but a bit reckless."

"I'm not reckless!" Rumble insisted. "I just...don't hesitate. I mean a moment's hesitation could spell defeat and I'd rather not take that chance."

"Uh-huh..." Terramar said, not believing him. "My dad's a member of our Royal Guard, and while it's true that hesitating too much is bad, he also insists that caution should be exercised, not act without thinking. He tells that to my sister a lot, because she tends to act on impulse."

"She did get overly excited during training," Rumble said. "I had to reign her in on occasion. But I do admire her tenacity."

"Seems like you two have that in common at least," Terramar said.

"Well anyway, I wasn't really friends with your sister too much, we just co-existed," Rumble said. "For the most part."

"Co-existed?" Terramar asked.

"She had her friends and I had mine," Rumble said. "Then came the Academy, that's where we bonded. I was her lead pony and we got along great...after getting used to her style."

"Well I'm happy you two are friends, she had some difficulty making them for a short time," Terrmar said.

"Why? She's really friendly and she's a Princess," Rumble said.

"She's also clutzy, so griffs had little patience and only put up with it because she's a Princess," Terramar said. "And any friend she might have had may have only been interested in her being a Princess, rather than liking her for who she is."

"Wow really?" Rumble asked. "Poor girl."

"You know, she actually did mention you one other time in a letter, very recently," Terramar said. "She said she's happy to have met you and made friends at the Academy. It meant a lot to her and she really appreciates you helping her be better at flying and feeling accomplished. You did a lot for her Rumble, so thank you for looking out for my sister."

"Sure, no problem," Rumble nervously said. "Why am I feeling guilty? Not like I knew she was lonely for so long. Plus she had friends so it's all good."

"My sister really seems find of you, very fond in fact," Terramar said. "How close are you exactly?"

"We're just friends," Rumble said.

"That's it? Nothing more?" Terramar asked. "Are you and her...you know...dating?"

Rumble's eyes widened in shock, "No way! I mean, sorry if that sounded rude, but I have a girlfriend back home. She's pregnant too, I'm gonna be a father."

"You're gonna be a dad!?" Terramar asked. "You look so young tough."

"Yeah, me and her...you know...got busy, and well, she got pregnant," Rumble siad. "So she's gonna be a mom in close to a year, and I'm gonna be a dad. Which is why I need to make sure this works out, I want to be a father my kid can be proud of."

"Well that's admirable, though what about your girlfriend? Is she being taken care of while you're here?" Terramar asked.

"Yeah she..." Rumble's eyes widened. "Wait, Applejack and Gambit are being pursued by The Accords right now, along with their new housekeeper Sugar Belle. Is anyone taking care of her? There's Big Mac and Miss Cheerilee, but they have their own kid, and they're busy with the Apple Fields. There's also Granny Smith, but she's old as a fossil. Dammit, why didn't I think of this sooner? I mean, I got my big assignment but I forgot this important detail! Rumble you stupid dumbass! What kind of boyfriend are you!? Apple Bloom is your Number One Priority! Peter wouldn't do this! He would make sure Twilight is taken care of! Damn it all! I gotta do something before my relationship and my reputation are both totally fu-"

"Rumble!" Terramar shouted, snapping him out of it. "Are you doing alright?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, a lot ran through my head," Rumble said. "Question, is there like a hotel or a room a pony can stay at? Just for a little bit? Like maybe ten to eleven months? Maybe a little more? Except certain weekends and holidays?"

"You want your girlfriend to live here?" Terramar asked.

"Yeah, better here than on the farm," Rumble said. "Wait, farm, she's a farmer! The Apples have a business to run! She can't live here! Oh dammit, I really do act without thinking! How many other mistakes could I have made? I'm a bad boyfriend! Probably a bad Lead Pony! And now I'm gonna be a bad father!? I can't let Apple Bloom down! But I can't leave either, this is my big break! Plus what would become of Silverstream? Would she be fine? It's my job to look after her! She's my friend and after hearing how lonely she was, I can't just-"

"Rumble! Terramar shouted. "Can you please stop zoning out!?"

"Sorry, I just...so much on my mind," Rumble said. "I really might have goofed up on so many things!"

"Hey whatever it is, we can figure it out, you just have to tell us," Terramar said. "Silverstream can help too."

"Right, she can, we're buddies after all," Rumble said. "I just need a moment to clear my head, and think-"

"RUMBLE!" came a voice.

"Gah!" Rumble shouted, turning to the radio. "Fleetfoot? Is that you?"

"Yes it's me," Fleetfoot said over the radio. "Are you in Mount Aris currently?"

"Yeah, that's my station," Rumble said.

"Good, so you're not too far away from Cap's position," Rumble said. "Tony Stark and Spitfire have an order for you two. Leave Mount Aris and pursue Captain Equestria!"

"Huh? What about guarding it?" Rumble asked.

"This is more important! Steve Rogers needs to be brought in!" Fleetfoot said.

"Hey not to question orders, but what can me or my partner do against Cap?" Rumble asked. "He's not called The First Avenger for nothing."

"Bobby Drake isn't too far off, and we alerted The Dragons too, but we need strength in numbers! Get your flank in gear, newbie!" Fleetfoot ordered before disconnecting.

"Is that your boss? She's kind of mean," Terramar said. "Even my dad's not that way with the soldiers. Is it a pony thing?"

"No, it's a Fleetfoot thing," Rumble said. "And technically she's not my boss, but she is my superior. She ranks high in the Wonderbolts, just under Soarin and Captain Spitfire herself."

"Well it sounds like you gotta go find Captain Equestria," Terramar said. "Think you can bring him in?"

"I mean it sounds like we're gonna have a lot of back-up, which includes help from dragons," Rumble said.

"To think, actual dragons helping out ponies in Equestria," Terramar said. "How did Tony Stark get some fierce creatures?"

"Most of them are kind of dumb, and once you exert more power over them, they're easy to control," Rumble said. "Only their leader and Princess Twilight's assistant seem to use their brains more than their brawn. "

"Isn't Silverstream friends with a dragon back in Ponyville?" Terrmar asked. "Think she said her name is Smolder."

"I know her, not very friendly, to me at least, luckily your sister is good at making friends with even the grouchiest of creatures," Rumble said. "Anyway, I better find Silverstream and get to flying. Fleetfoot's very impatient, if we take too long, she'll tear us each a new one."

"Hey, if you'd like, I can see if my dad can help," Terramar said. "With the combined might of the Hippogriffs and Dragons, we should be able to capture Captain Equestria."

"That's fine with me, uh...here," Rumble said, giving Terramar a radio. "Call us when you get close."

"Cool...I don't know how to use this though," Terramar said.

"Hold on," Rumble started adjusting it until the radio was at a certain frequency. "Alright, it should reach your sister's radio. Each member of The Accords gets a radio, except for Starswirl and his friends but they've been gone for like 1000 years or something and don't understand tech."

"Isn't tech new to Equestria too?" Terramar asked.

"Yeah but we're still more technically advanced than they are," Rumble said. "Not the point anyway, just contact us when you're close, or if someone tries to contact you. Do not answer them, I don't think I'm allowed to give my radio away, so I'm trusting you."

"You can count on me," Terramar said.

"Also if you see Applejack, she's an orange pony with a blonde mane and a cowpony hat and apples for a cutie mark, make sure no one hurts her, I don't want my girlfriend mad at me," Rumble said.

"We'll be as careful as possible," Terramar said as Rumble flew off in a hurry. "Things seem so complicated in Equestria."

---

Later in the day, ponies started gathering in the center of town, as ordered by Mayor Mare through Peter's request. Twilight was front and center, alongside Starlight, Trixie and Autumn Blaze, along with Mayday and Franklin. She couldn't help but notice that all of her immediate friends were nowhere to be found. Of course she knew that Rarity was in Manehattan, Rainbow Dash went with Gilda to find Johnny and Applejack was on the run. Fluttershy's absence could also be explained as her going somewhere with Logan, since she kind of figured out Peter's hinting words. What confused her the most was the lack of Pinkie Pie.

"Starlight, Trixie, Autumn Blaze, have any of you seen Pinkie Pie?" Twilight asked.

"She wasn't at the school," Trixie said.

"Maybe she's running late," Starlight said.

"But the Cakes are right there," Twilight gestured to Carrot and Cup Cake, along with their twin children. "Not only that, Pinkie's twins are there too." Twilight gestured to Elanor and Lil' Cheese.

"Looks like Logan's daughter is with them," Trixie said, gesturing to Rina.

"That is strange," Starlight said. "Maybe Deadpool had somewhere to be, and Pinkie Pie went with him?"

"Or...maybe Peter wasn't as discreet as he thought he was," Twilight theorized.

More of Ponville's residents continued to gather, including the family of Doctor Hooves, his wife Derpy and their stepdaughter Dinky. Also present were the wife duo of Lyra and Bon Bon, the latter speaking into a radio, likely to Tony Stark. Also present were the husband-and-wife duo of Clear Skies and Quibble Pants. Next came The Cutie Mark Crusaders, alongside Granny Smith, Big Macintosh, Cheerilee and the Apple Foals. Flitter was also present in the crowd, holding onto Felicity. Octavia and Vinyl Scratch also attended, alongside Tender Taps and the Spa Twins, Lotus and Aloe. Diamond Tiara was present with her parents Spoiled and Filthy Rich. Many students from the School of Friendship attended, especially Sandbar and his friends, plus the likes of Toola Roola and Coconut Cream, alongside teachers like Jubilee, Kurt, Kitty Pride and Hisako. Firestar was also in attendance, though keeping an eye out just in case she needed to do her duty. Plus various other Ponyville residents such as The Flower Trio, Caramel, Cherry Berry, Moon Shine, Cranky Doodle, Matilda, Petunia Paleo, Carrot Crunch, Lily Longstocks, Button Mash, Golden Harvest and Berry Punch.

Mayor Mare was first to the stand, clearing her throat as she spoke to the crowd, "Residents of Ponyville, I present to you our town hero and a Prince of Equestria, the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Mane, Peter Parker."

Peter took the stand amiss some cheers from the ponies in the crowd, the hero bashfully waiving, "Hey everypony, how's it going?"

"You rock Peter!" Scootaloo cheered.

"Blow our minds, bro!" Vinyl cheered

"Don't keep us waiting, we're very busy," Spoiled Rich said.

"Spoiled, honey, that's a Prince," Filthy pleaded to his wife.

"It's fine, sir, I know this is a bit inconvenient for a lot of you, so I'll try to get to the point as quickly as I can," Peter said. "Now, some of you may know but just to make sure we're all on the same page. Recently there was an incident in Canterlot regarding Captain Equestria. He and a handful of other heroes had broken the rules of The Accords and are currently on the run."

"Aren't those heroes supposed to protect us?" Spoiled Rich asked.

"Yes, I must ask what is happening with these rogue heroes?" Doctor Hooves asked.

"Hey Doc, uh didn't expect you to ask, you and Reed have been working pretty closely together, making all of these...lovely robots," Peter said.

"Yes, an invention Reed and I are quite proud of," Doctor Hooves said. "But I know as much as he does right now, and he's away so I can't ask him myself."

"Well to answer your question, a few heroes had been arrested due to a violation of The Accords, I personally thought it was bogus, and apparently Captain Equestria agreed and decided to break them free of their imprisonment," Peter said.

"That was done by that no-good Captain Marvel!" Granny Smith called. "That lady had the nerve to treat mah granddaughter and mah grandson-in-law like common crooks!"

"Not only them, but that nice Sugar Belle mare also got arrested for trying to help," Cheerilee said. "That does not send a good message Peter."

"It doesn't, and believe me when I say, I will have this straightened out," Peter said. For the Apples, I promise that Applejack and Remy will be back soon, along with Sugar Belle. I do not believe any of them did anything wrong, everything Remy did was to help protect this town, because he is a true hero, and that's something he instilled onto Sugar Belle. Applejack should not have been arrested for speaking on behalf of her husband, that is a violation of free speech, which I believe is a right for all Equestrians."

"Can that be said for Johnny Storm too?" Scootaloo asked. "Is he coming back?"

"I'll get Johnny's name cleared as well, anyone involved with this I will personally speak on their behalf," Peter said.

"Peter, what about those villains?" Bon Bon said, garnering concern from some of the ponies. "I know you know about those villains that Captain Equestria break free."

"Did she say villains?" Cherry Berry asked.

"What's going on?" Caramel asked.

Peter furrowed his brow at the secret agent, taking a light sigh, "Currently there are three villains with Cap. But, as of now, none of the have caused any major damage."

"So attacking heroes doesn't count?" Bon Bon asked. "Steve Rogers and his team have gotten into combat with heroes on The Accords, both Avengers and Wonderbolts. They've even manipulated a few onto their side, I'd say that's pretty worrying."

Peter could see that some of the ponies had mixed feelings, looks of concerned etched onto their faces, "Captain Equestria is making a few questionable decisions, but-"

"Questionable?" Doctor Hooves asked. "Breaking prisoners free and attacking heroes is a bit beyond questionable, I certainly hope you aren't trying to make any excuses for them."

"Doc, what are you doing!?" Dinky muttered.

"Yeah, this is too much," Derpy said.

"I must agree with Doctor Hooves, Peter, Steve Rogers has blatantly disobeyed the rules that Tony Stark laid out, the ones you promised to follow yourself," Bon Bon said.

"Or are the rules allowed to be bent to your liking?" Spoiled Rich asked. "Sure, do what you wish, any order you hope to achieve will fall apart in minutes. For heroes trying to protect us from villains, this stuff seems a bit villainous in its own way."

"See here ma'am!" Big Mac warned. "Peter Parker is a good and honorable pony, everything he does is for our safety."

"Do you mean that? Or are you just desperate to see your sister again?" Spoiled Rich asked, earning a glare from The Apples.

"Please Spoiled, remember the Apples are our friends," Filthy Rich said.

"Yeah mom, don't upset Apple Bloom," Diamond Tiara said.

"I'm just being honest, that is an Apple Family tradition after all," Spoiled Rich said.

"Lady, there's being honest and just being a prude," Peter said. "Remember if it weren't for the Apples, you would still be Spoiled Milk!"

Nearby Firestar stifled a laugh, "Wait, was that her name before she got married?"

"She isn't entirely wrong though Peter, you can't justify what Steve Rogers has done," Bon Bon said.

"Hey I'm not saying he did things the right way, I'm just saying that I understand why he did what he did," Peter said.

"Yeah, which was break the law!" Bon Bon said. "Right now Steve Rogers is out planning who knows what, this right after he attacked heroes at Baltimare, as if Manehattan wasn't enough. Two towns Peter, attacking heroes and destroying property. How long before they end up here? Years ago a band of villains attacked this town and destroyed nearly everything, who's to say Steve Rogers won't do worse?"

"Steve Rogers is nothing like the men who did what they did to this town, he doesn't take pleasure in hurting others, that's what separates him from the villain you're trying to label him as," Peter said.

"What about that other fellow with them? The one who was the Pony of Shadows?" Doc asked.

"You mean Stygian?" Peter asked. "The evil that possessed him was defeated. I don't know why Carol arrested him too, there's a lot about Carol I don't know about, only that her time of the month is every day of the month."

"Peter! Really!?" Firestar said.

"Feels like we're missing a joke," Quibble noted.

"So where is Cap now?" Kitty asked. "Does Tony know where he is?"

"We know he was just near Baltimare, probably going further south, though that's only a guess," Peter said. "As of now, my friend Bobby, who you all know as Ice Mane, is tailing him with some Wonderbolt allies. Tony is taking every precaution possible."

"Peter! What about Black Cat!?" Flitter asked. "When are you gonna drag her useless butt back home so she can be a proper mother!?"

"Asking way too much of Felicia Hardy," Twilight said to herself, though not unheard by Starlight, Trixie, Autumn Blaze, Mayday or Franklin.

"I can't control what Felicia does, she needs to make that choice on her own," Peter said. "Hopefully she makes the right choice."

"She better," Flitter said.

"Are you seriously worried about a criminal who's negligence caused the destruction of Las Pegasus?" Bon Bon asked. "Peter, you continue to disappoint us."

"Bonnie, that's harsh," Lyra said.

"Bon Bon, regardless of what you may have heard, what happened to Las Pegasus was not solely Felicia's fault, she would never willingly hurt another person, or pony for that matter," Peter said.

"She still caused damage, accidental or not, that's cause for concern," Bon Bon said, many ponies in the crowed murmuring to one another.

Peter had to think of something before the ponies really began to worry, "Just be assured that superheroes of Earth, along with The Wonderbolts are on the job, Tony Stark keeps in constant contact with them alongside Princess Luna and Wonderbolt Captain Spitfire."

"What about Princess Celestia!?" Lily Valley asked. "What has she been doing."

"Crap, Celestia. Tony and Luna kept that a secret, they're gonna flip if they ever find out," Peter had to think of something quick.

Fortunately Twilight took the stage, diverting attention to her, "Your concerns are valid and I know there is only so much our promises can do for all of you right now. Is this a bad situation? Yes, it is, I won't deny that. Will it be resolved? That is something we are striving towards. We know it's not easy and that you are very much worried, but I do ask that you trust me and my husband to maintain the situation, because in the end, your safety will always be our top priority. Peter's worked hard to keep you safe in the past, be it from the likes of The Green Goblin, King Sombra, Albert Wesker, Sabretooth, Magneto, even recent ones like Loki, Sephiroth and The Storm King. This won't be any different, that I can promise you. There hasn't been any challenge he could not overcome, he won't stop now, and neither will I. Remember, We Got This, Together!"

"Do we really though?" Spoiled Rich asked. "Can Spider-Mane really help us?"

"Of course he can!" Apple Bloom said. "Peter cares about all of us, y'all should know that by now. He's the type to not give up until things are at peace again."

"Peter can do anything, all you all need to do is believe in him," Scootaloo said. "Even when things were tough, he always fought hard."

"After all he's done for us, it's the least you can do," Sweetie Belle said. "Believe in Spider-Mane!"

Sweetie belle continued to cheer until soon other ponies in the crowd following suit on the chant, the support eventually overflowing. Peter seemed relieved to know the ponies still believed, even if he could see that Doctor Hooves, Bon Bon, Spoiled Rich and a few other ponies with doubts on their faces. He could also see some uncertainty from Cranky Doddle, though that Donkey is hard for Peter to read at times.

"I too believe in Spider-Mane, and I believe in our future!" Mayor Mare said. "Keep on believing and he will keep us safe!"

With one final ovation, the ponies began to scatter, ready to go about their day as Peter stepped off the stage, relieved to have some order for the ponies. All he had to do now was maintain that order in some way or another.

"Nice speech Peter," Trixie said, getting the hero's attention.

"Thanks, though we both know it could have gone really bad," Peter noted.

"It could have, but it didn't," Twilight said. "Let's be grateful for that at least."

"Good thing ponies love you, huh dad?" Mayday said.

"For the most part," Peter said.

"Peter!" Sweetie Belle called, running over to hug the hero. "You did so great out there, really took charge."

"Thanks, Sweetie Belle," Peter said, taking a step back as the Crusader received a side eye from Mayday. "I appreciate your help as well. You and the girls helped keep everyone hopeful."

"It's the least we can do for ya," Apple Bloom said, making her way over with Dinky, Scootaloo, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. "Twilight did really well too."

"Oh yeah, she really saved the day at the end," Sweetie Belle said.

"Day's not totally saved until we find Captain America," Twilight said. "Along with everyone else he's with, especially your sister, Apple Bloom."

"Not just her, sounds like Babs got mixed up in this," Apple Bloom said. "It's all so confusing though, like ah appreciate what Cap did fer mah sister, I'm just confused as to why he even did it this way."

"Right now, all we can do is guess," Peter said. "Having answers would help though."

"I'm more worried about the consequences," Starlight said.

"I haven't forgotten that, but I really don't think we have that much to worry about," Peter said. "Tony comes off as strict but he's a very reasonable man."

"Yeah, I mean, I've done some pretty not nice things, and I'm just fine here," Starlight said. "Sure I had to be placed under watch for a while, and I technically can't leave town without an escort of sorts but, hey, it's better than rotting in Canterlot's Dungeon."

"Right, like Applejack may go through that too, not allowed to leave town or something," Peter said. "Wow, that's kind of a bummer thinking about it. Especially when she didn't really do anything wrong."

"These laws are confusing," Mayday said.

"Yeah, they sure have their faults, too bad Tony Stark couldn't see that sooner, probably why Cap rebelled like he did, to teach him a lesson," Trixie said.

"Ah just care that Applejack doesn't get banished or something," Apple Bloom said. "Same with Remy, and Sugar Belle to fer that matter. She's a really nice mare, probably too soon to say but she started to feel like family."

"That stuff can happen pretty fast," Peter said.

"Well for now, Peter, maybe we should consider going to find Cap ourselves, and not just wait for others," Twilight said. "For starters though, I have to make sure the school will be fine."

"Just leave the school to Starlight, she's done well with it before, mom," Mayday said. "I really think you and daddy should focus on finding Uncle Johnny, Auntie Applejack and the rest of their team."

"Yeah, I can totally handle the school...with my new helpers..." Starlight said.

"Helpers? What helpers?" Twilight asked.

"Us helpers!" Came Cozy Glow's voice, the filly showing up with her six friends.

Mayday immediately took some steps back, hiding behind her dad with Franklin going to join her, taking her hoof in an attempt to provide comfort. Peter noticed his daughter's reaction, keeping an eye on the students to make sure this didn't get awkward.

"Cozy Glow, what's happening?" Twilight asked.

"Well, I happened to overhear Peter and Trixie saying you might need help with the School of Friendship," Cozy Glow began.

"So Cozy Glow here thought it'd be super neat to ask us to help," Gallus said.

"She kind of volunteered us," Sandbar confirmed.

"Oh...well, that's really nice of you," Twilight said. "But it's a big responsibility, and you're still students yourselves, can you handle it?"

"Hard to say, none of us expected to do this," Smolder said.

"We do our best though," Yona said.

"Plus, we'll have teachers like Kurt and Jubilee helping," Ocellus said.

"It's not even about teaching classes, it's more making sure the teachers themselves stay on top of their game," Sandbar said.

"And keeping things running smoothly," Smolder said.

"As long as you can handle it, but for the most part, leave the heavy lifting to Starlight and Trixie," Twilight said.

"And me, I'm helping too," Autumn Blaze said.

"Don't you have to go back home?" Trixie asked.

"Oh no, I can stay here as long as I'd like, and I'd love to help out Peter and Twilight," Autumn Blaze said.

"We'll make preparations soon," Peter said, though as he turned around, he remembered his daughter. "Oh wait, what about Mayday and Franklin? If you're at the school, who's watching them?"

"Your aunt, like she usually does," Trixie said.

"Aunt May's already going to have her hands full with Hope and Benjy, I don't want to overwhelm her," Peter said. "I'd ask the cakes but it looks like they have their share of kids to watch over as well."

"We can help!" Yona said.

"Oh, that would be perfect for them, wouldn't it Peter?" Twilight asked.

Peter turned to Mayday, the girl shaking her head in disagreement, "Guess it won't be."

"Mayday, don't you want these nice students watching over you?" Twilight asked, getting another head shake from Mayday. "I know you and them haven't really hit it off well, but this is your chance to make some new friends, won't that be great?"

"Twilight, they're kids in their 20s, and a teenager, not toddlers," Peter said. "Anyway if Mayday isn't comfortable then we have to move on, can't let just anyone watch over our daughter."

"Plus, we're probably not that qualified to watch over kids anyway," Sandbar said.

"Don't you have a little sister?" Twilight asked.

"It still wouldn't translate well," Sandbar said. "It's fine, really."

"I agree, your daughter seems pretty shy and she would definitely be more comfortable with someone she's familiar with," Ocellus said.

"Like us," Scootaloo said. "We in the Cutie Mark Crusaders can watch over Mayday and Franklin."

"Ah could use some extra practice watching over kids," Apple Bloom said.

"And, it would just be us assisting while your aunt handles the major stuff," Sweetie Belle said.

"That might work better, but Apple Bloom, what about your farm?" Peter asked.

'The farm will be fine, we have the extra help we need," Apple Bloom said. "And if things get bad, we won't hesitate to let you know. But remember, we Apples are not afraid of extra hard work."

"Your family's awesome. Alright, if you're fine helping out, I just gotta confirm it with Mayday," Peter looked to his daughter. "Are you alright with the Crusaders?"

Mayday had mixed feelings, while she didn't care for the Crusaders, she liked Sandbar and friends even less. Plus the Crusaders are Rumble's friends, which was an important enough detail for her. She nodded her head in approval, "Ok."

"Franklin, I trust you're fine as well," Peter said.

"If Scootaloo's as fun as Aunt Rainbow Dash, then sure," Franklin said. "I don't think my mom would mind either, especially if Dinky's there, my mom is friends with her stepmom."

"Technically she's more my adopted mom than stepmom but apples and oranges," Dinky said.

"Well if Mayday and Franklin are fine with it, then that's what we're going with," Twilight said.

"Do we get paid?" Dinky asked, getting a whack to the side from Scootaloo. "What? Fair question."

"I'll give you each five bits," Peter said.

"You don't have to pay me Peter, yer family to me. I'll do it fer free," Apple Bloom said.

"I can take her share," Dinky said, taking another whack to the side. "Ow! Quit it!"

"You're gonna leave your daughter in their care?" Gallus asked. "I can already sense the hijinks."

"Oh don't be like that Gallus, sure we're a little rowdy but we're not the same fillies we were when we were kids," Apple Bloom said. "You should have been around fer that, the things we did to earn our Cutie Marks."

"I actually know a griffon back home who's fascinated with them," Gallus said.

"Are you talking about Gabby?" Sandbar asked. "Is she still asking about Cutie Marks?"

"Yeah, it's annoying too," Gallus said. "I don't get Cutie Marks."

"It's a pony thing," Diamond Tiara said. "Not a whole lot of fan fair really."

"Excuse me!? You used to tease me, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle about them!" Scootaloo said.

"Yeah, only because having a Cutie Mark as a foal is cool, once you're an adult, it's just there," Diamond Tiara said.

Apple Bloom giggled at that response, "Only you Diamond Tiara. We still love ya."

"You better, I'm the one who's going to help you take care of your baby," Diamond Tiara said.

"We ALL are," Scootaloo pointed out.

"Well I'm going to be the baby's godmother," Diamond Tiara said.

"No! I am!" Scootaloo said.

"I thought we agreed that I'm the godmother," Sweetie Belle said.

"I should be the godmother, it's what Rumble would want," Dinky said.

"Can Yona be godmother?" Yona asked.

"NO!" Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Dinky and Diamond Tiara shouted.

"None of you are the baby's godmother, Applejack is," Apple Bloom said, getting a groan of disappointment from her friends. "Ah do appreciate Yona's offer though."

"Yona happy to be of help," the yak girl said. "Want to be mother someday too, need find good mate."

"Well you got two nice, potential mates to consider," Autumn Blaze said, gesturing to Sandbar and Gallus, the two feeling awkward while Cozy Glow looked infuriated, the filly inching close to Sandbar.

"I'm not ready for that type of commitment," Gallus said.

"Y-yeah, me neither," Sandbar said.

"You will soon my dear, sweet Sandy, you and I are going to have the prettiest children after the most special wedding imaginable," Cozy Glow nuzzled against Sandbar's side, the stallion noticing and blushing from the contact.

"Well you can figure that out, I gotta go and check on my sister's shop," Sweetie Belle said.

"Oh! Mind if I tagged along?" Diamond Tiara asked.

"Me too, I really wanna see your sister's dresses," Silver Spoon said.

"Sure, but be careful if you want to try them on, don't get them dirty or torn," Sweetie Belle said. "Anyone else want to join?"

"Ah gotta get back to the farm," Apple Bloom said.

"Dinky and I got something to get done," Scootaloo said, Dinky nodding in agreement.

"What about you Cozy Glow?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"I'm good right now," Cozy Glow said, leaning further against Sandbar.

"Shame, I bet you'd be able to find a nice dress to really look nice in, and there's a lot of pretty dresses there," Sandbar said.

Immediately Cozy was standing by Sweetie Belle's side. "Let's get going."

Gallus whispered to Sandbar, "Did you mean anything you said?"

"Well I like a girl in a pretty dress, but I like my space from Cozy Glow even more," Sandbar said. "I like her but she can be too..."

"Forward? Yeah, I've noticed," Gallus said. "Nice move getting her away from you though."

"Thanks, dude," Sandbar said, fist bumping Gallus.

Meanwhile Ocellus leaned in to whisper to Smolder, "Maybe you should ask Sweetie Belle if you could join her."

"Huh? Why would I do that?" Smolder asked.

"I think we both know why," Ocellus said, grinning smugly at the dragon girl.

"Come on..." Smolder said.

"Remember what Kurt says about being honest with yourself and loving who you are as an individual," Ocellus said. "I'll go with you if you want."

"You really think they'll let us? They don't like us remember?" Smolder said.

"If Silverstream can get Rumble to tolerate her, I think we can work with Sweetie Belle, come on," Ocellus said, leading Smolder over to the girls. "Hey, Sweetie Belle, you wouldn't mind if Smolder and I tagged along, would you?"

"Uh..." Sweetie Belle looked to Smolder, the dragon avoiding eye contact. "I can understand you wanting to come Ocellus, but Smolder? She's...what's a nice way to put it..."

"Not very girly," Diamond Tiara said, upsetting Smolder.

"That...though to be fair, neither is Scootaloo and she likes some of the dresses, even Rainbow Dash enjoys dressing up. But still, Smolder seems even more tomboyish than the two of them," Sweetie Belle said.

"I know, but I think it'll be good for her to come, and It would mean a lot, please?" Ocellus asked.

Sweetie Belle looked unsure, these were her rivals after all, but at the same time, Ocellus looked really nice, and somehow, she couldn't turn away her pleading eyes, "Sure, but make sure neither of you mess anything up, otherwise you'll feel my wrath."

"Uh, sure..." Ocellus nervously agreed. "Come on Smolder."

The dragon reluctantly followed, hoping she wasn't going to regret this.

Before the rest of the Crusaders left, Peter quickly made his way to Apple Bloom, "By the way, Susan did warn us that Franklin may have powers he's still developing."

"Oh, his X-Gene's kicking in?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Yeah, it should be, if anything weird happens, find Starlight immediately," Peter pulled out a radio. "And take this, it will reach me if you need it."

"One of them radio things?" Apple Bloom asked as she took it.

"Do you know how it works?" Peter asked.

"Sugar Belle showed me hers," Apple Bloom said. "Wait, maybe she still has her radio, you can just-"

"We already tried radioing Cap, there's no response," Peter said. "Still, call me if you need assistance, I will be back in an instant."

"Sure thing Peter," Apple Bloom said.

"Firestar's around too if you need any extra help, Twilight and I are gonna go pack and set out to find Cap," Peter explained. "Take care of yourself and your family in the meantime. Especially Oliver and Rebecca. Which reminds me, if you need to, you can bring them over to the house, same with your nephew. They can play with Benjy and Hope, but Mayday is very reluctant to talk to anyone outside her family, so try not to let them bother her, if she goes to them then that's fine."

"Ah know it's none of mah business, but is it alright that she's so anti-social?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Mayday just handles things her own way, Twilight and I do try to nudge her but when it comes to parenting, if you push too hard too fast, the kids will push back," Peter said. "It's better to plant the opportunities and let her decide for herself. That's one thing I wish Twilight taught at her school."

"Really wish ah could be in that school sometimes," Apple Bloom said.

"Eh, you don't need it, if anything that school needs you," Peter said. "You're really intelligent, maybe you can consider being a tutor, or join me in chemistry class, show off your potion skills compared to my chemicals."

"I'd love that," Apple Bloom said, then hugged the hero. "Ah won't let you down, I'll watch over yer daughter like you watched over me."

"I know you won't let me down, you're a great kid, and I'm proud of the mare you grew into," Peter said, returning the hug.

"Ah still have more growing to do though," Apple Bloom said.

"We all do," Peter replied.

Apple Bloom pulled back, taking a look around, "That reminds me, I wonder where Flitter went off to? Ah figured she could help as well, given her expertise in foalsitting."

"I'm worried myself, this situation is probably really stressful for her," Peter said.

"Daddy..." Mayday said, getting her father's attention. "Can I go back home now?"

"I can take her," Franklin said. "I think she's feeling overwhelmed."

"I'll take you both in a second," Peter said. "Where's Twilight?"

Mayday gestured to her mother talking with Gallus, Sandbar and Yona.

"I really appreciate you three offering assistance, I know the school's probably going through some changes," Twilight said.

"It's all good Professor, the subs aren't too bad, of course it's only been a couple of days," Sandbar said. "Still, we're fine."

"Just focus on finding Cap, the sooner this is resolved, the sooner things go back to normal," Gallus said.

"Indeed," Twilight briefly glanced over to her daughter. "By the way, I'm really sorry that my daughter doesn't seem too fond of you, I hope it's not a bother."

"No feather off my back," Gallus said.

"I guess we just made a bad first impression," Sandbar said. "We just thought she'd be a good fit for the school."

"She is very shy and Peter insists that home education is more important, and I can't disagree with that," Twilight said. "Maybe one day she'll grow to appreciate you. I think you're all amazing, and I'm proud of how hard you work."

"Think nothing of it, Professor," Sandbar said.

"Yeah, we like School," Yona said.

"just one concern," Gallus said. "Suppose the EEA finds out about Professor Applejack and the others, what happens then?"

Twilight was about to answer when she realized, even she didn't know how they would react to knowing one of their teachers got branded a traitor to Equestria, something told her this would give Neighsay quite the advantage if he wanted to try shutting her school down again. "I...don't know."

"Is everything alright here?" Peter asked, trotting over while Mayday stayed close behind, trying to avoid making too much eye contact with the students, Franklin gently stroking her back.

"I'm here with you," Franklin reassured, getting a nod from Mayday.

"There might be troubling matters with the school," Twilight said. "I might need to go check in with the EEA."

"What about Cap?" Peter asked.

"This is more important Peter, I don't want my school getting shut down," Twilight said.

"I know you care about the school, but Cap, Johnny and Applejack should take higher priority," Peter said. "If we don't resolve this conflict, things could get worse and the residents of Equestria and beyond may panic."

"Just...let me handle this Peter, I can't lose this school," Twilight said, immediately flying off.

"Twilight!" Peter shouted, groaning in annoyance. "Great..."

Sandbar and the others were left feeling pretty awkward, not sure what to say now. The pony of the group felt a bit brave and decided to speak up, "So...quite the dedicated teacher, huh?"

"Yeah, no doubt," Peter said. "Well, you three have an even bigger responsibility soon if you want the school to stay up."

"We got this," Sandbar said.

"Say, um, if the school didn't exist, would you seven still be friends?" Peter asked. "Just curious."

"I mean, the school brought us together, I don't think we would have met any other way," Sandbar said.

"But if you did meet another way, would you be friends?" Peter asked.

"I think we would, I mean, my friends are pretty cool," Sandbar said. "Knew the moment we started hanging out after class."

"So you became friends the old fashioned way, good to know," Peter said.

"What going on?" Yona asked. "Something wrong?"

"Don't worry your pretty little Yak face about it, Yoka," Peter said. "For now, I gotta get Mayday and Franklin home, come on kids."

Peter trotted off with the two kids closely following, leaving the three confused.

"Wonder what that was about?" Sandbar asked.

"Heh, he call Yona pretty," the Yak girl couldn't help but blush. "Peter the only spider Yona like."

"Also, his daughter was oddly quiet, normally she wouldn't shut her mouth, but because daddy's around she wouldn't dare say anything bad," Gallus said.

"Dude, don't stay that out loud, Starlight, Trixie and that Autumn girl are nearby," Sandbar said. "Also stop letting that girl get under your skin, she's eight."

"Also she cute, Yona no want to make her upset," Yona said.

"Fine, whatever you say," Gallus said. "Let's get back to Campus."

---

Meanwhile in the world of Capcom, Sunset continued her training, this time using a wooden stick to simulate her sword training as Spencer, Strider and Chun-Li overlooked her progress.

"What do you make of her skills Strider?" Chun-Li asked. "Has she improved?"

"Yes, quite well in fact," Strider said. "She shows the heart and determination needed to weird a weapon. She still has a lot more progress to make however."

"Dante will be pleased once he gets back from work," Chun-Li said. "Maybe this time he'll actually bring Nero along."

"I hope not, that guy's a little punk," Spencer said.

"Gotta train the next generation as Ken would say," Chun-Li said. "Dante has Nero, Chris has that Ethan guy."

"Don't get me started on that loser," Spencer said. "Like, what the hell's happening to our world? All the newbies think they're the greatest thing in the world, like what the hell have any of them accomplished. Times like these I feel like I judge Mag way too harshly, she's full of herself too but at least she works hard."

"Is this also about that Luke guy?" Chun-Li asked. "Gotta say, I saw some of his fights, and he really is no joke. Bit of a punk but he can back it up."

"He just needs someone to put him in his place," Spencer said. "Bet you could do it, or Ryu. Hell, send Dhalsim in there, bet he'd mop the floor with him. I would even cheer for Dan over that guy."

"Dan? Wow, you really don't like Luke," Chun-Li said. "I mean, neither does Dante so you're not alone."

"Damn right I'm not, that kid needs to get humbled, and I'll do it myself if I have to," Spencer said. "If things are that bad here, I can only imagine other worlds having this problem. Ever wonder what the new generation of Marvel superheroes will be like?"

"I certainly don't have to wonder," a voice said, the trio turning around and coming face to face with the Sorcerer Supreme.

"Doctor Strange?" Chun-Li asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I came because I've been sensing some strange disturbances in time and space lately," Strange said. "I know portals were opening up all over my world and this world, and that it was connected to Equestria."

"One of their villains was messing with the portals, so Princess Celestia shut it down," Chun-Li said.

"It still hasn't stopped the anomalies," Strange said. "As I was investigating, I detected more suspicious travels, involving a world I am not too familiar with. Just recently I believe this world got new visitors."

"You must be talking about Goku," Chun-Li said. "He should be nearby."

"Is that him?" Strange asked, gesturing to an oncoming Goku, the Saiyan rubbing his stomach.

"That was a great meal," Goku said, being joined by the confused and concerned group of Carlos, Guile and Cammy.

"This guy ate a meal that could feed an army," Carlos said. "Like, literally, an entire army! Of gorillas!"

"I've never seen someone eat so much," Cammy said. "Also the lack of manners. Blanka composes himself better, and he grew up in the jungle."

"Looks like Goku's coming, where are those Gods that were with him?" Chun-Li asked.

"If you're talking about Whis and Lord Beerus, they're right behind us with that girl with the ginormous boobs," Goku said.

"If you mean Tifa, then please refrain from calling her that," Chun-Li said. "It's rude."

"Girls really don't like it when you comment about their bodies," Goku said.

"You are so dense," Chun-Li said. "How did you even get married?"

"When I was a kid, Chi-Chi made me promise to marry her, so I did," Goku said. "I never break a promise."

"Wow...how romantic," Chun-Li commented.

"And I thought me and Emily had such a nice wedding proposal," Spencer sarcastically stated, subconsciously rubbing his metal arm.

"Goku! Wait up!" Tifa called, making her way over with Beerus and Whis following.

"That damn Saiyan's always in such a hurry," Beerus said.

"Are those the other Gods?" Strange asked.

"Yes, that's Beerus and Whis," Chun-Li said.

"It's 'Lord' Beerus, lady," the God replied. "Just because I'm not from your dimension doesn't mean you can address me so casually."

"Fine, LORD Beerus," Chun-Li said. "You know Thor doesn't give me this much grief."

"Thor? You mean that guy with the puny hammer?" Beerus asked. "Bring me a God who can fight with his bare hands and then I'll consider acknowledging him."

"You really don't know Thor well, do you?" Strange asked.

"Huh?" Beerus took note of Strange. "Who's this guy supposed to be?"

"I am Doctor Stephen Strange of the Marvel Universe," the Sorcerer introduced. "In my dimension, I reign as the Sorcerer Supreme."

"So, you're a magic guy?" Goku asked. "Are you strong?"

"Is that your first response to everything?" Chun-Li asked.

"I don't think we're in position to talk, we're a very competitive bunch after all," Guile said.

"Not to brag, but I am quite powerful," Strange said. "I am not interested in a fight however."

"What are you interested in?" Sunset asked, the girl making her way over.

"Sunset Shimmer, the multiverse enthusiast," Strange said.

"Uh, yeah, that's me," Sunset said.

"Perhaps you have knowledge of these strange anomalies, months ago something big happened in Equestria, care to explain?" Strange asked.

"Sure, well for starters, we were attacked by a guy who called himself, The Storm King, he brought over villains from across the Multiverse, like Loki and Mystique from your world, Akuma from here and Sephiroth from Square," Sunset explained. "After the battle, and some unfortunate damage, Princess Celestia has the portals closed, including ones I formed to Marvel, Capcom and Square, even the Dragon World that Goku is from."

"Hm, The Storm King, I do remember him from the time I helped the Hippogriffs of Mount Aris," Strange said. "What is their location?"

"I'm not sure, they escaped, but Thor theorizes that Loki will be in Asgard soon, as part of Ragnarök," Sunset said.

"Ragnarök huh? I believe I've heard of that, it was originally a story in Norse Mythology, though as we all know, it's more than myth now," Strange said.

"I would like to help but, I don't think Thor wants to burden us with his problems," Sunset said.

"Thor is a proud man, but if worse comes to worse, he might need all the help he can get," Strange said. "Loki's allies are likely not in this just for the fun of it, this could affect other worlds if whatever Loki's planning is successful. If you really do want to help, you're going to need to really insist on it. This goes beyond Thor's pride, especially with this villain that's still popping portals open across the multiverse."

"I'll do whatever I can to help," Sunset said.

"Me too, sounds like there's gonna be a lot of strong guys," Goku said.

"I'd be more than happy to help Thor," Chun-Li said.

"Of course, you would," A smug Spencer said, earning a glare from Chun-Li.

"But, Capcom, I would advise you take it easy with your own multiversal travels, the realms are sealed off for a reason, there's still a lot about the multiverse that we don't know about," Strange said. "It is a very risky endeavor."

"We are aware of the risks, and we take precaution," Chun-Li said.

"I hope so, even travelling internally can be detrimental," Strange said. "If the barriers weaken, instability occurs. Worlds will begin to fall apart and reality will alter in a terrible way. Capcom, there are many that consider you a threat to reality, if you are not careful, action can and will be taken."

"Us? A threat to reality? That's kind of harsh," Spencer said.

"Is this because of their travels to Namco, Sega and SNK?" Sunset asked.

"Very possible, I don't know much about these locations myself, but I imagine there must be something about those worlds that stand out, and could be considerably dangerous to another," Strange said. "Now, not to say it's always dangerous, so far you've been responsible, but always check to make sure it stays stable."

"This multiverse stuff is confusing," Goku said. "Like what is a multiverse? Is it basically just the twelve universes?"

"We're beyond those Universes Goku, those twelve just exist in our section of reality," Whis said.

"Section of reality?" Goku asked.

"It's a confusing topic Goku, even I don't always get it," Sunset asked. "If there's different versions of Earth, why are some called 'Marvel', some 'Capcom' and stuff? How do they get these names?"

"I believe I can explain to the best of my ability," Strange said, bringing some cookies into existence. "Pretend the multiverse is like cookies."

"That reminds me, I haven't had dessert," Goku said.

"Are you serious?" Carlos asked.

"Let's stay focused," Sunset said. "Go on Doctor."

"Right," Strange made the cookies float together. "See, each world is like a piece of a cookie. The Chocolate chips represent the different realms of reality. Let's start off with Marvel. One chip represents Earth, where I'm from. The others could represent planets like Venus, Mars, Hala and Skrullos. Then you have the insides of the cookies to represent the various dimensions, and so on. Get another cookie, it looks similar, but it's not exactly the same, it's a different version of Marvel with different possibilities. Maybe I'm not a Sorcerer Supreme there, I could still be a surgeon. Spider-Man could still be just plain Peter Parker, or there could be a different Spider-Man, those do exist after all. As long as it has the same basic structures, it exists as one section of the multiverse, basically alternate realities and alternate futures. Creating a new timeline is sometimes like creating a new cookie, it looks the same, but it won't affect the previous cookie."

"Sounds like Trunks," Goku said.

"Who?" Beerus asked. "Wait, isn't that the name of Vegeta's son?"

"I'm talking one from another timeline," Goku said.

"...Another timeline? Have you mortals been messing with time?" Beerus asked. "That is forbidden even among Gods."

"And Sorcerers too," Strange said. "But things happen."

"Equestria has its own timeline as well, where Changelings destroyed everything," Sunset said. "So, that's basically another cookie, Doctor?"

"Yes, for you at least," Strange said, popping in some more. "Pretend Equestria is like this Sugar Cookie. It's a cookie like the chocolate chip ones, but a different type. That's what the multiverse is, different worlds, some more unique that others. Each Sugar Cookie represents a different timeline in Equestria."

"Alright, I understand a little better," Sunset said.

"It goes the same with other Universes, like you Capcom, your branches are cookies, but they're more Oreos than Chocolate Chip," Strange said, showing off the cookie in question. "These types are a favorite for another superhero, The Martian Man Hunter, though in his world, they're called Chocos."

"I remember him, founding member of The Justice League," Chun-Li said.

"From a different branch of cookies," Strange joked. "But that's the multiverse, if you step into another world, you're either going into another timeline, another dimension or a whole different world."

"I think I get it now," Goku said.

"Just know that traveling is alright, but just be careful, because there's another reason I used cookies," Strange said, using his magic to turn a few into crumbs. "The multiverse can be just as fragile as these delicious treats, tread carefully."

"Yes, of course Doctor," Chun-Li said.

"That being said, Ragnarök is soon, I suggest you get ready if you wish to help," Strange said.

"Don't worry, we have plenty of friends," Chun-Li said. "And we'll do our best not to crumble any cookies while recruiting them."

"Multiversal travel can a good advantage, but even that strength can become a weakness," Strange said. "Celestia may have not been too far off in thinking it's dangerous, but I am trusting you to use this responsibly."

"You have nothing to worry about, Stephen, we'll save our worlds," Chun-Li said.

"I may see if anyone in Equestria can help as well," Strange said.

"Uh, they're dealing with some personal issues, mostly involving some new set of rules that Tony Stark has been trying to enforce," Sunset said.

"Gee, bet that'll turn out just fine," Strange said. "Hopefully he figures something out, right now our Earth is being left in the care of a bunch of irresponsible kids who expect to be just as loved and respected as the heroes who came before them."

"See, their world too!" Spencer said. "Let me guess, the heroes there are little shits like the fighters in this world are turning out to be."

"You really don't want to see what's become of my world as far as heroes go, I used to think Captain Marvel was annoying but, Lord Almighty, you would probably hate some of these kids," Strange said. "One of them can punch holes through the multiverse at will, and she does it all the time, one day she's gonna end up here, that is if she doesn't cause an incursion with her recklessness."

"Hey I'll straighten her out," Spencer said. "We all will."

"Especially if she's that irresponsible," Strider said.

"I shall be off," Strange said. "But I will be back to check in on you."

Strange left through his portal, leaving the heroes left behind to consider their planning.

"So, how do we go about this Ragnarök thing?" Guile asked.

"We let our allies know," Chun-Li said. "Ryu, Ken, Chris, Leon, Dante, Trish, Rock, anyone we can think of who would want to help."

"Cloud too, along with Barrett, Yuffie, Squall and other heroes from my world," Tifa said.

"Some of our guys even formed a wannabe Avengers type team," Spencer said. "This can be their big break."

"Get the portals ready, contact heroes from SNK, Namco and Sega," Chun-Li said.

"What about the Big N themselves?" Spencer asked.

"If they want," Chun-Li said.

"As long as we don't overdo it, remember what Doctor Strange said," Sunset reminded.

"We won't," Chun-Li said. "Sounds like Goku here wants to help too."

"I already promised Thor, I can even ask Vegeta to come by as well, maybe even my son, Gohan," Goku said.

"Didn't your son give up being a martial artist to focus on being a father himself?" Beerus asked.

"Yeah, but it comes back to him really fast sometimes," Goku said.

"Alright, let's get to planning," Chun-Li said.

---

Back in Equestria, Cap's team were still on their way to Appaloosa, hoping to find refuge away from The Accords while they planned their next form of strategy. Not too far off, heroes were still in pursuit, including a team led by She-Hulk, consisting of Tigra, Wind Sprint and The Barrel Twins, along with Bobby's team of Rarity, Night Glider, Sky Stinger and Vapor Trails.

"We're closing in on Cap, Tony," She-Hulk said to her radio.

"Good to know," Tony said from back in Canterlot. "Keep at it."

"We got this Tony, we're not gonna rest until they're caught," Bobby said.

"Love the enthusiasm," Tony said.

Spitfire checked her radio, "Fleetfoot, how's your progress?"

"Me and my team are in pursuit as well," Fleetfoot said, looking to her squad of Misty Fly, Angel Wings, Pizzelle and Cloudchaser.

"How about you Hercules," Tony asked.

Coming in with Garble, a couple of his friends, Ember, Spike and Janet, Hercules was ready for battle, "I am also in pursuit. Though I must admit Tony Stark, I have qualms about doing battle with Captain America."

"I get it bud, but things need to be done, just try to make it quick so we can resolve this issue," Tony said, powering off the radio.

"Is it a good idea to be sending this many heroes after Cap? Kind of defeats the purpose of having order," Spitfire said.

"This is an emergency, plus many of them are nearby anyway, might as well get the job done," Tony said. "Anyway, we have nothing more to worry about, I contacted Darkhawk and Quake, they should be here soon, hopefully they won't be the only ones. I mean I'll send Hank out there if I need to, or Reed."

"Well I hope there's no trouble anywhere else," Spitfire said.

"Oh what could happen?" Tony asked.

Meanwhile in Manehattan, Coco, who was once again messing with Tony Stark's stuff, decided to fully put the armor on, only to lose control and fly out the building, damaging it in the process. "Oh no...I should have just-AH!" The machine started flying off, the girl heading into the distance, "How do I turn this thing off! Oh Mr. Stark's gonna fire me for sure! If I live long enough!"

Back with Tony, this time he was contacting Carol, "Captain Marvel, how are things at The Crystal Empire?"

"Fine, no sign of danger," Carol said. "You know, I can go after Cap myself."

"I know you can, but the Crystal Heart needs contact protection, that's why I assigned you there," Tony said. "I don't want anyone taking advantage of our situation and stealing it from under our noses, just hold out a little bit more."

"I don't blame you for being worried, the guards here are inept, I blame their Captain, I don't know what Cadance saw in him," Carol said.

"I...can't fully disagree, the guards in Canterlot suck too, Shining Armor is brave but it's clear why his sister is the leader of the Elements," Tony said. "Still, he does a decent job of guarding the heart."

"Baron Mordo, Loki and Magneto say otherwise," Carol said. "Plus Wesker also took over this town once under his watch.

"Let's not delve into this," Tony said, knowing where this was going. If not for Carol's power, he would have fired her by now given her bad attitude. But unfortunately he is desperate for help. "If things really get bad, you can go after Cap yourself, once I do some relocating at least."

"At least try sending Kamala, she's stronger than she seems," Carol said.

"I know she's strong, I'm more concerned about her experience," Tony said. "Give her some extra battle training first, then we'll talk sending her out."

"Fine with me," Carol said, hanging up the radio.

"Is that Kamala girl really strong?" Spitfire asked.

"She's alright, but she's still learning her abilities," Tony said. "She got exposed to something called Terrigen Mist not too long ago, it created some powerful heroes in the past, such as our ally Black Bolt and his wife Medusa."

"If they're strong, can they come to help?" Spitfire asked.

"Well they're King and Queen, so like T'Challa, they have their own Kingdoms to worry about." Tony said. "Kamala needs to prove herself before we send her on any missions though, in the hero world, you earn your rank, you don't just get given it, no matter how talented you are."

"Or how Royal, something that we had to remind Silverstream of," Spitfre said. "Speaking of whom, I should make sure she and that Rumble boy are enroute as well. I also need to contact Soarin, see if he's done scoping out the damage in Baltimare."

"And I gotta contact Natasha," Tony said, checking his radio. "You really have us all bent out of shape Steve."

"I hope Luna's been having better luck," Spitfire continued to make her calls too.

---

On the roof of the castle, Luna looked to the distance, wishing her abilities could find Steve and company. She looked all around Canterlot, spotting citizens such as Fancy Pants and his wife Fleur, along with the hero Vision. She did recall that as she traveled through dreams, she had come across the ones of those once close to Twilight and her friends.

"Somewhere out there, Wanda Maximoff, her brother Pietro and their friends still remain, likely in an unguarded town" Luna commented to herself. "If I can locate them, that could give us an advantage, or prevent Steve's team from having one of their own."

Off in the distance, Wanda indeed seemed to reside in a hero free town, standing in an open field of Pears.

"Wanda, food's ready!" Pietro called, his sister following him, ready to eat.

---

Not too far from the town of Appaloosa, Cap had stopped his team, much to their confusion.

"Hey what gives? Why'd you stop?" Taskmaster asked.

"We have company," Steve said, gesturing to the Dragons, joined by Janet and Hercules.

"Captain..." Hercules greeted.

Steve knew this was going to be trouble, he hoped to avoid The Dragons, but now it seems like he has no choice. Unbeknownst to him, more were coming, and Team Cap had to be ready to fight hard if they wanted to avoid capture.

Godly Tensions

A bad situation loomed for Steve and his team. They were faced off with a potential tough battle against Hercules and his squad.

"Steve, what do we do?" Bucky asked.

Cap had to quickly assess his chances here if he wanted any chance of victory, or at least a chance to escape uncaptured. "Five Dragons, that's better than a whole lair at least. Three of them are known for being more muscle than brain, if anything I'm more worried about Dragon Lord Ember and Spike. Ember's quick wits is what allowed her to be Dragon Lord in the first place, and Spike has had intense training for years with these dragons." He scanned the rest of the opposing squad, "Janet's here too, she wouldn't be an Avenger if she wasn't a force to be reckoned with. The real problem is Hercules, I don't think even I can beat him, or anyone on my squad, unless we get lucky."

"Uh...Steve, did you hear me?" Bucky asked.

"He's probably analyzing in his head or something," Sam theorized.

"Hercules...can we talk this out?" Steve asked.

"Hm? You wish to speak?" Hercules asked.

"Talk is weak, let's crush these losers!" Garble said.

"Ember," Hercules said, the dragon knowing what to do.

"Hey, let Hercules handle this, he knows Captain Equestria better than we do," Ember ordered.

"Except me, we're both Avengers after all," Janet said.

"Not the time," Spike reminded.

"You have the floor Captain, speak," Hercules said.

"Thank you," Steve said. "Now, I know you're under orders from Tony to capture us, I know why he wants me captured, but do you know why I am leading this crusade?"

"That is what we all wish to know," Hercules said.

"A long time ago, I believed in Tony Stark when he created the Earth/Equestria Allegiance Accords, I knew he wanted to help in a way that was low cost and danger free," Steve said. "But, in time I grew to realize that was merely a myth. What Tony has done is not protect Equestria, but rather placed it under oppression disguised by good faith. The system is broken, restrictive and honestly, pointless. There is no such thing as danger free, taking too much precaution is just as hazardous as taking little to none at all."

"So, is this why you rebelled?" Ember asked. "I mean, couldn't you have talked this out?"

"I've tried, many times," Steve said. “I did everything I could to handle this with words alone. When these heroes were arrested and about to be placed in Canterlot's dungeon, that's when I knew I had to act. If this continued, who knows what else could have happened? How long before any of you could have been poorly affected by the flaws in Tony's design?"

"You know, he does have a point," Janet said. "Even Peter's been a bit concerned about the way Tony's handling things."

"I wouldn't be surprised, he spent so long trying to get Felicia Hardy out of the Dungeon," Steve said.

"I got sent there over something that was the fault of a pirate bird, Celaeno," Felicia bitterly said.

"But you do understand where I'm coming from, don't you Hercules?" Steve asked.

"I do, Captain, I understand that you are a man who must fulfil his duty," Hercules said. "But I did make a promise to Tony Stark to bring you in. I do not wish to fight you however, if you are willing to surrender, I can help you plead your case to Tony Stark. You certainly have his attention by this point, surely talking things out will work better this time."

"I'd like to believe that Hercules, but I am not quite ready to surrender, not until I see Tony directly," Steve said. "Plus, somehow I doubt that even if you were to back up my claims, it would not work. Your best bet is to firmly stand against Tony Stark."

"Steve, I get what you're saying, but standing against Tony might not be the best idea," Janet said. "I mean, he's still in charge of The Accords, plus he's got Spitfire and Luna by his side."

"What about Celestia? Ever think about where she's been?" Steve said.

"Come to think of it, even Peter wasn't sure," Spike said.

"Tony convinced Celestia to, 'Go on Vacation' while he and Luna handled the country, this shortly after Carol attempted to have her power usurped," Steve explained.

"Huh? Are you sure you have your facts straight on that Steve?" Janet asked. "Carol wouldn't do anything like that."

"I've seen it for myself Janet," Steve said.

"But Carol's not the type of person to exploit power," Janet said. "She's a superhero Steve, beyond that, she's a solider, just like you!"

"One who disgraced her country, and this one," Steve said. "Janet, I know you and Carol are friends, but that means recognizing when she's wrong."

Garble groaned in annoyance, "There's way too much talking, let's get to the fighting already!"

"Oh you wanna go?" Taskmaster shouted, getting his sword and shield ready. "Bring it on!"

"Hold it Taskmaster, this isn't a wise move," Steve said.

"Sounds like he's too chicken to fight us," Garble said. "Ember, we got the advantage here, let's just round up these nobodies and be done with it!"

"Who's he calling a 'nobody'?" Johnny said. "Like really, who the hell is this guy?"

"I'm your worst nightmare," Garble said, stepping forward.

"Garble, don't!" Ember warned, to no avail as Garble flew in, ready to fight.

"Burn!" Garble sent his fire at Team Cap, seemingly covering the area in flame.

"Hey stupid! We're supposed to catch them alive! Not burn them to a crisp!" Janet shouted in annoyance.

Garble turned back to Janet, a look of ego on his face, "I don't take orders from you, pony-human."

"Well you take orders from me!" Ember said. "That was not ok! You can't just rush in and do whatever you want!"

"Whatever, it got the job done," Garble said, looking back to Team Cap. To his surprise, not only were they still standing, but it almost looked like Garble didn't even use his fire. In addition, Johnny was now standing front and center.

"That all you got?" Johnny asked, dusting himself off. "I've felt hotter at a dying campfire."

"Why you!" Garble tried his fire again, point blank at Johnny, the hero just absorbing it like nothing.

"I'd say I'll get a tan, but I'd have better luck with a tiny lantern," Johnny taunted. "Hey keep this up, and you might actually fry an egg."

Garble turned to his friends, "Come help me toast this guy!"

Just as they were about to help, one took a giant punch from Sandman while the other took a massive punch from Bucky, stunning him long enough for Sam to swoop in and kick him to tumble him over.

"Uh..." Garble wasn't sure what to do now, his friends were taken out faster than he could have anticipated.

"You fold mon ami?" Remy taunted.

"I'll fold you!" Garble shouted, about to go for Gambit, but the card user leapt up, throwing a couple of cards in the dragon's face as Applejack ran for a headbutt to Garble's stomach, following up with a buck kick to his face that knocked him over.

"That the best you got?" Taskmaster taunted, stepping toward Ember. "I thought dragons were fierce and mighty, but we took down your biggest guys in seconds!"

"Fierce is not limited to size," Ember said, immediately dashing in and using her trident to whack Taskmaster in the face. She went to attack again but found herself dodging a punch from Bucky.

"Show me what you got!" Bucky went for another punch that Ember evaded and used the end of her trident to whack him in the head. He immediately turned around for an uppercut that she blocked with her trident, losing grip of it immediately.

Falcon flew in to grab her by the shoulders, lifting her up into the air, "I'll give you a first-class flight back to the throne, Your Highness."

"Ember!" Spike flew over and attempted to blast Falcon out the sky, but the Avenger threw Ember up and kicked Spike down before any attack could be made. This is when Johnny flew up and kicked Ember down himself.

"Alright, that is NOT ok!" Janet shouted, flying after Falcon in particular. "I'm gonna remind you how stubbornly annoying a wasp can be!"

Falcon tried to whack Janet but her small agile Breezie body made it hard for her to pinpoint, the hero girl getting a few shots to his face with her stinger blasts.

"Janet! Not cool!" Johnny flew in to help, hoping to grab Janet. The girl moved out the way in time for the flame hero to collide into Falcon.

"Watch it Torch!" Falcon scolded.

"Hey I was trying to help you out dude," Johnny said, then took a blast to his head.

Ember stood up, ready to attack again when she found herself face to face with Applejack and Remy.

"Really think you can do much without your bodyguards?" Remy taunted.

"I don't need bodyguards," Ember said, getting into a fighting stance.

"Remember, dragons are tough," Applejack reminded.

"Well if they're tough," Remy rushed in, placing his hoof on Ember's armor. "She ain't gonna need this then!"

Using his powers, he activated her armor, the dragon quickly slipping out but got caught in the explosion, sending her flying back.

"Uh, Remy, that seemed like too much," Applejack said.

"She'll be fine, Dragons are tough, even the smaller ones," Remy said.

"You got that right," Spike said, calling the two from behind. "I don't want to fight either of you, please just turn yourselves in."

"Spike, you know what will happen if we do," Applejack said.

"You know Peter and Twilight will get you out of any punishment you get, or at least lessen it," Spike said. "I mean, don't you want to go back home? Imagine how Apple Bloom feels right now, she's expecting a baby and probably wants her family by her side."

Applejack couldn't argue that, part of her wondered if it would be easier to just surrender, trust in Peter's word. But another part worried what would happen if she did return to Canterlot, and if she had to face Carol again. Plus even if she got leeway, she couldn't tell if Remy would too.

"Spike, even if Peter and Twilight did want to help, and I don't doubt that they do," Remy said. "It's too risky to turn back now, plus we'd be letting our team down. Cap's trying to make a change, and it's one I agree with. These Accords, they just ain't right. It starts with these restrictions, but how long before it gets worse? How long before this begins to affect my own kids? Laws like these just get worse for the likes of us, if I have a chance to change things, I'm sticking to it."

"Remy's right," Applejack said. "Ah believe in what Steve's saying. I'm standing by his side."

"Applejack..." Spike took his sword out. "Don't make me have to fight you!"

"Sorry Spike, ah hope you can forgive me fer this," Applejack said.

Immediately she threw a lasso, hoping to tie up Spike, the dragon cutting the rope immediately, but left him open long enough for Remy to toss an explosive card at his face to momentarily blind him, allowing Gambit the opening to whack Spike with his staff, and Applejack a chance to rush in with a buck kick that sent him flying.

"That hurt to do," Applejack said.

"Gonna have to endure, right now we're on opposite sides of The Accords, make it up to him by making him a large tray of Apple Brown Betties," Remy said.

Ember tried attacking from behind with her trident, but Taskmaster immediately rushed in to block the strike for the Apple couple. "Don't say I never had any of your backs." Ember pulled back to strike again, but this time Taskmaster was ready as he knocked the trident away and did an uppercut. "Yeah, I know your moves now!"

Meanwhile Hercules found himself surrounded by Bucky, Babs, Sugar Belle, Lizard and Dwayne, the five of them considering their options against a God of Olympus.

"I would really rather not have to fight any of you," Hercules said.

"Then grab your cronies and take a hike," Bucky said.

"You know I can't do that," Hercules said. "I must fulfil my duty."

"And we must fulfil ours," Lizard said. "If you stand in our way, you are our enemy."

"We ain't going down without a fight!" Babs said, rushing in to attack with a punch to his face, one that barely phased him. "What the?"

"Do not take this to heart, that was quite a punch for a civilian, but I am a fair deal out of your level," Hercules said.

"Try this!" Bucky rushed in with a metal punch, one Hercules grabbed with ease. "The hell!?"

Hercules then slammed Bucky into Babs, knocking them both aside. Lizard leapt on him to claw the God, but he was grabbed by his tail and slammed a couple of times before being flung off.

"This ain't good," Dwayne said. "Sugar girl, you got any ideas?"

"It's Sugar Belle, and yes I do," the baker said. She used some magic to lift a nearby rock and flung it at Hercules, the rock immediately breaking to pieces upon landing on the God. "Alright, that didn't go so well."

"The hell with it!" Dwayne rushed in and on his skateboard, sending some tasers at Hercules.

"Come on, this barely feels like that electric tough you get when someone walks on a rug," Hercules said. Suddenly a tree was slammed on his head, again barely phasing him.

"Shoot, I really thought that would work," Sugar Belle said, disappointed her magic wasn't enough.

"Let me handle this, ma'am," Steve said, walking past her with his shield on her back. "Go stay close to Daredevil, Black Cat and Stygian."

"Go get'em Cap," Sugar Belle said, making her retreat.

"Now you approach me, Captain?" Hercules asked.

"I have to, I've come too far to give up," Steve said. "I really don't want it to come to this."

"Same, but that is the burden of men like us, we are bound by our DUTY!" Hercules threw a punch that immediately bent Steve's shield back.

"That's not good!" Steve shouted, then immediately leapt back to avoid another punch, tossing his dented shield at Hercules's face, going for a punch right after, one that barely registered with the God.

Steve threw a few more punches, hitting Hercules in the face a few times, the God eventually blocking and punching Steve hard in the stomach, sending him flying back.

"Steve!" Sam left his fight with Janet and tried going for Hercules. "Taking you down, big fella!"

Hercules whacked away Falcon as if he were swatting away a fly as he marched toward Steve, the solider standing back up and attempting to tackle down the son of Zeus.

Steve was then lifted and punched to the side, sending him flying past Remy. "You around Mon Capitan!?

"Watch out!" Applejack said, gesturing toward an advanced Hercules.

"You two help Cap!" Taskmaster said, fending off Ember. "I got this!"

"I'll see what I can do," Remy said, pulling out a deck of cards.

"Think we got a chance? He looks kind of strong," Applejack said.

"Then let's fight smart," Remy said, charging up his cards. "He can't hit what he can't see."

Remy threw his cards at the ground below, the smoke temporarily blinding Hercules. Applejack grabbed her lasso, attempting to wrap up Hercules, but the god flexed once to break her rope. Remy still managed to get a sneak attack, whacking his bow over the head of the God, though it broke upon impact.

"Aw damn," Remy said, quickly dodging Hercules's attempt to grab him and grabbing the other piece, holding the two pieces like dual batons. "Gonna have to try a different tactic."

Hercules focused his attention on Remy but took a buck kick to the face from Applejack, unfortunately for the mare, it felt like kicking a brick wall. "Ow! Dang how sturdy is this guy!?"

"That's the God of Strength for ya," Remy said. "Like Thor, Hercules is mythology come to life for mortal men like me."

"Can we even beat this guy?" Applejack asked.

"We gotta try, Cap fought hard so we gotta as well," Remy said.

In the air, Johnny had finally whacked away Janet long enough to focus on the Greek God below, "Yo! Hercules!" Once the God has his attention, Johnny fired a big flame blast at him, hoping to knock him back while Remy and Applejack kept their distance. "Tell Apollo there's a new God of the Sun, the hero with the Supernova!"

"Cute, but Apollo is not the God of the Sun!" Hercules said, unaffected by the fire. "That title goes to Helios! But it's an easy mistake to make, no one seems to appreciate Helios these days. Though I suppose Princess Celestia would, I know he would adore her presence."

"I figured it wouldn't be that easy, Hercules is pretty damn enduring, but I can get hotter, and my powers are even stronger in Equestria!" Johnny said, readying his fire. "Taste the power of my flames!"

Johnny sent more which Hercules endured, the God merely glaring up at the fire hero.

"Doesn't feel so good, does it!" Garble shouted, taking a blast to the face from Johnny.

"Who the hell asked you!?" Johnny turned his attention to Hercules. "You know, he's starting to piss me off," Johnny began amping up the heat, though the fire still wasn't doing much. "This close to going Super Nova pal!"

"Torch! Ease up!" Taskmaster called, nearly letting himself get distracted in his fight against Ember.

"Gotta keep this up...still, I don't think Hercules is budging, this guy is the real deal," Johnny saw that Steve was slowly making his way back toward the God. "If I can't beat Herc, then I can at least give Cap and opening. Just gotta keep an eye out for the others."

Fortunately for Johnny, Sandman was getting the other dragons at bay, Matt and Sugar Belle rushing in to help, the former using her magic to send zaps and the latter maneuvering around and confusing the dragons.

"Enough Human Torch!" Hercules shouted, punching the ground hard enough to sent a large piece of rock out and following up with another punch towards Johnny.

"Holy crap!" Johnny immediately dodged to the side, glaring down at Hercules a moment before seeing another piece of ground flying up at him. Johnny quickly blasted in and sent more fire down at Hercules.

"Do you not tire of this!?" Hercules asked. The moment Johnny stopped his fire though, Steve stepped in and kicked Hercules' hind leg, hit a backhoof to the face, a knee to the stomach and finally hit the God with a sweep takedown slam.

"Great move Cap!" Johnny cheered.

Steve looked relieved himself, but saw that Hercules was already getting back on his feet. Applejack tried ramming him but got knocked back for her effort. Remy whacked him in the face a few times with his newly made batons, but that too did little to stun Hercules and got him whacked back, though not without leaving a charged card on the God, leaving it to explode near his face.

"Dirty trick!" Hercules shouted, wiping his face, though this gave an opening for Bucky to make his comeback and hit the God in the face with a couple of punches.

"Stand back Winter Solider!" Sandman warned, gathering a lot of sand, hardening his fist into a hammer and slamming it down on Hercules while Bucky took his distance.

"Good job Marko!" Bucky said.

This feeling was short lived as Hercules powered out of the sand hammer and jumped in to punch Sandman through his head and jumped again to punch a hole through his chest, knocking the sand user into particles.

"That didn't kill him, did it!?" A worried Sugar Belle asked.

"He’ll be fine," Felicia said.

"Can't we do anything?" Sugar Belle asked.

"Not against Hercules," Felicia said, then noticed two of the oncoming dragons. "Plus, it looks like we have our own problems."

"Let's fry these ponies," the purple dragon Fume said.

"I say we squash them," his friend Baff said.

"Oh, I know, let's do both!" Fume suggested, suddenly Matt jumped over and landed on his back, using his rod to grab him by the neck.

"Hey! Get off him!" Baff said, then took a zap to the face from Sugar Belle, allowing Felicia to run up and hit him with an uppercut.

"Are these really the best dragons they could have gotten?" Felicia said. "Or are they all this weak?"

Fume tried tossing Daredevil off, but the hero landed on his hooves and rushed over with a whack to the face with his billy rod. This is when Dwayne was able to skate in and leap into a skateboard kick to the face to knock Fume over.

"I can't believe we're casually fighting dragons," Dwayne said. "Not as tough as I thought it'd be either."

"Stay on top of your game," Matt said. "We still have more to fight."

"Yeah," Garble said, stepping forward, like me.

"Oh my, he seems rather angry," Stygian said.

"Luckily he doesn't seem that smart," Felicia said. "Lets go boys, and Sugar Belle."

The fights nearby continued, with Ember clashing with Taskmaster, Janet now clashing with Remy and Spike going against The Lizard.

"Hold still!" Spike said, trying to blast the Lizard with fire.

"Now that would be counterproductive for me, wouldn't it?" Lizard said, whacking Spike back with his tail. He turned to see that Steve and Bucky were now teaming up against Hercules, a fight Sam eventually joined in again. "Strong as they are, if we don't do something fast, we could lose this battle."

Ember knocked Taskmaster away but found herself tackled down by Applejack. "These dragons sure are tough to keep down."

"Got that right!" Ember said, grabbing her trident and trying to whack Applejack in the head, though Babs took this opportunity to headbutt Ember in the side, as Applejack rushed in and buck kicked the dragon princess towards Spike, knocking him over.

"Sorry Spike!" Applejack called.

"Applejack!" Janet tried flying in after the farmer girl, but Remy rushed in and whacked her down.

"Shouldn't have taken your eyes off me," Remy said.

"Great teamwork everyone, but one problem," Lizard said, gesturing to the fight against Hercules. "I'm afraid our opponent there is not budging."

Babs turned to a recovering Taskmaster, "You the one who can read moves right? Can't you do anything?"

"I can copy fighting styles, not powers," Taskmaster said. "Knowing how Hercules fights don't mean a damn if I don't have the strength to counterattack."

"Let's just rush him then," Babs said.

"Take it from me, group attacks are not always guaranteed to work," Lizard said. "I'm afraid we are simply outmatched here; it'd be best if we run but getting away from someone like Hercules is a monumental task."

"Plus, you still have us to deal with," Ember warned, aiming her trident. "Don't think for a second that we're letting you escape."

"Applejack, come on," Spike said, standing up as well. "I don't want to keep having to fight you."

"Ah don't want to fight either, but we're all in too deep to surrender now," Applejack said.

"If you keep fighting, you'll just make things worse for yourselves," Ember warned as Janet turned back into her pony form.

"We're giving you one more chance, surrender now, and we'll make sure Tony goes easy on you," Janet said.

"Too risky," Remy said. "If any of us could trust Tony, we wouldn't be doing this."

"Imagine being in our situation, and you were treated like scum just fer trying to help others, does that sound fair to you? Is that the type of law you would stand fer?" Applejack said.

"Exactly," Johnny said, hovering over. "I got taken in for protecting the town from the Pony of Shadows because I was on probation, over a mistake. I know what happened to Tony's building was bad, and I can't make excuses for anyone who was personally affected by that, but to take me out when I can do so much better was poor judgement."

"I got arrested just for helping to protect Ponyville, the town your family lives in Spike," Remy said. "You really want to side with Tony after he condoned something like that?"

"Yer a smart guy Spike, in fact all of you are smart enough to see the flaws," Applejack said. "Why fight us when you can join us? Convince Tony that this is all a bad idea."

Spike and Janet had some mixed feelings, between this and still remembering the worries Peter had.

"Steve wouldn't do this without reason..." Janet reasoned.

"Got that right, when it came down to it, Cap knew more about being a hero than most of the guys back home," Taskmaster said. "Even I can see something like that."

"How do we know this isn't a trick to get us to lower our guard?" Ember asked.

"That depends on how much you really trust us," Applejack said. "Spike, it's yer call."

"Mine? What for?" Spike asked.

"You know us better than everyone here, aside from Janet," Johnny said. "At least think about this, what do you think Twilight would want?"

"Here's a better question for ya," Taskmaster said. "Do you think this is worth trying to earn the trust of a group who's all about total control? How long before someone like you becomes expendable to them? Take it from me kid, I've had a lot of employers, I can tell who values their workers and who don't."

While Spike was thinking about this, Garble continued trying to squash his opponents, everyone trying to dodge out of the way.

"Wow he's mad, guess we really riled him up," Felicia said, then took a whack to the face from Garble.

"I got you now!" the dragon said, about to attack again when Matt and Dwayne jumped in for a double kick to his chest. Right after he immediately grabbed the two, chuckling to himself. "Fell right into that one!"

Suddenly a spark of magic hit his back, the dragon turning around to see Stygian, the scrawny unicorn looking concerned, "Oh dear."

"Just for that, you're next," Garble said. Suddenly a huge rock appeared overhead via Sugar Belle's magic and was dropped on his head, stunning him a bit. Meanwhile Sandman had recovered from Hercules's attack and did a hammer punch to the dragon to knock him back down.

"That guy does not know when to quit," Sandman said.

"Great work," Matt said, then sensed the nearby battle. "We should help Cap now."

"Easier said than done," Dwayne said, looking over to Hercules.

Steve, Sam and Bucky each took turns attacking Hercules, doing their best to evade, dodge and strike, the God eventually knocking the three away with one hit.

"Have you had enough now!?" Hercules asked.

Steve stood back up, with Bucky and Sam by his side, "We can do this all day."

"I will admit, I find your warrior spirit very admirable, you truly are a Captain," Hercules said, powering himself up. He leapt into the air and struck the ground hard, sending a shockwave that knocked the three back, along with Sugar Belle, Felicia, Matt, Dwayne, Stygian and Sandman. Even Garble got sent flying.

"Holy crap!" Johnny shouted in disbelief.

"Come on, we gotta help!" Applejack said, rushing in with her teammates. Hercules noticed them and hit the ground again to stumble them, except Johnny who flew in and tackled into Hercules, trying to push him back.

Steve recovered quickly and rushed over to tackle Hercules, trying to help Johnny bring him down. Both heroes started dishing out punches to his face, taking turns and not relenting on their offense, Johnny ending with a fire punch to the jaw and Steve jumping in with a mighty kick to stumble Hercules back.

"Hope that got him," Johnny said.

Unfortunately for them, Hercules was still standing, though noticed the god wiping blood from his mouth, "Not bad..."

"Looks like he bleeds after all," Johnny said. "Took everything we had though."

"So, Captain, can you still keep this up?" Hercules asked. "Will you not bow?"

"I don't know the meaning of the word 'surrender'," Steve said.

Hercules got a chuckle out of that, "You would do so well as a warrior of Olympus, I admire your bravery and persistence. Lesser men would have given up by now, but I can tell, your talk of continuing the fight is not mere bravado. No, you intend to fight until your last breath if need be."

"I made a promise to bring justice," Steve said. "What I'm doing may seem like treachery, but I do it for the betterment of this world. It's not just the ponies I want to fight for. I want to fight for the Dragons, The Changelings, The Yaks, all creatures of this world. I want to ensure proper safety and security, the right way."

"I do believe you Captain America," Hercules said. "You know, I do tire of this fighting, this should be handled with words. Perhaps we can come to an agreement."

Steve's eyes widened, "No tricks?"

"You have my honest word," Hercules said.

"Good, that's all I need," Steve said, turning to his allies. "Cease combat!"

"We're already ceased!" Applejack said, the girl out of it from Hercules's attack.

"I do hope I didn't hurt anyone too badly," Hercules said.

"They're strong, they'll be fine," Steve said. "Now, I must-"

"Watch out!" Johnny stood before Steve, blocking an ice attack.

"What in the world?" Hercules turned to see that Bobby had finally arrived with both his team and She-Hulk's.

"We'll take it from here, Herc!" Bobby said, blasting some more ice, hitting Bucky, Taskmaster, Matt, Dwayne, Sugar Belle and Babs. Afterwards he created walls to prevent them from escaping.

"So much for talking things out," Sam said.

"I bet he was pulling our legs!" Taskmaster said. "Hercules set us up!"

"I swear on my word I did no such thing!" Hercules said, then turned to Bobby. "Stand down, there is no need for a confrontation."

"Sure seems like it," She-Hulk said. "You really messed them up good. Real proud of you Herc."

"We'll take it from here though," Night Glider said, the entire group landing before Team Cap.

"Finally caught up to us?" Steve asked.

"It's the end of the road, Cap, turn yourself in," Bobby ordered.

"Oh, what, you're a big decision maker now, Bobby? "Johnny asked.

"Real cute Johnny, this is serious though, you and your team gotta come back with us to Canterlot," Bobby said.

"Now, let us not be rash," Hercules said. "Have any of you considered hearing out the Captain?"

"We tried, Hercules, but the law is the law," She-Hulk said. "This isn't easy for any of us, but if we bend the rules for Cap, then we have to bend them for everyone."

"But this can be resolved without the need for more combat," Hercules said.

"True, we don't need to fight," She-Hulk said. "That's only if Steve cooperates."

"Just say the word Cap, and it ends," Tigra said. "Do the right thing for your squad."

"I am," Steve said. "And that includes not surrendering. If we need to fight again, then so be it."

She-Hulk groaned in annoyance, "Look, Steve, normally I respect this confidence, but this is getting ridiculous. We're trying to give you a chance to do the right thing here."

"Selling out my team is not the right thing to me," Steve said. "Jen, you're a smart woman, you should know that what Tony is doing will just hurt this world in the end. If he succeeds here, he's going to bring this to Earth, do you really want that?"

"Do I want order? Yes, I do," She-Hulk said. "The more order we have, the less we have to worry about innocent lives being lost because of incompetence."

Steve groaned in disappointment, then turned his attention to Bobby, "What about you, Iceman. These laws aren't so different from the Mutant Registration Act, are you comfortable fighting for this?"

"I'm trying to do what's right for me and my family," Bobby said.

"Are you really?" Remy said, stepping forward with Applejack. "Or are you just that desperate to be the big-time superhero?"

"And what are you doing with your life, huh?" Bobby asked. "What are you doing with your powers?”

"Applejack, Remy," came the voice of Rarity as she stepped forward. "You must both understand, Bobby just wants to help bring peace to the world which gave him happiness. He loves Equestria, that's why he joined Tony's Accords, because it was less about him registering his powers, and more about him being able to do the right thing."

"Rarity, ah know you have to stick by yer husband, just like ah stick by mine," Applejack said. "But, he's on the wrong side right now, and so are you."

"Please dear, think of your family, do what's right for their sake," Rarity said.

"I don't want to hurt either of you, I could never face Sweetie Belle if I did," Bobby said. "Our families are close, no need for conflict."

"I don't want to be opposed to you, but you have to be cooperative!" Rarity insisted.

"Why can't you cooperate with us?" Remy asked, earning Bobby's frustration.

"Dammit, we're trying to help you!" Bobby shouted. "If you don't make the right choice now, then we're not going to have a choice ourselves!"

"You'd be smart to listen!" Came the voice of Fleetfoot, the mare finally arriving with her team. "You're all completely surrounded! You lose!"

Steve shook his head in defiance, "You're gonna have to drag us back."

"Fine, have it your way!" Bobby was about to send in his ice again but Hercules blocked the attack.

"Stand down," Hercules warned.

"Dude, who's side are you on!?" Bobby asked.

The ice user's question was answered with a smirk from the son of Zeus, "Not yours." Hercules then punched Bobby away, surprising both sides.

"How, DARE YOU!" Rarity shouted, blasting the god in the face. "This is for my husband!"

Hercules stomped the ground, sending a piece of rock up and knocking Rarity into the air, where she was caught by Cloudchaser.

"I got you Rares," the mare said.

"Once again, a Wonderbolt saves my life," Rarity said. "Thank you dear."

"Thank you for not knocking me unconscious," Cloudchaser said, winking at the now sheepish mare.

"She-Hulk, what do we do!?" Wind Sprint asked.

"You and The Wonderbolts round up Team Cap, I'll take down Hercules!" She-Hulk said, going for a punch to the god that he managed to block.

"Almost felt that one," Hercules said, parrying and whacking She-Hulk back, engaging her in battle.

Night Glider stepped forward, "Wind, Pickle, Barley, Vapor, Stinger, let's fly!"

"Let's give the assist team!" Fleetfoot said. Cloudchaser placed Rarity safely down as all the Wonderbolts began to circle the opposing team, trying to knock them all off balance by engaging them in battle.

Bucky managed to catch Pizzelle with a punch from his metal arm, knocking her into the Barley while Babs headbutted Pickle in the sides, knocking him off flight.

Misty Fly used her speed to zip around and confuse Felicia, the thief unable to keep up and then got a kick to her head. "Got ya."

Sugar Belle blasted her from behind, then sent a blast to knock down Cloudchaser, but took a kick of her own from Night Glider.

"That's enough out of you!" the mare warned.

Sugar Belle stood back up, glaring at her friend, "It's really come to this, huh?"

"You're not giving me a choice here! Just come back to us!" Night Glider said.

"I'm not going back to a side where I can't do the right thing without first getting permission," Sugar Belle said.

"You knew the rules, you could train with Gambit but you couldn't go out and fight, especially with someone unregistered!" Night Glider said. "Now quit being stubborn and-"

Felicia jumped up with a kick to Night Glider's back, Sugar Belle then zapping her friend away, though it pained her to do so. "I hope this ends soon, I hate being opposed to Night Glider."

"That's life Sugar Belle," Felicia said. "Come on, we gotta stop The Wonderbolts."

Meanwhile Garble had gotten up, joined by his friends as they saw the conflict, "Seems like the back-up's here, not that we need it. Fume, Baff, turn up the heat!"

The three dragons began shooting fire into the fields, trying to hit anyone on Team Cap, though some of their fire hit members on their side, including blasting Tigra as she leapt toward Taskmaster.

"Ha, lucky her," Taskmaster said, then took a blast of his own, another blast hitting both Remy and Applejack.

"Watch where you're firing!" Fleetfoot shouted, not that it mattered since Garble was too into it, even hitting Sky Stringer out of the air by mistake.

"No!" Vapor Trails immediately went to check on her friend.

Garble kept blasting as Johnny fought Angel Wings nearby, the mare trying to bring down the legendary hero.

"You know, I always thought you were pretty talented, shame Sky Stinger and Vapor Trails kind of showed everyone up, but I think you have what it takes to make it big," Johnny said.

"You're just trying to distract me," Angel Wings said, trying to go for a punch. "Well it's not gonna-"

"Watch out!" Johnny immediately grabbed Angel Wings and blocked an oncoming fire blast from Garble. "That was close, are you alright?"

"You saved me!?" Angel Wings asked.

"Well yeah, it's my job as a hero to-" Johnny's explanation was cut short when Garble punched him in the back, then used his tail to send him flying.

"Finally got you Torch!" Garble said.

"Hey you clutz, you nearly burned me a second ago!" Angel Wings said.

"Well, you're fine..." Garble said. "I have a job to do, if you're not gonna help then stay out of the way."

Suddenly Johnny flew in with a kick to Garble's face, "That's no way to talk to a lady."

Garble punched Johnny out of the air, sending more fire at the fire powered hero, leaving Angel Wings feeling a bit annoyed. "Some teammate."

In the distance, Rumble and Silverstream were finally about to fly into the battle, the Pegasus catching sight of the battle up ahead.

"There they are," Rumble turned to Silverstream. "Ready to do this?"

"Yeah, I think so," Silverstream said.

"Don't worry, we got this under control," Rumble said. "Plus your father should be joining us soon, with a bunch of Hippogriff Royal Guards. That should be more than enough to take down the opposition."

"I hope so," Silverstream said. "I mean, Captain Equestria is an Avenger, one of the leaders in fact. It won't be an easy fight."

"We're not going at it alone, looks like we'll have plenty of back-up," Rumble said. "Come on, let's hurry."

The two flew in, finally arriving in the middle of the battle scene, both making dramatic poses as they landed.

"Beware opposition!" Silverstream said.

"For we, the star Wonderbolts, have finally-" Rumble's part was interrupted by a whack to the head by Taskmaster's shield, who then proceeded to use that item to whack Silverstream in the face.

"Just took down two more of those superhero wannabes!" Taskmaster declared, this catching Cloudchaser's attention.

"Oh, you just crossed a line there buddy, no one hurts Rumble on my watch!" Cloudchaser flew in and punched Taskmaster across the jaw, then hit the villain with an uppercut to knock him back, dropping his weapons in the progress.

Rumble stood up, shaking off the whack to his head when he noticed his former foalsitter, "Oh, hey CC. You're here to fight too?"

"I flew in with Fleetfoot and some other mares," Cloudchaser said, then took notice of Silverstream. "Oh I know you, the Hippogriff Wonderbolt."

"Yeah," Silverstream said, shaking off her own hit. "I'm Silverstream, Rumble's partner."

"I've seen you around Ponyville a few times, you're part of Princess Twilight's School of Friendship," Cloudchaser said, then suddenly ducked a fireball, remembering that there's a battle going on. "Hey I'd love to talk more but we should-"

Suddenly Cloudchaser was flung away by Sugar Belle, the mare then catching note of Rumble and Silverstream, "Oh there's two more now."

"Yes, and one of them is my ex's little brother," Felicia said.

"Felicia?" Rumble said, noticing the mother of his niece.

"Hey there Rumble, so glad you can finally join us," Felicia teased. "Here to take me off to Canterlot?"

"Well, yeah, if I have to," Rumble said. "I mean, you did break out of Canterlot's dungeon, and you're in major violation of The Accords."

"So the rules say we have to arrest all of you," Silverstream said.

"Well you can try, but I doubt ether of you could catch me, or my team," Felicia taunted.

"You know the two of us are much faster than you, we can round you up in seconds," Rumble said. "Don't think just because you had a baby with my brother doesn't mean I'm going to take it easy on you."

"Well I do like it rough, can you help me with that handsome?" Felicia said, grossing out Rumble.

"Ew, no!" Rumble shouted. "I'm not getting it on with my brother's ex, or Peter's ex for that matter."

"Enough of your mind games, you need to surrender," Silverstream said. "I am prepared to use force if necessary, as is Rumble."

"Felicia, we do need to be careful, they're Wonderbolts," Sugar Belle said. "Plus, I'm not too comfortable fighting Rumble, he is Apple Bloom's boyfriend and I am friends with The Apples."

"Remember, anyone on Tony's side isn't a friend right now," Felicia said. "I'm not too thrilled to fight Rumble but we might not have a choice."

Suddenly Johnny landed nearby, surprising the two sides as he stood up, "Freaking Garble." He turned and saw that Rumble and Silverstream were now here, "Wait, when did they get here?"

"Just now," Felicia said.

"Rumble, Silverstream, aren't you two supposed to be stationed at Mount Aris?" Johnny asked.

"Fleetfoot called us over to stop you, so that's what we're here to do," Rumble said.

"Man, how desperate was Tony being?" Johnny said, then blocked a fire blast from Garble.

"I'm not done with you!" Garble stomped toward Johnny, Sugar Belle standing in the way and blasting him in the face. "Ow, stupid pony!" He immediately kicked her away, sending her flying.

"Sugar Belle!" Felicia shouted in worry, then focused her attention to Garble. "You're quite the thorn at our sides!"

"Uh, no, I'm a dragon, not a thorn," Garble said.

Felicia furrowed her brow at the dragon, "Wow you're dumb."

"You're the one calling me a thorn," Garble said, then noticed Rumble and Silverstream, "How many of you Pegasus ponies did they send over?"

"I'm a Hippogriff, not a Pegasus," Silverstream said.

"A Hippogriff? That's funny, my sister's friends with a Hippogriff," Garble said.

"If your sister's named Smolder, then I'm that friend, I'm Silverstream," the hippogriff introduced.

"Oooooh," Garble turned to the Pegasus. "Then who's this guy?"

"I'm Rumble, Honorary Member of the Parker-Sparkle Family, and fastest rising Wonderbolt star," the boy greeted.

"Rumble...wait, why does your name sound familiar?" Garble asked.

"Let's...not worry about that right now," Silverstream said. "Look, we're here to provide you backup."

"Do I look like I need backup?" Garble said. "I can take these losers on by my-"

Johnny flew in with a double punch to Garble's back, giving Felicia the opening to jump up and kick him in the face.

Baff and Fume noticed this situation, and rushed over to shoot fire, nearly hitting everyone surrounding Garble.

"Watch where you're aiming!" Rumble shouted.

"Maybe we should find Hercules or She-Hulk, see if they need help," Silverstream suggested.

"That would be a good idea, but..." Rumble gestured to the two heroes, both fighting against one another.

"Huh? Wait, aren't they supposed to be on the same side!?" Silverstream asked. "This is weird and confusing."

Hercules had knocked away She-Hulk, then an oncoming Tigra, even whacking away Fleetfoot, the God looking ready to take on all comers, "Anyone else!?"

"Hercules," Steve said. "Focus less on fighting and more on retreating, our goal is Canterlot."

"Yes, of course," Hercules said, this catching the attention of a nearby Rarity, the mare just about ready to strike.

"Hercules!" Janet called, making her way over with Spike, the sight of the dragon immediately causing Rarity to shift gears. "Are you really siding with Cap?"

"Yes, I think I've heard enough to know that these Accords just aren't what this world needs," Hercules said. "I want to do things the right way. The proper way."

"He might be right," Spike said. "Maybe The Accords could do with a change, I don't like having to hunt down my friends over stuff that could be properly resolved."

"Well, in that case," Janet turned to Steve. "Got room for two more?"

"Of course," Steve said. "What about Ember and the three dragons?"

"Burn!" Garble started spreading a lot of fire, doing his best to hit anyone he can.

"Garble! Enough!" Hercules shouted. "We're retreating now!"

"Are you serious!?" Garble shouted. "No way!"

"Hercules!" Ember said, getting his attention. "You get going, I'll make sure Garble joins us."

"Good to have you on board Princess," Steve said.

"Luna is not going to like this, but honestly, I never cared much for The Accords, I only went through with it out of respect for heroes like you, and friends like Spike, and a great man like Hercules," Ember said. "I couldn't care less about Tony Stark."

Rarity seemed a bit disappointed, but regardless had to change her attack plans, though not without Bobby's help.

"I'll clear a path," Hercules said. "You round up your allies."

Steve whistled loud to get his team's attention, "Everyone on Team Cap! Onward west!"

"Looks like Cap's finally calling the fight off," Sam said, whacking away Sky Stinger.

"Let's hurry everyone!" Matt called, fending off Pickle and Barley as he began to make his escape, everyone doing their best to fight the enemies off.

Spike and Janet did their best to help, blasting everyone on the side of The Accords to clear a path, the others tried making their escape.

Misty Fly was engaged in battle with Bucky, trying to knock him off balance, "I'm not letting you get away!"

"Take this!" Sugar Belle blasted Misty Fly away, keeping her away from Bucky.

"Thanks Sugar Belle, owe you for that," Bucky said.

"You already helped me, not that it's about being even, teammates help each other out regardless," Sugar Belle said.

"Got that right," Bucky said, then called over. "Sandman! Make a wall!"

"Sure thing Bucky!" Sandman said, using his powers to block everyone off, though the Wonderbolts used their speed to destroy the sand walls as fast as he put them up.

"That won't hold them for long, everyone keep moving! Quickly!" Lizard ordered.

She-Hulk had regained composure and leapt after the enemies, but in a quick second, got hit in the face with Remy's card, Applejack rushing over for one more buck kick, rather two more after that to really knock She-Hulk off balance and out of the way.

"Applejack!" Rumble called, getting her attention, the Pegasus flying over and knocking her over. "Come on! Stop making this hard! I need to bring you back home! For Apple Bloom's sake!"

"Let me give you some advice Rumble," Applejack said. "You wanna be a hero? Think about what that means fer you! Not what it means from someone else!"

"Huh? What does that-" his question was interrupted when Applejack headbutted him, leaving him in a daze.

"Sorry about that, but hopefully you make the right choice soon," Applejack said.

"Professor Applejack! Wait up!" Silverstream called. However Remy took the moment to whack her with his staff baton, knocking her into a daze as well.

"You got a lot to learn too, Silverstream," Remy said, following Team Cap.

"Is this everyone!?" Dwayne asked.

Steve did a quick count, factoring in the new recruits, "Ember and her three dragons aren't here."

Hercules turned around, "Ember!"

"Just go!" Ember called, the dragon doing battle against several Wonderbolts at once, holding her own well until she was frozen in a block of ice by an even more infuriated Bobby, having made his return to the battlefield.

"That should cool you off," Bobby said, readying more ice. "You're not getting away this time!"

"Hercules! Run!" Ember called.

"But..." Hercules was reluctant to leave her behind.

"Herc, we gotta go, if we go back we're just going to get overwhelmed," Sam said.

"It's over!" Bobby charged up and sent a flurry of more ice at Steve's group, Johnny quickly flying in and using as much heat as he could to block the ice, melting it on impact. Spike rushed in to help with his own fire to give Johnny an extra advantage as the flames began to reach the other side.

"Watch out!" Tigra called.

Bobby put up a massive ice wall to stop the fire, though the blast did knock everyone back as the combination of extreme cold and heat created a mighty gust, giving Team Cap more than enough time to escape and put a distance.

"To Appaloosa!" Steve said. "Hurry!"

Hercules kept looking back, feeling ashamed of abandoning his friend, "Ember..."

"I know it's hard to leave a teammate behind," Bucky said. "But staying would have resulted in more fighting."

"She'll be fine, enemies or not, Tony's side won't actually hurt her," Steve said. "At least, I hope they don't."

Team Stark had recovered eventually from the massive windstorm, looking ahead to see that everyone was gone, needless to say, Bobby was not happy. "Dammit! They got away!"

"They couldn't have gone that far, let's follow them!" Fleetfoot said.

"Hold on, first thing's first," She-Hulk said, gesturing to Ember. "What do we do with her?"

"Right, the Dragon Lord," Bobby said. "Gotta say, this does not look good for Equestria's relationship with Dragons."

"Is it really a surprise? I kind of suspected our alliance would be temporary," Fleetfoot said. "Dragons have always been enemies to ponies."

"At least dragons are more united than ponies, or humans for that matter," Ember said.

"Yeah, united in burning everything to the ground," Bobby said, gesturing to a dazed Garble. "Like that dumbass over there!"

"Who are you calling a dumbass!?" Garble was about to breath fire when Bobby froze his head.

"We got your back Garble!" Fume said, about to attack when Sky Stinger and Vapor Trails flew in and kicked him in the face, with Night Glider kicking him in the stomach, following up with an uppercut.

Baff was about to attack but Fleetfoot flew in, quickly creating a mini tornado alongside Misty Fly and Pizzelle, one that lifted the dragon up, the three immediately following up with a kick to bring him down.

Garble stumbled a bit, using a combination of his fire and nearby rocks to break the ice that was around his head, taking a moment to breathe again. "That's it, I am really going to make this hurt! Accords! Rebels! It doesn't matter to me now! I'm just ready to unleash chaos!"

"Watch out!" Came a voice. Garble turned around and took a huge clonk to his head, courtesy of an iron suit that finally crashed near the members of The Accords.

"What in the world?" Fleetfoot said, raising her eyebrow as Garble finally fell over, the clonk to his head being enough to render him immobile.

Bobby cautiously checked on the suit, curious to see who this was. Suddenly the suit stood up, the pony desperately removing the helmet, that pony being Coco Pommel.

"Finally!" the mare shouted. "I'm free!"

"Coco?" Rarity said, getting her attention.

"Miss Rarity!" Coco trotted over to the mare, embracing her in a relieved hug. "I'm so happy to see you!"

"Coco dear, what in the world happened?" Rarity asked.

"I'll be happy to explain, but first get me out of this suit!" Coco shouted in worry. "It's so hot in here, and I don't want to risk flying for an unforeseen amount of time!"

"Oh sure, let me..." Rarity looked over the suit. "Uh...how does this come off?"

"We should just tear it off," Sky Stinger said.

"Do that and you'll tick off Tony Stark," Bobby said, using his powers to cool the mare. "Just stick with it a bit longer Coco, we'll talk to Tony and see if we can get this suit off properly."

"Oh no, we can't do that!" Coco said. "What if I get fired!?"

"He's gonna find out, especially since he has a tracking device for his suits, he'll know it got used," Bobby said. "Just be honest with him, it's your best option."

"Uh, alright..." Coco said.

"Plus, you did just knock out that stubborn dragon, so that's a plus," Wind Sprint said.

"Oh, I did?" Coco turned to face Garble, the dragon still knocked out. "Wait, is that a violation of The Accords?"

"Eh...we'll leave that part out, I mean it was just an accident after all, don't want to risk you getting banished to Earth over an accident," Bobby said.

"B-b-banished!?" Coco shouted in worry.

"You'll be fine, like we said, we got you covered," Fleetfoot said.

"Wow, so compassionate," Ember mocked.

"You be quiet," Fleetfoot warned. "You may have doomed your own race with your choices.”

"Silverstream!" Came Terramar's voice, the boy flying in with his father and some guards. "Finally caught up to you."

"Terramar? Dad?" Silverstream said.

"General Sky Beak?" Fleetfoot said.

"Looks like the battle is over," Sky Beak said. "What happened if I may ask."

"Cap's team escaped, after Hercules and his squad turned on us," Fleetfoot said, gesturing to Ember. "We captured the Dragon Lord and three of her dragons, but a fourth along with Hercules and another hero got away."

"I see, how unfortunate," Sky Beak said. "What will you do with these Dragons then?"

"We should hear what Tony Stark has to say," Fleetfoot said.

"I'll call him," Bobby said, grabbing his radio.

---

At Canterlot, Tony was still checking his pad for all registered towns, through the eyes and lenses of the Patroller Bots. "Maybe I should have Reed and Hank make more of these to check the other towns."

"Is that a good idea?" Spitfire asked. "I mean, The Accords don't even reach all of the towns."

"Even if there's no hero assigned, Luna can easily decree that there must be robots there, if at least until we find Cap," Tony said. "Equestria is still her country."

"That it is," Luna said, making her presence known.

"Any luck with whatever you were doing with your magic?" Tony asked.

"It was of no use, I could not detect any significant magical signatures, and the Dream World offers little information," Luna said.

"Well that sucks," Tony replied.

"Also, I should inform you that Peter just contacted me, he's going to pursue Captain Equestria himself," Luna said.

"That's great, does he know where he is?" Tony asked.

"No, but he and Twilight will set out to do their best, at least after Twilight attends to personal matters," Luna said.

"Well that's better than nothing," Tony said. "Now, about those robots, you gave the all-clear, right?"

"Yes, you may do what you must, I will personally ensure that there is no issue," Luna said.

"That's great," Tony said, then heard his radio. "Yeah?"

"Tony, it's Bobby," the ice user greeted.

"Hey Bobby, tell me you have some good news for me," Tony said.

"Uh...well..." Bobby awkwardly began, causing frustration for Tony.

"What happened?" the Avenger asked.

"For starters, we couldn't capture Cap's team," Bobby said. "To make matters worse, Hercules and his allies took their side."

"He what!?" Tony shouted in annoyance. "That’s the second time this happened!"

"Well, we managed to capture the dragons he was with, except for Spike, he got away," Bobby said.

Tony sighed in relief, "At least we don't have that to worry about, aside from a potential incident with the Dragons now."

"If the Dragons betrayed us, the incident is on them," Luna said.

"One of the dragons we captured was Ember, the Dragon Lord," Bobby said. "Not sure if that works to our advantage or not."

"It might," Luna said. "Of course we will need to play our cards carefully."

"Alright, Bobby, send me the coordinates so I can get them,” Tony said.

"Actually, you might be able to find another way, but it will require someone else to explain what that means" Bobby said.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Tony asked.

"Um...hello Mr. Stark, nice hearing your voice," Coco said.

"Coco? What are you doing out there?" Tony asked.

"Oh it's a funny story, I kind of accidentally flew one of your suits out into battle," Coco admitted.

"I'm sorry, you did what!?" Tony asked, checking his tracker signal and GPS. Indeed one of his suits was indeed far away from Manehattan and around the area Bobby's team was suspected to be. "Wow, you're not pulling my leg, you really did fly one of my suits."

"Wait I just realized, you flew all the way here from Manehattan," Bobby said. "That is not a short distance."

"Yeah, I was stuck like that for...honestly I lost track of time due to all the screaming," Coco said.

"Oh you poor dear, that must have been terrifying for you," Rarity said.

"I don't know how Mr. Stark can keep himself composed in a suit like that," Coco said.

"It takes practice," Tony said. "Anyway, I'll deal with what you did later, for now I'm heading over there to pick up the captives and hopefully figure out this Dragon situation."

"What about Cap?" Bobby asked. "He just went west toward Appaloosa."

"That's just one stop," Rarity said. "His main goal is Canterlot, I think he's coming after you Tony, right after he rounds up an army."

"Figured as much," Tony said, checking his database. "Of course he's running low on options. Aside from some Wonderbolts in spare towns, and The Crystal Empire which is way up north, the only other major city that has heroes is Las Pegasus, at the moment they're still rebuilding from the big crash a few weeks back. Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Jessica Jones are all currently stationed there."

"Las Pegasus is West of Appaloosa," Fleetfoot said. "But, for all we know, they might try going by Ponyville instead since it's closer and enroute toward Canterlot, bypassing Las Pegasus completely."

"Alright, since we have an idea of what Steve's pattern is, we'll change our strategy," Tony said. "For now, I'll be sending some heroes to Las Pegasus to make sure nothing screwy happens. The rest of you stay put for the moment, I don't want any of you losing track of those dragons."

"So, you're alright with letting Cap go on ahead?" She-Hulk asked.

"If you pursue him, he's just going to expect it, we might need to change up some strategy," Stark said. "Plus, we know where his end point is at, might as well let him come here and we'll end it there."

"Taking a huge risk Tony, but I suppose that's what makes you top dog," Bobby said. "Alright, we'll hang back for now."

"Be there in a few," Tony said, turning his radio off.

"If you're going, then I should as well," Luna said. "Especially if this is going to involve conflict with The Dragons."

"I can come too, just to provide extra backup," Spitfire said.

"Fine by me, but who's gonna watch over the castle?" Tony asked.

As if on cue, Vision had made his presence known, "Tony, a guest is here, he calls himself a Prince."

"Prince Blueblood to be exact," came the pony in question.

"Blueblood? What brings you here?" Luna asked of her distant nephew.

"It's those robots, they are proving to be quite bothersome, I cannot go five feet without bumping into one lately and having it scan me," Blueblood said.

"Yeah, sorry about that, I had to beef up security in some places, hopefully it's not too bad," Tony said.

Meanwhile in Manehattan.

"Halt, I must scan you," A Patroller Bot said.

"Will you get away from me!" Came the voice of fleeing Aunt Orange.

Back in Canterlot, Blueblood still seemed less than thrilled, "Well please do fix it, I am not against the idea of these things if they're meant to keep us safe but there is such a thing as going overboard Mr. Stark."

"I'll work on it," Tony said. "Right now, I gotta check in on a battle."

"A battle? Does this have to do with Captain Equestria and his treachery?" Blueblood asked.

"Yeah, I have to find Steve and talk some sense into him," Tony said. "Or beat it into him, whichever works."

"I'm good with beating it into him," Spitfire said.

"Blueblood, would you mind watching over the city while we're gone?" Luna asked.

"Me? Wait, what about Aunt Celestia? Where has she been?" Blueblood asked.

"On vacation, you should know this, we let you know the week she left," Luna said.

"But it has been such a long time, Aunt Celestia is not one to stay away for so long," Blueblood said.

"I can handle Equestria until she gets back, I've done a good job of raising both the sun and moon just like she has," Luna said.

"Have I ever vocalized how weird that was? Like is this world Geocentric or something? Do you not revolve around the sun?" Tony asked. "Also does the moon not revolve around this planet?"

"Tony, I've told you before, our Astronomy is different than yours, Celestia and I control the sun and moon, it's that simple," Luna said.

"But it's just...you know, kind of weird," Tony said. "I mean, even with all the mythology in my world, at least we're still a Heliocentric Solar System."

"Can we discuss this later?" Luna asked.

"Or we can discuss it on the way, good to pass the time," Tony said.

Luna groaned in annoyance, "Whatever tickles your fancy. Blueblood, please keep watch, we won't be gone long."

"If you need help, Vision's here to guide you," Tony said.

"See ya," Spitfire said, the three finally flying off.

"That was odd," Blueblood said, then turned to Vision. "What exactly is happening?"

"Tony Stark is trying to implement change to this world, he hopes to improve upon it and make it a better living place for all residents," Vision explained. "Then he hopes to bring this to our world."

"I see, and do you think he's doing a good job?" Blueblood asked.

"I have my worries, Tony Stark means well but he does seem to focus too much on the long term and barely sees what's in front of his eyes," Vision said. "If he listened to Steve, the one you call 'Captain Equestria', then I feel like this could have been avoided."

"What about Aunt Celestia? Why isn't she in power like she should be?" Blueblood asked.

"A woman named Carol Danvers planted doubt in her rule," Vision said. "She believed she should not have all the power."

"Carol Danvers...Captain Marvel," Blueblood remembered. "I believe she is at my cousin's Kingdom of The Crystal Empire. I do hope nothing happens to Cadance, or her lovely daughter. Now, you...uh, I do not recall your name."

"I am known as Vision," the robot said.

"Vision, tell me all you can about these Accords," Blueblood said. "Maybe while I'm at it, I can call a meeting with Starswirl and his Pillars, once they've returned from The School of Magic."

It was around this time, Twilight arrived at the EEA HQ, "Alright, here's hoping things go well, for the sake of my School." She went inside, ready to explain everything to a hopefully understanding Neighsay.

---

Tony, Luna and Spitfire soared through the skies at incredible speed, all of them doing their best to keep at pace with one another as they made their way to the location East of Appaloosa. Their flight did not go unnoticed by the likes of Logan's group, who had by this point left Deadpool and Pinkie Pie in the dust.

"Where do you think they're heading in such a hurry?" Laura wondered.

"You think they found Cap?" Fluttershy asked.

"Hope not, still, it must be something big if Stark, Luna and Spitfire are all flying over in a hurry," Logan said.

"We should hurry, Cap might need our help," Laura said.

"Wait, hold on, what if there's a fight?" Thunderlane asked.

"Even better," Lightning Dust said. "I'm ready to kick some flank."

"Let's hope we don't have to fight though, we're in this to resolve the conflict, not make it worse," Fluttershy said.

"Come on Thunder, if you get scared, I'll hold your hoof," Lightning Dust said, winking at the stallion.

"Don't be cute," Thunderlane said.

"Eh, can't help it," Lightning Dust insisted, earning an eyeroll from Thunderlane.

"Let's try to focus here," Logan said. "Move foward."

In addition to Logan's group, the passing trio were noticed by Rainbow Dash and Gilda.

"Tony, Luna and Spitfire must have found Cap's team, I bet that's why they're all together," Rainbow Dash said.

"Should we follow them?" Gilda asked.

"Yeah, but keep a distance, fly low and avoid their detection," Rainbow Dash said, the two following after the trio.

It wasn't long before Tony, Luna and Spitfire had made it to the coordinates from the suit Coco had on, the entirety of the opposition still waiting.

"Wow, that was fast," Bobby said.

"You sound surprised, "Tony said, removing his helmet and gazing upon the four dragons. "Ember..."

"Stark..." Ember greeted.

Luna, alongside Spitfire, landed down as well, looking much more irritated, "Ember, I am very disappointed in you. After all we've done to help you and your Dragons feel included, you go and betray us?”

"I did what I had to do," Ember said. "Tony Stark's plan had flaws, all of The Accords had flaws."

"Is that a conclusion you came to on your own? Or did Steve Rogers just tell you this?" Luna asked.

"Capturing Steve Rogers to you feels more like you wanting to win, rather than doing the right thing," Ember said. "Personally I never cared for your rules, but I wanted to play nice for the time being, for the sake of Spike, his wife, his daughter and Smolder. But there's only so much nonsense I can take, and with Hercules deciding against your silly rules, the decision was easy for me."

"Well, I hope you're proud of yourself Ember, but know this, your choice could effectively make life hard for your Dragon subjects," Tony said. "But, I am a reasonable man, if you agree to cooperate from here on out, we can forgive your mistake and all will be forgiven."

"And if I don't?" Ember asked. "You gonna banish me to Earth? I'm not a citizen of Equestria, nor am I a superhero from Earth working here, your rules don't affect me."

"Wait, does she have Diplomatic Immunity? Like Doctor Doom?" Bobby asked.

"She might actually," She-Hulk said. "I know when Grandpa Gruff signed with The Accords, he noticed that the Griffons could not be punished by Equestrian Law, any violation would be handled by their own law. The same applies to The Hippogriffs, and especially The Dragons. Ember cannot be punished by Equestrian Law, and neither can her three Dragons. Only ponies and Earth heroes can, even ones that were assigned to lands outside of Equestria."

"This isn't fair though, she brought the dragons into battle and turned her back on us, she needs a brand of punishment," Bobby said.

"This was an oversight on our part, Bobby," Luna said. "We did not consider The Leaders betraying us. However, this is still a violation of our contract agreement, and there will be consequences regardless."

"Ember, we can't banish you out of this world, but we can prevent you and your dragons from stepping foot on Equestrian Land," Tony said. "If you're not going to cooperate, then you're not welcome in this country."

"Exactly," Luna said. "Ember, you are no longer allowed in Equestria for the foreseeable future, and that includes your subjects. Violation is grounds for war, push us hard enough and we will kick you out of this world."

"Um, excuse me, Princess Luna, Mr. Stark, Captain Spitfire," Silverstream said, getting their attention. "Are all dragons going to be banished? Because one of my friends attends Princess Twilight's school."

"Also, what about Spike?" Rarity asked. "I know he's opposed to us but, would he be banished to the Dragon Lair too? I was hoping we could resolve that issue."

"Well, Spike is a resident of Ponyville, thus out of Ember's rule," Luna said. "But that means he's under our mercy, so his punishment will be reflected by how much trouble he gives us."

"Well, alright," Rarity said, a bit concerned for the dragon. "There is a chance he'll listen to reason, I know Spike, and I know when it comes down to it, he will make the right choice in the end."

"We'll trust your judgement," Tony said.

"As for the student at Twilight Sparkle's school though," Luna said, thinking it over. "I hate to have to do this but, given that she is one of Ember's subjects, I may have to include her in the Dragon banishment."

"Wait don't!" Silverstream said. "What if she moves to Ponyville? Or she can move to Mount Aris! You can't take her from Ponyville, she's really happy there!"

"Yeah, leave my sister out of this!" Garble shouted.

"You be quiet!" Fleetfoot warned.

"Make me!" Garble shouted, then took a blast to the face from Tony's Repulsor.

"Wow he's obnoxious," Tony said. "Anyway, Luna, I think the fair thing would be to give this girl a chance. She is one of Twilight's students, and technically didn't do anything wrong."

"Tony, if we bend the rules for her, then we have to bend them for a lot of other creatures," Luna said.

"Eh, it shouldn't be too bad, I mean she's technically living in Ponyville," Spitfire said.

Luna shook her head, "I know what you're saying, but-"

"Let me try something," Tony said, then turned to Ember. "Tell me, do you care about this girl?"

Ember thought about denying it, but she didn't have the heart to do so, "What if I do?"

"If you do, then you'll honor your banishment from our world," Tony said. "If you promise not to cause any more trouble, then this girl can stay in Ponyville. Break your promise, and she's going back home. But know this, if she breaks the law herself for your sake, then she'll be punished by OUR law, deal?"

"Huh? You can't punish her by your law," Ember said.

"Spitfire said it herself, she's technically living in Ponyville, so she's under our mercy too," Tony said. "Now, I promise nothing will happen to her, she won't be mistreated by any heroes for being a dragon, I'm not one for discrimination, and I trust no one else is either."

"She'll be safe in Ponyville, I'll keep an eye on her myself if need be," Rarity said.

"This is up to you Ember. Make the right choice." Ember was reluctant to answer, this annoying Tony. Don’t try my patience. I'm doing you a favor and I'm doing a favor for that girl. You brought this on yourself for betraying us."

"Make an actual good choice today!" Spitfire said. "Or if you want, I'll fly down to Ponyville and get rid of her myself!"

"Don't!" Ember shouted in a pleading tone, her sudden reaction getting everyone on edge and ready to fight. Reluctantly, she agreed to these terms. "Fine...just don't do anything to Smolder."

"Good, I'm glad we could avoid any more trouble," Tony said, trying to regain his calm demeanor. "Now, I'm going to escort you and your dragons back home and explain this development to your father."

"I will accompany you Tony, you'll need assistance with these dragons," Luna said.

"I'm coming as well," Spitfire said. "In case things go wrong and you need assistance."

"What should we do?" Bobby asked.

"Should we intercept Steve in Ponyville?" Jen asked.

"Actually, all of you go to Canterlot," Tony said. "Wait there, since that's where Steve's gonna be, it'd be better if we were all ready to ambush him. I'm going to send some heroes to Las Pegasus to let Luke, Danny and Jessica know about the plan."

"What about Ponyville?" Bobby asked. "Cap's team might pass through there to meet up with Peter and the heroes there too."

"Who's assigned to Ponyville?" Tigra asked.

"Peter, Firestar and Deadpool," Tony said. "Peter's not in town though, but I can contact him and see if he can head back."

"Even if he does, is he enough against Cap?" Bobby asked.

"If his wife's with him, totally," Spitfire said. "She's an Equestrian Princess, making her one of this world's strongest."

"But Cap has Hercules now," Tigra said. "Can she match that? Or Spider-Man for that matter?"

Tony groaned in annoyance, "Why? Why must you make us worry?"

"It is important to consider all possibilities," She-Hulk said.

"If anything we'll send Carol down there," Luna said.

"Or her sidekick," Spitfire said.

"Alright, good, back on track," Tony said. "There's still the matter of guarding that Crystal Heart though."

"If you need assistance at The Crystal Empire, I'd be happy to lend my assistance," Sky Beak said.

"That would be great, assuming Cadance is alright with it," Tony said.

"She should be," Luna said.

"Alright, we'll set something up, for now, would you mind coming with me, Luna and Spitfire?" Tony asked. That way we can fly over with you and plan your team's settlement."

"Sure, that's fine with me," Sky Beak said.

"Hey Tony, what about Logan?" Bobby asked. "Suppose he gets mixed up in this?"

"Again with the worries," Tony said.

"It'll be fine, we can stay on standby in case our assistance is needed," Fleetfoot said.

"I can send a couple of my Bolts to Ponyville if you want," Spitfire said.

"I volunteer!" Silverstream said, raising her hand. "Send me and Rumble Captain Spitfire!"

"Alright, Silverstream and Rumble, you two fly off to Ponyville and keep an eye on things," Spitfire said. "Make sure everyone calls for back-up if things really start to look bad."

"You got it," Rumble said.

"Also, Rumble, you're Thunderlane's little brother, right?" Tony asked.

"Sure am," Rumble said.

"Keep an eye on him too, he offered to find Cap's team, mostly for Felicia," Tony said.

"You got it," Rumble said. "Ready to fly Silver?"

"Wait up," Ember said, getting the attention of everyone present. "Silverstream...if you see Smolder, tell her to stay out of trouble, and that I'm sorry for any hardship she might endure."

"Sure, I will Ember," Silverstream said, flying off with her partner.

"Come on," Tony said, leading the Dragon Lord away with his team, Luna using her magic to grab the other three dragons.

"Alright, the rest of us should get going too," Bobby said. "Onward to Canterlot."

As everyone else made their move, Rainbow Dash and Gilda popped out of a bush, taking not of the situation.

"That looked troubling," Gilda said.

"No doubt, come on, let's head towards Appaloosa, Johnny's probably there," Rainbow Dash said, the two flying off.

They weren't the only ones to take notice, making herself visible was Susan, "Now we know where Johnny is, and what Tony's planning."

Growing back to normal size beside her was Scott, "So how do we use this to our advantage?"

"Follow Rainbow Dash's lead, fly us to Appaloosa," Susan said, turning invisible again.

"You got it," Scott said, shrinking down and grabbing Susan to fly her off.

---

Meanwhile in Ponyville, a group of teen fillies were seen modeling some clothes they borrowed from Rarity's Boutique, that of course being Apple Bloom Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Dinky, Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara, alongside the Student trio of Smolder, Ocellus and Cozy Glow.

"Aren't these clothes fabulous?" Sweetie Belle said, modeling a dress. "I prefer the line that Lily Lace made, she has the modern style all ponies need."

"I like Starstreak," Dinky said, modeling her own sci-fi look. "I bet he could make something for Doc."

"Inky Rose has a unique flair to her as well," Silver Spoon said, modeling something gothic looking.

"Ew, you are not wearing that in my presence," Diamond Tiara said.

"Have a little fun, Dia," Apple Bloom said. "It's all about finding your style."

"I found mine," Scootaloo said, wearing a Fantastic Four type jumpsuit. "Can't believe Rarity actually has one of these."

"My sister has a bunch of clothes in reserves for some heroes here," Sweetie Belle said. “She has several for Peter alone."

"Think she'll mind if I hold onto this one?" Scootaloo asked.

"Actually, we should put them back, we're trying out the clothes, not taking them," Apple Bloom said.

"Tell that to Cozy Glow," Sweetie Belle said, gesturing to the filly modeling in front of a mirror. "She seems adamant on that one."

"Hey Celly, how about this? Would Sandy like it?" Cozy Glow asked.

"Sandbar would like anything you're in, you're already a pretty filly, Cozy," Ocellus said.

"Aw thanks," Cozy Glow said. "Are you having fun Smoldy?"

"Don't call me that!" Smolder said, the dragon wearing a nice dress and some make-up. "I feel silly."

"Come on, you look nice," Ocellus said, gesturing to The Crusaders. "Doesn't she look nice?"

"Yeah, you look great Smolder," Apple Bloom said.

"Not bad," Silver Spoon said. "Right Dia?"

"Yeah, sure," Diamond Tiara said. "Not as pretty as me, but she's alright."

"Kind of hard to match you in style, Dia," Sweetie Belle said, taking a good look at Smolder. "But, even I have to admit it, you look well Smolder."

The dragon seemed doubtful, "Come on, you don't mean that."

"No, I do," Sweetie Belle said. "The dress really brings out your eyes, and you look great with that make-up. You really should show this side of you more often, you really pull the look off, I feel like anypony could swoon over you."

Smolder turned away to hide her blush, "Like I care, I just did this because Ocellus wanted me to."

"It's your choice, but I really do think you look very pretty," Sweetie Belle said.

"Don't sweet talk me, we're rivals remember?" Smolder said.

"Well yeah, I guess we are, but we can put it aside once in a while," Sweetie Belle said.

“We can be friendly Rivals,” Ocellus said. "I really do like the idea of being friends with The Cutie Mark Crusaders after all."

"And me too, you better want to be my friend, I'm rich!" Diamond Tiara said.

"Dia..." Apple Bloom said in annoyance, then turned to Ocellus. "Forgive her, she's really nice, but she's still learning social cues."

"She probably needs the School of Friendship," Cozy Glow said.

"Pfft, I go to a Private School, I don't need a Friendship School," Diamond Tiara said.

"Too bad we never got to go," Sweetie Belle said. "But it's fine, I guess since I already have the girls, I don't need to worry about making friends."

“That’s a great mindset Sweetie Belle,” Ocellus said. “You girls would make for good Friendship Examples.”

"That sounds nice," Apple Bloom said, then noticed the time. "Hey girls, we should probably be leaving, we got a filly to foalsit."

"Do we really need to?" Scootaloo asked. "Trixie’s probably home."

"Ah want to get a head start, plus ah figured we could organize a sleepover," Apple Bloom said. "Good chance to bond with Mayday."

"She doesn't seem to like us much though," Scootaloo said.

"Come on, she likes us, at least a little," Apple Bloom said. "Sure, she was jealous once because she wanted to spend time with Rumble, and she basically had to compete with us to get that, but ah feel like things are different now."

"I'm not sure, she didn't seem too thrilled about us foalsitting her," Sweetie Belle said.

"Let's just give it a go, ah promised Peter and ah want to keep that promise," Apple Bloom said. "Ah want to do more than keep it actually, ah want to make it worth something. I'm gonna be a mom in less than a year, the more practice around kids, the better. Thankfully ah have some practice with mah two nephews and mah niece, and Mayday's like family to me too so ah want to be there fer her."

"That's very admirable of you Apple Bloom, you're going to be a great mother," Ocellus said.

"Thanks, mighty kind of ya," Apple Bloom said, removing her dress. "Come on girls."

"You three can stay a bit longer, just don't mess anything up," Sweetie Belle said, removing hers as well, same with the other girls. "Lily, Star and Inky should be here soon to close this place up, don't create more work for them."

"Hey if we're spending the night at Princess Twilight's house, let me go home and get some stuff so I can be comfortable," Diamond Tiara said, leaving with her friends.

"They're really nice when they're not rivalling us," Ocellus said.

"Eh, I still don't trust them, plus they did some trashy things to us that I'm not ready to just let slide," Smolder said.

"We have to learn to forgive, it's what Kurt would want us to do," Ocellus said.

"I'm not a Saint like Kurt, I don't just forgive things," Smolder said. "Honestly I don't know how he can go his life without getting angry at stuff."

"He does get angry Smolder, he just manages his emotions," Ocellus said. "He's not always perfect about it, but no one's perfect. That's why we have to be tolerant and forgiving."

"Golly, seems like you take his preaching to heart," Cozy Glow said.

"When you spend time with him in the Church, and hear him discuss his Religion, you pick up on a few things," Ocellus said. "I've learned a lot about the God he worships, and I wonder if that same God watches over us too."

"Eh, maybe," Smolder said. "I respect Kurt, but I don't really find this Religion stuff that fascinating."

"He's aware that not everyone's religious, and we don't need to be," Ocellus said. "We don't need to be religious to be good creatures, and that's honestly all he wants from us, to be good to others and to be happy, each in our own way."

"I do like the idea of being happy," Cozy Glow said. "One day, I want to spread that happiness to others in my own special way."

"I can respect that," Smolder said. "You know, ever since he told us about being a Changeling, he's felt even more relieved than normal."

"Because he's not hiding a part of himself that he was once ashamed of, he's learned to embrace it," Ocellus said. "Something you need to do Smolder, if you need Kurt's help, just tell him, that's what he's there for, to help us."

"I'll think about it," Smolder said. "Anyway, we should probably head back to the school, let's get out of these clothes."

"Too bad, I really liked this dress," Cozy Glow said, looking back to the skirt. "I feel like Sandy would like it too."

"Another time maybe," Ocellus said, to Cozy's disappointment. "Come on, let's hurry on out of here."

---

Later at the Parker-Sparkle home, the teen fillies had arrived at the Library, knocking on the door and awaiting an answer.

"How much luggage did you bring?" Scootaloo asked, gesturing to Diamond's large bag.

"I like to be prepared," Diamond Tiara said.

"That you do, Dia," Apple Bloom said. Eventually the door finally answered. "Howdy Trixie, we're here to watch over Mayday, and possibly spend the night."

"Spend the night? Peter didn't mention anything like that," Trixie said. "But, I'm not opposed to it, the extra help would be nice. Starlight's doing a lot of paperwork and I did need some time to map out my next tour spots."

"Is Autumn Blaze here?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"She's entertaining Benjy and Hope while Aunt May cooks some dinner," Trixie said. "Come on in."

The six fillies went inside, the Library didn't look too different than normal, despite the renovations it's had to fit more ponies living inside. For the core Crusaders, it brought back memories of the time Twilight used to give them personal tutoring.

"I forgot how much I used to like spending time here," Sweetie Belle said. "Having Twilight teach me magic is one of my fondest memories."

"Same with me and the potions, ah mean I still like doing those with Zecora from time to time, even if life's been keeping us busy," Apple Bloom said.

"Well we are Cutie Mark Crusaders, and we have a duty to help ponies find their Cutie Marks or understand them," Scootaloo said. "Still, repairing stuff like a mechanic was definitely fun."

"So, where's Mayday?" Dinky asked.

"In the lab downstairs with Franklin," Trixie said, making her way to the door and opening it. "Mayday! Franklin! The Crusaders are here!"

"Good for them!" Mayday said.

Trixie furrowed her brow, "You could at least come greet them, they came here to watch over you."

"Come on Mayday, just a few minutes wouldn't hurt," Franklin said.

"Ugh, fine Frankie," Mayday said, dropping whatever it was she was doing.

"What's down there I wonder?" Diamond Tiara asked.

"Just some stuff Peter and Mayday invented," Trixie said. "Things like the Twilight Arms, which are blaster gauntlets."

"Ooh, somehow I'm getting unpleasant memories," Apple Bloom said.

"Hey those memories are unpleasant for Peter too, but according to Peter, those came in handy in that dystopian future," Trixie said.

"Where I was a rebel leader," Sweetie Belle said. "Honestly, if I wanted to, I could join the Equestrian Avengers thing and be a kick-butt agent."

"Not a good time to consider joining The Avengers," Apple Bloom said. "Anyway, what else is down there?"

"I know he has a car that he never uses," Trixie said. "Mainly since Celestia would prefer he didn't use one."

"Which my daddy agreed to for some reason," Mayday said, coming upstairs with Franklin. "There's a lot of stuff down there, including my glider, which those stupid robots won't let me fly."

"You mean those Patroller Robots?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Those things are kind of weird."

"Doc's pride and joy," Dinky said. "Well sort of, Mr. Richards helped with them too."

"Mah family don't like them much, but from what I've seen, if you don't do nothing bad, they don't bother you," Apple Bloom said.

"I think they're kind of cute," Silver Spoon said, earning a few glares. "What, they are."

"You have weird tastes," Mayday said, to Silver Spoon's annoyance. "Anyway, there's plenty down there, including tech my daddy got from other worlds, like Blastia, Materia and Kryptonian Tech. He's implementing everything he can into a top-secret project that according to daddy, will make him stronger than ever to protect everyone."

"Can we see?" Dinky asked.

"No, it's Top Secret, only trusted family members can know," Mayday said, then placed her arm around Franklin. "And my best friend."

"He's your only friend," Trixie said.

"Oh quality over quantity," Mayday said.

"Also, Apple Bloom here is like family to your dad, and she's Rumble's girlfriend, I think she has a right to know," Trixie said.

Mayday groaned in annoyance, "Fine...All of you come with me, do NOT break anything in the lab or I will break you."

"You're like half our size, how are you gonna break us?" Diamond Tiara said.

"I have my ways," Mayday said. "Follow me."

"Mayday, you have to be a bit nicer," Franklin said as he followed his friend down.

"I am nice, I'm showing them aren't I?" Mayday asked.

Diamond Tiara groaned, "What a brat."

"Are you in any position to talk?" Dinky asked.

"At least I have more than one friend," Diamond Tiara said.

"She's eight, don't let her get to you," Silver Spoon said.

Down in the lab below, the teens could see everything, it was a large bunker with several gadgets, test tubes, chemistry kits, webbing. Even his Spider Mobile, which was kept really clean despite it never being used.

There were even extra suits that Peter had, amazing the girls

"So many suits," Sweetie Belle said.

"My dad likes to keep extra in stock, he usually just sticks to what he has but he does have plenty in reserves," Mayday said. "Some suits are for stealth, some are hi-tech similar to stuff that Mr. Stark has, he even has a Fantastic Four suit with a paper bag next to it for some reason."

"Oh there's a reason, just ask my uncle," Franklin said.

"Hey that suit looks like the one he has now, but with a white spider mark," Sweetie Belle said.

"Oh yeah, he mentioned wanting that to be a new design," Mayday said. "Personally I think the white is an eyesore and clashes with the design."

"Do you really? I think it looks fine, I mean it almost resembles the American Flag, Red White and Blue," Franklin said. "With a hint of black."

"That suit has a nice green glow," Apple Bloom said.

"He calls that his 'Big Time' suit," Mayday said.

"Did my sister make these?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"She helped a little, but my dad handled most of the designs on his own," Mayday said, then gestured to the one suit they all wanted to see. "And this...is the Coup De Grace, which means something in another language, but I don't know what."

From what the Crusaders could see, the suit was red with blue, glowing cyan light and a metallic structure.

"What is it?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"This...is the Velocity Suit," Mayday said. "After my dad's last armored suit got destroyed while fighting Goku, he started work on this suit to not just increase his power, but also his speed. This suit can turn seconds into minutes, maybe even hours. It's my daddy's proudest achievement."

"Looks dope for sure," Scootaloo said.

"Me and my daddy are still working out some kinks, it should be ready soon," Mayday said. "I can't wait to see him use it."

"Certainly could use it now to find Captain Equestria," Scootaloo said.

"Or my uncle," Franklin said.

"Auntie Rainbow Dash is helping too, she can find your uncle and everyone else and sort this thing out," Mayday said. "Plus isn't your mom looking for Uncle Johnny too?"

"She is, I don't know if my dad is, but The Fantastic Four are tight knit, so Uncle Johnny must be on my dad's mind," Franklin said. "Kind of wish Uncle Ben was here to help too, hopefully he's on his way."

"Anyway, that's all I have for today," Mayday said. "Everyone back upstairs, I have more work to do."

"Alright, well, if you need something, we're not too far away," Apple Bloom said. "Yer a really clever girl Mayday, Peter's lucky to have such a smart daughter."

"Uh...thanks, Apple Bloom" Mayday said, feeling a bit flustered.

"Come on girls," Apple Bloom said, leading her friends upstairs as the two kids remained downstairs.

"Really nice girls, huh?" Franklin said.

"I guess so," Mayday said, looking at some notes. "I think daddy was working on a time machine once, maybe I can try something like that."

"Bad idea, messing with time is dangerous," Franklin said. "You mentioned before that your dad got stuck in that future."

"Oh yeah...really hate that my daddy went through that," Mayday said. "Sometimes I wonder how he pulls it off, always smiling despite everything he's been through."

"Heroes have to look strong, to keep everyone else from getting worried," Franklin said.

"A hero's job is to help others, but who helps the heroes when they need it?" Mayday asked. "Who's helping my daddy when he's going through all this trauma just to keep everyone safe? He did so much good on Earth, he went through torture to make sure people are safe, and he still gets slandered and treated like garbage!"

"Yeah, I've noticed," Franklin said.

"People are selfish, ponies are selfish, all creatures are selfish! Then mom asks why I don't make friends, I don't care about friends because I know what others are like, selfish individuals who only serve to kick you to the curb the moment your usefulness expires!" Mayday exemplified her point with a whack to the side of a wall. "It's not fair, my daddy does more than anyone, and he asks for nothing in return, why are others such jerks!?"

"Mayday, I know you're frustrated, but not everyone's bad, you remember the rally today, more ponies love your dad than hate him, it's just that the ones who disliked him were the loudest," Franklin said. "Your dad's amazing, and I know more who would agree than disagree. You just have to let yourself be open enough to accept it. Don't distance yourself from others just because you think they can be not nice. You might miss out on amazing Friendships."

"I'm just not a social pony," Mayday said. "My dislike of others certainly doesn't help but at my core, I like things small."

"Then keep them small," Franklin said. "I mean, one or two more friends shouldn't be bad. We discussed this before, try again with The Cake Twins, I think they like you for you and you should gift them with your presence. I mean, I think you're amazing and I love spending time with you, others should have that option."

Mayday began to blush, a strange feeling coming over her, "You really think so?"

"I know so, it's not just for them, it's for you. Make friends because you want to, and keep it as comfortable as you'd like," Franklin said, taking her hoof. "If all else fails, I'm here for you, and I'm never kicking you to the curb."

"You're so sweet Frankie..." Mayday said, then leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. "Thank you. I'll do better, if at least for me more than anyone."

"That's great," Franklin said, blushing from the kiss.

"I'll ask Starlight and see if she knows anypony, even if it's from mom's school," Mayday said. "Could be a good chance to see if it's any good or not."

"Uh...that sounds great, I guess," Franklin said, then led Mayday upstairs. "Come on, science can wait."

"Oof, that hurt to hear," Mayday said, earning a playful head shake from Franklin.

---

Peter continued to search the south-eastern part of Equestria, specifically ending up in Dodge City. He considered continuing but he wanted to wait for Twilight to catch up with him, though it was taking much longer than he would have liked.

"Well hello there," came the voice of an Earth Pony with a red mane and a cherry Cutie Mark.

"Oh hi...you look familiar," Peter said. "Have I seen you around Sweet Apple Acres once or twice?"

"I'm Cherry Jubilee, I commute to Sweet Apple Acres to trade cherries for apples and catch up with Applejack," Cherry said.

"Oh right, you own Cherry Hill Ranch Peter said. “Funny, I know someone named Jubilee, she's a really nice girl, guess that name just comes with nice ladies.”

"Well I'm flattered you think my name's so nice," Cherry said, a hint of a blush on her face. "So, what brings a fine hero like yourself all the way out here?"

"I'm looking for Captain Equestria, there's been an incident and I need to find him," Peter said. "Not sure if you know the details though."

"I have heard talk, word of mouth gets around, plus the papers are all over it," Cherry said.

"Things are not good, so I want to fix it and get everything back to normal, but it's gonna be difficult," Peter said. "Right now I'm waiting for my wife, you remember Twilight Sparkle, right?"

"Oh yes, the mare who became Princess," Cherry said.

"We were supposed to go together, but she got worried about her school and went to Canterlot," Peter said.

"Is it that fancy Friendship School I heard about?" Cherry asked.

"Yeah, it's a nice place, but it's a bit flawed in design," Peter said. "I mean, you can't teach Friendship in a classroom, you need to learn it organically. Any friend I had wasn't from a school, and if you try teaching it in a classroom, it's going to come off as restrictive. Plus learning about what Friendship is means nothing if you can't apply the skills. It also kind of assumes everyone is outgoing and wants to make friends, very difficult for introvert types."

"Have you told your wife this?" Cherry asked.

"I did, she was mad at first but she's listening to reason now," Peter said. "I told her more how I felt, I think she wants to change it a little, make things more recreational, but she can be a bit stubborn. She thinks the school is fine as is and doesn't want to change it too much, otherwise to her, it's just another school.”

"Well keep at it, some mares need a bit more than one conversation," Cherry said. "It's not easy being honest with another pony, especially one you're in a relationship with, but Honesty is important, something Applejack would attest to."

"Oh I will, I want the best for Twilight," Peter said. "Thanks for hearing me out."

"It's my pleasure talking to such a handsome stallion like yourself," Cherry said, earning a blush from Peter. "Now I have to get back to my duties. If you need a place to stay, I can help you out, and your lovely wife.”

"Thanks," Peter said, looking to the distance as Cherry left. He checked his radio, dialing a frequency. "Hurry up Twilight, I'm waiting for you in Dodge City, we gotta keep moving."

In the distance, Twilight was indeed flying in Peter's direction. She could hear Peter's voice but wasn't in the mood to talk. Neighsay was not too happy when he found out about Applejack and the situation regarding Steve. The future of her school was in jeopardy, and she really needed this whole situation resolved. She had to stop the conflict, otherwise everything she worked for would be for naught.

---

All of this was being carefully observed by Discord, the Draconquess looking through a crystal ball. "So much conflict, if this keeps up, the world will fall apart before we really have a chance to have fun."

"Hey Discord..." Came a female voice. "It's me!"

"Eris?" Discord looked around. Suddenly the female draconequess appeared beside him, "Sup?"

"Sup?" Discord said. "You're awfully casual."

"Sorry, should I have worn a tie?" Eris asked, poofing one into existence. "Actually I look good in a tie."

"Well, it's great to see you, but you're early, this part of the plan isn't until later," Discord said. "Right now is an especially bad time to do it."

"Didn't take you for much of a plan guy, you're usually much more sporadic," Eris said.

"Well it's a team effort, Tirek and Norman are the ones doing a lot of the work too, plus I am still hoping to recruit a bit more, but no one here seems to want more allies," Discord said.

"If you get that one guy, Goku Black, do you need any more allies?" Eris asked.

"Yes, that's true," Discord said. "Otto's conversations with him are going quite well, we're just trying to find a compromise between our goals and his."

"And you're doing all this, to mess with one guy?" Eris asked.

"Not just him, his friends and family too, they're quite entertaining," Discord said. "Though, I do feel for some of the ponies who've been caught in this crossfire but, accidents happen."

"Hey Discord!" Came Shocker's voice, the grunt making his way over alongside Sonata. "Chrysalis wants to know if you're sending anyone out to find that bell in the near...Huh?"

Eris waved at the two. "Hello."

"Oh...are you Discord's sister?" Sonata asked.

"Crap, now there's two of them!?" Shocker asked.

"Don't worry, I'm not his sister, I just come from a dimension where genders are reversed for you," Eris said. "I'm Discord's female counterpart."

"Female...counterpart?" Shocker asked.

"Yes, there's a whole different alternate reality," Eris said. "So for example, there's a female Shocker in that dimension, and a male Sonata."

“Alright, I’m out of here,” Shocker said, dragging Sonata off.

“But I had questions!” Sonata said, getting dragged off by her friend.

“Interesting allies,” Eris said.

"That they are," Discord said. "So, on to more planning."

---

In the Capcom world, Goku was practicing some of his techniques while the warriors of that world, along with Sunset Shimmer, were preparing for their eventual arrival in Asgard.

Goku charged up and fired a massive Kamehameha into the skies, somehow feeling unsatisfied, "I need to do better than that."

"Son Goku..." Came the voice of Ryu, the martial artist standing nearby with Chris and Dante.

"Ryu?” Goku said. “And your two friends.”

“Name’s Dante,” the demon said.

"Chris Redfield," the agent said.

"What brings you guys here?" Goku asked. "And where's Cloud?"

"Cloud's in his world, looking for allies," Ryu said. "Sunset contacted us, saying we're going to Asgard to help Thor, I was surprised when she said you were here."

"It's part of my training, I'm traveling the multiverse," Goku said. "I'm going to make myself stronger than before."

"Amazing since you're already very strong," Ryu said.

"Well, I have people I want to surpass, namely Beerus and Thor," Goku said. "I trust you’re all training hard too.”

"Of course, I never stop training," Ryu said. "I train to surpass my limits."

"Happy to hear, who knows, one day maybe we can do battle," Goku said. "I can sense a lot of latent potential in you. Reminds me of my son, his potential even surpassed my own many times.”

“Impressive, maybe your son can come by one day,” Ryu said. “Invite him along with Sunset to spar.”

"I just thought of something, one day Capcom should fight Equestria, that'd be something," Dante said.

"Testing how strong Spider-Man's wife is would be a treat," Ryu said. "If Sunset is any indication, the ponies of Equestria could be more powerful than even we thought."

"I hope they put up a better fight than those Dragons or Diamond Dogs," Dante joked. "Those things were complete fodder."

"We only fought teen Dragons, an adult Dragon would be a whole different story," Chris said.

"Hitting my Shoryuken on a full-sized dragon would be oddly satisfying," Ryu said.

"I think we can handle dragons; we beat up an Ursa Minor," Chris said.

"You mean Peter's pet?" Dante asked. "Did anyone find out where he keeps that thing?"

"Sunset said it lives in the Forest near their village," Ryu said.

"Why did you beat up Peter's pet?" Goku asked.

"It was a misunderstanding, we thought it was endangering his daughter and some other foals," Ryu said. "It was foolish and I regret hurting it."

"What's done is done, Peter moved on, so we can to," Dante said. "Anyway let's go find Sunset, Chun-Li and our other buddies. Maybe we can check on our little backup squad."

As everyone left, Chris brought up another point, "Think that bear could be potentially violent? Is it right for Peter to have it as a pet?"

"It's fine," Ryu said. "I don't think it would harm another for no reason."

---

Meanwhile on a ship in Marvel's space, Tempest was seen placing her hand over her scar, as if it ached.

"Something bothering you?" Sephiroth asked.

"It's nothing, just a painful memory," Tempest said.

"Memories are only as painful as you allow them to be, focus your mental strength to overcome that pain, and use it to make you stronger," Sephiroth said.

"Yes sir, I will," Tempest said. "Loki! How much longer until we arrive?"

"Not long now, probably another Asgardian day or two," Loki said. "Oh how I eagerly await to see my dear brother again."

---

As if sensing danger, Thor looked to the distance on Asgard, "Loki..."

"Is everything alright Thor?" Lady Sif asked, accompanied by the Warriors Three; Volstagg, Hogun and Fandral.

"Loki should be here soon," Thor said. "Sif, find Valkryie, tell her to round up her squad and to be prepared for battle."

"On it," Sif said, making her leave.

"What of us Thor?" Volstagg asked.

"Ready our troops, war is coming," Thor said. "Make sure the Allfather is protected."

"As you command," Fandral said.

"Beta Ray Bill should be here soon, see to it that he comes to me the moment he arrives," Thor said.

"What of that other warrior," Hogun said. "The one called Goku?"

"Right, he wished to be of assistance..." Thor seemed a bit reluctant of course, not that he didn't trust Goku's strength, but he was hesitant to let others potentially die for Asgard. However with these other unknown threats, including The Storm King and Sephiroth, plus any trick Loki had up his sleeve, he needed to be well prepared.

"Thor? Is anything wrong?" Hogun asked.

"Forgive me, I was lost in thought," Thor said. "I shall contact the Angel Whis, see if he is willing to bring Goku."

"Hey while you're at it, what about those Avengers friends of yours?" Volstagg asked.

Thor shook his head, "Leave them to Equestria, they have their duties there."

"Should we also prepare a feast?" Fandral asked. "For that Angel and the God he serves."

Thor groaned in annoyance, just thinking about Beerus frustrated him, "Very well, if to keep that so-called God out of my face."

"Alright, we have our jobs, let's get to it!" Volstagg said, everyone spreading out to prepare for battle.

Thor clenched his Mjolnir, ready for the oncoming battle for Asgard. Ragnarök wasn't too far away and he was just about ready.

The Harsh Reality

At the Dragon's Lair, the team of Tony, Luna and Spitfire, along with many in the Hippogriff Squadron, Terramar having been sent home at the request of his father, had touched down in the center with their captives, the Accords team explaining the situation to former lord of the Dragons.

"Dragon Lord Torch, your daughter Ember along with three of her dragons had drastically violated the Accords, not only aiding our enemies but actively fighting against our forces," Luna said.

"They're the ones who helped Captain Equestria escape, after taking more from our side," Spitfire said. "That being Ember's apprentice Spike, and the two heroes assigned here, Waspie and Hercules."

"Is this true Ember?" Torch asked.

Ember nodded in confirmation, "Yes, it's true. I did what I had to do, and Hercules did what he had to do, same with all our allies."

"What your daughter did was throw away a big partnership between ponies and dragons, and after all that hard work Princess Twilight went through to bring both sides together," Tony said. "I am disappointed in her actions, and I am sorry to say that as a result of this, dragons are no longer welcome on Equestria terrain, by Luna’s rule.”

“It is accurate,” Luna said.

"Ember's apprentice Spike is an Equestrian resident, so he's exempt from this rule," Spitfire said. "And out of the generosity of Tony Stark and Princess Luna, Smolder is allowed to stay as well."

"At least until she graduates from Twilight Sparkle's school," Luna said.

"Hey that wasn't the deal!" Garble said. "You said she could stay!"

"I never said she could stay permanently, she has until graduation," Luna said. "Plus, this is only happening because you and your squad of dragons broke the deals you had with us."

"It's your fault that your sister's likely going to be banished here, let that sink in, if it can," Spitfire said.

"Hey, I'm not gonna take that from you!" Garble said, cracking his knuckles.

"Did you not learn anything the first time around?" Tony asked, aiming his repulsors.

"Wait, hold on Tony," Spitfire said. "I got this one."

"Pfft, you're all by yourself, one puny pony can't-" Garble's taunting was interrupted when Spitfire sped in and punched him in the jaw. She then flew around the big dragon, trying to disorient him even more, landing a few extra punches and a kick to his head, knocking him down as she landed back by Tony.

"They didn't make me Captain of the Wonderbolts for fun, you know," Spitfire said, dusting her hooves off.

"Hey! You can't do that to Garble!" Clump said, gesturing his friends. "Let's help him out!"

Tony aimed his repulsors, "Don't even think about it."

Luna readied her magic, at any moment preparing to blast these dragons to another realm. Even The Hippogriff guards had their spears out, ready for a fight.

"Opposing the ponies means opposing us," Sky Beak warned. "The Hippogriffs still stand beside Tony Stark and his Accords."

"Stand down everyone," Torch ordered. "Princess Luna, Tony Stark, Captain Spitfire, while I am no longer Dragon Lord, I will urge my daughter to honor this new development. However, this means you are on your own, do not come back to us if things go wrong for you."

"Because they will, if Hercules could see through your plan, anyone can," Ember said. "Even King Thorax and Prince Rutheford barely trust you, it's only a matter of time before Queen Novo, Grandpa Gruff and Rain Shine see through it."

"Don't be so sure, remember we're the good guys here," Tony said.

"Keep telling yourself this crap, maybe you will actually buy into it," Ember said.

"Just stay out of my country," Luna said, flying off with Tony and Spitfire.

"My daughter is actually friends with that Dragon in Ponyville, just so you know," Sky Beak said. "If she so desires, she is welcome in Mount Aris, but once I speak with my sister, the question is if any of you would be welcome there."

Ember turned away as Sky Beak flew off. Despite everything, this was not over as far as Ember was concerned, and The Accords would not see the last of her.

---

Later that day, Rumble and Silverstream had finally arrived back in Ponyville. It was sunset, but Rumble did have one thing on his mind.

"Now that we're here, should we go and find Apple Bloom, I gotta tell her that I found her sister," Rumble said.

"What good would that do? I mean you didn't bring her home," Silverstream said.

"She's gonna want to know anyway, might as well tell her now," Rumble said. "I just gotta fly to the farm and-"

"Rumble, I know you're worried, and you have a lot to tell your friends, I'm the same, there's a lot I have to tell mine, especially Smolder," Silverstream said. "But it is pretty late and honestly I'm a bit exhausted. Why don't we wait til the morning?"

"You want to wait til morning?" Rumble asked. "Wow, honestly I didn't even think you could get exhausted."

"Even I have my limits," Silverstream said.

"Well alright, if you want to wait then I'm good with that," Rumble said. "We still need to touch base with Firestar and Deadpool."

"We'll do that and get some rest," Silverstream said, then turned her attention to the school. "Wait, can I even use my dorm room? Plus I know if I go there, my friends are gonna want to know a lot."

"You can stay at my house tonight, we should have an extra bed," Rumble said.

"Oh, you don't mind?" Rumble asked.

"I'm cool with a sleepover, and I don't think Flitter will mind either," Rumble said. "Plus you let me sleep at your place when we were in Mount Aris. I just wish your family didn't get all suspicious."

"They were just curious, some of them thought you were my boyfriend," Silverstream said.

"Sorry you had to go through that," Rumble said.

"It's fine, truth be told, I don't find that embarrassing, it's nice that they believe I can get a handsome guy like you," Silverstream said.

Hearing that compliment did get a blush out of Rumble, "Thanks, you're pretty too actually. If I weren't already with Apple Bloom, I probably would have asked you out."

"I probably would have said 'yes'," Silverstream said. "It's fine though, you and Apple Bloom are cute together, and there's plenty of fish in the sea."

"Got that right," Rumble said. "Anyway, we should go find the other heroes, then get to bed."

"Sounds good to me," Silverstream said.

---

In Dodge City, Twilight finally arrived, finding Peter half-asleep on a table. She trotted over and kissed him on the cheek to get his attention.

"Cherry, I'm flattered, but you know that I'm married to-" Peter immediately took note of Twilight’s presence. "Oh good, it's you, been waiting a while for my Princess to return to me."

"Did you say 'Cherry'?" Twilight asked. "As in Cherry Jubilee?"

"Uh yeah, she came by to check on me," Peter said.

"Was she flirty?” Twilight asked.

Peter shook his head, "No, I mean she gives off that flirty aura so it's hard to tell but I don't think she was."

"Yeah, she does have that aura to her," Twilight said. “But it's obvious I'm the only mare for you, so I don't mind too much. With a handsome stallion like you around, I can hardly blame any of the mares."

"Feeling's mutual, just replace 'handsome stallion' with 'gorgeous mare'," Peter said.

"You're such a romantic," Twilight said, kissing her husband. "Anyway, I'm sorry I kept you waiting, my meeting with Neighsay lasted longer than I expected, he was not in a pleasant mood."

"When is that guy in a pleasant mood? That guy reminds me so much of Professor Snape," Peter said.

"Wow, I actually understood that reference," Twilight said, remember reading about that from Peter's world.

"I'm sorry to hear that things are going terrible for you and the school," Peter said. "Regardless of my opinion, I know you worked hard on the school, I don't want you to lose it."

"Thanks, and I know your concerns are valid, but the school seems to be working so far, look at all the friends made," Twilight said. "Especially Sandbar and his friends."

"Well Sandbar said he met his friends outside of the classroom, and he forged a bond without the class," Peter said. "The school did bring them together, but not from a classroom perspective, rather it was a recreational one. If you focus on that, I guarantee your school will find more success. It's as easy as keeping it a regular school with recreation on the side to let ponies bond."

"Clever as always, Peter," Twilight said. "I still have reservations about making such a big change. It is something I want to discuss with my friends, once I bring Applejack home that is."

"I just hope things won't be awkward now," Peter said.

"Peter, we're friends with Luna despite everything she did, we're also friends with Starlight, and Trixie, and Lighting Dust, plus you mentioned heroes like Remy and Clint Barton once being thieves and they turned out alright," Twilight said. "We just need to stay positive, I am not going to give up on Friendship."

"I know you're not, and neither am I," Peter said. "It's Tony I'm worried about, and Spitfire, and definitely Carol Danvers. Plus, I feel like Starswirl's gonna throw his weight around, even if we find our friends there's still the political crap we gotta deal with."

"Well I am a Princess too, and if I talk to Cadance, she can help with this as well," Twilight said. "We'll figure this out."

"Hopefully," Peter said. Suddenly his radio went off, the boy answering. "You got Spidey."

"Hey, Peter, it's Tony," Iron Man greeted.

"Oh hey Tony? Need something?" Peter said.

"Yeah, it's about Cap," Tony began. "He got away from Hercules...after recruiting him onto his team."

"Wait, Hercules turned away from The Accords!?" Peter asked in surprise, Twilight just as shocked.

"Wasn't he with The Dragons?" Twilight asked. "What about Spike?"

"Oh hey Twilight, funny you mention Spike," Tony said. "He and Janet kind of joined Hercules, so they're...well...considered traitors to Equestria."

"Excuse me!?" Twilight shouted, Peter freaking out.

Tony was grateful this was over the radio, he did not want to face an angry Twilight, "It's fine, really. Uh, once we catch Steve, I'll personally let you figure out what to do regarding Spike. We'll try not to hurt him, but...if he gives us no choice-"

"You'll do what?" Twilight asked, venom seeping into her tone.

"Damn, and I thought Pepper was feisty, how does Peter survive this girl's anger?" Tony cleared his throat, hoping to remain calm. "Look, we'll do what we can. Remember Rarity is a part of this, and she doesn't want Spike hurt any more than you do."

"What about the other Dragons?" Peter asked.

"They betrayed us...so Luna had banished them from stepping foot on Equestrian lands for the foreseeable future," Tony said. "Spike and Smolder are exempt since Spike is more with Equestria than the Dragon's Lair, and Smolder is your student. Ember and three of the Dragons who were there were caught by us and immediately exiled."

Twilight groaned in frustration, this was not part of her Friendship plans, "Tony...the point of Smolder joining my school was to build a better bond between Ponies and Dragons, having them banished doesn't help!"

"They betrayed us Twilight, we had to do something," Tony said.

"Well once this whole thing is resolved, I expect you to help fix whatever damage was caused with the dragons, I am NOT giving up on my goal," Twilight said.

"I'll...do my best with that," Tony said. "But remember Twilight, they broke the rules, they had to be punished."

"Well, the rules need fixing," Twilight said.

"Let's get back on track, where is Cap now?" Peter asked.

"Probably at Appaloosa, but that's fine, they're likely going to Canterlot and we're going to set up an ambush," Tony said. "If you can, try heading that way, unless you think you can catch up with Steve."

"We'll discuss it," Peter said. "Anything else I should know?"

"Rumble and Silverstream are going to Ponyville, Steve's team might pass through there, another option could be intercepting them there as well, but there is also the possibility of them going through Las Pegasus," Tony said. "I'll leave the final choice to you."

"You got it," Peter said. "We'll fix this soon."

"Hope so, see you around," Tony said, hanging up.

Twilight angrily fired some magic into the skies, something noticed by Logan and his team, each of them curious by it.

"Twilight...I know you're mad, but you need to be reasonable," Peter said. "I don't know what happened, but if Ember's dragons did betray Tony, he had to take action. I don't agree with the choice, but I do understand it."

"I get it too, I just hate that this happened," Twilight said. "I thought The Accords were supposed to keep Equestria safe, but it's just creating more trouble. If we don't fix this soon, both our Earth friends and Equestrian friends will fall apart."

"We'll save them, just think of this as one big Friendship Lesson," Peter said. "You have the power to fix the Friendship between Tony and Steve, as well as Friendship across the land. You got this!"

"No Peter, We got this," Twilight said.

"Yeah, We got this, Together," Peter said. "Anyway, it's getting late, I'm no stranger to working nights but it might be smarter to start this again in the morning. Cherry Jubilee offered us a room, let's take her up on it."

"Sounds good to me," Twilight said.

---

Nighttime came across Equestria, everyone was tired and ready to call it a night, especially the team led by Captain America.

Having traveled through a desert area on foot, plus battling against heroes from both The Avengers and The Wonderbolts, they could use some relaxation. Cap's team were gathered around a campfire, enjoying some marshmallow roast and some cocoa, courtesy of Aplejack's cousin, Braeburn.

"Hope y'all are feeling comfortable, especially after the busy couple of days you had," Braeburn said.

"That's an understatement, but nothing we can't handle," Applejack said.

"On the run, living like outlaws," Johnny said. "Feels like a perfect fit in this land."

"A good opportunity for us to build comradery in the midst of battle," Hercules said.

Taskmaster seemed a bit frustrated, "Ain't you got sausages or something?"

"Ponies don't normally eat meat," Johnny said. "So, you're out of luck there Taskmaster."

"First of all, I'm pretty sure horses eat meat," Taskmaster said. "Second, with the humans living in this world, you'd think ponies would have some food they can digest."

"There is food we can digest," Steve said. "Ponies, like humans, eat fruits and vegetables, along with various dairy products. You lived this long in Equestria after all."

"Yeah, getting the crappiest meals for the last couple of years," Taskmaster said.

"Well you shouldn't have shown up and caused trouble," Applejack said.

"I told you, I was just doing my job," Taskmaster said. "One I still haven't been paid for."

"Doing your job doesn't justify hurting others," Steve said.

"He isn't wrong," Sandman said. "Crime doesn't pay."

"Don't get soft on me, Marko," Taskmaster said.

"I'm still surprised you have three villains on your team," Spike said. "But Peter did say that Sandman and Lizard really weren't so bad, just misunderstood."

"That was nice of him to say, I've always believed Peter Parker was a swell chap," Lizard said. "Unfortunately my transformation had impacted my judgement and things happened."

"Are you maintaining control all right?" Janet asked.

"For now, in my time in Canterlot's Dungeon, I have tried many mediating techniques and mental exercises to keep myself from going savage," Lizard said. "Believe it or not, I'm not fond of my aggressive behavior. The Lizard transformation was to help people, not hurt them. For example, if my research worked out well, our friend Bucky Barnes would be able to regrow his arm."

"Would you regrow your arm, Bucky?" Applejack asked.

Bucky rubbed his metallic appendage, thinking it over, "It would certainly be interesting, having my arm back. I know a lot of people think having a metal arm is cool, and it is sometimes. But, it can be a pain in the ass at times, hard getting used to sleeping with it. But, this arm at least helps me big time since I don't have natural super strength."

"Well even if you regrew your arm, you could still get some type of armor over it," Spike said.

"You can still be the strong man we all need," Sugar Belle said, a slightly flirty tone in her voice.

"Well maybe, depends on Doctor Connors's research," Bucky said.

"That unfortunately has been stopped in its tracks, after my mishap, it's doubtful most people would want a serum like mine," Lizard said.

"You seem like a really nice guy, it's hard to imagine you as a villain," Sugar Belle said.

"Well it wasn't my life goal, I just wanted to be a scientist," Lizard said. "Unfortunately, life throws hardships, some of us just fell into bad temptations."

"I know that feeling," Stygian said. "That desire for power, just to be respected by your peers, it can lead to a dark path."

"Lots of us have been down that path, no secret I used to be a thief," Remy said. "Just like our friend Felicia here."

"Got that right, I see something I like, and I take it," Felicia said. "Including Spider-Man's love, at least for a little bit."

"Was Peter really interested in you? I mean you are a thief," Sugar Belle said.

"He was, I can verify," Sandman said.

"Show a guy a lady dressed in a skintight suit, acting like a cat, you bet his hormones are gonna go crazy," Taskmaster said. "He was like, what, in High School at the time? That type of reaction is inevitable."

"You still look great too, not bad for a girl who's had a baby," Janet said.

"I can say the same about you Janet, you got yourself a nice little body there," Felicia said.

"Applejack's got you ladies beat, she had two kids and still looks amazing," Remy said.

"It ain't a competition," Applejack said. "Still appreciate it."

"If it was a competition, Dashie would win," Johnny said. "Pretty face, amazing body, just all around charming."

"You should see my wife, lovely woman," Lizard said. "I do hope she and my son are doing alright."

"I miss my daughter too," Sandman said.

"When this is over, you'll be able to see her again, Flint," Steve said.

"You sure about that, Cap?" Taskmaster asked. "For all we know, me, Sandman, Lizard and Black Cat could end up back in Canterlot's Dungeon once this is all over."

"That won't happen, will it Steve?" Sugar Belle said.

"I hope not," Steve said. "I mean, you four did break out of jail. Though Felicia's is my doing, so I will take blame for that. The other three I did not account for."

"I wouldn't worry too much Steve," Matt said. "I know a really good lawyer."

"You mean that same lawyer who took forever getting me out of that cell?" Felicia pointed out, Matt furrowing his brow.

"Don't push your luck," Matt said.

"I'm a Black Cat, luck is my game," Felicia said.

"You know, black cats are usually bad luck," Bucky said. "I certainly hope you haven't been jinxing us or anything."

"Who's to say," Felicia said, winking at the solider.

"Come on, Felicia's our friend, let's not call her a jinx," Sugar Belle said.

"She ain't everyone's friend," Taskmaster said. "But that's what being a villain gets you, something I know all too well."

"Do you need a friend too, Mr. Masters?" Sugar Belle asked.

"Don't even try that with me, I ain't falling for this Friendship business," Taskmaster said. "For all I know it's weird and unusual magic."

"Well Friendship is Magic, and that ain't a bad thing," Applejack said. "Maybe you could use a good friend or two, Taskmaster. Might do you some good."

"Sure, and we can talk about our feelings and sing corny songs together, that right?" Taskmaster asked.

"Everyone has their own way of doing Friendship," Spike said. "Singing or not."

"I never understood the singing, like do whole songs just pop in your head that everyone else just gets in sync with?" Felicia asked.

"It's an Equestrian thing, we enjoy it so we don't question it," Applejack said. "Why, I can probably whip out a song right now."

Matt's ears twitched, "Singing will have to wait, we have company."

"It's probably Little Strongheart," Braeburn said. "I told her she could come by if she wanted."

"There's more than one," Matt said, grabbing his billy rod.

"Is it Stark's Team?" Dwayne asked, readying his taser.

Everyone else readied for a fight as well, grabbing weapons if they had them.

"Show yourselves!" Steve demanded.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, take it easy!" came a very familiar voice.

"Dashie!?" Johnny said. Coming into view indeed was his wife, joined by Gilda, Susan and Scott.

"Johnny!" Rainbow Dash flew in to hug her husband. "Boy did I miss you!"

"Yeah, me too," Johnny said, hugging Rainbow Dash. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, duh" Rainbow Dash said, giving her husband a kiss before breaking the hug. "You really had me worried."

"Yeah, sorry about that, things got hectic," Johnny said, then took note of his sister. "You came too Sue?"

"I had to make sure you stayed out of trouble," Susan said. "Can't believe you got yourself into this situation."

"Blame the Accords for that," Johnny said. "Carol getting all power crazy, Spitfire being a lousy boss, Luna being a lousy ruler and Tony's dumbass rules."

"Did you come all the way out here to find us?" Applejack asked.

"Sure did, got my probation lifted too," Rainbow Dash said. "I can work properly again."

"Wait, are you here to take us in!?" Taskmaster asked.

"Of course not, I wouldn't do that to my husband, or one of my best friends," Rainbow Dash said. "Especially not for something I don't believe in."

"That's why we came to find you, we're going to help you end The Accords," Gilda said.

"Stick it to the man!" Scott said.

"Well good Captain, it seems you have more allies to fight the good fight," Hercules said.

"One step closer to ending The Accords," Steve said.

"Hey Sue, does Reed know you're out here?" Johnny asked.

"Not that I'm aware of, he's been busy with work lately," Susan said.

"Hasn't he gotten better with that? You know, paying attention to you and Franklin?" Johnny asked.

"Well he's certainly done his best not to let himself get too swamped, but due to everything that's happening with Steve's rebellion here, he's been helping Hank and Doctor Hooves come up with ways to find you," Susan said.

"Bet they involve more of them annoying robots," Remy said.

"Yeah, has Reed explained why he basically took Doom's idea?" Johnny asked. "He himself hated that Doom had those types of robots."

"He admits he's not fond of them, but he figures at the very least, he's improving on them, better than Victor would have," Susan said.

"Well hopefully Reed comes to his senses, could use Ben right about now, he'd know how to get through to Reed," Johnny said.

"Hopefully he does," Susan said. "For Franklin's sake at least."

"So, what's the plan?" Scott asked.

"Tomorrow we make our move again, we're going to cut straight through Ponyville and head for Canterlot," Steve said. "While in Ponyville, hopefully we can do more recruiting."

"What about Las Pegasus?" Matt asked. "That place is part of The Accords."

"Come to think of it, we never went to The Crystal Empire," Applejack said.

"At this point, getting Tony to surrender is the fastest way to end The Accords," Steve said. "I'd rather not risk a fight near Las Pegasus, they've gone through enough already. Though I would Luke, Danny and Jessica on our side."

"I got an idea, how about I go to Las Pegasus and talk to them myself?" Rainbow Dash said. "Let them know what's happening and see if they're willing to join."

"By yourself?" Steve asked.

"She won't be, I'm going with her," Gilda said.

"And me," Johnny said.

"Bad idea, no one knows that Gilda and I are on your side, if anypony sees us traveling together, they might get suspicious," Rainbow Dash said.

"I can go with her too, I'll shrink down and be ready to fight if she needs back up," Scott said.

"Taking a big risk there Scott," Janet said.

"Hey it's worth it to me, these Accords really aren't the best thing for Equestria, and Tony wants to bring this to Earth, it's all about nipping the problem in the bud," Scott said.

"You know, this has me thinking," Spike said. "You think Twilight and Peter would side with us? Or would we have to fight them too?"

"That's a tough one," Rainbow Dash said. "On one hoof, Peter seems to understand why we're going this, on the other, he might feel like he needs to side with Tony."

"As fer Twilight," Applejack began. "Honestly, I'm not even sure what she would do. This might be a tough call fer her."

"Peter and Twilight are both reasonable individuals," Steve said. "They'll be much easier to talk to. Plus, even Celestia doubts the Accords, and Twilight admires her very much."

"She also admires Luna," Applejack said. "Still ain't gonna be an easy choice fer her."

"I'm aware, but hopefully she makes the right choice," Steve said.

---

It wasn't long before everyone readied for slumber. Braeburn allowed Cap's team into a nearby Inn where many of them slept comfortably on beds, though Cap, Bucky and Sam opted to sleep outside to keep watch, Dwayne similarly taking a late patrol while Johnny and Rainbow Dash slept together on a lone cloud in the skies.

All around everyone did their best to sleep, but the worries of this conflict did weigh on the minds of many. Peter, who was sleeping in a hotel room that Cherry Jubilee organized for him and Twilight, was lying in bed awake beside his wife, thinking about what he would do if he even found Steve.

Similarly, Twilight, while trying to close her eyes to sleep, couldn't get Princess Celestia out of her mind, wondering where her mentor was and wanting to think of a way to resolve this conflict.

At their home, during a slumber party, Franklin was lying in bed with Mayday, while the girl was asleep, Franklin could not stop thinking about his parents and uncle. He also hoped that Mayday's parents would be alright, of course they're looking for other superheroes, and heroes don't set out to hurt others, but accidents can happen.

In that same room, laying across the ground in sleeping bags, Apple Bloom could not fall asleep either. She sat up, looking around to her friends. Scootaloo was sprawled across the floor, Silver Spoon was sleeping comfortably, Dinky seemed to be tossing and turning, and Sweetie Belle laid on her stomach, with Diamond Tiara resting on top of her like a pillow. She was not kidding when she found Sweetie Belle soft.

That brought a slight smile to Apple Bloom, finding the situation adorable, but she still worried about Sugar Belle, Applejack and Remy. She even thought about her boyfriend as she rubbed her belly, thinking of the baby that was growing inside of her, bringing some joy to her heart in knowing that she will eventually bring life into this world. She just hopes it's a good world when it happens.

She decided to check on Mayday and saw that her blanket was slightly off. She carefully trotted over and pulled the blanket over the girl, giving her a kiss on the head. "Hope Luna's blessing you with sweet dreams."

As Apple Bloom went to lie back down, Mayday's eye creaked open a bit, catching a glimpse of the country girl. She never got along much with her, but she knew that both her parents appreciated her and that Rumble very much loved her. She couldn't deny how friendly she was though.

In Canterlot, Tony had fallen asleep at a table in the throne room, Spitfire laying not too far away, both too tired to go home and to be with their loved ones. Luna had prepared for her duties as the Night Princess, ensuring that each of the ponies had a soothing night sleep, to the best of her abilities. She did wonder what many of her friends could be dreaming about, from Peter, to Twilight, even her two closest allies in The Accords. She also thought about her sister and wondered if she was alright wherever she was. Raising the sun each morning felt different than the moon, and she does applaud her sister for handling both for over 1000 years, now it's her turn. A lot for the princess to consider as she prepared her journey.

---

The following morning, Steve's plan went into action. His team left the Inn and made their way toward Ponyville, except for Rainbow Dash, Gilda and Scott, the trio setting course for Las Pegasus.

"Will Rainbow Dash be alright?" Johnny asked.

"She'll be fine, she's not going at it alone," Sam said. "Plus, nothing against the heroes there, but I think Dash could handle them in a fight.”

"No doubt," Johnny said. "She's a smart girl, not an 'egghead' like Twilight, even if she calls herself that for liking Daring Do, but still very smart."

"Who's Daring Do?" Sam asked.

"Think Indiana Jones, but as a pony," Johnny said. "Something tells me those two would get along well."

"Here I thought Spider-Man was the culture guy," Falcon said.

"Hey he's not the only one gets interested in this stuff, for example, even I would love to see a real Jedi," Johnny said.

"No doubt. By the way...me, Bucky and Steve couldn't help but notice some rain coming off that cloud you two were on," Sam said, Johnny's eyes turning wide. "Does that happen when a Pegasus sleeps on a cloud or something?"

"Something like that, I mean, I'd love to go into further detail but let's focus on the task ahead," Johnny said. "Plus I don't think Dash wants me bragging about our night right now, damn did it feel good to get that stress relieved though."

---

That same morning, Peter and Twilight had said their good-byes to Cherry Jubilee and were on their way out of Dodge City.

"Since we missed our chance to cut off Cap, we should probably head toward Appaloosa, since that's the only other nearby town," Peter said.

"That is if they're still there, for all we know, they could have left by now," Twilight said. "Maybe we should take up Tony's offer and go to Canterlot, unless you want to head back home."

"Steve might go through Las Pegasus though," Peter said. "Times like this, I wish Logan were here, he could track Steve."

"You called, bub?" Logan said, startling Peter and Twilight.

"Logan!? Where'd you come from?" Peter asked. "Wait, are you alone?"

"Not by a long shot," Laura said, making her presence known with Fluttershy, Lightning Dust and Thunderlane.

"Hey Peter, how's it going?" the male Pegasus asked.

"Hey Thunder, it's all good, somewhat," Peter said.

"Somewhat? Did something happen?" Fluttershy asked.

"Hercules, Spike, Janet and The Dragons turned against The Accords," Peter said. "The Dragons all got caught and sent back to their realm, unable to return, but the former three are with Cap."

"So Dragons can't come back?" Laura asked.

"That's terrible!" Fluttershy said. "Those poor dragons."

"Funny hearing you say that, given your fear of dragons," Laura said.

"That was a long time ago, I mean some dragons are scary but they're not all bad," Fluttershy said.

"This doesn't include Spike, does it?" Lightning Dust asked.

"No, he and Smolder are exempt," Twilight said.

"Oh good, I was worried about Smolder," Fluttershy said.

"So we're still stuck with her?" Laura asked, earning a glare from Fluttershy. "What? She's a pain, plus isn't her brother that annoying scumbag, Garble? Five bits say it's his fault the dragons got banished."

"Let's not play the blame game," Peter said. "This is going to be upsetting to Smolder, so if we happen to bump into her, please be sensitive about it. She seems tough, but something tells me it's just an act to cover her insecurities."

"Fine, whatever, not my problem anyway," Laura said. "As long as Spike's exempt."

"Well keep in mind, if he's with Cap, he's technically our enemy," Thunderlane said.

"Speak for yourself, I ain't seeing Cap or his allies as enemies," Logan said. "I always knew Stark's Accords plan was bullshit, and I'm happy to see this blow up in his face."

"I don't fully disagree, but The Accords isn't a bad idea, just not well executed," Peter said. "Look, how about this. Twilight and I will go back to Ponyville while the rest of you go to Las Pegasus and see if one of us can find Cap's team."

"What about Canterlot? If we know that's where Cap's going, we should just go there," Laura said.

"Doing it this way could let us keep an eye on things, and make sure there isn't another major fight," Peter said.

"How about we try Laura's idea to an extent, a few of us can go to Canterlot," Fluttershy said.

"I can go, I am part of The Accords," Thunderlane said.

"Wait, if you go by yourself, how do we know you won't try to sell us out?" Laura asked. "You know we went to find Cap without permission, you might snitch."

"Huh? What makes you think I would do something like that?" A nervous Thunderlane asked.

"Easy Laura, let's not make baseless accusations," Fluttershy said. "But, maybe sending Thunderlane alone isn't the best idea."

"I can go with him," Lightning Dust said.

"Perfect, you two can go together," Fluttershy said.

"Not perfect, what if they ask why?" Thunderlane said.

"Just say she's volunteering for The Accords, willing to be that Stark is desperate enough to blindly accept help," Laura said.

"Would that work?" Fluttershy asked.

"Worth a shot, I can totally go along with that story," Lightning Dust said.

"Alright, whatever you want to work with," Peter said. "Let's split up."

"Race you to Canterlot, Thunder," Lightning Dust said. "Ready, set, go!"

Lightning Dust flew off, leaving Thunderlane behind, "Hey! That's cheating!" The stallion was quick to fly after the mare while the remaining two groups went their separate ways.

---

That same morning in Ponyville, Rumble and Silverstream had awoken and made their way out of the stallion's home.

"I'll catch you later, Flitter!" Rumble said.

"Alright, be careful out there!" Flitter said.

"I'll be fine!" Rumble said, taking his leave.

"Flitter's really nice," Silverstream said.

"Yeah, she totally is, best foal sitter a colt could have," Rumble said. "Glad we could live in Ponyville again, moving to Cloudsdale wasn't too bad but all my friends are here."

"Ironically now you have to be stationed in Mount Aris with me," Silverstream said. "Of course, now I can't see the friends I made here either."

"Well we knew what we were signing up for, that's adult life, you do what you gotta do," Rumble said. "Speaking of friends, I should go find Apple Bloom and maybe the rest of The Crusaders."

"You do that, I'm gonna go find my friends," Silverstream said. "Especially Smolder, gotta let her know about Garble."

"Good luck with that," Rumble said. "Though, maybe before anything, I should check on Mayday. Sounds like Peter and Twilight aren't in town so she could use some reassurance."

"That’s nice of you," Silverstream said.

"Wanna join me? You can find your friends afterwards, plus checking on Mayday would give you bonus points with Peter and Twilight," Rumble said.

"Sure, kind of want to show her that I made it as a Wonderbolt," Silverstream said. "In a way, she kind of motivated me to try out for the team, even if she was a bit rudely blunt, but kids will be kids."

"Mayday is a bit of a firecracker at times, it's all about knowing how to get through to her, then she becomes a total sweetheart," Rumble said. "Come on."

---

Mayday and Franklin were seen playing a game of Chess, the little filly thinking over her next turn carefully.

"If I go there, I might leave myself open for Frankie to take my other piece, but I will be one step closer to victory," Mayday analyzed her moves carefully.

"I could probably read her mind if I wanted to, but that would be cheating, and mom did say not to freely use my powers," Franklin patiently awaited Mayday's turn.

Trixie observed nearby, a satisfied smile on her face, "It's nice seeing Mayday doing something other than a science experiment, she actually looks like a normal little filly."

"Really?" as stated by Autumn Blaze. "I always thought she looked like a normal little filly."

"Well, maybe 'normal' isn't the best word, I just like that she's trying a new experience," Trixie said. "Even if it is just a game of Chess, it's still something. Her friendship with Franklin Richards has done wonders for her."

"It sure has, he's a really nice boy," Autumn said. "Who knows, maybe this Friendship will bloom into something more."

"In a few years, perhaps, right now I think Mayday's still grasping the whole concept of Friendship, and romance is way more advanced," Trixie said.

"Do you have a pony you like?" Autumn asked.

"My love life has gotten rather complicated over the years," Trixie said. "At this point I might as well give up on it."

"Aw don't do that, there's gotta be somepony out there for you," Autumn said.

"If there is, I haven't found him," Trixie said. "Well, I kind of did once but...he was better suited with somepony else."

"Was it Peter you liked?" Autumn asked.

"No...well, I probably could have, but I'm talking about somepony else," Trixie said.

"Really? Who?" Autumn asked.

Trixie shook her head, "I'd rather not get into details right now, it was four years ago."

"Well, if you ever feel like telling, I'm all ears," Autumn said.

"Still, the way Mayday is so focused right now, it reminds me of the time I saw Cozy Glow playing this game," Trixie said. "She was like a master strategist. Makes sense given that her Cutie Mark is a Rook."

"Guess chess is her special talent," Autumn Blaze said.

"Breakfast!" Apple Bloom called. "Ah made some waffles!"

"Oh, we should go Mayday," Franklin said.

"Sure, hold on a second," Mayday said, then moved her piece, “Checkmate!”

"Wow, that was a good move," Franklin said. "Come on."

The two kids rushed into the kitchen, with Trixie and Autumn following. Inside the rest of her friends plus Aunt May, seemed to be enjoying food as well.

"You are such a great cook, Apple Bloom, I almost want to bring you back to my home and make you my personal little servant," Diamond Tiara said.

"Uh...pardon?" Apple Bloom said, placing a waffle down for Mayday.

"I mean that in the nicest way possible," Diamond Tiara said.

"Uh-huh..." Apple Bloom placed one down for Franklin. "She's gotten better over the years but honestly, she really could stand some improvement."

"Hey Apple Bloom, I'll take mine to go," Starlight said, making her way into the kitchen.

"What's the rush dear?" Aunt May asked, the woman feeding Spike's daughter Hope.

"I have to get to Twilight's school, I have a lot of work to do on her behalf," Starlight said.

"The school can wait, you need to take time to slow down," Aunt May said. "It's good to work hard, but it's equally important to enjoy life. The School can wait five minutes."

"I know, I just don't want to let Twilight down," Starlight said.

"Listen to Aunt May, just kick back and relax with us, Starlight," Apple Bloom said.

"Yeah, it's just a school, not worth the overuse of effort," Mayday said. "It's the easiest school in the world too, just make a friend."

Despite her worries, Starlight figured waiting a bit wouldn't hurt, "Alright I'll wait. Could give me time to think things over a bit."

"Is everything going well at the school?" Scootaloo asked.

"For the most part, yes," Starlight said. "There is one student who isn't grasping the concept though. She doesn't seem interested in making any friends."

"Then why is she there?" Mayday asked.

"Her parents sent her," Starlight explained. "They want her to broaden her social life and hoped the school could help."

"Wow...her parents must not love her if they're forcing her to attend that school," Mayday said.

"That's not a polite thing to say, young lady," Aunt May said.

"But it's true, if she's not social, then throwing her into a school like that isn't going to help, it's just going to put pressure on her," Mayday said.

"She's not wrong," Starlight said. "Maybe we need to try a different tactic with her."

"Is this a problem Twilight knows about?" Trixie asked.

"A little, I told her one of the students was being difficult, but I also told her that I'd have it under control," Starlight said. "Clearly, I don't."

"If it's too much, maybe you should wait for Twilight," Trixie suggested.

"Twilight's in the middle of a conflict between The Accords and the Rebels," Starlight said. "I can't bother her with this."

"Try sending this filly our way, we'll straighten her out," Scootaloo said.

"Oh, that would help," Starlight said.

Moments later, there was a knock at the door, Trixie being the first to react, "I'll get it."

"Wonder who that could be?" Starlight said.

Trixie trotted over to answer the door, surprised by whom she saw, "Rumble?"

"Hey Trix, miss me?" Rumble said.

"Of course, it's always a pleasure to see you," Trixie said. "I thought you were assigned to Mount Aris with..."

"Hello Trixie, I'm here too," Silverstream greeted.

"So it would seem," Trixie said. "Come on in."

The two made their way inside, Rumble looking around the home he spent a lot of time in. It looked bigger, making him wonder if he could potentially move back in one day, though that option may be far behind him at this point.

"Hope we're not a bother," Silverstream said.

"Not at all, we're just eating breakfast," Trixie said. "Gotta say Rumble, your marefriend really knows how to cook."

"Wait, marefriend?" Rumble said. "Is Apple Bloom here?"

"Yes, she and her friends are foalsitting for Mayday and Franklin Richards," Trixie said.

"Franklin? Johnny's nephew? Rumble asked.

"It's a long story, why don't you come to the kitchen," Trixie said.

In the kitchen, Autumn Blaze is seen trying to listen in to the conversation from her seat, which did not go unnoticed by Aunt May.

"Dearie, if you're that curious, you could just go see who came by," the older woman said.

"Oh yeah, that would make sense," Autumn Blaze said.

However, Trixie came through the door, "We have company." She gestured to the oncoming Rumble and Silverstream. "Our presence has been graced by Wonderbotls."

"Sup everypony?" Rumble greeted.

Apple Bloom's ear twitched as she faced her coltfriend, "Rumble!?"

"Hey Apple Bloom, miss me?" Rumble said.

"Rumble!" Mayday shouted, flying over to greet the young stallion. "I missed you!"

"Hey kiddo, I missed you too," Rumble said, returning the hug.

"Rumble, this is a surprise, did you come all the way from Mount Aris?" Starlight asked.

"Sort of, we arrived in town late yesterday," Rumble said.

"We?" Starlight said, then took note of Silverstream. "Oh, you're both here."

"Hi Counselor Starlight," Silverstream said. "Hi Crusaders."

Mayday backed away, furrowing her brow at Silverstream, "What's she doing here!?"

"Mayday!" Aunt May scolded.

"Easy there Mayday, she's cool," Rumble said. "Silverstream's my friend now."

"Friend? But you're rivals," Mayday said.

"Well, she was, then she became my Wing Griff, now she's my friend," Rumble said.

"It's true, Rumble and I bonded," Silverstream said.

"Well...alright," Mayday said, taking her seat back next to Franklin, the boy stroking her mane.

"Pleasantly surprised to see you here, Rumble," A flirty Sweetie Belle said. "What brings you here from Mount Aris?"

"Any word of mah sister?" Apple Bloom asked.

Rumble winced a bit, "Yeah...about that."

"What happened?" A worried Apple Bloom asked.

"I ran into her not too far from Appaloosa, in the middle of a big fight," Rumble said.

"A fight?" Starlight asked. "Like, Cap's team against Tony's?"

"Who won?" Scootaloo asked.

"Cap retreated, and he somehow managed to talk Spike, Janet and Hercules onto his side," Rumble said.

"Does this mean Spike and Janet are on the run?" Autumn Blaze asked.

"Mommy? Daddy?" came the voice of Hope, Rumble taking note of the filly, wondering how much of the situation she was able to comprehend.

"Yeah, kind of," Rumble said.

A worried silence befell the entire room, none of them sure what to make of this situation. Things were a bit more complicated now.

"So...does Peter know about this?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Probably, if Tony's told him by now," Rumble said. "Point is that Cap's team got away, not without capturing Ember and two of her dragons since they also betrayed The Accords."

"Princess Luna then proceeded to ban dragons from Equestria," Silverstream said.

"Wait, all dragons!?" Starlight asked.

"With the exception of Spike," Rumble said. "Oh, and Smolder too."

Mayday looked visibly disappointed, though dared not to voice it.

"What's happening now?" Starlight asked.

"Tony's preparing for Cap's eventual arrival in Canterlot," Rumble said. "He sent me and Silverstream here just in case Cap passed through town."

"So, you two are meant to intercept Cap?" Trixie asked.

"With help from Firestar and Deadpool at least," Rumble said.

"Deadpool's not in town," Scootaloo said. "He and Pinkie Pie haven't been seen in a couple of days."

Rumble nervously glanced to Silverstream, the Hippogriff looking just as worried.

"So, Deadpool's not in town?" Rumble asked. "That leaves us with one less hero!"

"Spider-Mane sure picked a bad time to leave," Silverstream said.

"Well, at least Firestar is still in town, she must be good," Rumble nervously said.

"Rumble, they have Hercules, if Cap passes through here, we're not going to win," Silverstream said.

"Come on, it should work, why else would Spitfire send us here!" Rumble said.

"Just to see if Cap's team will pass through so we can confirm it with Canterlot," Silverstream said. "I doubt we ourselves could do anything with what little help we have."

"Well, what about the teachers at the School of Friendship, they're part of the X-Men aren't they?" Rumble said.

"They can't fight though, they're not signed with The Accords," Silverstream said. "If they try to fight, they'll just be persecuted and that might just end up giving Cap's side more allies."

"What a pickle," Trixie said. "Even if Peter shows up, could even he do anything against Captain Equestria or Hercules?"

"Twilight could, she's amazing," Rumble said. "Wait, are any of you signed with The Accords by any chance?"

"I'm a Magician, not a fighter," Trixie said.

"I haven't had time to sign on yet," Autumn Blaze said.

"I'm still under the 'Do not trust' list since I enslaved a village," Starlight said.

"You didn't enslave them, you freed them from those boring Cutie Marks," Rumble said.

"Uh, Rumble," Apple Bloom said, gesturing to her mark, her friends doing the same. "Kind of our thing, remember?"

"Heh, right..." Rumble sheepishly said. "You know what I mean though."

"Point is, you have no allies here," Trixie said.

"In the physical sense at least," Sweetie Belle said. "You do have our emotional support."

"Better than nothing," Rumble said.

"Let's just keep a lookout, even if we can't fight we can still try to reason with them," Silverstream said.

"If that's possible," Rumble said. "Seems like Cap is dead set on going head-to-head with Tony Stark and the Accords. We might not have a choice but to fight, but the two of us alone will get clobbered."

"We probably have no choice but to avoid conflict, if possible," Silverstream said.

"Ah hope they come here, maybe ah can talk some sense into Applejack and Remy," Apple Bloom said.

"Not sure how I feel about my pregnant girlfriend confronting the enemy," Rumble said.

"Rumble, they're not villains," Apple Bloom said. "Ah highly doubt that any of them would attack a civilian, especially one that has relatives that's part of their little rebellion."

"Hey, you never know," Rumble said. "Anyway, I should consult with Firestar, maybe we can come up with a plan, be more than just a lookout."

"Good luck with that," Scootaloo said. "You're a tough stallion Rumble, but I don't think you have the muscle to go against Cap, you'd need like some other worldly cosmic energy or something."

Something about that sparked an idea in Mayday's head, "Hey Rumble, come with me."

She left the kitchen, Rumble shrugging it off, "Guess I'm following her."

"Uh...should I come too?" Silverstream asked.

"And me?" Franklin asked.

"Silverstream, it'd be better if you go and find your friends, Smolder will want to know what happened to her brother," Rumble said as he left.

"And Frankie, stay here and help keep an eye on my brother and cousin," Mayday said.

"I guess should let Smolder know, I hope she doesn't freak out too badly," Silverstream said.

"She probably will," Trixie said, earning some glares. "What? It's important to be honest."

---

Mayday led Rumble toward the Everfree Forest, the boy looking very confused by this girl's plan. "So, what's this all about?"

"I'm going to help you become the hero you want to be," Mayday said. "By giving you the tools to capture Cap's team."

"Wait really?" Rumble asked. "That's nice of you."

"Well if you end this conflict, then things can go back to normal for everypony," Mayday said. "Mom and dad don't have to worry, your girlfriend gets her sister back, and you can be Top Bolt."

"I mean, I do like that stuff," Rumble said. "But, do you even know what you're suggesting? I mean, Applejack still broke the law, everyone against The Accords could be in huge trouble, including Spike."

"Mom can get that straightened out, she's a Princess after all," Mayday said. "Plus, I think I can get Auntie Luna to lighten up too, she is family after all. Even daddy can smooth talk everyone, I mean Mr. Stark probably thinks of my daddy the same way Princess Celestia thinks of my mom. The worst that might happen is that some of the heroes will have to go back to Earth, but as long as it's not anyone we know personally, then it's all good."

"That's...a bit cold," Rumble said.

"Well they broke the law, why should our friends and family pay for their mistakes?" Mayday said. "Just defeat Cap and give my parents a chance to clear everything up."

"Should I be trusting the word of an eight-year-old? Genius or not, she's still a kid, I don't think she fully understands the big picture here," Rumble wondered. "I hope things work out for you."

"I think they will, my calculations are usually never wrong," Mayday said.

"Gotta say, it sounds like you even wanna do something nice for Apple Bloom, that's the first time you called her my girlfriend without sounding bitter," Rumble said. "Did you two bond last night?"

Mayday remembered Apple Bloom's act of kindness, "It's nothing. I can't call her my friend but, I do feel a bit sorry for her, so I'll do her this favor since she offered to be my foalsitter. Anyway we're wasting time, let's hurry."

"Danger!" Came the voice of a Patroller Robot.

"Hey, it's that thing Professor Richards and Doctor Hooves made," Rumble said.

"Crap! Haul ass!" Mayday said, running ahead.

"Hey! Where'd you learn that language!" Rumble said, following Mayday.

---

In Las Pegasus, the team of Rainbow Dash, Gilda and Scott finally landed near the edge of town, the three taking in the sights while the latter remained shrunk and on the back of the group's Pegasus.

"Seems like this place is still rebuilding," Rainbow Dash said.

"Yeah, poor ponies," Scott said, then noticed a few Patroller Robots assisting in construction. "At least those robots are helping."

"Oh right, those annoying things," Rainbow Dash said. "At least they're good for something."

"Better than seeing them going around scanning everyone every five minutes," Gilda said.

"To be fair, they don't pester that much," Scott said.

"Hey, what are you two doing here?" Came the voice of Iron Fist, the hero making his way over with Luke Cage and Jessica Jones.

"There they are, play it cool," Scott said in Rainbow Dash's ear. "Keep in mind, they're street level heroes like Daredevil and Night Thrasher, they might have a different perspective on things, play your cards well and you might get them on our side."

"I know that Pegasus, she's Johnny Storm's girl," Luke said.

"That's me, Rainbow Dash, Wonderbolt Extraordinaire and Protector of Equestria," the Rainbow Pony introduced. "This is my Flight School friend, Gilda."

"Nice to meet you," Gilda said.

"Are you with The Accords?" Iron Fist asked.

"Sort of, Spitfire okayed me coming with Rainbow Dash, just for back-up," Gilda said.

"Any reason you're both here?" Jones asked.

"We came by to check on the city, especially with this whole Captain Equestria situation," Rainbow Dash said.

"Nothing out of the ordinary here," Luke said. "Keeping watch as usual."

"So, question. How do you three feel about what Cap's doing?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Just curious, I mean it seems like a big debate type thing."

"Well, he's got balls, I'll give him that," Jones said.

"What about his motivation, do you know why he's doing this?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Well, knowing Steve, it must be big," Luke said. "He's a smart man, he wouldn't start a fight like this, especially with his best friend over nothing."

"The fact that he actually got so many heroes on his side speaks for how charismatic Captain America is," Iron Fist said. "That man's leading a revolution against The Accords."

"You know why, don't you?" Rainbow Dash said. "Because The Accords isn't working, his way of doing things hasn't helped much, I mean, have they benefitted this city?"

"Quite the opposite, that accident weeks ago destroyed half the city," Luke said.

"That was Tony being in control, like he was in Manehattan," Rainbow Dash said. "The very same incident that got me and Johnny benched for a while, despite us doing our jobs. Then Johnny saves Ponyville and that gets him in deeper trouble? Probation or not, saving lives is more important than these silly rules."

Gilda seemed a bit concerned, she knows these heroes are still on The Accords, and might get suspicious at any moment. Fortunately they didn't seem like they were ready to take her in.

"You sound passionate Rainbow Dash, I respect that," Jones said. "I actually kind of agree with what you said about The Human Torch."

"Same here, I'm not surprised Cap rebelled, I'm just surprised he didn't do something sooner," Luke said. "Probably out of respect for Stark. Personally I'm not too fond with some of these rules either."

"Which is ironic coming from us, since we were Heroes for Hire," Iron Fist said.

"I think you got them interested," Scott said. "Keep up the good work."

"I want to say this, I do respect what Tony's trying to do, but I don't respect how he's doing it. Steve is doing what he's doing to help Equestria, not hurt it. He wants our Freedom and is risking a lot to achieve that, as the leader of The Avengers, and one of your world's greatest heroes, I think that puts his rebellion into a certain perspective. So you gotta ask yourselves now, is Tony right? Or is Steve Rogers right?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Easy to see where your allegiance lies," came the voice of Natasha, the spy making her way over with Clint and Vision.

"What's Natasha doing here? And with Hawkeye and Vision?" Scott asked.

"So, Rainbow Dash, off probation I see," Natasha said.

"Spitfire gave the okay, and let my friend here come," Rainbow Dash said, gesturing to Gilda.

"I'm an honorary Accords member," Gilda said.

"I'm aware, Spitfire clued me in," Natasha said. "It's funny, I expected you to be out finding your husband, instead I find you here."

"Well, I kind of got curious," Rainbow Dash said. "After all, half this place got destroyed."

"I am well aware," Natasha said. "What has me curious is your little speech to our friends here, it's almost like you find Cap's motives inspiring. I wouldn't be surprised if you heard this straight from the horse's mouth, no pun intended."

"Rainbow Dash, did you come into contact with Captain America or your Husband recently?" Vision asked.

"Not good, I didn't expect Canterlot assigned heroes," Scott said.

"What should we do?" Rainbow Dash whispered.

"Well you can fly off, but can Gilda catch up?" Scott asked.

"Probably...but I don't want to run," Rainbow Dash said. "We can still make this work."

"Are you mumbling to yourself?" Natasha asked.

Clint noticed something on Rainbow Dash's ear, the hero squinting his eyes a brief second, "These two are not alone."

"Crap, I think he spotted me!" Scott said.

"How? You're small," Rainbow Dash mumbled.

"They don't call him 'Hawkeye' for nothing," Scott said. "We gotta bail."

Clint aimed his bow and arrow, "Don't make any sudden movements."

Rainbow Dash glared at the archer of the Avengers, "You really think you can hit me?"

"You're not the only speedster I've had contact with," Clint said. "I can hit a moving target."

"Well this one hits back, so I'd think your next move over carefully," Rainbow Dash warned.

"There is no need for conflict, it might be best to turn yourself in," Vision said.

"Do you three honestly have faith in Tony Stark?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I mean, Steve Rogers is your friend too, isn't he?"

Black Widow momentarily seemed bothered, but quickly shook it off, "Don't turn this around against us, we're doing our jobs to keep your world safe!"

"Well you're not doing a great job," Rainbow Dash said. "How many more ponies have to get hurt or die before Tony realizes his plan isn't working? If anything things have actually gotten worse for this world since The Accords started. What has it accomplished?"

"She's kind of got a point," Gilda said. "You really should care about this because it sounds like Tony Stark may bring this to your world, last thing you want is to make humans miserable too."

Clint briefly lowered his arrow, wondering if there may be some truth to what either of these girls are saying. He had a family back home to think about and had to weigh his options just as well.

Even Natasha seemed conflicted now, but due to her stubborn nature, she just couldn't relent, "I have to follow orders. Sorry, but I will need to ask you to bring yourself in!"

Within seconds, Scott had appeared beside Natasha and kicked her into Clint, taking them both by surprise.

"Nothing personal," Scott reassured, then found himself face to face with Vision. The android attempted to grab him but Scott again shrunk down. Rainbow Dash flew in and kicked him in the head, barely deterring him but leaving himself open for another punch from Scott.

Clint aimed his bow and arrow, but Gilda was able to swoop in and disarm him, allowing Rainbow Dash to kick him down.

Natasha went for a kick to Rainbow Dash, the Pegasus fast enough to dodge it. She tried a few more, Rainbow Dash dodging the strikes, though getting carried away with some poses as she did so, leaving herself open for a kick to her stomach.

"Should we do something?" Jones asked.

"Give it a minute," Luke said.

Gilda went for a strike of her own to Natasha, but the Avenger woman managed to sidestep and do a jump kick to her head. "Now for you Ant Man."

Scott had attempted to attack her from behind but she managed to get a kick to his head, stunning him a moment. She was about to go for a second strike but Rainbow Dash had tackled her down.

"Did you forget me?" Rainbow Dash taunted, then took a blow from Vision, knocking her into Gilda.

"Dash! Gilda!" Scott said, then found himself surrounded by Natasha, Clint and Vision.

"I wouldn't try shrinking again," Clint warned.

"You know I'm surprised at you Clint," Scott said. "I never took you as a guy who followed the rules without question. You've always had a bit of a rebellious streak yourself. I'm surprised you didn't join Cap much sooner, to think you've sunk so low as to taking orders blindly from Tony Stark. I’m disappointed."

"Watch yourself," Clint warned.

"You know it's true," Scott said, then turned to Natasha. "And what about you Nat? I always took you as a Captain America believer than an Iron Man one."

"Rules are rules, Scott," Natasha said.

"You know, I'm starting to wonder if there's a difference between you and those robots that Reed and Derpy's husband created," Scott said. "I mean, what about you Vision? You've always been more logical, sometimes you're more human than the actual humans."

"Scott, I understand where you're coming from, and where Steve Rogers is coming from," Vision said. "We don't wish any harm for him or his followers, we just want peace. You really believe Tony Stark is happy to hunt down a friend of his?"

"You think Steve's happy to do this either?" Scott asked. "He still cares about Tony, he cares about Equestria."

"He's right," Rainbow Dash said. "When I ran into them last night, all they could talk about was saving Equestria and preventing Tony from being something he's not. What Steve's doing is tough love."

"All three of you need to make a choice," Scott said, seeing that the others were at least not thinking about it, noting the confliction on their faces.

This was interrupted when the Patroller Robots finally arrived on the scene, "Halt! You are in violation of The Accords!"

"Here comes those annoying robots," Rainbow Dash said.

As they were about to transform into battle mode, Luke Cage rushed over and punched a punch into each other, both Iron Fist and Jessica Jones assisting in destroying the robots.

That snapped Natasha out of it, "Hey! What are you three doing!?"

"The right thing," Luke said. "I'm with our three visitors here."

"Tony is not doing good for Equestria, so we're Team Cap," Jones said.

"So basically, we quit," Iron Fist said.

Natasha grew frustrated, "You double crossing..." She went to attack but Jones had dived under and hit Nat with an uppercut to take her down.

"Did a spy just call me a double crosser?" Jones teased.

Clint was about to attack as well but Iron Fist swopped in and punched his stomach. "Got ya!"

Finally Luke rushed in to punch down Vision. "Sorry man, can't let you stop us."

"Let's am-scray," Scott said, then turned back to the trio of Canterlot heroes, "You three still have a chance to make the right call! I know you're all better than this!"

The six members of Team Cap fled, leaving the trio behind and defeated.

"That was a failure," Natasha said, standing up.

Suddenly Tony began speaking through her radio, "Nat? You there? What's happening? Some of my robots just went offline."

Natasha grabbed her radio, speaking through it, "Hey Tony. Slight problem. Rainbow Dash, Scott Lang and a Griffon named Gilda revealed themselves as members of Cap's rebellion."

"Spitfire's not going to like that," Tony said.

"To make things worse, all the assigned Las Pegasus heroes took Cap's side too," Natasha said, hearing an audible groan from the Accords leader. "Tony, this keeps happening, more and more heroes are joining Cap's side, do we even have a chance to stop him? Maybe we should end the fight."

"I can't just do that, what would that say about me?" Tony asked. "When faced with adversity, you don't give up, that's what separates us from others. We're The Avengers, we always triumph."

"The Avengers are falling apart!" Natasha said. "Steve turned against us, Falcon and The Winter Solider joined him, they've got Ant Man on their side now, I mean even Hercules is with them, and Spitfire just lost two of her top Wonderbolts! We don't even have help from Banner or Thor!"

"I can get Banner, and when Thor's done with this Ragnarök thing, he can help too," Tony said. "Granted I'm not sure when he'll be done..."

"Tony, I really think you should just talk things out, Steve is your friend after all," Natasha said.

"Nat, enough, we'll figure things out, for now come back to Canterlot," Tony said. "I'll see you later."

Natasha groaned in annoyance, "Fine, see you later." She hung up, looking conflicted. "I get what Tony means about not giving up but, given the circumstances..."

"This is not like our typical conflicts," Vision said. "This isn't an enemy we must defeat, it's a friend that we must find peace with. I believe in time that Tony Stark could put his pride aside, but he will need help. For now, it is important that we handle the situation with care."

"Not sure about you, but even I'm starting to think that Scott had a point," Clint said. "Maybe we should just side with Cap."

"Don't say that out loud, never know who can hear," Natasha said. "Just stick it out a bit longer. Now let's hurry back."

---

Meanwhile in Canterlot, Tony had just explained the situation to Spitfire, "So...yeah, your worries about Rainbow Dash were true, she's Team Cap."

"Such a waste," Spitfire said. "I mean, I thought this probation would make her come to her senses about how she does things, not make her more reckless. I was even going to take her under my wing someday, she could have made a fine Wonderbolt Captain with a bit more Tough Love."

"Well she is undyingly Loyal to her Friends and Husband," Tony said.

"I get that, I respect it too, but I need for her to use that head of hers more," Spitfire said. "She's not just fast, she's smart too, a lot more than she gives herself credit for."

"Have you ever told her this?" Tony asked.

"Should I have? I didn't want to give her an ego," Spitfire said. "Guess it doesn't matter, she and Johnny are likely going to be banished to Earth."

"Right..." Tony seemed conflicted by that rule. "Well...we'll leave that to Luna, just because the rules say she could be banished doesn't mean she will be."

"I hope not..." Spitfire removed her sunglasses, a look of shame on her face. "Can I be honest with you about something?"

"Sure, spill it," Tony said

"This whole thing...it really bothers me," Spitfire admitted. "The Accords were supposed to unite our worlds, together we could have brought peace to this world and yours. Now, things are falling apart. I mean, your best friend is rebelling, two of my best flyers turned against me. I just...I feel like things are only going to get worse, and I'm really worried. I don't want my world to suffer because of this."

"It won't, I will not allow that to happen," Tony said. "I want this fixed, and the sooner we find Cap, the sooner things can go back to normal! I'll make it work, I promise that."

"I know you want to keep that promise Tony, but is it even possible to do so?" Spitfire asked.

Tony so badly wanted to tell Spitfire to try and trust him, but at this point, he's said it so much, it's sounding like an empty promise, "I'll do my best."

"I guess that's all I can ask for," Spitfire said. "But, I think I know you pretty well Tony, and I know you always strive to do the right thing. This is why Peter looks up to you after all."

"Peter...crap, what does he think of all this?" Tony wondered. "I don't want to let the kid down."

"From what I've seen, Peter is a very understanding guy, I mean he befriended Princess Luna when nopony else would," Spitfire said. "I used to dig the guy myself, I mean I'm past that now but I have wondered."

"You'd make one hell of a couple," Tony said. "Peter's got that charm that he could make things work with any girl, just like me."

"Easy Tony, don't let Pepper hear you say that," Spitfire teased.

"I would never think of any girl aside from Pepper these days," Tony said. "Just like you would never think of a guy aside from Soarin."

"Yeah.." Spitfire began to blush a bit. "Is it weird that I've thought about taking things to the next level with Soarin? I mean, we only recently started dating, but I've known him for years."

"Take it slow, just because you were friends doesn't guarantee a match. Take it from me, dating Pepper added new layers to our relationship that I had to get used to," Tony said. "But I think you found a good guy, I mean he makes you happy, right?"

"Yeah...I just feel so open with him, and I feel a sense of safety," Spitfire said. "Eh, sorry if that sounds girly."

"Don't be sorry, you are female after all," Tony said. "Everyone could use someone they can be comfortable being vulnerable with, it just makes you human, or pony."

"You're one smart guy, Tony Stark," Spitfire said.

"Are you two done, yet?" Came Carol's voice, the woman flying in.

"Carol? What are you doing here?" Tony asked. "You're supposed to be guarding the Crystal Heart."

"Let Shining Armor earn his keep, he can handle five minutes without me doing his damn job," Carol said.

"You could be a little more respectful, he's a Prince and Former Captain of the Guards," Spitfire said.

"I will respect him when he earns it," Carol said. "Also, what was with you a moment ago? Talking about feeling safe because you're with some guy? A strong woman doesn't need a guy to feel safe."

"Soarin is not 'some guy'," Sptifire said. "He's Co-Captain of The Wonderbolts, one of the best flyers in my squad, arguably the hardest working member of my group and a stallion I'm proud to call my boyfriend. I don't know what your definition of a 'Strong Woman' is, but if it's acting cold and emotionless, then you can take that ideology and shove it where the sun don't shine!"

Carol looked very displeased, though Spitfire wasn't intent on backing down, the mare glared coldly at the former pilot.

"Alright, let's not have any more internal conflict," Tony said. "Carol, what are you doing here exactly?"

"You haven't authorized Kamala's travels to other cities," Carol said.

"She's not ready, if I send her out there, she's going to struggle," Tony said. "The reason she's at The Crystal Empire is because it's the safest for her. She has Cadance and Shining Armor keeping an eye on her, and you too since she's your sidekick, she can't make it on her own yet, she's too new."

"She's a strong, capable fighter, don't underestimate her because she's a girl," Carol said.

"You're kidding right?" Tony said. "I am looking at this from an OBJECTIVE standpoint."

"If it were Peter, you would have sent him out there," Carol said.

"Not when he was a fifteen-year-old kid! Kamala is how old? Seventeen? Eighteen?" Tony asked. "She's not ready!"

"Well I say she is, do the right thing and let her actually prove she's way more worthy than a lot of these old washed-up heroes you have on your side," Carol said.

Tony groaned in annoyance, "You know what, fine, but if anything happens to her, it's on you! I'm not going to have her injuries on my conscious."

"She can take it, I've trained her myself, and I am the Strongest Avenger," Carol said.

"Pretty sure Thor is. Or the Hulk," Spitfire said, infuriating Carol.

"Speaking of which, I have to contact Banner," Tony said.

"Don't bother, he's off planet," Carol said.

"Huh?" Tony said. "What for?"

"I talked Fury into keeping him off planet for a while since we weren't around to make sure he didn't go all savage," Carol said.

Tony's eye twitched, "You sent him into SPACE!? What's the matter with you!?"

"It's called 'Safety Precautions'," Carol said.

"No! It's called 'Overly Cautious'!" Tony said.

"Oh, how ironic hearing you say that," Came the voice of Blueblood, the stallion entering the room. "You condemn this woman for taking unnecessary caution when that is the basis of your Accords."

"I am not in the mood for this right now, things are getting worse for me," Tony said.

"What? Are ponies rebelling? Are heroes switching sides?" Blueblood asked. "You could ask my aunt Celestia for help, but wait, you had her sent on 'vacation'."

"She's not fit to rule this world," Carol said.

"Blasphemy, my aunt is not perfect but she loves the Ponies of Equestria, what could you know about our culture?" Blueblood asked.

"That it needs work," Carol said. "You ponies would be lost without the help of us in the Marvel world, even your spells know that, despite them picking the wrong hero to come to Equestria."

"Don't talk crap about Peter!" Spitfire warned.

"Don't fangirl over some little boy," Carol said.

"Excuse me, but you yourself liked Peter once, what the hell happened to that?" Tony asked.

"I gained common sense, that's what," Carol said.

"Funny, I never thought I'd see a female who wouldn't want Spider-Mane to herself," Blueblood said. "I don't blame them, from what I've seen he's a charming fellow, probably not as much as me, but at least enough befitting a prince."

"Yeah like most Princes in this world, there's nothing but failures and letdowns," Carol said, this earning herself a glare from both Tony and Spitfire.

"As a Prince myself, I could be offended, but it's hard to be, when I can see right through you," Blueblood said. "You're a vain woman who thinks she is better than she actually is and feel the need to put down others to place yourself on a high pedestal. You look in the mirror and think you look great, but I see you for how you truly see yourself, a fraud."

"Look you..." Carol warned.

"Easy Carol! You really want to catch hell from Luna!?" Tony asked.

Carol groaned and turned away, "I'm done here, I'm going back to Cadance."

"You better not be doing or saying anything uncouth to my cousin," Blueblood warned.

"On the contrary, I think I am enlightening her," Carol said and flew off.

"How annoying," Spitfire said. "Why is she on our side?"

"After we figure things out with Cap, I am SO firing her," Tony said.

"You're not off the hook either, Tony Stark," Blueblood said. "I still have my eye on you. If you truly want to make peace with Captain Equestria, I suggest you do so by admitting your own flaws."

"Thanks, Blueblood, I'll consider it," an annoyed Tony said.

"Oh, by the way, a man from Earth came by to see Reed Richards," Blueblood said.

"Really? Who?" Tony asked.

---

In a makeshift lab, Reed, Hank and Doctor Hooves were all seen working on more robots, though Doc had something else on the side he was trying to make.

"This will certainly impress my wife and stepdaughter," Doc said, working carefully. "Make them forget about Spider-Mane..."

"Doc, don't compare yourself to Peter, you're your own stallion," Reed said.

"Take it from me, letting your work get in the middle of your relationship has dire consequences," Hank said.

"Exactly, just do what you need to do to benefit your family," Reed said.

"And how exactly are you benefitting yours, Stretch?" Came a voice familiar to Reed.

The scientist turned around to see his childhood friend, "Ben?"

"Ben? As in Ben Grimm?" Doc asked, he and Hank surprised to see the final member of The Fantastic Four in Equestria.

"So, who's gonna explain this whole situation to me?" Ben asked.

---

Back in Ponyville, Silverstream had explained everything to Smolder, "And that's what happened, Garble is no longer allowed in Equestria, nor is Ember or any dragon side from you and Spike."

"So that's it? Just like that they can't come back!?" Smolder asked, the girl beside the rest of her friends along with Kurt.

"That's terrible, can't believe that happened," Sandbar said.

"We may need a word with Tony Stark, this is unacceptable," Kurt said.

"Well Princess Luna's the one who finalized the banishment," Silverstream said.

"I don't care who finalized it, I blame, Tony Stark, Luna and Spitfire," Smolder said. "I want to get to the bottom of this!"

"Hey take it easy!" Gallus said. "If you cause a ruckus you're going to get banished too!"

"I'd like to see them try," Smolder said.

"Gee, that would be tough, wouldn't it?" Cozy said. "I mean, it's only a Princess of Equestria, the Captain of The Wonderbolts and The Leader of The Avengers, won't be any trouble at all."

"No need for the sarcasm, Cozy," Jubilee said. "Seriously Smolder, you need to dial it back."

"Not until I have answers!" Smolder said. "Who else was there when it happened!? I bet that punk Bobby Drake was there! Or maybe your punk partner Rumble! Was he there too!?"

"Rumble had nothing to do with what happened, I don't want you confronting him about this," Silverstream said. "There's a reason he opted not to tell you."

"Huh, so he gave up a chance to rub it in her face?" Gallus asked. "Surprised he could be so mature. You get an A plus for being a good partner, Silverstream."

"The best thing would be for Spider-Mane to come back and see if he can help," Sandbar said. "Or Professor Sparkle."

"Sandbar's right," Silverstream said. "Peter or Twilight can help, right now the best thing to do-"

"Captain Equestria's in town!" Came the voice of Pegasus Rainbow Harmony, getting their attention. "I saw Captain Equestria! Here's here! So is his team! Including Mr. Storm and Professor Applejack!"

"I gotta go," Silverstream said. "All of you stay here, I have a job to do!"

In the center of town, Team Cap is strolling through, keeping an eye on everything. All the ponies noticed them and seemed worried and confused, not sure what to make of this team.

"Looks like no one really trusts us," Babs said.

"Well we are 'traitors'," Taskmaster said.

"Hopefully we can avoid a fight, let's find Peter," Steve said.

As they went through town, they came face to face with Firestar and Silverstream, the two currently united against Team Cap.

"Mr. Stark, we have visual of Team Cap in Ponyville," Silverstream said.

"Copy," Tony said. "We'll send for back-up, but for now you'll get a little extra assist, try to avoid conflict though."

"Will do," Silverstream said, placing the radio away as Cap's team got closer.

"Captain..." Firestar greeted.

"Hello Firestar," Steve noticed the young Hippogriff, "Silverstream, you're here too?"

"Reinforcements are coming, I suggest you surrender," Silversteam said.

"Silverstream," Applejack stepped forward. "You know what could happen. Do you really want a fight to break out here? Ponies are still feeling the effects of the Pony of Shadows."

Stygian turned away with shame, Babs kindly patting his back.

"Professor, your sister misses you," Silverstream said. "I saw her this morning; she wants you to come home."

"It's true..." Apple Bloom said, the filly having made her presence known and currently making her way over with the rest of The Crusaders.

"Wow, word travels fast," Taskmaster said.

"Applejack, this is crazy, just come home," Apple Bloom said.

"Ah wish ah could, but it ain't gonna be that easy," Applejack said.

"Apple Bloom, how are our kids?" Remy asked.

"Safe at home," Apple Bloom said. "Big Mac and Cheerilee are watching over them."

"You have the option to see them, if you surrender," Firestar asked.

"And how do we know you won't just throw us in Canterlot Dungeon?" Applejack asked.

"It's still a better chance than what you're doing now," Firestar said.

"Look, we're not here to fight, we just want to speak with Peter," Steve said.

"He's not in town, he went to go look for you along with Twilight," Firestar said.

"He made a big speech about it and everything," Scootaloo said.

"Well that's a bust," Bucky said. "Now what?"

"Halt..." came a Patroller Robot, several surrounding Cap's team, all of them ready to fight.

"Now you surrender, it's over," Firestar said.

"We can take you," Taskmaster said.

"Tony, we are trying to avoid conflict," Lizard said.

"Well they ain't making it easy," Taskmaster said.

Moments later, a portal emerged next to Firestar, with Kamala stepping through, "Am I late?"

"Kamala?" Steve said.

"Oh, just in time," Kamala cleared her throat. "Halt evil doers"!

"Is she serious?" Sam asked.

"Kamala, what are you doing here?" Steve asked.

"I'm here to bring you in, you are in major violation of The Accords!" Kamala said. "If you don't cooperate, I'll have to use force."

"Kid, go home," Johnny said. "You're way out of your league."

"Hey, I'll have you know I took in the Terrigen Mist! The same mist that created The Inhumans!" Kamala said.

"Yeah, I know what the mist is," Johnny said.

"I'm probably as strong as Black Bolt, or stronger, so you better give up now," Kamala said.

"Kamala, this isn't a game," Steve said. "You never should have come to this world, you weren't ready. You still have a lot of growing to do."

"I'm totally ready, I got the seal of approval from Carol," Kamala said.

"Kamala, you're strong, but all the strength in the world doesn't mean anything without practice or experience," Steve said. "Don't get overconfident, choose your battles carefully, that's part of being a hero."

"I am choosing carefully, I know the perfect way to bring you down, it's like a game of chess," Kamala said, readying a blow. "Take out the King!"

She threw a punch but Steve effortlessly blocked it with his now fixed shield. "Technically you corner the King."

"Don't talk down to me!" Kamala went for another punch but Steve countered each blow. She tried rushing at him but he ducked and elbowed her stomach, knocking her back.

"That overzelous girl really started a fight?" Firestar muttered to herself.

"Well I respect her tenacity," Silverstream said.

"Kamala, you have potential to be great, but if you act this reckless, you'll get killed against an actual villain," Steve said.

Kamala stood up, turning to her allies, "You could help me at any time!"

"Guess we don't have a choice, but Kamala had a point with the chess thing, we just gotta stop Cap and the others might lose morale," Firestar said. "Let's try to take this fight out of the village, we can reduce potential harm."

"I'll follow your lead," Silverstream said. Suddenly the ground started to shake, much to Silverstream's concern, "What's that?"

"Something is coming," Hercules said.

Stepping into view from beyond the houses was an Ursa Minor, with Rumble and Mayday riding on its back.

"Are you ready to Rumble!?" the arrogant stallion asked.

"What in the freaking world!?" Taskmaster shouted.

"That's the Ursa Minor!" Spike shouted. "Peter and Twilight took it in as a pet!"

"The hell kind of pet is that!?" Taskmaster shouted.

Ursa Minor stepped before Team Cap, Rumble looking down from his head, "How do you like that, huh? You may have an army, but I have a space bear."

"Wow, he's really lost it," Felicia said.

"Are you out of your mind Rumble!?" Johnny shouted. "And why is Mayday with you!?"

"Franklin better not be up there!" Susan said.

"No, he's back home with Aunt Trixie, Miss Glimmer and Autumn Blaze," Mayday said.

"I got this from here, go by down to Apple Bloom," Rumble said, gesturing to his speechless girlfriend.

"Kick their butts, and bring my aunt and uncle home," Mayday said, flying down to Apple Bloom. "I'm back!"

"Huh?" Apple Bloom looked down to the girl, then back up to Rumble, still unable to fully process this.

"Mayday, you are so going to be grounded for this!" Spike called.

"Sorry Uncle Spike, but I need to bring you home, otherwise Hope will be sad," Mayday said.

"Rumble, did you turn her against us!?" Janet asked.

"No way!" Rumble said.

"Exactly, this was all my idea!" Mayday said. "I will save the world like daddy does!"

"And like her awesome big brother," Rumble said, gesturing to himself.

"From one stupid kid to another," Dwayne lamented.

"Rumble! Are you out your dang mind!?" Apple Bloom shouted. "You get off that Ursa Minor and tell it to march back home! Don't make me come up there!"

"Chill babe, I'm doing this to bring your sister home," Rumble said. "Now, Ursa, try not to hurt Applejack, Remy, Spike or Janet. Anyone else is fair game."

"Marko..." Taskmaster said.

"Yeah, I'm on it," Sandman transformed into a giant sand creature to face off against The Ursa Minor. "Last chance kid, take a hike."

"Never!" Rumble said. "Attack Ursa!"

Ursa swiped at Sandman, the attack doing nothing since it phased through the meta human. "Wow, that barely did anything."

"Try again Ursa, remember this guy used to hurt Peter!" Rumble said.

Ursa Minor unleashed more attacks, but Sandman actually blocked and fought back, punching the giant bear in the face, stumbling it back.

Johnny flew over and assisted with a fire blast to its face, the force knocking Rumble off and landing on a nearby roof as Ursa stepped back and accidentally crushed a house.

"Tell me nopony was in there..." Applejack worriedly stated.

"My house!" Came the voice of Moon Shine.

"Oh good...ah mean...sorry about yer house!" Applejack said.

Johnny then got knocked through the window of another house, annoying the pony inside. "Oh come on!"

"Sorry Cherry Berry," Johnny said, flying out.

Hercules jumped up and punched the Ursa, stumbling it back some more, crushing some other houses as the ponies ran for cover.

"Hey easy! Take it out the village before someone gets hurt!" Steve warned.

"This town has good insurance, right?" Taskmaster asked.

"It's actually pretty top notch," Applejack said. "Doesn't make things any less annoying fer the townsfolk."

Ursa ran back and leapt into the air, trying to land on Cap's team and everyone ducking out the way, the shockwave sending some nearby ponies flying and damaging some windows.

"This is a disaster," Steve said. "Come on, let's try to lead it out of town."

"Hold it!" Bon Bon shouted. "Steve Rogers, I'm taking you in!"

"Is now REALLY a good time for that!?" Steve shouted in annoyance, then suddenly had to dodge a slam from Ursa's claw, Bon Bon doing the same.

Hercules grabbed it's back foot and began swinging the giant creature around in circles, sending the beast flying out of the village and back into the Everfree Forest.

"Ursa!" Mayday shouted, then glared at Hercules. "You big meanie!"

"Forgive me," Hercules said.

Rumble groaned in annoyance as he stepped into town, "Come on, that should have worked."

"Rumble!" Apple Bloom stomped over to the boy. "You are INSANE! Why would you bring an Ursa Minor into town like that!?"

"To stop Cap and bring your sister back my sweet little Apple Pie?" Rumble said.

"Don't you try that smooth talk with me, mister," Apple Bloom said.

"But I can't help, you're so sweet," Rumble said. "Even when you're mad you're as graceful as a thundering storm cloud."

"Huh!?" Apple Bloom said. "What kind of simile was that?"

"The type that says 'I love you'," Rumble said, earning a blush from his girlfriend.

"Dang it! Stop sweet talking me! I'm trying to be mad at ya!" Apple Bloom said. "Rumble, ah get you were trying to help but you dang near made everything worse! This is why some ponies probably don't care much fer The Accords, you could have done to this town what previous villains had done! Y'all are on the path of becoming like the villains you promised to protect us from!"

Firestar had overheard, the girl surprised to hear such a comment, "Us? The villains? But...that's impossible."

"Is it?" Johnny said. "If The Accords were so great, why didn't Cap like them? Surely you're not doubting his judge of character. The same man who lives, breathes and fights for Freedom."

"Ignore him! He's just trying to get in your head!" Bon Bon shouted, then spoke into a radio. "Tony, Rumble tried using an unorthodox method to stop Cap but it failed, you gotta get over here fast!"

"Someone else is coming," Tony reluctantly said.

Within moments, another portal opened, this time it was Carol and Cadance.

"Well look what we have here, future residents of Tartarus," Carol said. "I'm done waiting in the shadows, I'm bringing you all in!"

"Carol!" Applejack shouted. "This is all yer fault!"

The farmer mare charged in to attack but Carol effortless hit an uppercut to knock her out, startling Remy.

"Applejack!" Remy angrily grabbed his cards. "You just crossed the line!"

Carol quickly appeared behind Remy and knocked him out as well, then punched out an oncoming Lizard. "Anyone else?"

Sugar Belle tried to sneak up from behind, but Carol had blocked a magic blast and zapped Sugar Belle against a wall. The mare struggled to stand as Carol menacingly approached her.

"Don't you hurt her!" Bucky shouted, running over to punch Carol in the face. That stunned her momentarily, allowing Bucky to punch her again, but after a third attempted, she grabbed his arm and punched him hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

Hercules rushed over to punch Carol, the woman blocking it, but nearly losing her balance. Hercules pushed harder and threw another punch that Carol blocked, both fighting for control. The two struggled to take the advantage, Carol doing her best to hold Hercules back while he pushed harder, the struggle creating a small Earthquake in the area as Hercules eventually headbutted Carol, nearly knocking her down.

Carol returned the favor, trying to knock Hercules out. She went for a couple more, but took one more blow to her head to finally knock her back. As he went to attack, Cadance grabbed Hercules with her magic and flung him off.

"I got you Carol," Cadance said. "Let's put an end to this."

"Aunt Cadance!" Mayday called. "Bring Uncle Spike and Aunt Janet back!"

"I'll do what I can, but consequences must be dealt for everyone opposed to The Accords," Cadance said.

"Great, now Cadance is corrupted," Johnny said, ready to fight.

Cadance sent out a blast to Johnny, knocking him back. Susan tried to trap her with her forcefield but Cadance had teleported out and zapped Susan down. She then turned her attention to Steve, looking ready for a fight.

"Cadance, don't," Steve said, readying his shield for a reluctant fight. "Whatever Carol told you was a lie! You're better than this!"

"Sorry, I have a future to think about, especially for the sake of my daughter!" Cadance sent a blast at Steve, one that got blocked by a forcefield. "Huh? Cadance looked to see if it was Susan, but she was still recovering from her own attack. "Wait, what happened?"

"Cadance..." Came the voice of her aunt, the returning Princess Celestia, a presence that surprised everyone present in the battlefield.

"Celestia..." Steve said in awe.

"Auntie!?" Cadance asked.

"You are misguided, you fell for The Accords, and those behind it," Celestia said. "I am no longer watching from the shadows! I am going to take my country back! No matter who I have to fight!"

"You would turn against your sister again?" Carol said, making her presence known. "You really do have a thirst for power."

"It's amazing what hypocrisy is born from these Accords," Celestia said. "Everyone gather!"

"Cadance, grab a few," Carol said, Cadance obliging and using her magic to pick up Applejack, Remy, Lizard and Bucky.

"I'll save them!" Dwayne said, about to skateboard in but took a punch from Carol, knocking him toward Cadance. Matt tried to attack but he got knocked back toward Johnny, who was quick to grab him and fly toward Celestia.

"Some of them are still in danger," Felicia pointed out.

Celestia had to think of something, but if she wasn't careful, she could fail to save her newfound allies.

Surprisingly to her, Firestar had sent a blast to Cadance, trying to knock the captives free, "I'll save you all!"

"Stupid girl!" Carol flew in and punched Firestar out cold.

"Angel!" Johnny shouted in worry.

"Celestia, we have to go!" Sam said once mostly everyone was in position.

"Our allies," Celestia said.

"I don't want to leave them," Sam said as Sugar Belle limped back to the group but if we get captured too, we won't free them!"

Reluctantly, Celestia had teleported away with many of her allies, leaving their enemies behind with a few unfortunate captives.

"They got away," Bon Bon said.

"No matter, we have who we need," Carol said, gesturing to the captured Applejack, Remy, Lizard, Dwayne, Bucky and Angel. "Send them to Canterlot, have a Dungeon ready, they'll find themselves in Tartarus really soon."

"Um, excuse me," Rumble said, getting her attention. "Yeah see, I promised my girlfriend to bring back her sister and brother-in-law, so any chance you can clear things up for Applejack and Gambit, so they can go back home?"

"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep, now you're responsible for your girlfriend's pain," Carol said, Apple Bloom overhearing this, her heart sinking.

"But, you see, Applejack's important to Equestria, you know The Elements of Harmony, don't you?" Rumble asked.

"Those things are no longer needed, not with us around," Carol said. "Now, I suggest you run along and get ready. Cap's team is heading for Canterlot next, I expect you to help bring the rest of them down."

"Lady!" Apple Bloom shouted, tearfully running over. "Please, just give me back mah sister, I'll do anything! You want pie? Or pastries? Anything at all!?"

"I want you to get out my face," Carol said.

"Come on! You're gonna leave my nephew and niece without their parents!" Apple Bloom said, grabbing Carol's shirt. "Don't you have a heart!? You can't just-"

"Move!" Carol knocked Apple Bloom aside, this being the last straw for Rumble.

"Hey you!" Rumble shouted, getting in her face. "Do NOT hurt my girlfriend! I don't give a damn who you are! You ever do that again-"

Carol punched Rumble hard in the stomach, leaving him gasping for breath as Apple Bloom scurried over to him.

"Rumble!" Apple Bloom looked up at Carol with anger in her eyes. "What kind of hero are you?"

"I do what I must, keep your boyfriend in line or next time, he's fired," Carol said.

"Excuse me," Silverstream said, getting up and close to Carol. "You know attacking a civilian is not a proper code of conduct. Especially ones that are pregnant."

"You get out my face, or so help me, I will make sure the Hippogriffs end up just like the Dragons," Carol said. "Hell, I might consider all non-ponies a threat to Equestria, that might be terrible for your friends."

"You won't get away with that," Silverstream said.

Carol looked furious, almost as if she were gonna strike when Kurt teleported nearby, "That won't be wise."

Carol turned her attention to the mutant, "Huh, what a surprise, what's with the new look?"

"I got tired of hiding who I was," Kurt said. "Seems like I'm not the only one who's showing their true self however."

"I'd watch it if I were you, I mean, a Changeling, you're just one step away from being just like your mother," Carol said. "Or just like a Skrull, a cunning shapeshifter whose loyalties are as reliable as their appearance."

"Does judging me make you feel better about yourself?" Kurt asked. "Is this what makes you feel strong? To feel like you can kick others around? You're no hero, you are a bully, and I am very disappointed in you."

"Aren't you supposed to forgive and forget?" Carol asked.

"The Lord Almighty is capable of such a feat, but even I have my limits," Kurt said. "If you are done here, then I suggest you leave. You are not welcome in this town."

"Pfft, like I care, in the end, I still run the show," Carol said. "Cadance, Kamala, Sweetie Drops, we're off."

Cadance opened a portal, bringing all the girls through, leaving everyone else behind.

Many of the remaining ponies looked in awe and disgust, especially the Crusaders.

"Wow, what a bitch," Scootaloo said, then remembered who was near. "Sorry Kurt."

"I will not fault you, it's alright to feel angry, that is your right as a living creature," Kurt said.

"I can't believe she hurt Rumble," Sweetie Belle said.

"And Apple Bloom, so uncouth," Diamond Tiara said.

Mayday angrily huffed, "I hate that mare. If Tony Stark and Spitfire are anything like that, then I hate them too."

Silverstream walked over to check on Rumble, making sure he didn't suffer any internal injuries, "This was all a mistake...I never should have pledged my loyalty to The Accords."

"It's not too late," Apple Bloom said. "Find Cap, find Celestia, help them fight back."

"Not...by...yourself," Rumble said, trying to stand. "Carol can't be trusted, and it sounds like neither can Tony Stark, Luna or Spitfire. If they can do something like this to Applejack, then who knows what else they can do to innocent ponies. You heard what she said about your friends, she shouldn't drag them into this, or any of their kind, they had nothing to do with any of this. I certainly won't let anything happen to you either. You and I stay together."

"Right, I am your Wing Griff after all," Silverstream said.

"More than that, you're my friend," Rumble said.

"Wow, I can't believe this," Gallus said, making his way over with his friends. "You've gotten Humble, Rumble."

"See, it's catchy," Silverstream said.

"Don't..." Rumble said, then turned to Gallus. "Why are you here?"

"Yeah, I told you to stay behind," Silverstream said.

"True, but we got worried," Gallus said. "Glad we came, to hear that Rumble actually cares about us is heartwarming."

"Don't get me wrong! I still don't like any of you!" Rumble said. "I'm just being objective."

"We appreciate that, you're a nice boy, Rumble," Ocellus said.

"Don't compliment me!" Rumble said.

"Fine, you're a punk loser," Gallus said, earning a glare from Rumble, which he smirked off at. "You said not to compliment you, Tumble."

"I hate you..." Rumble said.

"Rumble and I are going to find Cap, the rest of you please stay here and don't get into any trouble," Silverstream said.

"Apple Bloom, be safe," Rumble said.

"Ah will," Apple Bloom said. She then brought Rumble in for a passionate kiss, one that melted Rumble almost immediately. "Love you too, by the way.”

A happy Rumble then flew off with Silverstream, leaving their friends behind.

"That's the nicest I've seen Rumble," Sandbar said.

"Isn't it sweet?" Cozy Glow said, fluttering near Sandbar. "We could be like that."

"Whatever you say, Cozy,” Sandbar said.

"Once again, Apple Bloom is so lucky," Sweetie Belle said. "I’d swap with her."

"Totally."

"That'd be amazing."

"I'm down with that."

"I'd swap with Rumble."

Apple Bloom raised her eyebrow, "Wait, who said that?"

Scootaloo physically denied it, Silver Spoon looked confused, Dinky was giggling to herself, and Diamond Tiara looked away, seemingly uninterested.

"Alright, you figure that out Apple Bloom, maybe I should make a trip to Canterlot, see if I can talk sense into Rarity and Bobby," Sweetie Belle said.

"You shouldn't go alone," Ocellus said.

"I'll be fine," Sweetie Belle said.

"If you want, I can come too," Smolder said, sheepishly twiddling her claws. "Mostly to tear into Tony Stark and Luna."

"We can all go," Scootaloo said.

"Uh, Mayday..." Sweetie Belle said, gesturing to the filly, who was surprisingly quiet, but clearly in her own thoughts, likely processing what she had seen. "Look, Smolder can come if she wants, I'd rather not bring a large group though."

"How about I come too, just in case things go wrong," Ocellus said.

"Just please be careful, ah don't want y'all getting hurt," Apple Bloom said.

"I'll keep Sweetie Belle safe," Smolder said.

"That's sweet of you Smolder, but I can take care of myself," Sweetie Belle said.

"I'll still try," Smolder said. "So will Ocellus."

"Is this alright with you, Kurt?" Ocellus asked.

Kurt nodded his head, "Yes, just promise you'll be responsible."

"We will," Ocellus said. "Come on girls."

As the three left, Kurt turned his attention to everyone, "Let us go home for now."

Everyone began to leave, Apple Bloom trotting toward Mayday, rubbing her mane, "You alright sweetheart?"

"I'm fine, just confused," Mayday said. "Can we go check on Ursa?"

"It's too dangerous right now, we'll ask Trixie when we get home, alright sweetie?" Apple Bloom said.

"Alright auntie," Mayday said.

Apple Bloom's eyes widened, "Auntie?"

"Uh...I meant, Apple Bloom," Mayday said. "That sounds nothing alike! Ugh, for a genius you can be so dumb, Mayday!"

"Alright then...well let's go," Apple Bloom asked. She heard of course knew Mayday covered it up, but she was still happy to be referred to as 'auntie', to Apple Bloom, it meant forming a closer bond with the daughter of a pony she admired a lot.

It wasn't much longer that Peter and Twilight had finally arrived in Ponyville, noticing the state of the town.

"What in the world?" Peter said.

"Come on, let's check it out," Twilight said.

Not too far behind, the ashamed duo of Deadpool and Pinkie Pie had arrived back in Ponyville.

"Can't believe Logan got away, so much for proving myself," Deadpool said.

"Don't worry, there's still a chance," Pinkie Pie said. "Let's just rest up at home for now, we'll try again later."

"Uh, something happened here," Deadpool said, noticing some destroyed buildings. "Think it was Cap?"

"One way to find out, let's ask around," Pinkie said.

---

It was also around this point that Logan, Fluttershy and Laura had arrived in Las Pegasus, looking around for any of the heroes.

"Any sign of them?" Fluttershy asked.

Logan tried tracking their scent, "They were here, but they left."

"Where could they have gone?" Fluttershy asked.

"Hold on," Logan sniffed again, "They weren't alone. Rainbow Dash was here, so was Gilda and Scott Lang. But...I'm also picking up Black Widow and Hawkeye."

"Something might have happened, let's check it out," Laura said.

---

Then in Canterlot, Bobby's team had arrived and were waiting for Cap, the ice user looking ready to end this.

"The moment we find Cap, we strike hard, no holding back," Bobby said. "He's not getting away again."

"Got that right," Fleetfoot said. "No one makes a fool out of us."

"Let's stand guard," She-Hulk said. "From the sounds of things, Cap was just in Ponyville, it may not be long before he comes here."

"It won't," Carol said, getting their attention. "But don't worry, we captured some of his allies, including Applejack, Gambit and The Winter Solider."

"Applejack's been captured?" Rarity asked. "What's going to happen to her?"

"Not your concern right now, just be ready to fight," Carol said, then found herself ducking Coco. "What are you doing in that suit!?"

"Mr. Stark thought I could be of help since he needs allies," Coco said. "He's asking me to control the suit, but it's too hard!"

"Oh woman up," Carol said. "If you're that confused ask Tony questions, though I'm not sure why he got some random civilian like you when he has me."

"I remember her being so much nicer," Bobby said.

"I don't," Rarity said.

"Be warned, Celestia is back, and on Cap's side," Carol said. "Something Luna is quite aware of."

"Oh boy," Bobby said. "Be ready team."

Meanwhile Angel Wings seemed distraught by something, which Cloudchaser noticed, "You alright, Angel?"

"I was thinking about Johnny Storm, he's a nice guy, isn't he?" Angel Wings asked.

"Well, technically, he is," Cloudchaser said.

"Why is he being treated like a villain?" Angel Wings asked. "Why are any of them? I don't know Captain Equestria well, but isn't he one of the major good guys? What's happening?"

"I'm not sure, I wish I knew," Cloudchaser said. "Look, let's just stick it out for now."

"Alright..." Angel Wings said, then noticing two more ponies arrive. "Isn't that your friend?"

Cloudchaser looked ahead, "Thunderlane? And Lightning Dust?"

"Hey Cloudchaser, room for one more?" Thunderlane asked.

"Sup?" Lightning Dust said.

"Wow, this just got more interesting," Cloudchaser said.

---

Lastly, in the town of Asgard, a somber looking Thor was sitting alone on the roof of a building. Things were not going well for him, and he was losing a bit of hope. But he had to stay strong, if to combat the looming menace.

Suddenly an image flashed through his mind, the dread of his brother's arrival was looming.

"Thor," Came the voice of Valkyrie, the woman riding in on her Pegasus. "It's almost time."

"How much longer?" Thor asked.

"I'd give it a day," Valkyrie said. "If you are going to call that Saiyan, now would be the time to do it."

Thor hated relying on help, but with so many unknown threats, he had no choice, plus he knew Goku was eager and willing to help, and in a way, respected Goku's warrior spirit, making him perfect to fight alongside Asgard.

---

Goku, who was still in Capcom, overseeing Sunset Shimmer's training with Cammy White alongside Guile and Carlos, had been altered to by the Angel of Universe Seven.

"Goku, Thor is calling," Whis said. "It might be time."

"Thor!?" Goku shouted in excitement, getting the attention of Sunset Shimmer and Cammy.

"What's happening?" Sunset asked.

"I think Ragnarök is coming!" Goku said. "We should let Chun-Li know!"

"Ryu and Cloud will want to know too," Guile said.

"I'll call Dante and Chris," Carlos said.

"Oh dear, I hope my cube can fit everyone," Whis said.

"Don't worry about that, sir," Sunset said, leaping onto the stands. "Just bring who you can, I'll contact Doctor Strange and see if he can help, I have a few ideas myself that I can't wait to try out, especially if we get into a bind."

"Very well, let us prepare for departure," Whis said.

Two battles loomed, the fate of several words lay in the balance, The Last Fight for The Accords and the Battle for Asgard were upon them. Soon it would come to an end.

Calm before The Storm

Finally arriving in their Ponyville home, Peter and Twilight had a lot on their minds now. First thing was first for them, they had to check in with their family, though the two were alerted to some very unpleasant information.

"Mayday did WHAT!?" Twilight shouted in annoyance.

"She took that giant Ursa into town in an attempt to stop Captain Equestria's team," Scootaloo explained.

"It put up a decent fight, but it got beat up by that sand guy and that super strong God," Dinky explained.

"Sandman and Hercules," Apple Bloom clarified. "And they didn't exactly beat it up, they just provided defense."

"Where is Ursa?" Peter asked.

"Hercules threw it into the Everfree Forest," Scootaloo said. "Trixie, Starlight and Autumn went to go check on it."

"We're sorry this happened," Apple Bloom said. "When she went with Rumble, we didn't think they would bring out a giant Ursa."

"It's fine, not like any of you could have expected that," Peter said. "Rumble should have known better than to go through with an idea like that.

"Where is he anyway?" Twilight asked.

"He and Silverstream left to find Cap," Scootaloo said.

"And something tells me they're not aiming to fight," Dinky said.

"What does that mean?” Twilight asked.

"During the fight, a bunch of Cap's allies got taken captive, including Remy and mah sister," Apple Bloom said. "Carol said she was gonna throw them in Tartarus."

"Tartarus? But...that's a place reserved for the deadliest creatures," Twilight said. "Is Tony that bothered by Steve's rebellion?"

"I don't know, but honestly, that Carol chick is crazy!" Scootaloo said. "She showed up, attacked with no remorse or concern with anyone around her, and she even hurt Apple Bloom!"

"Hurt her?" a now very concerned Peter asked. "Like physically?"

"Indeed so, that rotten mare physically assaulted our dear, sweet and pregnant Apple Bloom," Diamond Tiara said, amping up the drama. "It was an utter travesty!"

"Rumble came to mah aid, then he took a punch to the stomach from that she-beast," Apple Bloom said. "She was close to doing the same to Silverstream, thankfully Kurt Wagner showed up to her defense."

"He was really brave," Silver Spoon said.

"Anyway, ah thought Carol was a superhero, heroes aren't supposed to hurt civilians, they're supposed to protect them," Apple Bloom said.

"Carol's really lost her way..." Peter said, lamenting this situation. "This is a damn shame. Carol used to be such a nice lady, back when she was Ms. Marvel, she upheld the title of Avenger with honor and integrity. She was always willing to help others, nowadays not so much."

"Hard to believe a lady like that was ever nice," Apple Bloom said. "But, people and ponies can change, fer better or worse."

"I'm sorry she hurt you," Peter said, stroking Apple Bloom's mane. "At least Rumble came to your aid. Despite his bad calls, he made one good choice. Still gonna tear into him for letting Mayday do something so dumb, but that can wait."

"Speaking of whom, where is Mayday?" Twilight asked.

"Upstairs with Franklin," Apple Bloom said.

"I'm gonna need to have a nice talk with her too, she really could have made things bad today," Peter said.

"You won't be too hard on her, will you?" Apple Bloom asked. "She did want to help and she had good intentions."

"Good intentions or not, she should know better than to be that reckless," Peter said. "I'll try to go easy on her the best I can, but I do need to lay down the law."

"By the way, where's Sweetie Belle?" Twilight asked.

"She went to Canterlot, apparently Bobby and Rarity are there, and she's going to try and talk some sense into them," Scootoo said.

"That's quite ambitious of her," Twilight said.

"Ambition's our thing Twilight, when we put our minds to something, we take charge," Scootaloo said.

"She's not wrong there," Peter said. "Sweetie Belle in the future was very ambitious to the point where she was rebel leader."

"I don't doubt that Sweetie Belle's ambition for sure," Twilight said, a hint of sass in her voice. "Still, I don't feel comfortable about this. Bad enough Rumble and Silverstream must go out there, but Sweetie Belle too? I don't want to imagine what'll happen if a fight breaks out."

"She's not alone, she took Smolder and Ocellus with her," Scootaloo said.

"That doesn't help, that's just two more girls potentially caught in the crossfire," Twilight said.

"Not to mention Smolder was very unhappy with what happened to her brother, if she's not careful, she might end up starting a fight, then it's bye-bye to her as well," Diamond Tiara said.

"How are the rest of the students?" Twilight asked.

"Well, their four remaining friends are fine, and I don't think anypony from the School of Friendship was in any danger," Scootaloo said.

"That's good to know," Twilight said. "At the very least, I'm happy you girls are all alright. I also appreciate you looking after Mayday while we were gone."

"It was no trouble, ah feel like the two of us began to make a special connection with one another," Apple Bloom said.

"That's great to hear, Mayday usually has a hard time warming up to others," Twilight said.

"Is it any surprise that Apple Bloom pulled it off, I mean she's family to us, it was only a matter of time before Mayday saw her as such too," Peter said. "Speaking of which, I'd better check on her."

"I'll just wait for the girls," Twilight said.

"One more thing, Princess Celestia came back," Scootaloo said, taking both Twilight and Peter by surprise.

"Come again?" Twilight asked.

"Princess Celestia came back to help out Captain Equestria," Scootaloo said. "She said she's taking her country back."

Twilight almost couldn't believe her ears, after so long without any word of Celestia's whereabouts, to know she randomly showed up to take Steve's side was a revelation she was not totally ready for. Suddenly all the possibilities sprung into her mind, how ponies would handle it, how Starswirl would react, and Luna.

"Celestia, and Luna, on opposite sides..." Twilight's heart began to accelerate. "Are they going to fight again? Oh no, what about The Nightmare? Is it going to consume Luna again? Is she going to turn into Nightmare Moon? What if Celestia has to banish her again? This time out of this Dimension!?"

She felt a hoof placed on her back, the mare turning to see her husband, "Twilight, I won't tell you everything will be fine, because I can't make that promise. What I can promise is that we'll do our best to get to the bottom of this. We're not letting Equestria fall apart."

"Yes...of course..." Twilight took a breath, hoping to ease the worries. One thing was for sure, if Nightmare Moon returned, she wasn't sure how it could be stopped given that The Elements of Harmony were currently useless given the fact that some of its holders were siding against one another. Twilight's only option would be to use them on her own, which she had done before against The Hulk on Earth, but it was a risky move then, and it could be a risky move now.

Twilight's biggest hope was that Sweetie Belle's trip to find Bobby and Rarity could result in the two dropping out of this conflict.

"Peter, we'll keep Twilight company, you go and see Mayday," Apple Bloom said.

"Yeah, of course," Peter said, exiting the room and making his way upstairs.

Going into her room, Peter spotted Mayday laying her head on Franklin's lap, the boy stroking her mane and body to soothe her worries. For Peter, it was endearing how much Mayday has warmed up to Franklin, to know his daughter had at least one friend who cared this much about her, and someone for Mayday to trust.

Franklin took note of Peter's arrival, "Mayday, your dad's here."

"Huh?" Mayday sat up, seeing her dad at the entrance to her doorway. "Daddy!"

Mayday flew over to embrace her father in a hug, "Hey kiddo."

"I'm so glad you're back, I thought you'd be gone longer though," Mayday said.

"Well I missed you way too much to be away more than one night," Peter said, placing his daughter down. "Hey Franklin, thanks for keeping Mayday company."

"It's my pleasure," Franklin said, getting off the bed. "I take it you didn't run into my uncle."

"No, he did come to town though from what I heard, same with your mom," Peter said.

"Yeah, I heard," Franklin said. "Mayday told me she saw them and tried to bring them home using a giant bear."

"That's actually why I came up here," Peter said. "Mind giving me and my daughter a moment alone together? It won't be too long."

"Sure," Franklin said, taking his leave. "Spider-Man, you are going to bring my mom and uncle back, aren't you?"

"I promise to do everything in my power," Peter said.

"Okay," Franklin said, taking his leave.

Peter placed his daughter on her bed before taking a seat beside her, "So...what's this about you riding into town on Ursa?"

"Oh, well Rumble wanted to catch Captain Equestria, but he didn't think he could on his own, so we went to find Ursa so she can help," Mayday said.

"Now tell me, do you think it was the best idea to bring a creature that big into town?" Peter asked.

"Well...I mean, give the situation..." Mayday said.

"Mayday, did Trixie ever tell you about the time those two boys brought an Ursa Major into town?" Peter said. "And how dangerous it was?"

"Yeah, then she got unfairly blamed because Snips and Snails share a singular braincell," Mayday said.

"I mean, not wrong about Trixie, but my point is this," Peter began. "A creature that big shouldn't be walking around town, that's why she stays in the forest. A pony’s house got crushed today."

"Well, at least she's alright," Mayday said.

"That's not the point, if that's all that mattered then Lightning Dust would not have gotten booted from The Wonderbolts Academy," Peter said. "Part of helping others is making sure no major damage is done in the process, this thing with Ursa is why The Accords were created in the First Place, and why some of the heroes have gotten in trouble recently. Your stunt could have made things so much worse."

"Sorry daddy, I thought she could end the fight quickly," Mayday said. "If the fighting ends, then Auntie Applejack, Uncle Remy, Uncle Johnny, Aunt Janet and Uncle Spike can all come home, and Franklin's mom doesn't need to worry."

"Your heart was in the right place, but your mind wasn't," Peter said. "I need you to understand that what you did was a bad idea and could have made things worse. Suppose Ursa got taken away? Suppose you got in trouble with Carol? Or what if Rumble got in trouble because he allowed it? Honestly, I'm disappointed in Rumble for letting you go through with this as well.”

"Are you going to ground me, daddy?" Mayday asked.

"You know I have to; I know you didn't mean to but you did something bad," Peter said. "You can't use the lab for a week."

"Aw..." Mayday pouted. "Not again."

"No dessert either, and more chores," Peter said.

"Can I at least see Franklin more?" Mayday asked.

"I'll think about that," Peter said. Upon seeing a disappointed look on his daughter's face, Peter gently stroked her mane, "I hope you know I don't punish you to make you miserable, it's a chance for you to reflect and figure out other ways to go about problems. You're a smart girl Mayday, but you also need to be wise about how you do things."

"Aren't those the same thing?" Mayday asked.

"Not exactly pumpkin, here's a little saying for you. A smart person gets out of a situation a wise person never would have found themselves in," Peter said.

"Uh...I don't get it, Mayday said.

"You will one day," Peter said, kissing her head. "I love you."

"I love you too, daddy," Mayday said.

"Now...I still have to figure this whole thing out, until then you can spend a little more time with Franklin, mostly because this is hard on him too," Peter said. "If you promise to behave, then I won't have a problem with him visiting after this is done. If you break that promise, then you won't be able to see him for a while."

"I promise, daddy," Mayday said. "I'll do my best not to let you down."

"I know you will, because you're a good kid," Peter said, making his way out the room. Outside he could see Franklin sitting against the wall, the boy having a lot on his mind. "You alright?"

"I'm fine...just thinking about my mom and uncle, and what my dad will do to fix this," Franklin said.

"Well, if anything is bothering you, then you can let me or my wife know," Peter said. "Your uncle is one of my best friends, and I respect both your parents, we'll do anything for your family."

"I know, you and my family are close," Franklin said. "They care a lot about you too. Uncle Johnny says you're probably the first real friend he's had."

"So I've been told," Peter said. "By the way, your mom says you're developing new powers."

"Yeah..." Franklin said. "I'm not allowed to use them without permission, because my parents want to track my progress."

"Does my daughter know?" Peter asked. "Has she ever asked you to use them?"

"...She knows a little, but she also knows my mom's rule, so she doesn't bother me," Franklin said.

"As long as she doesn't drag you into any of her schemes, but I don't think she'll be pulling another stunt like she did today," Peter said.

"Yeah, she's a bit unhappy with herself, I think she really hoped to bring my mom back," Franklin said. "It's fine that she couldn't, I appreciate the effort."

"My daughter's grown quite fond of you," Peter said. "Looks like you truly have become her first real friend."

"Well it's an honor, your daughter's amazing," Franklin said.

"Mind keeping an eye on her for me a little bit longer then?" Peter asked. "I still have a conflict to resolve."

"Yes sir," Franklin said.

"Don't be so formal, just my name is fine," Peter said. "Now, I have to go and help my friends out."

"I'll keep Mayday safe until you get back," Franklin said.

Peter returned downstairs, finding that Starlight, Trixie and Autumn had just walked in, the three consulting with Twilight.

"Peter!" Starlight said, the other two girls immediately noticing.

"Hey girls, exciting day, huh?" Peter said.

"Days like these remind me that I need a nice vacation to get away from all this drama," Trixie said.

"Don't you have bits saved up?" Peter asked. "Or did you spend them all on those fashionable clothes you never wear?"

"I wear them! Also I don't spend them all on clothes, I have other expenditures that I use them on as well," Trixie said. "You think Spa days pay for themselves?"

"Oh I could use a spa day," Starlight said.

"We could all use one, maybe after we end this rebellion," Peter said.

"The sooner the better, if this keeps up, Equestria will be left vulnerable if another villain shows up, be it from outside our dimension, or from within it," Twilight said.

"Isn't there at least one guy out there you need to catch?" Scootaoo asked.

"Yeah, Martin Li," Peter said. "Wish I knew where he was right now, I've been meaning to track him but with this rebellion stuff, my mind got shifted."

"What about that pirate bird lady?" Trixie asked.

"Celaeno?" Peter said. "Yeah, she basically disappeared without a trace. I mean, I get the feeling she's not that much of a threat on her own but she does work for The Storm King."

"No one's seen The Storm King since that invasion a couple of months back," Trixie said.

"He left this dimension with Loki and those other villains," Peter said. "At least he's not a problem at the moment but if he comes back with those same allies and army, then this world's screwed."

"Do you think Tony Stark is aware of this?" Starlight asked.

"He should be," Peter said. "But that won't stop his determination to end this conflict."

"Theoretically he should, I mean it's hard to plan against an invasion if he's worried about someone damaging his army from within," Autumn Blaze said.

"Good point," Peter said. "Anyway, our next point of action should be going to Canterlot and finishing the conflict there."

"Right, the sooner we end this, the sooner things can go back to normal," Twilight said. "Then hopefully my school will be running like normal again."

"You know, speaking of school, I hear there's a young filly who's not quite getting the subject of Friendship," Trixie said.

"And without my friends around to help, she's going to be even more confused," Twilight said. "All the more reason to end the conflict."

"Strange priorities," Peter said. "Does this girl want to make friends? Is she interested in doing so?"

"Funny, Mayday asked a similar question," Trixie said.

"To answer your question, she does act like this is a waste of time," Starlight said. "And it's not that she isn't getting it, it's just that she's simply not interested."

"Twilight, if you fix this school, you really need to make it more accessible to introverted individuals," Peter said. "I mean you of all ponies should know that not everyone learns the same way, given that one time you tutored Rainbow Dash in unique fashion."

"I'm aware of that, that's why Starlight's a guidance counselor, to give them tips on how to make friends," Twilight said.

"That's a start but you need more than that," Peter said. "Also, you should also properly organize the students by age groups, I mean, how old is this filly exactly?"

"I want to say about...seven or eight, she's around Mayday's age," Starlight said.

"Well depending on the students in her class, that could impede her progress," Peter said. "She might be in a class with mostly teens and adults. I mean The X-Men have a school with all types of ages and they organize it well enough. Honestly Twilight, when you asked for their help, I thought it'd be more than just teaching roles."

"I didn't think it'd matter much," Twilight said. "But alright, one more thing to work on. Once this ends, I'll go talk things out with that filly, teach her the value of friendship."

"At least let her start small," Peter said. "Do what we did with Mayday, find one friend she's compatible with and see if it grows from there. It's good to have friends but everyone makes them differently, and some just prefer to keep it a small number. Quality over Quantity."

"Unless you're Pinkie Pie," Trixie said. "That girl loves having millions of friends."

"Some just have that gift for communication, like Tony Stark," Peter said. "Clearly Cap has that too, but they need to use that gift to better communicate with each other."

"Didn't Cap try to?" Twilight asked. "I mean, it seemed obvious that The Accords were a terrible idea, at least to him."

"Well, those two have no trouble at all finding their voices," Peter said. "They just need to find their ears. Tony's Accords isn't a terrible idea, like your school, it has good intentions, it just needs a few kinks ironed out. Cap's frustration is understandable, but even I feel like he may have overreacted with the rebellion. I mean, yeah our friends got arrested, but we could have worked through the system, I myself was ready to march to Canterlot the first chance I got and told Tony that I didn't agree with this."

"Would Tony have listened?" Autumn Blaze asked.

"He would, it sounds like he and Peter have a good relationship," Trixie said. "Peter's probably the son he wish he had."

"Well, I can't say for sure, but Tony is someone I admire," Peter said. "I admire Cap too, which makes this even more difficult for me, but I already know what I need to do."

"Even if he can't get through to Tony, there's still Spitfire," Scootaloo said. "She has a lot of respect for Peter."

"Luna too," Apple Bloom said. "Peter is arguably her first real friend."

"You know what to do now Peter," Trixie said. "Use that charm of yours to not only convince Tony but also make those mares swoon for you enough to end this debacle."

“Or, I do it normally,” Peter said.

"Twilight can help too, especially with Luna," Autumn Blaze said. "They're both Princesses after all, and good friends."

"I can probably convince Luna, and I don't think I'll have much trouble with Tony or Spitfire, but that leaves one problem," Twilight said. "Carol Danvers."

"Leave Carol to me," Peter said. "I'll get to the bottom of why she's acting this way, even if I have to rough the answer out of her."

"Can you take her in a fight?" Apple Bloom asked. "She seems really strong."

"No doubt she's strong, she's an Avenger," Peter said. "But, despite what she thinks, she's not indestructible. Plus, I still have one advantage over her, it's in my lab."

"Yer lab?" Apple Bloom asked. "Wait, ah saw a suit down there, Mayday said it's something you've been working on since yer fight with that Goku fellow."

"So you've seen it," Peter said. "It's just a little something I've been working on to increase my speed. Even Rainbow Dash will be amazed at how fast I can go. I haven't tested it much, but the best practice is out in the field."

"If anyone can stand up to Carol, it's you," Starlight said. "Oh, and Twilight too."

"I wouldn't mind getting my hooves on her," Twilight said. "Especially after all the grief she's caused."

"Then it's settled, we're going to take a trip to Canterlot," Peter said. "You ladies mind watching my kids a bit longer?"

"No objections," Apple Bloom said.

"Totally," Scootaloo said.

"If we must," Diamond Tiara said.

"I don't mind," Silver Spoon said.

"We're still getting paid, right?" Dinky asked, then took a punch from Scootaloo to the sides. "Quit it!"

"Alright, first we're gonna check on my Aunt, Benjy and Hope, then we're off to save the world," Peter said.

"That reminds me, Benjy might be hungry," Twilight said. "I'm gonna need a little time to feed him."

"We could help cook something for you," Silver Spoon suggested.

"Thanks, but what I'm about to feed him doesn't need to be cooked," Twilight said.

"What does that mean?" Silver Spoon asked.

"She's going to feed him her mother-milk obviously," Diamond Tiara said. "You know, like newborn mothers usually do?"

"Oh yeah, soon Apple Bloom's going to have to do that," Scootaloo said, earning a concerned reaction from her friend.

"Right...say Twilight, does that hurt in any way?" Apple Bloom asked. "Ah got a lot of mixed reactions from mah sister and yer friends."

"It takes getting used to, since Benjy is my second child, it feels more natural to me than it did with Mayday," Twilight said.

"Alright, guess I'll find out sooner or later what it's like," Apple Bloom said.

"Remember, we're here if you have questions, being a mom can be scary at first but it's also rewarding," Twilight said.

"That's what mah sister and Cheerilee said," Apple Bloom said. "It's something Sugar Belle said she wants to experience one day."

"I'd like to be a mom someday as well," Starlight said.

"Same here," Autumn Blaze said.

"Eh, I'm on the fence," Trixie said. "Being pregnant seems like a lot of work, if I do become a mom I'd rather skip that part."

"I mean, you'd have to adopt then," Peter said. "Or find a single husband that already has a kid."

"Eh, not sure if I want to get into a relationship, let alone married, seems like a lot of work, so I might skip that part too," Trixie said.

"...So, you would rather be a single mother of an adopted child then?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, why not?" Trixie said. "No marriage problems, no annoying pregnancy, and I get to be a mother and pass my knowledge onto my child."

"Wow, you definitely have goals there Trixie," Peter said. "Of course, Scott may be disappointed."

"Ugh, how many times do I have to tell ponies, I am not romantically interested in Scott Lang, he's just my friend and I am very content with that," Trixie said. "Besides, he has issues of his own and I don't think I'd make a good wife to him."

"Really? I think you'd make a great wife Trixie, you have that special nurturing side to you," Peter said.

"Don't you have a world to save? Don't worry about who I marry, just get going, both of you," Trixie demanded.

"Fine, just throwing it out there," Peter said.

"We'll fix this, hopefully soon," Twilight said.

"Well...here's hoping everything works out," Starlight said. "I hope the students will be fine for a little bit longer."

---

Not too far from the School of Friendship, Cozy Glow was trotting around, taking note of her surroundings. She could see the damage caused by the recent fight, including the wrecked homes. Thankfully none of the ponies were hurt, but they were bothered by what happened.

One thing she noticed was the Cake Family, offering some pastries to some other families, bringing joy to their faces. In fact all she saw were families, some comforting each other, some working to clean things up, some even looking excited, even some foals finding time to play together, treating the fight earlier today like one big entertaining spectacle and debating which team of heroes would win.

This upset Cozy Glow, her whole like she never knew the love of parents, or what it's like to have siblings. She could barely make any friends, and most of the time she was merely shunned away. To see all these ponies enjoying what she felt she should have had brought anger and frustration to her, her emotions of loneliness flowing through her heart, the desires that manifested inside her very being.

Sometimes evens seeing the Parker-Sparkle family upsets her, seeing any of her teachers' families upset her. She wanted friends, she wanted family, and she was determined to make things right, even if she had to take measures to ensure it.

"Cozy Glow, Status Civilian" a nearby Patroller Robot said, scanning the filly. "No violations thus far."

"Don't you have a town to fix? Scrap heap," Cozy Glow asked.

"Don't you have a personality to mend? Runt," the robot said, flying off.

"Ooooh," Cozy grabbed a large rock, ready to throw it at the robot.

"Cozy Glow!?" Sandbar said, the filly quickly dropping her rock.

"Hi Sandy," she greeted.

"Hey, we were supposed to be heading back to the dorms, Jubilee's gonna get worried," Sandbar said.

"Sorry, I guess I got distracted," Cozy Glow said. "I'll go with you now."

"Good, stick close to me," Sandbar said, Cozy brushing up against him. "You don't need to be that close."

"I know, I just like it," Cozy Glow said, then found herself being moved away slightly.

"Cozy, your crush on me is cute but you need to dial it back," Sandbar said. "I'm too old for you anyway."

"Only by a few years," Cozy Glow said. "The only reason it looks weird is because I'm smaller than most ponies, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm almost an adult."

"Almost isn't enough here," Sandbar said, then saw that Cozy Glow was getting a little dejected.

"Am I not good enough for you? Sandy, I can be everything you need in a filly!" Cozy said. "Oh what, you have your eye on someone else? It's Yona isn't it! I've seen how she looks at you. I bet she has bad breath or something."

"It's not, I don't have a crush on Yona, Ocellus or Smolder," Sandbar said. "Cozy, I don't mean to hurt your feelings. Can't you just focus your crush on somepony else?"

"You really think it's that easy?" Cozy Glow asked. "I'm not crushing on you for fun you know, it's hardly a crush at all. I have real feelings for you, Sandy!"

"Didn't you also have feelings for Rumble?" Sandbar asked. "If you were able to move on from him, then you can move on from me."

"I just thought Rumble was cute, it's not the same how I feel about you Sandbar," Cozy Glow said.

"What's the difference?" Sandbar asked. "Like, what makes your feelings for me different than Rumble's?"

"For starters, we a lot of time together, you're one of the only ponies who's been really nice to me, you always treated me like a friend and you always thought me and my feelings," Cozy Glow said. "Rumble's just a pretty face, you're a good pony with a big heart, and I always feel happy when I'm with you."

Sandbar wasn't sure how to immediately respond to that, seems like Cozy put more into this than he thought she would, "I guess that can make sense."

"You guess?" Cozy asked, a little annoyed. "You're cute but you're also dense. That's fine, according to Jubilee, some boys can be dense, but that doesn't change the fact that a lot of them are pure at heart like Peter Parker and Kurt Wagner."

"I'm not that pure," Sandbar said. "I got a bit of a wild side. Remember that bug bear thing at Friends and Family Day at the school?"

"Oh yes, you got everyone all worried," Cozy Glow said. "But that just means you're also fun. I mean, between your looks and personality, not to mention that you're a smart boy, you seem like the total package. Plus, we're already friends, taking that next step shouldn’t be hard. I want us to be something together, I want to have somepony for me to love and have him love me back. You can understand that right?"

"I can..." Sandbar said. "But-"

"I love you, Sandbar," Cozy Glow said. "Please, give me a chance to prove I can be your girlfriend. Give me a chance to prove that in the future, I can be a good wife for you, and the best mother for your children."

"Cozy..." Sandbar wasn't sure how to explain this without hurting her feelings, and given how sensitive Cozy Glow could be, that was much easier said than done. "At least let me consider it, I'm not saying 'no', I'm just saying 'not yet', is that alright with you?"

Cozy had no immediate response, the filly just flew in to hug the stallion before her, "Don't make me wait too long."

Sandbar hesitated a moment, but slowly returned the hug. He had to admit, he really thought Cozy was a nice girl. He couldn't say that he loved her the same way she loved him but she was definitely someone he cared deeply about. He could never imagine hurting her, and this was going to be a headscratcher for him, but until then, he just had to ensure this would be done so that he wouldn't have to lose the friendship of a girl as sweet as her.

Not too far in the distance, Martin Li was observing this from behind a house, "What an interesting time to come back. First a big fight involving Captain America, now our little Cozy Glow has taken the next step in her own personal goals. I hope for the best out of her."

"Someone's a softie," came the Negative force within Martin's head.

"Enough, a little purity isn't a bad thing, regardless of her allegiance, even she has feelings too," Martin said.

"Oh, I'm not against feelings, they're quite fun to manipulate," Negative said. "Maybe we can help her out if you're that concerned."

"That's not what we're here for," Martin said, then quickly hid again when he saw a curious Deadpool nearby.

"Wade, what's wrong?" Pinkie asked.

"I thought I heard something," Deadpool said. "Must have been my imagination."

"Or that weird voice in your head," Pinkie said.

"No, that's a more annoying sound," Deadpool said, then was quiet a moment. "Oh shut up! You are annoying! Freaking yellow box!"

"Seems I am not the only one cursed with an internal voice," Martin said.

"Curse? I am a gift," Negative said.

"Sure you are," Martin sarcastically remarked. "Now, with the internal conflict within The Avengers, this is the perfect opportunity to help Cozy Glow with her plan, just go along with it for now."

"Fine by me," Negative said. "Let's hurry."

---

Even in Tartarus, Discord and Eris were observing the situation from their crystal ball, both amazed by what was happening.

"To think that The Avengers could fall apart like this," Discord said. "Could you ever imagine that this could have happened?"

"It is a bit strange, The Avengers where I'm from were a bit more open with their feelings," Eris said. "Not to say that Tania Stark and Stephanie Rogers did not butt heads a lot, sometimes they seemed worse than what we have now."

"Sounds fascinating," Discord said.

"Anyway, let’s say The Avengers do fall apart, how do you plan to use that to your advantage?" Eris asked. "Will you move up the invasion?"

"While it's one less thing for my team to worry about if The Avengers fall apart, I don't want to quite move the invasion up yet," Discord said. "At the very least, we'll see if they can rebuild, just to give them a fair chance, or hit them with a deeper realization that the Avengers aren't as mighty as we once thought."

"Sounds devious, but that's your style, or rather, I mean OUR style," Eris said. "But is there a real reason you're doing this? It seems like this goes beyond any revenge you want against Equestria for thwarting any evil plans you once had."

"It's true, being turned into stone for a thousand years was not pleasant, and certainly not something I'd wish upon others," Discord said, though Eris didn't buy that claim. "But there is more of a reason, and it has to do with Peter Parker."

"Right, Spider-Mane as he's called in this Universe," Eris said. "Doesn't roll off the tongue as well as Spider-Mare though."

"He gets a lot of criticism," Discord said. "My point is that well, he's an entertaining fellow, I love seeing him battle through the odds and go beyond the limitations of his abilities. That's why I've been orchestrating so much over the years. Bringing in old enemies, having him fight The Saiyans, and now all this, I mean I didn't even plan for the Avengers to fall apart, that was a happy coincidence."

"I guess I can't blame you for wanting to see what Spider-Mane can do, if he's like Patricia, he has a lot of heart and determination," Eris said. "And it sounds like you have quite the army."

"Yes, of course I did have to take into account the other heroes, but they're quite fun to watch fight too," Discord said. "A few months ago, I brought Wolverine's enemy here, it was quite a spectacle. He nearly crossed a few lines but it all turned out just fine."

"Why am I not surprised that the Wolverine of this dimension is a grizzled man-beast?" Eris said. "The one back home, well she's very aggressive, and none too feminine."

"Oh I bet it's there if you look closely enough," Discord said. "I bet she's a good catch for that male Fluttershy, oh what was his name again?"

"Butter Scotch," Eris said. "I guess he's the only one who brings out my Wolverine's girlish nature."

"Say, after we unleash my plan on this world, want to try it on yours? Just to see what'll happen?" Discord asked.

"I'll think about it, might he hard for me to gather the forces you did," Eris said. "Which was way more than I expected."

"Well I had only a handful in mind, but once more heroes showed up, I had to make a few adjustments to my plan," Discord said. "Right now, I think I have enough for the show to start, though some of the residents in this world do have me a bit concerned, what with their reality warping capabilities."

"Oooh, reality warping, that sounds fun," Eris said.

"You know, there's one thing you might be able to help me on," Discord said. "Would you mind keeping an eye on a woman named Wanda Maximoff? Last I spotted her, she was in Vanhoover, working on a Pear Farm along with her brother Pietro and some friends."

"Sure, I can manage that," Eris said. "Be nice to see more of this world."

"Just be weary around her, she's a powerful witch, even I am not sure the full potential of her abilities," Discord said.

"I think I can handle a witch," Eris said.

"No...you can't," Discord said, Eris amazed how serious his tone became. "Promise me you'll be careful, if left uncheck, her powers and abilities could bring ruin onto Equestria."

"Uh, alright, you got it," Eris said. "While I'm at it, any chance I can check on Peter Parker? I'm very curious about him. Plus, from what I've seen, he's kind of cute."

"Lots of females find him cute, you're just one of many," Discord said. "Also, in addition, keep an eye out for a boy named Franklin Richards, another reality warper."

"Two reality warpers from Earth? How many are there anyway?" Eris asked.

"There are likely more, but two living in Equestria," Discord said.

"Your team knows what they're getting into, right?" Eris asked.

"Eh, maybe, maybe not, in the end, everything will fall onto our command, we're like the King and Queen, and they're just the little pieces we get to move around," Discord said. "My Rook Cozy Glow is still on the playing field, and hopefully my Bishop Goku Black agrees to join, but with the effort from Otto Octavious and Annihilus, that's becoming more and more likely."

"So, I'm a Queen huh?" Eris teased. "Well I suppose that is better than being King, I get to move more spaces than you."

"Yes, but the King is the most important piece," Discord said.

"And how many spaces can the King move?" Eris asked.

"Well...one," Discord said.

"Just one? Oh that poor King, just one step hurts his itty bitty wittle feet," Eris teased, much to Discord's annoyance. "I'm just messing with you, come on, you of all people can take a joke. I should know because you and I are basically the same."

"I suppose so," Discord said. "Forgive me, maybe I am a bit of a grump lately, truth be told, I worry about this plan. This is all just a game to mess with Peter Parker and get revenge on the Princesses for thwarting my plans. Though, there are times I worry about all the terrible things that may happen to this world and...well..."

"Are you growing soft on me, old man?" Eris asked.

"Hey, you and I are basically the same age," Discord said.

"Again, take a joke," Eris jokingly reassured. "But wow, you really are kind of bothered aren't you? Maybe you should reconsider whom you invite then."

"I can't back out now, I talked such a big game after all," Discord said. "If worse comes to worse though, I can just send everyone away, I want some fun but I don't want to go too crazy with it."

"Well, I'll let you do what you want, but if you really need help, you know I'm right here by your side," Eris said.

"Thanks, I do appreciate that," Discord said. "Funny, the only person who understands me, is myself apparently."

"You probably need more friends," Eris said.

"Or, maybe I just need more of me," Discord said.

"We are our own greatest company," Eris said, the two having a nice laugh together.

---

In Canterlot, Sweetie Belle had gotten off the train and was trotting to the center of town with Smolder and Ocellus right beside her.

"I hope it doesn't take long to find Bobby and Rarity," Sweetie Belle said. "Though my guess is that they're at the castle, along with the other heroes."

"If they are, would we be able to get inside?" Ocellus asked.

"It shouldn't be hard if you're with me, I mean I am the little sister of an Element of Harmony, who herself is married to one of the heroes," Sweetie Belle said. "Plus Peter and I are really close, that should help too."

"How did you and Spider-Mane get so close anyway?" Smolder asked.

"I've known Peter since he first came to Equestria, though at the time I didn't know he was a superhero," Sweetie Belle said. "Even then I didn't even know he was a human, I didn't know what a human was. But over time we bonded, it started when me, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo made him part of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, which made sense since back then, he didn't have a Cutie Mark either."

"So the core members were all really close with Peter," Ocellus said.

"Exactly, over time we bonded with him and stood by his side when ponies first began to mistrust him, this was when everypony found out he was a human and some didn't think he deserved to be Prince of Equestria," Sweetie Belle said.

"It's hard being an outsider, but it sounds like Peter handled it well," Ocellus said.

"He's kind of used to it, back home he always felt like an outcast, and this was before he got his powers," Sweetie Belle said. "He called himself a wallflower, he wasn't good at talking to other people, he was always so shy, didn't help that he got bullied so he couldn't trust people very well."

"Starting to see why he got so protective of his daughter," Smolder said.

"Yeah, Mayday is similar to Peter, she's not very social and she's too shy to talk to ponies," Sweetie Belle said. "One difference is that she's a bit short tempered and when she does talk, she's pushing everyone even further away. Even I couldn't really get close to Mayday, it's a miracle Rumble did."

"You think Mayday will grow out of her shyness?" Ocellus asked.

"It's hard to say, I mean there are some who stay kind of introverted, they just learn to live with it," Sweetie Belle said. "Peter admits he's not always comfortable around new people, he just tries to push beyond his boundaries. Twilight has to as well since she's the Princess of Friendship. Even Fluttershy, who's pushing past that, prefers her friend group for the most part, but she's capable of making friends on her own."

"Maybe Mayday really does need that school then, cure her of that shyness," Smolder said.

"Don't say that out loud, you're gonna cause trouble for yourself," Ocellus said.

"Spider-Mane's not here, he's not gonna hear me," Smolder said. "I'm just saying that if I can put up with that school, I think the little Princess can put up with it."

"It's Peter's choice if she attends or not, it isn't up to us," Ocellus said. "Peter knows his daughter better than we do."

"Sounds more like he's projecting his worries onto her," Smolder said.

"Take it easy, Smolder, Peter just wants what's best for Mayday," Sweetie Belle said. "Maybe Ember sent you to the school because she knew you could handle it."

"Honestly it felt more like she wanted a dragon there and I drew the shortest straw," Smolder said. "It was so boring the first week too."

"Well why did Ember want a dragon there?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"To learn how to be friendlier and to form a closer bond with ponies," Smolder said. "Same with all our other friends, aside from Sandbar."

"And Cozy Glow," Ocellus said.

"Right, her too," Smolder said. "Barely counts though."

"Smolder!" Ocellus scolded.

"You know, it's ironic," Sweetie Belle said. "You were all sent here to make friends and form closer bonds with ponies, meanwhile you ended up forming your own group that had only two ponies. Did you ever consider branching out and making friends outside your group?"

"Well, we do talk to some ponies there, like Toola Roola and Coconut Cream," Ocellus said.

"We even played a ball game together," Smolder said.

"But are they your friends?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Kind of?" Smolder said.

"Truthfully, it's still a bit hard for us to make friends, I will admit, I'm very shy by nature, and so is Smolder," Ocellus said.

"I'm not shy! I just don't like talking to others," Smolder said. "There's a difference."

"Uh-huh, sure there is," Ocellus sassed. "But this is still a work in progress for us. I'm not sure if sticking together like we did was the best way to go about things."

"I think it's fine, you just have your own group you feel comfortable with, and that's all that matters," Sweetie Belle said. "I've made a few friends, but I always feel comfortable with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo the most. If you two only have those five friends, well, that's great. Even Mayday's recently learned to make at least one friend, and that's better than nothing for the most part."

"Is this that 'Quality over Quantity' thing Peter keeps talking about?" Ocellus asked.

"Probably," Sweetie Belle said. "I think Peter just wants everyone to be happy. I mean, nothing wrong with pushing past your comfort zone, but it needs to be a combination of your own pace and some friendly encouragement, of course that varies between the individual."

"You're very intelligent, Sweetie Belle," Ocellus said.

"Aw, thanks, you're sweet," Sweetie Belle said. "I don't know why I used to not like you."

"Because Rumble told you not to like us," Smolder said.

"Uh, I'm quite capable of thinking for myself," Sweetie Belle said. "Look, it doesn't matter now. Point is, I like you girls, even you Smolder, you're kind of tough on the outside but I sense something soft deep down. You had so much fun at my sister's shop after all."

"It was...alright," Smolder said, shyly looking to the side.

"You should come by more often, actually, this might be perfect," Sweetie Belle said. "I think you could use a friend like me Smolder, there's so much I can do for you."

"You?" Smolder asked. "Like what?"

"You're strong, but you kind of lack confidence, just like Scootaloo at times," Sweetie Belle said. "I'm going to help you gain that confidence."

"Do I look like I need a confidence boost!?" Smolder asked, flexing her arm. "I played hard at that Buckball game which YOU got lucky at. I even helped fight villains! I have confidence."

"See, that's the thing, you act like this because you want to look tough because that's expected of you from a dragon," Sweetie Belle said. "You're just being what everyone thinks you should be, but you're not being who you want to be, and that's a girly girl just like me."

"Huh? No I don't, being girly is lame!" Smolder said.

"Because you're not confident enough to accept that it's alright to be girly," Sweetie Belle said. "Look, I'm not saying you HAVE to always be super feminine, I mean my sister's feminine but she knows when to put that aside when she needs to. It's great that you're so tough and strong, and that's admirable, but part of strength is not being afraid of being yourself. You want to flex your muscles, you do that, but don't be afraid to want to dress nice or do feminine things."

"Wow, you're not just intelligent, you're very perceptive," Ocellus said.

"Well I've seen it with Bobby and Scootaloo" Sweetie Belle said. "See Bobby and Scootaloo both put on an act to be cooler or tougher than they appear. Rarity is good at sensing when Bobby's trying too hard, and I've practiced that with Scootaloo. I've even seen Apple Bloom do that with Rumble when he acts too macho tough."

"Maybe you should join the School of Friendship, you might be able to help a lot of ponies," Ocellus said.

"I'm not entirely an expert, but I'll consider that," Sweetie Belle said, then focused on the dragon before her. "As for you Smolder, I just want you to know, I think you're very pretty and I hope you don't think that's anything to be ashamed of. Embrace that part of you, and just be yourself."

Smolder turned away to hide her blush, still trying to play it cool, "I'll think about it."

"You can come over to my house if you want to, all three of us can just go and be ourselves," Sweetie Belle said. "Maybe we can even do sleepovers."

"Would Rarity mind if we're there while she's at Manehattan?" Ocellus asked.

"I don't mean the Carousel Boutique, I don't actually live there, I just stay there when my parents travel, which is often," Sweetie Belle said. "Though I am eighteen, so I haven't needed to go there since I was a little filly. Still, you can come by my house, my parents won't mind, even if they're away."

"Well, if you feel that way, then I'd love to," Ocellus said.

"Sure, I'm fine with that," Smolder said. "Not to do anything girly or anything."

"Smolder, I want you to just be comfortable with yourself and do things at your pace," Sweetie Belle said. "More than that, I just want to know the real you."

"This is a good opportunity for us Smolder, wouldn’t it be nice to make a new friend?" Ocellus said.

"Eh, can we trust her? I mean, she was our rival not too long ago," Smolder said. "She wasn't exactly nice to us."

"You're right, and I'm really sorry for my actions," Sweetie Belle said. "I do want to make it up to you."

"Learn to forgive Smolder," Ocellus said.

To the dragon's annoyance, she agreed to this, "Alright fine. But I still don't fully trust you yet."

"That's fine, I'll work for that," Sweetie Belle said. "Castle's up ahead, let's hurry.

The trio of girls made their way close to the castle, spotting many heroes just outside the main gates, Sweetie Belle keeping an eye out for her sister and brother-in-law.

"It's like a small army," Smolder said. "Captain Equestria must have really gotten Tony Stark pretty riled."

"I'm worried, I don't really like the idea of heroes fighting one another, what if it leaves the country in a bad state?" Ocellus said. "At any point a villain could show up and pick the heroes off."

"All the more reason to find Bobby and see if we can talk him out of this, and hopefully everyone else," Sweetie Belle said.

"Will that even work?" Smolder asked.

"Can't hurt to try," Sweetie Belle said.

"Sweetie Belle!?" Came Rarity's voice, the mare making her way over with Bobby. "What in the world are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," Sweetie Belle said. "I haven't heard from you in forever."

"Sorry about that, but duty calls," Rarity said.

"Yeah, not sure if you're aware, but we kind of have an issue with Captain America," Bobby said.

"I'm fully aware, Peter made sure everyone in town knew," Sweetie Belle said. "How did it even get this bad?"

"Also, what's this about the dragons being banished from Ponyville!?" Smolder asked.

"Oh, you're here too," Bobby said. "You even brought...uh, I don't know your name."

"I'm Ocellus," the Changeling introduced.

"Right...so, Smolder right? You want to know why the dragons got banished? The answer is easy," Bobby began. "Back when they were helping out Hercules, just as I got there with She-Hulk and our squads, they decided to betray us, for like, no reason at all. Hercules turned against us, The Dragons turned against us, which includes Spike."

"It breaks my heart knowing little Spikey-Wikey would do something like this," Rarity said, much to Bobby's annoyance.

"Yeah, poor Spikey-Wikey," The hero sarcastically remarked. "Anyway, from the sounds of things, Garble was especially hard to work with, one of the Wonderbolts said he nearly burned her fighting Johnny. He's definitely not ready to interact with ponies."

"Hey, don't say that, my brother actually does his best to be friendly," Smolder said. "It's just difficult for him sometimes, it's difficult for all dragons."

"See, you have to say this stuff, because it involves your brother and his friends," Bobby said. "Understandable but not enough to excuse his actions.

"At least you get to stay in Ponyville with your friends dear," Rarity said.

"But what about her family?" Sweetie Belle said. "It's not fair that her brother isn't allowed to come see her."

"When has he come to see her? Again, he doesn't seem to like ponies," Bobby said. "Dude's mean to Spike just for associating with ponies, don't act like Luna's completely in the wrong here.

"It's true ponies and dragons are known for not getting along, but clearly some can," Sweetie Belle said. "Smolder here is good friends with Sandbar and Cozy Glow."

"Which is fine," Bobby said. "Honestly that's a good thing, Smolder should just focus on what she has than what she doesn't."

"Would you be happy if you were separated from your family?" Smolder asked.

"Hey I'm fine never seeing my family again," Bobby said. "I only care about Rarity and our daughter."

"Huh? Why would you say that? Family is a great thing to have," Ocellus said.

"Not when you're a mutant like me," Bobby said, showing off his ice. "Back home, this isn't normal. People like me get treated like freaks and outcasts because of our powers. You two think you have it bad? At least you're considered more normal than I am."

"Well Mr. Drake, in a way, you're not acting much differently than those two persecute you back home, because you're part of a group that is currently persecuting heroes for doing their jobs," Ocellus said, surprising Bobby.

"You told me about the Mutant Registration Act, Bobby, what makes The Accords any different?" Sweetie Belle asked. "What's to stop this from growing and affecting the lives of everyone back in Ponyville? What if you're forced to register with The Accords just for having unique abilities? How long before this affects your daughter?"

"Tony wouldn't do that, he knows how bad it was for mutants, he understands guys like us," Bobby said.

"You mean the guy who doesn't actually have superpowers?" Smolder asked.

"You don't need powers to understand, anyone with enough care could understand," Bobby said.

"Care that you're not showing," Sweetie Belle said. "Tell me, did you care when Remy and Applejack were taken captive by Carol?”

That statement froze Bobby more than anything his ice could produce, a moment of doubt etched across his face, "That's...I told them that...Remy and Applejack knew..."

Sensing her husband's stress, Rarity decided to interject, "Listen girls, I know this is hard for you. It's not easy for us either, we certainly did not want to think of Applejack or Remy as our enemies. My hope is that once this is resolved, we can set everything back to normal."

"How?" Sweetie Belle asked. "How will you do that?"

"Uh...The Magic of Friendship?" Rarity said. "It worked before."

"Rarity, you know I believe in that, but even I don't think it will be that simple," Sweetie Belle said. "Face it, even you don't know if Applejack will be fine. You know how hard it was seeing Apple Bloom get depressed about this? Poor girl is pregnant and now she has to deal with the stress of her sister and brother-in-law treated like traitors! Even the mare that was hired to help out the Apples during her pregnancy is a traitor, all because she wanted to be a hero like Remy!"

"Can you imagine what their kids are thinking?" Smolder asked. "Didn't Remy and Professor Applejack recently have a daughter too?"

"We're aware, it's just..." Bobby groaned in annoyance. "Look, I don't have time for this, once we stop Cap, then we can figure this mess out. But we can't do anything as is!"

"Yes you can, all of you can just choose not to fight!" Sweetie Belle said. "Even Tony can choose not to fight, he can give the word and this all ends!"

"It's not that simple dear, Tony is doing this for Princess Celestia," Rarity said.

"Are you aware that Celestia sided with Steve Rogers?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Well...yeah," Rarity admitted. "There's still Luna though."

"Uh-huh, listen, I'm going to find a place to stay, call me when you decide to make the right choice," Sweetie Belle said.

"Can you even afford a place out here," Bobby asked.

"I can ask Saffron Masala if she has a spare room," Sweetie Belle said. "Let's go girls."

"Not yet, I want to tear into Tony Stark!" Smolder said.

"I don't think that's a good idea right now," Ocellus said.

"Listen to your friend Smolder, you try anything and Luna might send you packing back to the Dragon's Lair," Bobby said. "Stay out of trouble."

"Don't tell me what to do," Smolder said as Ocellus gestured her away.

"Come on, no more trouble," Ocellus said, as the three girls finally left.

"Bobby...are we making the right choice?" Rarity asked. "I mean, I was all for The Accords, I thought Tony Stark had a great idea."

"He does, this is a big chance for us, you to be the seamstress for the heroes, me to be the superhero I know I can be," Bobby said. "We'll help Remy and Applejack, I promise you that. Spike will be fine too, Tony's a bit arrogant at times but he's not a monster."

"Tony's not the one I'm worried about," Rarity said.

"Who are you worried about? Captain Marvel? In the end she's no different from me and you, Tony and Luna call the shots, and Spitfire to an extent," Bobby said. "Plus, you're an Element of Harmony, you're way more important than a lot of heroes here."

"I suppose you're right," Rarity said. "Oh, I should go to my shop, just to check on things."

"I'll stay here," Bobby said. "Oh, maybe we should pick out a nice gift for Blueberry since she's watching over our daughter."

"Way ahead of you," Rarity said.

---

Not too far off, Thunderlane and Lightning Dust were conversing with Cloud Chaser and Angel Wings.

"I could have been a top level Wonderbolt by now, if I didn't make foolish decisions years ago," Thunderlane said.

"Foolish in an understatement, you were basically imprisoned here, you're just lucky it was in a nice apartment rather than a cell, all because Felicia Hardy took pity on you," Cloudchaser said.

"Eh, more like she wanted someone to satisfy her urges," Thunderlane said. "I mean, I'm not gonna complain about getting it on with a really attractive mare, she's really great in bed, but I was hoping for something long term."

"Instead, you get saddled with raising the daughter the two of you had together," Cloudchaser said.

"Felicity is the best thing that's happened to me in recent memory, I just wish Felicia could appreciate her as much as I do," Thunderlane said. "I know she has her own issues regarding her father so it likely impacted her judgement as an adult, but that's really no excuse, she should have made more of an effort."

"Maybe it's hard for her," Lightning Dust said.

"It doesn't matter if it's hard, if you're a parent, you have a responsibility to be better," Cloudchaser said. "I can't wait till Felicia makes her way through Canterlot, because when she does, I'm going to pound the tar out of her."

"CC, I know you're concerned, but she is still the mother of my daughter, I'd rather you not actually hurt her," Thunderlane said.

"I make no promises," Cloudchaser said.

"Well Thunder, you had a bad few years, aside from being a father, but at least things are improving, keep going and you'll definitely be a Wonderbolt, or at least an Avenger," Lightning Dust said. "If things work well for me, I can bring myself and The Washouts into The Avengers, and you can have a place on my squad."

"Hey Thunderlane, if I may ask..." Angel Wings began. "Why did you use to hate Spider-Mane?"

"That's something I'd like to know too actually," Lightning Dust said. Cloudchaser grimaced, she knew the reason, even if she didn't condone Thunderlane hating Peter, she saw where he was coming from.

"It's...not an easy story, it's actually associated with a bad memory," Thunderlane said. "See a few years ago, Spider-Mane and Spitfire were racing through Manehattan for some publicity thing. There was an accident however, which caused the destruction of part of the city. My parents were in the area at the time...and perished in the accident."

"Wait, your parents died in the city?" Lightning Dust asked.

"I'm afraid so, Rumble took it hard, he tried to be brave but he was only eight when it happened, so emotional strength wasn't his forte," Thunderlane said. "I began to associate my parents' death with Peter, and I felt that if he was that great, why couldn't he save them? Or keep them safe? It wasn't fair that my brother became an orphan so young in his life. I let my anger get to me and I began lashing out."

"I remember how much it hurt you two, Flitter and I did a lot to mend the pain," Cloudchaser said. "We were both extra attentive to Rumble during this."

"Well that explains why you hated Peter so much," Lightning Dust said.

"I did, but that was no excuse for how I acted," Thunderlane said. "Peter's such a nice guy, and it seems like he's been through some crap too, I should have known that if he could have saved them, he would. Honestly, he still doesn't even know what happened to my parents, I mean he knows they're dead but he doesn't know why. Twilight does, but we agreed not to tell him. I didn't want him feeling guilty. Ironic, years ago I would have loved to tear him apart emotionally, but over time I've come to accept what happened, plus I'm a father too now, it's time I put that behind me and pave a new path."

"I had no idea you went through this," Lightning Dust said, placing her foreleg around Thunderlane. "Peter would have definitely helped you if he knew."

"Yeah, I know," Thunderlane said.

"I should have been more understanding," Cloudchaser said. "I should have spoken on your behalf, I should have just explained this to Peter. But then you stormed off, leaving Rumble behind. I was so angry you did that, and I lost a lot of sympathy or you."

"I screwed up as an older brother, and now Rumble's paying the price," Thunderlane said. "He just seems so out of control lately. I mean, acting like a superhero, getting Apple Bloom pregnant, his immature behavior towards those kids from Twilight's school, deep down I'm not sure if he's mentally recovered."

"At the very least, Rumble understands his situation with Apple Bloom, and he's trying to do the right thing by her," Cloudchaser said.

"That's all any mare could ask for in a situation like this," Lightning Dust said.

"I hope I'll have my chance to become a better role model for my brother, and for my daughter," Thunderlane said. "Peter's a great hero, and I know he's been a positive influence, but it's my responsibility to put my share in."

"Peter wasn't his only favorite hero too, Rumble's a big fan of Johnny Storm," Cloudchaser said.

"That reminds me of something," Angel Wings said. "Thunderlane, Lightning Dust, how well do either of you know Johnny Storm?"

"I don't know him well, I just know of him," Thunderlane said. "I definitely got on his bad side considering all the trash talking I did about Peter."

"I wouldn't call him my best friend but I definitely know him a little better since I live with Wolverine," Lightning Dust said. "You know that one, right?"

"I think so, the fierce fighter Timber-Wolverine," Angel Wings said.

"Oh right, someone around here stuck him with that dumb name," Lightning Dust muttered. "Whatever, point is I've interacted with Johnny, especially since me and his wife are rivals. He's a nice guy, very loyal to his wife and to his friends. Has a good bond with Pinkie Pie and is very tight knit with his family."

"I thought as much, thing is, during that fight yesterday against Team Cap, one of the dragons went nuts and started breathing fire wherever, and even though I was fighting Johnny Storm, he still protected me from the fire," Angel Wings said. "It was an obvious reminder to me that he's a superhero and I do have to wonder why we're even fighting Team Cap. Aren't they superheroes too?"

"That's something you should ask Tony, I mean, I can't fathom why we're hunting down other heroes," Lightning Dust said. "But, here we are."

"I'm not excited about this either, but rules are rules," Cloudchaser said.

"Exactly, it's not our call if we should be hunting them down or not," Thunderlane said.

"Wow, I can't believe you're the one saying this Thunder," Lightning Dust said. "The same pony who was not afraid to talk crap about Peter or Equestrian Authority."

"That got me in a lot of trouble, and I'm a father now, I have to be a bit more cautious on how I do things," Thunderlane said. "Everything I do or say can impact my daughter."

"Hey, that's understandable, but honestly, it's alright to break the rules once in a while, even most heroes would if it meant doing the right thing," Lightning Dust said.

"Probably shouldn't say that out loud, Dust," Cloudchaser said, looking around. "You never know who can hear."

"I'm not worried about anyone hearing me," Lightning Dust said. "I doubt most of them have the family I do."

"You mean Logan, Laura and Fluttershy, right?" Thunderlane asked.

"Oh totally, they're great and I love them a lot," Lightning Dust said. "Logan and Fluttershy are probably the most endearing couple in Ponyville. Logan's a strong man but Fluttershy brings out his softer nature, while at the same time, Logan has that sturdiness that Fluttershy can lean on when she's worried. Peter and Twilight are great, and I admit I'm being one hundred percent bias here but, I say that Logan and Fluttershy are the best couple in Equestria, in regard to Hero and Equestrian."

"Bold claim, but I don't blame you, I wouldn't mind a guy like Logan, I'd love for a stallion who's strong against others but soft with me," Cloudchaser said.

"Then why didn't you date me!?" Thunderlane asked.

"Because one, you're a bit immature, and two, you're more like a brother to me," Cloudchaser said.

"Come on, I'm plenty mature now," Thunderlane said.

"Don't worry about it, Thunder," Lightning Dust said, placing her foreleg around him. "You're plenty tough and mature to me."

"Thanks, but I'd like to be able to use that to get a girlfriend," Thunderlane said. "Preferably one that won't basically dump me because she realized she supposedly likes other mares."

"Alright, how about this, Thunder," Lightning Dust began. "You and I can go on a date."

"Huh?" Thunderlane turned to Lightning Dust in surprise. "You and me?"

"Well yeah, just us two," Lightning Dust said. "It doesn't even have to be anything romantic, I just want to get to know you a little better. You do seem like a nice guy and I am interested myself in finding somepony."

"I'm flattered, but...are you sure you know what you're getting into?" Thunderlane asked. "I do have a daughter, if things get serious, then you're going to have an extra bit of responsibility."

"That's fine, your daughter's cute, and truthfully, I kind of want to have a family of my own eventually, I don't mind the head start," Lightning Dust said. "Not saying anything's official, but I do want to give it a chance if you're willing to."

"You should take her up on it," Cloudchaser said. "Lightning Dust can be good for you, plus you'd have an awesome couple name, Thunder and Lightning."

"That does have a nice ring to it," Thunderlane said.

"Now, I'll be honest with you off the get-go," Lightning Dust said. "I think mares are cute, I tried wooing Trixie but she wasn't interested. I thought about Laura but she's too much of a sister to me. I even thought Dash was kind of cute once, that went nowhere obviously. However, I am not going to use that as an excuse to dump you, as long as you treat me right, I'll stay by your side."

"Sure, totally," Thunderlane said. "Alright, uh, it's a date then. But, I don't have anywhere in mind right now."

"You can worry about that later, after the showdown, we'll work out the details," Lightning Dust said, winking at the stallion. "Just show me a good time."

"Right, you got it," Thunderlane said.

"How cute, I can't wait to find a stallion," Angel Wings said.

"You got time," Cloudchaser said.

---

In Canterlot's throne room, a very frustrated Tony Stark continued to make plans, trying to thwart off Steve with Spitfire and Luna by his side.

"Tony Stark," Came the voice of Starswirl, the Sorcerer entering with his Pillars.

"What is it? I'm busy," Tony said.

"Tony, Starswirl's kind of important," Luna said.

"I know but...ugh, fine," Tony turned to the stallion, "What do you want?"

"I heard some unsettling rumors about Celestia, is it true she has sided with the enemy?" Starswirl asked.

"According to Carol, yes, and I'm a little ticked off about that," Tony said. "I made these Accords to please her royal ass and she goes and pulls this stunt!?"

"Uh, Tony..." Luna said.

"I'm sorry, I know she's your sister but it's just..." Tony groaned in frustration. "What do I have to do to make things right for this world!? I'm doing my best but everyone wants to give me shit! Or destroy my plans!"

"Tony, I know you're mad, but get a hold of yourself," Spitfire said.

"I just...I didn't want any of this, I don't want to fight Steve, fight Celestia, or any of our allies, they're drawing my hand here!" Tony said.

"Perhaps your Accords do need work," Starswirl said.

"The Accords are fine!" Carol said, entering the room with Cadance. "Steve's being out of line, and now Celestia is too. Luna and Cadance at least understand things better, perhaps they're simply more suited to rule."

"Cadance? Do you feel this way?" Luna asked.

"Well...Celestia has made bad choices, I mean, she did sent Twilight out on adventures before she was ready for some, especially that situation with King Sombra," Cadance said. "I went along with it at the time because I wanted to save that Kingdom too but, Twilight could have gotten hurt. Plus Celestia's indecision led to The Accords in the first place, it's like she does things on a whim. If she can't commit to an idea, then she shouldn't be ruling."

"I agree one hundred percent, I would never send a girl out there before she was ready," Carol said.

"Remind me how well Kamala did out there?" Tony sarcastically remarked.

"It's a work in progress," Carol said, much to the annoyance of Tony, Luna and Spitfire. "Point is that we need to press on."

"Right, let's just press on and keep this world safe, and if we have to knock a few heads around in the process, we will!" Tony said. "Starswirl, get your pillars ready for battle."

"Who us?" Flash Magnus asked.

"Yes you!" Tony said. "You're a solider right? Get your ass in gear! All of you!"

"Protect your country," Spitfire said.

"You could say 'please'," Mage Meadowbrook said.

"Fine, 'please' get your asses in gear," Tony said.

"How uncouth," Starswirl said. "But I do want to capture Stygian. However, Luna, you and I have much to discuss later."

"About what?" Luna asked.

"About you, and why you were sent to the Moon for a thousand years," Starswirl said, Luna's eyes widening in worry. "Seems like Celestia may not be the one I should worry about."

Luna nervously turned away, fearing what Starswirl may say to her, something Tony and Spitfire picked up on, and especially Carol and Cadance.

Nearby, Blueblood had listened in on everything, "I hoped to figure this out before another battle took place, maybe there's still time. Aunt Celestia, if you truly are back, I pray you can be a Princess worthy of the throne."

---

Down in the Dungeon, Applejack was playing her harmonica while the others waited in their cells.

"Back here again, what a shame," Lizard said.

"We'll get out, this ain't over yet," Remy said.

"Can't you blow your cell up?" Angel asked.

"No, they enchanted it so I can't use my powers," Remy said.

"Same here, they really thought of everything," Angel said.

"Well Tony Stark is the one in charge of this crap," Bucky said. "At least he left me my metal arm, not that it's gonna break anything here. Probably did that just to flaunt his genius or whatever."

"Sounds like Iron Man," Dwayne said.

Soon a hero had come down the Dungeon area, someone Bucky immediately recognized, "Clint?"

"Got something for you," Clint said, sliding a key under Bucky's cell. "This will open the doors. But don't do it now, there's a shit ton of heroes out there, they're going to just throw you back inside. Cap's on his way to Canterlot, once a fight breaks out, that will be your ticket to escape, plus give Cap the advantage."

"Wait, why are you helping us?" Bucky asked.

"Because I don't trust Tony, I should have turned against him sooner, but I got hesitant," Clint said. "Consider me on your side, even if I have to blend in with Tony a while longer."

"Very sneaky, Hawkeye," Remy said. "I respect that."

"Thank you, we appreciate it," Applejack said.

"Don't mention it, now Bucky, keep those keys hidden, I don't think anyone should know that they're gone," Clint said. "I'll cover for you if that happens."

"Thanks Clint," Bucky said, eyeing the key. "This ain't over yet."

---

Back in the Capcom world, sometime after receiving word from Thor, the Angel Whis had his cube fully prepared to travel back to Asgard.

"This is so exciting!" Goku said. "A chance to fight strong opponents, I can hardly wait."

"Goku, we're about to head into a war, that's not exactly exciting," Guile said, the fighter packing with Cammy and Carlos.

"Innocents might be in danger, we're going to help Thor push away his brother, not just for the sake of a good battle," Cammy said.

"I get that civilians need to be protected, and I respect that, but as martial artists, doesn't a good fight excite any of you?" Goku asked. "After all, this is supposed to be the world of intense competition."

"I enjoy a good competitive fight, but I didn't join the Airforce looking for trouble, I joined to protect people, including my family," Guile said.

"Same here, I joined the UBCS to make sure bioweapons didn't hurt civilians," Carlos said. "Though I never expected my employers to be the one endangering those civilians, damn Umbrella Corporation."

"Betrayal stings doesn't it, I know that feeling all too well after Shadoloo," Cammy said.

"Umbrella, Shadoloo, these are like the evil companies right?" Goku asked.

"Yes, our world is home to a lot of great evil, just like any,” Cammy said.

"Such is the fate of any Universe I'm afraid," Whis said. "Hence our trip to Asgard."

"Why are we doing this again?" Beerus asked. "What happens to that world isn't my concern, mortals really need to fight for themselves, it's not a God's place to get involved."

"You don't have to come you know," came the voice of Sunset Shimmer, the girl making her way over alongside Strange, Ryu, Cloud, Chris, and Dante. "You could just stay here, or go back home."

"I don't take orders from mortals," Beerus said, making his way into the Cube. "I'm going to take a nap, wake me when we get to Asgard."

Strange shook his head in shame and turned to Whis, "Remind me what his purpose is again?"

"As a God of Destruction, Lord Beerus is technically tasked to destroy worlds that have no potential or progress so that the Gods of Creation, or Supreme Kais as they're called, can start over and try again," Whis said.

"So they just blow up planets? With people living on them?" Sunset asked.

"Pretty much so, any low-level planet," Whis said.

"That's terrible! Why would a God do that?" Sunset asked.

"It's part of the balance of life, any planet that is deemed useless must be ridden of, a common quality of our twelve universes" Whis said. "I know it sounds harsh, but those are the terms we were given. My job is to ensure Beerus does his job, though he does let the power go to his head often."

"I really can't respect that," Sunset said.

"Neither can I," Ryu said. "And you say that there are multiple universes with a similar format?"

"Indeed there are," Whis said. "Twelve Universes, each with their own Destroyer God, Supreme Kai and Angel."

"Are all Destroyer Gods like Beerus?" Sunset asked.

"No, not at all, some are worse," Whis said.

"That doesn't sound reassuring," Cloud said.

"I speak only the truth, even if it's a difficult pill to swallow," Whis said.

"Applejack's Element," Sunset said.

"Applejack? Is that an entree of sorts?" Whis asked.

"She means a friend of ours from Equestria," Dante said. "She makes pastries with apples though."

"Remind me to pay that place a visit," Whis said.

"Fine by us, just make sure Beerus doesn't destroy it," Chris said.

"Ahem," Strange said, getting their attention. "Pardon the interruption, but we should be getting ready to embark."

"Wait, what about Chun-Li?" Dante asked.

"I'm coming," Chun-Li said, making her way over with Spencer, Strider, Mega Man, Roll, Leon, Trish, Jill and Tifa.

"Is this everyone?" Strange asked.

"For now, once we get to Asgard, there are a few more that are coming," Chun-Li said. "It'd be easier if you made a portal. If that's possible."

"I can try," Strange said.

"Hey if worse comes to worse, you mentioned a girl who can make portals, right?" Sunset asked.

"Is this the that Strange mentioned to be a pain in the ass?" Spencer asked.

"Yes, she is rather difficult to work with," Strange said. "She's talented, but that means nothing without proper training."

"Send her over, if she causes trouble I'll discipline her myself," Chun-Li said.

"Do to her what you'd do to Luke," Spencer said.

"Luke...I actually saw him fighting the other day," Sunset said. "Truth be told, I kind of want to take him on in combat, just to test my abilities."

"I would love to see that, we'll definitely make sure that happens," Spencer said. "While you're at it, kick the crap out of Nero too."

"Nero's not even that bad," Chun-Li said.

"The kid's a wannabe Dante," Spencer said.

"Actually, he's gotten better, and he's coming into his own at least," Dante said.

"Those who are young often have the drive to want to be the best, but they can only go so far without humility," Strider said. "The 'little punks' as they are called will learn that soon enough."

"Talk more in the cube, let's go everyone," Sunset said.

"Will everyone fit, Whis?" Strange asked.

"I believe so," Whis said. "It seems like an ample-"

"Hold on!" Came the voice of Morrigan, the succubus flying in with Felicia by her side. "Don't leave without me!"

"Oh no..." Spencer lamented.

"Morrigan, you want to come to Asgard too?" Dante asked.

"Of course, it seems like a fun adventure," Morrigan said. "Plus, as a staple among the Capcom ranks, I feel I should be around more for these adventures. Plus, if Sunset's going to fight, I want to be around too, I gave her points of my own after all."

"Same here," Felicia said. "I want to see her in action!"

"That reminds me, am I ready to try out what I've learned in my time training here?" Sunset asked. "Do I need more practice?"

"No better training than experience," Spencer said. "Don't worry, we'll be there to watch your back."

"My advice, stick mainly to what you know, magic," Strider said. "Get practice in if you need to, but protecting your life is more important in the end."

"I know, I do want to see how far my training has come along," Sunset said, throwing some jabs. "Think I can get a sword in Asgard?"

"It's certainly worth asking" Strider said.

"Load up," Whis said, everyone standing in the cube. "And, onward to Asgard!"

The cube immediately darted across the cosmos, Sunset looking amazed by what she was seeing so far, "Wow, so cool!"

"This is one way to travel," Mega Man said. "To think such a device like this exists, where did you get it?"

"It's a gift to deities like us," Whis said. "It helps if we need to travel to other Universes, even across parallel dimensions."

"Can it travel through time?" Sunset asked.

"That has never been tested, but recall what Lord Beerus has said, it is forbidden to travel through time, even deities like us could face punishment for violating such a rule."

"Oof, might be bad if you met some of my friends," Mega Man said.

"I know your world does time travel, be lucky you're not under my jurisdiction," Beerus said, the god comfortably laying back in a chair. "I would have destroyed you long ago."

"That's a bit of an overreaction, don't you think?" Morrigan asked.

"Please, all the demons, those virus outbreaks, evil robots, your world's a mess," Beerus said.

"So glad this guy doesn't know about Future Equestria," Leon muttered to himself.

"Well that's why we exist, to fix it and keep people safe," Chris said.

"You need work," Beerus said. "What about you? Guy with the big sword, has your world gone to hell?"

"No, my friends worked too hard to make sure that doesn't happen," Cloud said.

"Good for you," Beerus said. "I'm glad none of you are my Earth though, at least that world is peaceful for the most part, thanks to Goku doing the one thing he knows how to do."

"If you mean fighting, I can do more than that," Goku said. "I'm quite the farmer."

"That you are," Sunset said. "Still quite the superhero."

"I'm not a superhero though, I just like fighting," Goku said.

"Well if you saw someone in danger, you'd help right?" Sunset asked.

"Of course, my grandpa always taught me to help those in need, and I really don't like the idea of innocent people getting hurt," Goku said. "But, I'm not like my son, he actively goes out to stop crime, I just wait at home until someone strong comes, or I go find someone strong. Thing is, a lot of strong people also happen to be evil, so I end up saving the world without realizing it. I don't mind, I mean I was more than happy to stop Frieza from doing terrible things, to stop Cell from blowing up my planet and to stop Majin Buu from annihilating the galaxy. I even fought hard to stop Beerus from blowing up my planet not too long ago."

"Yes, you had to swallow your pride and let your friends give you the power you needed," Beerus said.

"If it meant keeping my friends and family safe, then yeah, I'd do it again, it's a bitter pill to swallow to be given strength rather than earning it, but I do have people I love that I want to protect," Goku said.

"Well Goku, even if you're not a typical hero, that doesn't mean you're not a hero in your own right," Sunset said. "You do the right thing, you help others, I say you're pretty heroic, and really cool."

"Those people in Asgard will probably look up to you assisting in stopping Loki, even if you're just going there to fight, they're still going to see a hero," Ryu said.

"Plus, seeing you fight might actually motivate some of them to want to get stronger," Sunset said. "You could be a real role model."

"I do like encouraging others to get strong," Goku said.

"As a martial artist, I can understand your desire Goku," Ryu said. "You fight and push yourself to get stronger, you may have goals and bars to reach, just like us. For some time, my bar was Spider-Man, but given how you were able to beat him, and your friend who's about as strong as you was someone I could not defeat, I can honestly say you two are my new bars. I still aim to surpass Peter but I also want to surpass you as well."

"You're pretty strong for an Earthling, I think you have the potential if you train hard enough," Goku said. "Same with your friend Dante, maybe it's the demon energy but he's soaring with potential."

"Damn right I am," Dante said.

"Also that guy, Cloud Strife," Goku said, gesturing to the former SOLIDER. "His latent power is amazing, it reminds me of that Sephiroth guy, I'd say their powers are just about equal."

"They have to be, I need to defeat Sephiroth once and for all," Cloud said. "Bastard just won't stay a memory."

"That guy's your rival, right?" Goku asked.

"He used to be my hero, my role model," Cloud said. "But, when he discovered the truth about what he was, he snapped. Burned down my village, he killed my mother, and Tifa's father."

"I tried killing him in revenge, and it nearly cost me my life," Tifa said.

"Then there's Aerith...she did not deserve what happened to her," Cloud said. "I fought Sephiroth, many times, but no matter how many times I seem to kill him, he just comes back. Not sure if you can relate to that."

"I can," Chun-Li said. "We've destroyed Bison a few times, but he usually managed to come back. Last I heard, he was killed by Princess Luna on Marvel Earth, but he always finds a way to return."

"This Bison guy is your rival?" Goku asked.

"In a way, he did kill my father," Chun-Li said.

"He used me as a slave to do his dirty work," Cammy said.

"He also killed my best friend," Guile said. "Or so I thought, Charlie's out there, but not the man he used to be. With Shadoloo currently in a quandary due to Bison's disappearance, at least we can look into that without worry."

"There's that other group to worry about though," Cammy said. "A man called Gill did recently surface."

"Right, we'll have to be on lookout for that," Guile said. "We'll take him down too though."

"Seems like a lot of you have chips on your shoulders," Whis said.

"Many of us have been wronged," Chris said. "When I was a policeman, I was betrayed by my team Captain, Albert Wesker. He at one point had killed Umbrella's Founder, Jill and I tried fighting him but, he was too fast and much stronger."

"I nearly died fighting him, thankfully we had friends nearby to help," Jill said. "He disappeared for a while before reappearing in the Marvel world. Last I heard, he worked on a project called Uroboros, I thought it was related to something Strider Hiryu worked with, but it's much different."

"Which means it can pop up at any time," Chun-Li said. "Let's keep an eye on that."

"We'll find Wesker, and Vergil, and Tron Bonne," Sunset said.

"Who are the other two?" Goku asked.

"Vergil's my brother," Dante said. "After our mother was killed by a demon named Mundus, he snapped. His way of coping was trying to reject his humanity and embrace his demon side, so he wouldn't feel the pain of losing his mother. I had to fight him a couple of times, including a time on Mallet Island when he was under the control of Mundus. Guess he broke control sometime later and joined with Wesker."

"Tron Bonne is an air pirate from a different timeline, she flies around the world with her brothers Bon and Tiesel, along with her 42 Servbots to steal various treasures," Mega Man explained. "Weird, Volnutt told me she wasn't that bad, I don't understand why she would work for Wesker. I mean, I figured Dr. Wily would work for him, he's a bit eviler than she is, but I guess Wesker just offered her something worthwhile."

"Hopefully we can get to the bottom of that, with luck, maybe we can convince her to switch sides," Sunset said. "For all we know, Wesker's holding her or her family hostage."

"I wouldn't put it past him, he once blackmailed a friend of me and Chris, threatening his family's life if he didn't do as told," Jill said.

"Blackmail, sounds like he'd work well with Shinra," Cloud said.

"It sucks when those in higher power turn against you, happened with me at points, especially my time in Ascension City," Spencer said. "Nearly got Mag killed too, helps having friends."

"Never imagined all of you would have such tragic backstories," Whis said. "What about you Ryu? What is your story?"

"Nothing really, I was an orphan growing up, taken in by my Master Gouken, who was killed by his brother Akuma," Ryu said. "Like Cloud, I am constantly tormented with Akuma's presence, he seeks a fight to the death, and no matter how many times I seem to be done with him, he's never that far away."

"Guy really gets from place to place," Ken said. "Even I started to hate him."

"I briefly had that with Nemesis," Jill said. "Even he came back recently in Equestria."

"You wanna talk about getting stalked by B.O.W.s, have you heard of William Birkin?" Leon asked. "There was also that freak in a trench coat."

"Claire's mentioned some of that stuff," Chris said. "I appreciate you keeping my sister safe during that time."

"We kept each other safe, and Sherry too," Leon said.

"You've all suffered in your own ways, but that suffering has made you stronger," Whis said. "You should be proud to have endured and not let despair triumph over you. Lesser individuals would have given in."

"He's right, one reason I think you're all so cool is because you're just as strong mentally and emotionally as you are physically," Sunset said. "Your determination for others to not go through what you do is something else."

"Well, thanks, we appreciate that," Ryu said.

"You're all a big inspiration for me to get better, just like Peter is, and thanks to all of you, I feel stronger than before," Sunset said. "I'm going to continue my training, in time, I hope to not only train with more Capcom Warriors, but warriors from other dimensions."

"You can definitely train with Terry, he'd make a good teacher," Ken said. "Oh, and if you go to Namco, I think you'd get along well with Marshall Law and Paul Phoenix."

"Oh yeah, those guys are awesome," Sunset said. "I've always wanted to go to Law's restaurant too."

"No you don't," Chun-Li said. "I mean, his cooking is better than El Fuerte's, but not by much," Chun-Li said.

"Didn't taste too bad to me," Spencer said.

"Because your taste buds are probably bionic," Chun-Li said.

"Girl, are you for real?" Spencer asked. "The only thing bionic about me is my arm!"

"Your arm looks cool by the way," Goku said.

"Spider-Man said the same thing," Spencer said. "I know his daughter was fascinated too, given that she loves technology."

"Wait, is that why she stares at me a lot?" Mega Man asked.

"Oh yeah, she probably has a crush on you, Rock," Spencer teased, much to Roll's annoyance.

"That's awkward since I've known Spider-Man since she before she was born," Mega Man said.

"Theoretically, you are close to age, so it wouldn't be that weird," Spencer said.

"Alright, stop talking about this, it's weird," Mega Man said.

"Rock and Mayday, sitting in a tree," Dante said.

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G," Morrigan continued.

"NO! None of that!" Mega Man shouted. "I will push you off this cube!"

"Wait, hold on, why would they be kissing in a tree?" Goku asked.

"What a surprise, you know how to spell," Beerus said.

"Well yeah, I never went to school but I did learn math and reading skills from Master Roshi, so that counts, right?" Goku asked.

"It does, Mayday doesn't go to school either, Peter homeschools her," Sunset said. "Though Twilight wonders if she should go to actual school."

"Peter's smart, so is Twilight, better than most teachers, she'll be fine," Spencer said.

"Is she still planning to go to college?" Chun-Li asked.

"I think so," Sunset said.

"Pfft, she doesn't need college, what could they teach her that her parents can't?" Spencer asked.

"She does need a degree," Leon said.

"Degrees are overrated, they're just blank pieces of paper," Dante said. "She's good with tech right? Let her work with Tony Stark! Or hell, bring her here to work with Doctor Light."

"Yeah, she can continue to bond with Rock here," Chris said, much to Mega Man's annoyance.

"I don't think she'll be needed here," Roll said. "Send her to Square, or Namco, or Sega."

"Or the Big N, Samus Aran could use someone to fix up her armor," Spencer said. "Or she could check out that Monado sword that Shulk guy has."

"I hate to interrupt, but we're almost there," Whis said. "Be ready to land."

"Sweet, Asgard here we come," Spencer said.

---

Meanwhile at Sweet Apple Acres, Kurt had just finished explaining the situation to the Apples regarding what had recently transpired.

"So, Applejack ended up getting thrown back to Canterlot, Cap's escape plan didn't work," Big Macintosh said.

"Many in his team are still free and uncaptured, but Applejack and Gambit have been taken in I'm afraid," Kurt confirmed.

"What about Sugar Belle?" Cheerilee asked.

"She's fine, she got away," Kurt said. "A few others did not."

"I don't get why this is even happening..." Cheerilee said. "Why is there such turmoil among the heroes? Aren't they supposed to protect Equestria?"

"They are, but clearly they've forgotten their duties, it's a shame really," Kurt said. "One of them even had the audacity to hurt Apple Bloom."

Big Macintosh's eye briefly twitched, "Pardon me? You saying someone hurt mah baby sister? Mah pregnant baby sister!?"

"I'm afraid so, the action sickens me," Kurt said. "I don't like to pass judgement but I could not stand knowing what Carol had done. God may forgive her actions, but I will not. That is why I am taking Captain America's side, I want this world to maintain its Freedom, for the sake of ponies like Apple Bloom, and creatures like Silverstream and Smolder."

"Not alone, I'm joining too," Big Mac said.

"Dear, is that a good idea?" Cheerilee asked.

"Applejack needs mah help, how can I call mahself a big brother if ah don't help mah little sister, or fight for the honor of mah baby sister?" Big Mac asked. "You stay here with the kids."

Cheerilee seemed reluctant, but she understood why her husband needed to do what he had to do, "Alright, please be careful Big Macintosh."

"I will," Big Mac said, giving a kiss to his wife. "Also, make sure Granny doesn't try to follow, she looks about ready to go to war."

Cheerilee turned to see Granny with a large bat, swinging it around for practice, "Where did she..."

"Don't ask," Big Mac said, leaving with Kurt. "Tell our boy that daddy will be back later, and tell the nephew and niece that Uncle Mac is bringing their parents home!"

"I will," Cheerilee said as the two teleported away. "Please be safe."

---

Outside Ponyville, Celestia had rounded up everyone on Cap's team, everyone left at least.

"I can't believe I let this happen," Steve lamented, thinking of those captured. "I should have been able to protect them."

"We'll get them back," Sam said. "This is not over yet Steve."

"We gotta stay focused," Johnny said. "For now, let's take a breather, cool our heads, and go in with a plan."

"Surprised to hear you of all people say that, Torch," Sam said. "Equestria's really softened you."

"We all gotta grow up sometime, Sam," Johnny said.

"Guess so," Sam said. "Hope your wife managed to get some new recruits."

"I hope so too," Steve said, looking to his team. Some of them looked exhausted, or hurt. Matt in particular took a bad bump and was being tended to by Celestia while Sugar Belle was comforting Babs, though even she looked like she could use a reassuring word. Even Taskmaster looked worried, the villain actually removing his mask and reflecting.

"I'm fine, thank you Princess," Matt said. "It's just a bump, I've had worse."

"Don't overwork yourself," Celestia said, then turned to Cap. "Steve."

"Celestia," Steve said, trotting over to the Princess. "I'm surprised to see you."

"I couldn't sit back, Equestria is my country after all," Celestia said.

"I don't mind fighting for you," Steve said.

"I know but...may we talk in private?" Celestia asked.

"Sure," Steve said, leading Celestia away, Sam and Johnny looking on.

"Sam, level with me, are those two a thing?" Johnny asked.

"Honestly Torch, I feel like they're the only ones who don't know they like each other, but that can change soon," Sam said.

Yards out of earshot, Steve spoke again, "What did you want to tell me?"

"That this is my fault, I should have been more assertive in regard to The Accords, but Tony only did this because of my cowardice,” Celestia said. "I had a fear of what your world could do to us for so long, I forgot all the good that can come from there too. I haven't been the best ruler I'm afraid, but truthfully, the job can be overwhelming, I don't know how much more I have left in me to keep at it."

"Are you stepping down?" Steve asked.

"Not at the moment, but possibly soon," Celestia said.

"Well, whatever you decide, I'm here for you," Steve said. "I promise to liberate your country."

"I know," Celestia said. The mare leaned in and took Steve into a kiss, surprising the stallion greatly. She pulled away, a blush now on both their faces.

"Wow, um..." Steve was speechless. "Didn't expect that."

"Funny, it took more guts for me to do that than what I did earlier in town today," Celestia said.

"Yeah, it's like that..." Steve said. "So...what now?"

"Now, we return to our allies, and you need to be ready to give an inspirational speech," Celestia said.

"Right, sure," Steve said, still a bit flustered.

Not too far off, Janet was laying against a rock, thinking about everything that's happened. Suddenly Sugar Belle sat by her side, "Worried?"

"Huh?" Janet looked up at the mare. "Oh no, I'm fine. How's Babs?"

"She's still upset but I think she's doing her best to put it aside for now," Sugar Belle said. "She's just determined to save her cousin."

"I feel so bad for Applejack, and Remy, and the others," Janet said.

"Me too...I'm really worried about Bucky," Sugar Belle said.

"Right, he risked himself to help you out," Janet said.

"It was so sweet of him, Bucky's quite the stallion," Sugar Belle said, a blush appearing on her face.

"You like him or something?" Janet asked, Sugar Belle blushing harder.

"Is it that obvious?" the mare asked.

"I don't blame you, he's got that bad boy look but he's a nice guy deep down," Janet said.

"I can definitely tell that much," Sugar Belle said. "What's it like being married? I bet it's amazing, being with your true love. What was it like falling in love?"

"Amazing, I'll never forget about how great it was, then to be with the man you love, the day I got married, best day of my life," Janet said.

"I can imagine, and he probably felt the same way, right?" Sugar Belle asked.

"Oh yeah, Hank was happy, he looked so handsome in his suit too," Janet said.

"Hank?" Sugar Belle asked, getting a blush from Janet.

"Er, I mean Spike," Janet said. "Sorry, I got the names mixed up."

"Oh, well anyway, Spike's a lucky guy to have you," Sugar Belle said.

"When we save Bucky, I'll get you two set on a date," Janet said.

"I'd like that," Sugar Belle said, standing up. "I should check on the others, I'll see you later."

"Right, see you," Janet said, now feeling weird. "What the hell was that about just now?"

"Attention everyone," Cap said, getting all ears. "We just had a big battle and had a few of our allies captured. I know that's a harsh blow, but that doesn't mean this is over. I promise to bring our teammates back, and I will go through hell to do so. Tomorrow, we take Canterlot, and end this conflict. Tony's Accords will not succeed. I can't promise victory, but that doesn't mean we can't work hard until the end. Remember, fight well and protect your allies."

"It's time to show Equestria what a true hero is," Celestia said. "Even if this is all we have, being outnumbered doesn't mean we're outmatched."

"What makes you think this is all you have?" Came Silverstream's voice, the girl flying in with Rumble. "You just got two more."

"Rumble? Silverstream?" Johnny said in surprise.

"Torch, it will be an honor to fight alongside you," Rumble said. "Screw the Accords, I'm Team Cap."

"Me too," Silverstream said.

"That's great to hear," Came Rainbow Dash's voice, the mare flying in with Gilda and Scott.

"Oh good, you're back," Sue said as Johnny went to kiss his wife.

"Had any luck?" the Human Torch asked.

"You bet, look," Rainbow Dash said, gesturing to Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Jessica Jones.

"We got your back, Cap," Luke said. "Free of charge."

"Excellent," Steve said. "This gives us greater numbers."

"Got that right," came Logan's voice, the stallion making his way over with Laura and Fluttershy. "Knew I'd find you here, I just had to follow the scent of a brash Pegasus and a tiny man."

"Who you calling 'Tiny'?" Scott asked.

"Logan, you wish to fight with us?" Cap asked.

"You know me, Steve, I trust you more than I trust Stark," Logan said. "He ain't gonna run this world right, time for us to take him down a peg, for the sake of those we love."

"As an Element of Harmony, it is my duty to make sure that harmony prevails," Fluttershy said.

"We totally got this, I mean you already have freaking Hercules on your side, we're just making the team a bit cooler," Laura said.

"Twenty Percent cooler to be precise," Rainbow Dash said.

"Well alright," Steve said. "Welcome aboard."

"Got room for one more?" Came another voice, everyone turning to see Elektra. "Hello Cap."

"Elektra? You want to fight for us?" Matt asked.

"Of course Matt, I have a score to settle with Tony Stark too," Elektra said.

"Alright, but no killing," Steve said.

"Unless they ask for it," Taskmaster said.

"Taskmaster..." Steve warned.

"Ugh, Cap's word is rule," Taskmaster said.

"Fine with me," Elektra said. "Humiliation is worse than death anyway."

Felicia couldn't help but smirk, "At least I'm not the least trustworthy member of the team now."

Moments later, Kurt teleported in with Big Mac, “Captain.”

“Nightcrawler? You wish to fight too?” Steve asked.

“Yes, myself and Big Macintosh,” Kurt said.

“Ah want mah sister back,” Big Mac said.

“Huh, looks like we’ll have the advantage yet,” Steve said. “Tomorrow, we strike.”

---

Back in Asgard, Whis had landed his cube, stepping foot into the land which was once Norwegian Myth.

"Amazing how beautiful this place is," Sunset said.

"It sure is breathtaking," Ryu said.

"Halt!" Came the voice of Valkyrie, the woman joined with her fellow riders. "State your business."

"We're here to see Thor, ma'am," Whis said. "I am Whis of Universe Seven within the realm of Grand Zeno."

"Who's Zeno?" Valkyrie asked.

"It is fine, Valkyrie," Sif said, making her way over with The Warriors Three. "Thor called for them, they are warriors of another realm."

"Very well," Valkyrie turned to her squad. "Resume patrol, sisters!"

As they flew off, Sunset looked a bit surprised, "Were those...Pegusai?"

"Yes, fine creatures to ride into battle," Sif said. "Only for a woman though, Pegusai tend to dislike men."

"Tell that to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy," Sunset said.

"I would..but I do not know who they are," Sif said.

"Never mind," Sunset said. "Where's Thor?"

"He should be coming,” Sif said. “As well as Odin.”

“Odin is not well, he should not be fighting,” Valkyrie said.

“It is his wish to fight to the end,” Sif said. “He knows Valhalla is waiting, and he intends to venture to that land.”

"Valhalla? Where's that?" Goku asked.

"Valhalla is the afterlife for Asgard’s Viking Warriors,” Strider said.

“Which means Thor will become the new King,” Hogun said.

"He'll do a great job, Thor's a very admirable warrior," Dante said. "I have a lot of respect for the guy."

"He will make us all proud," Volstagg said.

"What is this?" Thor said, the Avenger making his way over.

"Hey Thor, I brought some friends," Goku said.

"I can see that, but why?" Thor asked. "Are they not aware of what's to come? Also, is that Stephen Strange?"

"Thor, I know you don't want help," Strange began. "But-"

"They must go," Thor said. "I cannot allow them to die for Asgard, it is too much to ask."

"Hey, we're not going anywhere, you need help, and we're here to give you that help," Sunset said. "If this was Midgard or Equestria, you would fight to the end for us, wouldn't you?"

"Of course, but this is my responsibility," Thor said.

"Thor, years ago we let this mindset affect our decision making when Wesker led his team to invade Equestria," Ryu said. "Do you remember how that worked out?"

"I...do remember that," Thor said.

"Thor, you would fight for us, let us fight for you," Sunset said. "You're our friend, and Friendship is Magic. Besides, Sephiroth will be here, and possibly Akuma. He even has The Storm King and his team, enemies from my world. This is my responsibility too."

"Yes, I suppose so," Thor said. "Truthfully, I hoped to vanquish all of them myself too."

"Yourself? So should I ask Beta Ray Bill to return home then?" Sif asked.

"I should hope not," Came the horse like warrior himself. "I wish to fight for you too."

"What the f-" Dante was elbowed by Chun-Li.

"We'll all fight together, like one big happy, battle hungry family," Fandral said.

"Together, we, The Warriors of Asgard," Sif said.

"Yes, indeed. We will protect our people, it is my duty as their King and their God," Thor said.

"Honestly, why can't these mortals fight for themselves?" Beerus said. "This is why they're so lazy, Gods are always having to clean up their messes."

"My people will fight, because they are inspired to do so, to protect their land and their loved ones," Thor said.

"Then let them do it, it's a shame when a God must stoop to a mortal's level," Beerus said.

"You couldn't be more wrong," Sunset said. "A God helping mortals is a great thing."

"I don't appreciate being told I'm wrong," Beerus said.

"Take some criticism will you? Being a God doesn't mean no one can't disagree with you," Sunset said.

"That's exactly what it means, girly," Beerus said, sinisterly treading towards Sunset, to which both Ryu and Cloud stood in front of her.

"I dare you to give us a reason," Cloud warned, gripping his Buster Sword as Ryu tightened his gloves.

"Enough, let's not quarrel amongst ourselves," Strange said. "But, to Sunset's point Beerus, there is one thing I wish to enlighten you on. See in my world, we have a little something called 'Greek Mythology', in which many of the Gods were heroes to the mortals they watched over, including the mightiest of them, The God of Strength, Hercules."

"Hercules? The God of Strength?" Beerus asked.

"Yes, 'Lord' Beerus," Strange said. "And, like Thor and Norse Mythology, the Gods of Greek Mythology have transcended being mere myths. Hercules is very much real, and to this day, is still a hero to the mortals. It was the Gods that inspired the Superheroes, to the point where some heroes are Gods to people."

"Even the Goddess Amaterasu protects those in this world, because she cares for the mortals," Ryu said.

"Or because she's a fool," Beerus said.

"It is you who is the fool, Beerus," Thor said.

"What was that?" Beerus asked. "You want me to save your brother the trouble and destroy Asgard now?"

Thor then grabbed Beerus by the neck, holding him above the ground, "I'd watch your tongue, your rule means nothing here. Gods like you are the reason why beings like Gorr exist, I will not allow you to taint the title of God!”

Beerus kicked Thor in the face, loosening the grip and aimed his palm, "Wanna fight tough guy!?"

He sent a ki blast that Thor immediately deflected into the sky and rushed in with his hammer to whack Beerus back.

"Whoa!" Goku said, amazed by Thor's power.

"Why you!" Beerus then blasted Mjolnir out of Thor's hand. "Let's see you fight without that toy!"

"Very well!" Thor flew in and punched Beerus across the jaw, landing a few more blows with electric prowess and blasted Beerus back, sending him flying. “All talk.”

Goku went to pick up Mjolnir, but struggled to do so, "This thing's heavy!"

"Only those worthy can lift the hammer," Sif said.

"Huh? Am I not worthy then?" Goku asked. "Weird, I can ride the Nimbus, which requires you to be pure of heart."

"Purity and Worthiness are different," Sif said.

"Let me try," Dante said, trying to lift the hammer, to no avail. "Damn, that sucks."

Chris tried lifting too, but failed, "What defines worthy anyway?"

"Want to try Sunset?" Ryu asked, the girl denying.

"I did terrible things, I am not worthy of that hammer," Sunset said.

"Just because you did bad things once doesn't mean you're bad now, you clearly learned from your mistakes," Ryu said.

"Still, I'd rather not try, I don't need the blow to my self-esteem," Sunset said.

"It takes a strong warrior to admit their faults, something many of us fail to do young lady," Sif said. "Don't feel like the hammer defines you, just be the best you can be."

"Exactly," Thor said, picking his hammer back up. "Many of my allies cannot wield Mjolnir. That doesn't mean I don't value their skills."

"Thor!" Beerus shouted, flying back in. "When I'm done with you-!"

"Thor immediately whacked Beerus hard across his jaw his backhand, stunning him and whacking him down with his hammer, knocking him out.

"Wow, what a man," Chun-Li said, the girl with a blush on her face while many of the guys looked annoyed, especially Strider.

"I could do that too if I had a hammer like that," Strider mumbled.

"Whis, get this poor excuse of a God out of my sight," Thor said, tossing Beerus at him.

"Of course," Whis said, feeling a bit ashamed of what happened as he lifted Beerus. "I am truly sorry, I do wish Lord Beerus were a bit humbler, but he does behave like a spoiled brat. Ironic too, he wasn't born into Godhood like you seem to have been, he should know more about mortal struggles, but in the millions of years he's been a God, he has simply forgotten."

"Millions?" Thor said. "Wow, I've only been around for about 1500 years."

"And already so mature," Whis said.

"Not bad looking either," Chun-Li said.

"Oh get over it, Chun-Li," Dante said, to the girl's annoyance.

"Now then, Loki shall be here in a day, ready yourselves for battle," Thor said. "Make yourselves at home and be respectful of my people. If any of you wish to use our weaponry or armor, feel free to do so. I am trusting you all."

"We won't let you down Thor," Sunset said. "Oh but...is it alright if I check in with other potential allies? I know a lot of people who want to help, especially if it means stopping Sephiroth, Akuma and even Mystique."

"Very well, just try not to get carried away," Thor said.

"I won't let her," Strange said.

---

As they prepared, in the distance, Loki's ship was getting close to Asgard, the God eager to take his throne.

Tempest stood by Sephiroth, the woman itching to do battle, Sephiroth sensing it as well.

"You will get your chance to prove yourself, soon," Sephiroth said.

"I know, I won't let you down, master," Tempest said.

"I trust you won't," Sephiroth reassured.

Unbeknownst to them, the group was being tailed by the Guardians of the Galaxy.

"Let's see you get away this time," Quill said, readying his blaster guns. "We're gonna Rock you like a Hurricane!"

"We have abilities to match a Hurricane?" Drax asked, much to Quill's annoyance.

---

Even in Capcom, Wesker looked over his plans, the time would soon come to return to Equestria, and take over like he's always wanted to.

"Wesker, I have made contact with Urien," Vergil said, the half-demon entering with Juri and Tron. "Unfortunately he seems rather reluctant to fight with us."

"Same when I contacted Sigma," Tron said. "We're not getting the respect we deserve here, it's so annoying!"

"At this point, maybe you should get Alastor, guy's annoying but he's somewhat useful," Juri said.

"That guy is basically my brother's wannabe, I am not working with him," Vergil said.

"Beggars can't be choosers," Juri said.

"I don't beg," Vergil warned.

"Enough, I will speak with our Scientist Friend from the Dragon World, she'll have a plan," Wesker said. "At the very least, Doctor Doom, Dormammu, Ultron and Kazuya Mishima have pledged their loyalty."

"You trust them?" Juri asked.

"To an extent, of course I will be looking over my shoulder, as I expect all of you to do as well," Wesker said.

"Got that right," Vergil said.

"Speaking of which," the former S.T.A.R.S. Captain made a call. "Kazuya, it's Wesker, are your G-Corp Labs just about ready?"

"Yes, come by whenever you please," Kazuya said.

"Excellent," Wesker said, hanging up. "My plans are going along quite well."

---

The day had passed, while the Warriors of Asgard prepared for Ragnarök, the heroes of Equestria had made their way toward Canterlot, with the heroes waiting outside, prepared to do battle outside of the city.

Thor prepared to lead his troops to protect his subjects while Cap prepared to finalize liberation for Equestria. Before anything had gone down, Peter had pulled out his new suit, ready to try it out.

"Time for a field run."

Battle of Ragnarök

In Asgard, Thor and his team stood ready for the coming battle against those who would threaten the safety of Asgard. Of course with him were Lady Sif, Beta Ray Bill and The Warriors Three; Volstagg, Hogun and Fandrall.

"Thor Odinson," Came the voice of his other ally, the gatekeeper Heimdall. "Loki draws closer."

"I trust our Asgardian Troops are prepared for his arrival," Thor said.

"Of course, my sister is making sure of that. Be assured that your soldiers are ready and willing to die for Asgard," Heimdall said.

A solemn Thor looked down, feeling bits of worry and slight guilt, "Hopefully, that won't be too many. But, in war, nothing is a guarantee."

"Those who fall, will find peace in Valhalla," Heimdall reassured.

"That they shall, my friend," Thor said.

"Thor!" Came the voice of Thor's half-brother Balder. "A word please."

"What is it Balder?" Thor asked.

"These allies from the other worlds, is it wise to let them join the battle?" Balder asked. "Forgive any ignorance but I they may not be ready for what awaits them."

"You need not be too concerned," Thor said. "While this will be a testament to their abilities, I have no doubts they can live up to the task. We are allied with power magic users and strong warriors.”

"If you are confident in them, then I shall be as well," Balder said.

"As we all shall be," Sif said. "Those who choose to fight on our side, despite the odds, are warriors worth praising."

"Indeed..." Heimdall said. "Are the Valkyrie stationed?"

"Yes, their leader is ready to lead her troops into battle," Thor said. "I pray for their success."

Fandrall gestured over his shoulder, "Our allies arrive."

Thor looked to see Sunset, Goku, Strange, the Square duo and the Capcom Group making their way over, ready for battle.

Many of the assisting heroes were all equipped with Asgardian armor, and a few weapons in their possession. Of course heroes like Dante, Strider and Cloud maintained their traditional swords, Dante did help himself to a few daggers, as did Strider. While Chris stuck with his guns, he had a bow and arrow equipped as well. Sunset had a sword herself, along with a pair of handguns and a crossbow while Tifa had some gauntlets to help her pack more of a punch.

"You look like true Asgardians Warriors," Thor commented.

"For the most part at least," Sif said.

"Thank you Thor," Sunset said, aiming her sword into the distance. "We shall fight for the glory of King Odin."

"Speaking of whom, isn't the King meant to be battling with us?" Ryu asked.

"He is on his way," Sif said, gesturing to the All-father himself, The Asgardian King, Odin.

"Father," Thor said, bowing down.

"Oh, it's great to see you, your Majesty!" Sunset greeted, kneeling out of respect, everyone else doing the same, aside from Goku who seemed confused. "Goku! That's a King! Kneel!"

"Oh, um, alright," Goku said. "Wait, why do we need to kneel?"

"Haven't you met a King before?" Sunset asked.

"Yeah, my wife's father is a King, then there's King Kai, oh and King Furry, even Grand Zeno," Goku said, this just confusing Thor's group and somewhat embarrassing Strange, Square and most of Capcom. "I still don't get the kneeling thing."

"Just bow down!" Chun-Li ordered.

"Don't bother," Odin said. "The formalities are not important right now."

"Sweet, well it's nice to meet you old timer," Goku said, earning side-eyes some allies.

"Uh, likewise," Odin said, then focused on Thor. "Loki is almost here, correct?"

"Yes father, we suspect he will arrive at any second, and with an army strong enough to oppose Asgard," Thor said.

"With allies from outside this realm to boot," Strange said. "Ones many here know well."

"There's Akuma, the warrior who threw away his humanity for power, and is now a demon of a man," Ryu said.

"Sephiroth, fallen hero, believes himself a being of legendary abilities, including the ability to speak to the planet, but is just a deluded warrior," Cloud said.

"Mystique, mutant from Earth, has the ability to shapeshift," Chun-Li said.

"The Storm King and Tempest Shadow, two beings from my world," Sunset said. "One is a being who wants power, the other is a Unicorn with a broken horn, taking the form of a human."

"One of our enemies is a Unicorn?" Fandrall asked.

"Yes, I trust you know what one is," Sunset said.

"Of course, mythical creatures of great magic," Volstagg said.

"It is said they can only be approached by a maiden of pure heart," Hogun said.

Sunset raised her eyebrow at that remark, "First Pegusai and now Unicorns? What is it with these myths about them preferring women over men?"

"I mean it would explain why toys of such creatures are marketed toward young girls," Strange said.

Sunset shook her head, "I can't speak for every dimension but I know for a fact that there are Unicorns that don't mind the presence of males, myself included."

"Wait, you're a male?" Volstagg asked, Sunset's eye angrily twitching.

"NO! I'm a Unicorn! At least in Equestria!" Sunset said.

"It is true, in her homeland, she is a Unicorn, and takes the form of a human after leaving said land," Thor explained.

"Wait, why is that?" Sif asked.

"I am not sure," Thor said. "Sunset, is there a reason for that?"

"I've never been able to figure it out," Sunset said. "Honestly, my theory is that ponies were at one point human but a spell was cast in that dimension to cause us to change form into what we are there, and that spell becomes obsolete when we leave that dimension. It would also explain why it is difficult to reach that world, and why time at one point moved differently between Earth and Equestria."

"What could have caused you all to turn into ponies I wonder?" Chun-Li asked.

Before long, Goku became fully alerted by a strong new power, "That'll have to wait! Loki's here!"

In the distance, a giant ship could be seen flying into the Asgardian skies across the Rainbow Bridge.

"Guile, take your team and head into town, warn them about Loki and tell them to stay safe," Chun-Li instructed.

"You got it, let's go squad!" Guile said, leading his team of Cammy, Carlos, Leon and Roll into town.

"Valkyrie, go assist him," Thor ordered.

"Yes sir," Valkyrie called to her sisters. "Come! We shall protect Asgard!"

As she flew off, Loki's ship had landed nearby, settling near the edge of the road, to the curiosity of the defending heroes.

"This is a bit suspicious," Dante said.

"What could they be planning?" Mega Man asked.

Thor grumbled in annoyance, "I don't intend to wait around and find out, come. If they won't come out, we'll bring the fight to them."

"Wait Thor, it could be a trap," Sunset theorized.

"Maybe, but hesitation could lead to destruction, I'd rather go in ready to fight than wait and lose the battle before it begins," Thor said.

"We have your back," Chris said, readying his gun. "Jill, stay out here and keep an eye on things."

"You too Trish," Dante said.

"It might be better of Heimdall stays behind as well, we'll need all the outer protection we can get," Sif said.

"I have no objections," Heimdall said.

"Me neither," Jill agreed, Trish doing the same.

"I'll hang back with you four," Ken said. "Ryu, Thor, Sunset, go kick some ass."

"Of course, come my allies," Thor said, leading his team toward the giant ship, cautious as possible in doing so. Thor used his hammer to blast through the front door, immediately calling out, "LOKI!"

"Wow brother, that was a bit uncouth," came the voice of the mischief God himself as he made his presence known. "All you had to do was knock, I would have gladly opened the door for you."

"Spare me your wit, Loki," Thor said. "I have no time for games."

"Come now brother, I thought you'd be happy to see me after so long," Loki said. "You even brought father. Oh how I wish mother were still around for this joyous reunion.

"Do not mention her, she would be appalled to see what you have become," Odin said.

"Yes, she'd be appalled to see how much her husband had failed his second child," Loki said. "Of course we both know that Thor has always been your favorite, so I might as well have not existed! I do not know how Balder puts up with this nonsense.”

"We did everything we could for you Loki," Odin said. "We homed you, we clothed you, we fed you, and this is how you repay our kindness!?"

"No, father, this is how I'm repaying YOUR Kindness! Or rather the lack of kindness, don't you DARE feign innocence in all this, in the end, you had a part of the man I turned out to be," Loki said.

"Bite your tongue, knave," Sif warned.

"I shall do no such thing, I am still a Prince of Asgard! You follow my will!" Loki said.

"I'll do no such thing," Sif said. "I don't care for those who disgrace Asgard.

"So, where are your allies? I know you did not come here alone," Thor said.

"Clever perception, of course given the battle in Equestria some time ago, I suppose you would know of my allies, and you know what type of fight they can bring if tested," Loki said.

"We're not afraid of a fight," Sunset said. "Bring out The Storm King, or Tempest Shadow."

"You called for me?" Came the voice of Tempest, the woman marching over and standing above Sunset and her allies from the railing above. "Greetings Sunset Shimmer. I gotta say, of all the ponies who followed me to Asgard, seeing you is a disappointment, I was hoping it'd be Twilight Sparkle."

"Twilight has more important things to do than deal with you, Tempest," Sunset said.

"Oh, so that makes you her little errand girl, does it?" Tempest condescendingly asked.

"Watch it," Sunset warned. "I was a pupil of Princess Celestia! My skills in magic are only rivaled by Princess Twilight herself, I am no one's errand girl."

"If you're so great, why aren't you still Celestia's pupil?" Tempest asked. "Why aren't you Princess of Friendship instead of Twilight?"

"Discord filled me in about you, how you were this problem child for Celestia, your fascination with worlds on the outside made you a bit of an outcast," Loki said.

Sunset looked away in shame, "That was a long time ago, I've moved past that.”

"Have you? Seems you still have this multiverse fasciation," Loki said. "I mean, you're an Equestrian Girl, who's been living in Capcom, and currently have allies from Square, The Dragon World and those in Midgard, my Midgard of what you outsiders call Marvel."

"Honestly, how did one of you end up having a world called 'Square'?" Tempest asked. "Isn't that Earth lingo for 'lame'? To think my master would originate in such a world with a shameful title."

"Master? You mean The Storm King?" Sunset asked. "Isn't he from my world?"

"She means me," Sephiroth said, making his presence known. "Greetings.”

"Sephiroth!" Cloud gripped his sword.

"Cloud, it's a pleasure to see you," Sephiroth said. "How goes things back home?"

"I'm in no mood for a conversation," Cloud said, aiming his sword. "This ends today!"

"You mean, like every other day you've said that?" Sephiroth taunted. "Cloud, you should know by now, this rivalry between us, it will never die. You are drawn to me like a moth to a flame."

"No, you're wrong. I will be done with you, I promise that on my life," Cloud said. "Then you'll stay where you belong, in my memories."

"I will, never be a memory," Sephiroth taunted.

"You got that right, once Cloud here finishes you off, he'll move on with his life and leave your legacy in the dust," Dante taunted.

"Master, I leave your former pupil's demise to you, personally I want my hands on Sunset Shimmer," Tempest said. "Unless, you wish to join us, after all, you and I probably aren't so different."

"Don't start that trope with me," Sunset said. "I am nothing like you, I've overcome my past, and I embrace Friendship. I mean, why don't YOU come with us? Why can't you embrace true Friendship? What could have turned you into this? I mean, you're a pony like me."

"Yes, and like you, I have suffered, but I guess not all of us can be saved by a Superhero, now can we?" Tempest asked. "You think Celestia truly cares about the Magic of Friendship? I wouldn't be surprised if she only did it just to generate the power she wants, to mold ponies into what she believes they should be, and leave ponies like me out in the dust. I mean, I bet deep down you too despise Equestria for what it truly is! That's why you still travel the multiverse, because seeing Princess Twilight is just a cold and hardened reminder of your failure."

"That's not true! I love Equestria, and I love my friends!" Sunset said.

"You poor naive girl, the truth is right in front of your face, but your denial is what's keeping you from seeing the light," Tempest said. "You call it a trope, I call it fate, you and I, are one in the same."

"Don't listen to her, Sunset," Ryu said.

"It's time you learn a lesson...it's time that you understand..." Tempest began. "Don't ever count on anybody else, in this or any other land."

"Did she just rhyme?" Dante asked.

"I once hoped for Friendship, to find a place among my kind," Tempest continued. "But those were the childish wishses, of someone who was blind."

"Don't tell me..." Chris lamented.

"Open up your eeeeeeyes! See the world from where it stands," Tempest leapt down to face the heroes. "Me among the mighty, you caged at my command..."

"This is unorthodox..." Loki commented.

"Open up your eeeeeeeeyes! Give up your sweet fantasy land," Tempest said, stroking Sunset's chin. "It's time to grow up, and get wise. Come now naive one, open up your eyes...."

Goku whispered to Thor, "Hey you've been in Equestria a while right? Is this normal?"

"Yes, it's not uncommon to express yourself through song, something about that place just makes a person want to sing, even I felt that temptation," Thor said. "It's merely their way of expressing themselves, personally I do not see that as a bad thing, every culture has something unique."

"Uh...alright," Goku said.

"Well Sunset? Do you have a rebuttal?" Tempest asked. "Or is the truth just too brutal?"

Sunset took a breath, before speaking out herself, "Power...Was all I desired, but all that grew inside me was the darkness I acquired." This began to surprise her allies as she got into the song. "When I began to fall, and I lost the path ahead, that's where their friendship found me, and it lifted me instead."

"She's got a nice voice," Sif said.

"Yeah, I've heard her sing before, usually in private but her voice can be soothing," Ryu commented.

"Like a Phoenix burning bright through the skyyyyyyyyy," Sunset held her sword out. "I'll show there's another side to me, you can't denyyyyyyyy," a magical aura surrounding her sword. "I may not know what the future holds, but hear me when I say." She aimed her sword at Tempest. "That my past does not define me, because my past is not today!"

"Wow, that's kind of catchy," Dante said.

"Yeah, surprisingly I don't hate it," Chris said.

"Not a bad message," Tifa said.

"Can we do a duet sometime Sunset?" Felicia asked.

“Where’s the background music coming from?” Goku wondered.

"Well Tempest? What do you say?" Sunset asked. "Or has your heart truly lost its way?"

"As you take a first step, upon a path that's all your own," Tempest said, gently touching her scar. "You'll see it all so clearly, the best way to survive is on your own..."

"It's not though..." Sunset said, as the floor began moving up, Tempest leaping high as she too ascended with Loki and Sephiroth.

"Open up your eeeeeeyes! See the world from where it stands. Me among the mighty, you caged at my command..." Tempest continued as the floor rose higher, with Storm King, Mystique and Akuma coming into view. "Open up your eeeeeeeeyes! And behold the fading lights! It's time to grow up, and get wise. Come now naive one, open up your eyes...."

The floor reached the top of the ship, where the team could see more ships in bound, along with an army of Frost Giants.

"Oh no..." Sunset commented.

"Open up your eeeeeeeeeyes!" Tempest concluded as doom loomed over the land. "Well, anyone have something more to add?"

"Uh...Cha-La! Head! Cha-La!" Goku sang.

"Can it!" Dante scolded.

"What, I thought we were still singing?" Goku said.

"Loki! What have you done!" Thor shouted.

"You knew this was coming brother, soon Asgard will fall to the Frost Giants, where I shall become it's King!" Loki said.

"You're mad Loki," Odin said.

"No father, my head's never been clearer," Loki said. "In fact, I shall personally see to it that you do not draw breath after this day!"

"Insolence, I will not lose to the likes of-" Suddenly Odin was attacked by a wolf person, knocking him off the roof of the ship.

"Was that Fenrir!?" Sif shouted in surprise.

"Father!" Thor readied his hammer to pursue the wolf.

"Ok, maybe not entirely personally, I do believe my son Fenrir will get the job done quite well," Loki said. "For now, the invasion of Asgard will fully commence."

"Alright, let's get to it then," Storm King grabbed a blow horn. "Time to raid everyone!"

The ships landed and out of them came Chitauri and Storm Guards, all of them rushing toward Asgard, ready to fight.

"Prepare yourselves!" Heimdall said, waiting at the gate with his sword.

"Trish, Ken, take some out!" Jill ordered, pulling out a pair of sub-machine guns and opening fire.

"With pleasure," Trish said, generating some electricity for her Maximum Voltage attack. "Take this!"

She began blasting them as Ken generated some power, "Time to turn up the heat! HADOUKEN!" The karate warrior sent out his fiery blast to a few enemies.

As a few got close, Heimdall struck quickly with his sword to take down any stragglers. Ones that got too close to his Capcom allies were taken down by them in quite manner, Jill using her kicks to knock a few back, Trish striking them down with her sword or Ken getting some strikes of his own.

"The invasion's kicking off in full force!" Chris said. "We need to-"

Loki then blasted the warriors off the ship, Doctor Strange quickly using his magic to ensure everyone landed safely on the ground.

"That was a dirty trick. I'm kinda mad now!" Felicia said, then took note of Thor and Odin doing battle against Fenrir. "Aw, cute puppy."

"Felicia!" Chun-Li scolded.

"Right, sorry," Felicia said.

“That fellow reminds me of Talbain,” Morrigan pointed out.

"We gotta protect the Asgardians!" Ryu said.

"Right, follow me into town everyone!" Chun-Li said, leading the charge as Ragnarök was under way.

"Mwahaha, in time, this land will become mind!" Loki boasted. "Odin, Thor, today you draw your last breath, alongside your foolish allies."

---

Ryu and his team of Chris and Dante were fighting off against Loki's forces, Ryu making full use of his Ansatsuken, albeit without the lethal force. Chris opened fire on some enemies, Dante doing the same with his guns, Ebony and Ivory.

"It's hell down here," Dante said, keeping the enemies at bay.

"That's war for you, keep an eye out just in case any innocent Asgardians need help," Chris said, shooting with his handgun. "Especially any children or elderly."

"Don't worry, I'm not letting any innocents die on my watch," Dante said, slicing an enemy that got too close. "Man, all this because of some family drama."

"Something you can relate to," Chris said, stabbing an oncoming enemy and kicking it back.

"Got that right, guess me and Thor aren't too different from one another," Dante tossed up his handguns, and pulled out a shotgun to blast a few enemies in the face before putting it away and grabbing his guns to shoot again. "Kind of feels like a fun little game, see how many enemies we can bring down."

"Wanna keep score then?" Chris asked as he fired his own shotgun. "Loser buys a round."

"You really wanna drink dude? Jill mentioned you had problems regarding that," Dante said.

"I have it under control," Chris said, whacking an enemy in the face.

"You don't need to be drinking Chris," Ryu said. "Give it some time before you pick up a bottle, the last thing you want is to not be able to put it down."

Chris groaned in annoyance, "You get drunk in a bar, one time."

"That's one too many," Ryu began charging up his ki. "I know you've been through a lot, we all have, but if we meddle is because we care. You're a great warrior, and we will not lose you to something as minuscule as a damn bottle!"

Ryu sent a powerful hadouken blast to clear a path before them, Chris amazed by that power, "You know, sometimes I wish I can do that, but that might be too much to handle for someone like me."

"Stick to what you know, you're still one hell of a marksman," Dante said, firing his guns. "Of course, I'm better."

"Alright that's it, you and me, right now," Chris said. "Instead of drinks, loser buys dinner."

"That all?" Dante asked.

"For Goku..." Chris added, Dante's eyebrows raising.

"Damn, high stakes, I like'em," Dante said. "You're on Redfield!"

Suddenly some nearby enemies were sniped, courtesy of a nearby Spencer, "I'll get in on this myself, hope you guys have fat wallets!"

"Oh hell no!" Dante said, grabbing his sword. "Time to go to work!"

Not too far off, Guile was fighting hard against the enemy forces, using his military training to gain the advantage on that. Cammy was doing the same, using her swift kicks to take her opponents down.

"Loki really went all out with this invasion of his," Guile said, hitting an uppercut. "I'm damn near impressed."

"To think such an event was prophesized," Cammy said, kicking enemies away. "This is truly Armageddon for Asgard."

"Flash Kick!" Guile hit a somersault kick to knock some enemies back, some colliding into each other. "Tell me about it. Too bad whoever predicted this didn't give much for us to go off, I mean does Thor even know how this is supposed to end?"

"Seems like a mystery to him, unfortunately," Cammy said. "Whatever it is, he's adamant on fighting fate."

A few were gunned down by Carlos, courtesy of his machine gun, "And we're here to help!"

"Got that right," Morrigan said, flying in with some drill kicks. "This is actually kind of fun."

"Fun's good, but remember that innocent lives need protecting," Calos said, blasting more enemies. "That's why we're here."

"Let's make sure of it then," Guile said.

---

Also nearby, The Warriors Three were battling hard, Volstagg using his axe to bring down some enemies, Fandral slicing through a bunch and Hogun using his mace to clobber them.

"It is as chaotic as prophesied, it's almost an honor to be able to fend off against Ragnarök," Volstagg said.

"We shall change our fate," Fandral said.

"And fight for the glory of The All Father," Hogun added.

The trio continued battling hard, but not alone. Cloud was nearby, slicing through enemies with his sword, something Fandral took note off.

"Thor really has some interesting allies," the swordsman stabbed an enemy that tried sneaking up on him without taking his eyes off Cloud. "I'm impressed by that boy's skill."

"He fights with determination, as if he were protecting his own home," Volstagg said.

"Thor mentioned one of his enemies was assisting Loki, he probably feels motivated to protect our world from his problems," Hogun said.

"An admirable trait," Volstagg said.

Cloud brought out his materia, readying its magic, "Time for a shocking turn of events!" He blasted several enemies with electric magic.

"A magical swordsman too," Volstagg said. "Such talent."

"He's not the only one," Fandral said, gesturing to Mega Man blasting enemies from a nearby roof. "Such a curious creature."

"I believe he is artificial life," Hogun said. "Created by mortals of Midgard."

"Do you believe he is associated with that Tony Stark fellow that Thor is partnered with?" Fandral asked.

Suddenly more enemies began to surround them, each of them taking a stance.

"Worry about that later, now strike!" Volstagg ordered.

---

Not too far off, Chun-Li was using her kicks to stun her enemies as she blasted them with a Kikoken while Lady Sif struck several down.

"You're a very talented sword fighter," Chun-Li said. "You're one of Thor's top knights, is that correct?"

"Something like that, hes just a good friend of mine that I wish to protect, same as my brother Heimdall," Sif explained. "What of you? How did you learn to fight so well?"

"Training from my father," Chun-Li said, striking another enemy with a strong punch. "Plus being a policewoman certainly helped.

"It's paying off," Sif said, striking an enemy down. "Always a pleasure to see strong warriors outside this dimension."

"I totally get that feeling," Chun-Li said. "Something we share in Capcom, and something we apparently share with Saiyans."

"Speaking of Saiyans," Sif gestured to Goku, who was seen battling against warriors in the distance while still in his base form. "That Goku is a talented martial artist."

"Yeah, he seems obsessed with fighting, enough to put Capcom to shame," Chun-Li said. "But it's being put to good use right now."

"Come on, is this all you got!?" Goku taunted as he continued striking down his foes. "I haven't even needed to turn Super Saiyan yet!"

"Goku! Don't get cocky! a nearby Strange warned as he used his magic to keep the villains at bay. "You're strong but you're not invincible."

"Sounds like something Whis would say," Goku said, blasting some enemies back. "That's fine, at least I'm getting rid of the bad guys."

Beta Ray Bill leapt into the air with his weapon, Stormbreaker in tow, slamming down and knocking back a bunch of villains. Many continued to oppose him but he took each one out with one mighty swing after the other.

"I will not fail Asgard!" Bill said, dashing through and clobbering through a group of enemies while a nearby Heimdall continued to defeat those who approached.

Sunset used her martial arts skills to bring some enemies down, using kicks she learned from Chun-Li, takedowns she learned from Ryu, and uppercuts she learned from Guile. She then pulled out her sword and began cutting through some enemies, using moves taught to her by Dante.

"Gotta keep fighting, for the sake of Asgard!" Sunset said, blasting some enemies with her magic. She looked to the distance, seeing more incoming, "I hope we don't get too overwhelmed. Might be time to use my secret weapon."

"Sunset! Behind you!" Strider called, immediately slicing through an enemy that nearby got Sunset from behind.

"Whoa, thanks Hiryu," Sunset said.

"You’re welcome, but you must stay focused, in battle any distractions could result in death!" Strider said, taking down a few more.

"Right, hey I'm gonna see if I can get us some help, I've been preparing for this chance," Sunset said.

"Fine with me, just be careful," Strider urged.

---

Not too far off, Leon had his shotgun out, blasting away any enemies that came close, "Bring it on you freaks!"

"Hi-Ya!" Roll said, using her broom as a type of bo staff to whack away her enemies. "I'm gonna clean up your act!"

"Good one," Leon complimented, shooting a few more, then took note of the giant wolf battling Thor and Odin. "That might be trouble later."

"Two Gods should be enough to beat it," Roll said. "Thor's really strong, and his father's probably stronger."

"It's amazing seeing this go down, at one point in my life I never would have expected to see a God doing battle," Leon said. "Of course I also never thought I'd be fighting B.O.W.s."

"Neko Punch!" Felicia shouted, knocking an enemy out with a rolling punch.

"Nice one Felicia," Leon said.

"Thanks, I'm trying to take a bunch down as fast as possible," Felicia said. "But they just keep coming."

"You get used to it," Leon said, shooting some enemies back. "It's about survival and helping those who can't help themselves."

"Beat Rush!" A nearby Tifa shouted, using her striking combos to take some enemies out. "Come on, who else wants some!?"

"She's quite the martial artist, bet she'd do well as a Street Fighter," Leon said.

Tifa looked to the skies above, "Another ship incoming!"

"Oh what now?" Leon said, pulling his gun out while Roll and Felicia stuck by his side as the ship landed.

The hatch opened, but instead of seeing more Chitauri, Storm Guards or Frost Giants, instead they saw a man in a brown jacket and a electronic helmet as hard rock music blasted from his ship. That man of course was Peter Quill.

'Here I am! Rock you like a Hurricane! Here I am! Rock you like a Hurricane!'

"Who's this guy?" Roll asked.

"And what's that catchy song?" Felicia asked.

"Looks like one hell of a party I stumbled onto," Quill used his boots to fly down as Drax, Gamora, Rocket and Groot followed behind him.

"A warzone!?" Drax excitedly grabbed his swords. "My favorite of all zones!"

"Easy big fella, we still gotta figure out just what the flark is going on," Rocket said, then took note of some of the aliens. "Wait, is that The Chitauri? The hell is the suckiest army of the galaxy doing here!?"

"Hey! Who are you guys!?" Leon asked.

"Who me? I'm Star-Lord," Quill said. "And we...are the Guardians of the Galaxy!"

"...Never heard of you," Leon said.

Quill looked immediately annoyed, "Dude, seriously!? What planet are you from!?"

"I'm from Earth," Leon said.

"To be fair Leon, we're not from this dimension," Roll said. "So saying we're from Earth isn't helping much."

"This Dimension?" Quill asked. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"It's a long story," Leon said. "Are you an Earthling too?"

"I am, not my friends though," Quill said, gesturing to his team.

"Wait, that Raccoon looks familiar," Felicia said.

"I'm technically not a Raccoon," Rocket said.

Gamora stepped out, taking a quick look around. "What's happening here?"

"War is what's going on," Leon said. "I take it you know Thor?"

"Yeah, tall guy, not that good looking," Quill said, earning an eyebrow raise from Leon, and the girls. "I followed his brother here; wait is he behind all this?"

"Yes, he's brought war to Asgard, we're here to help Thor," Leon said, taking a moment to shoot an oncoming enemy. "As you can see, he brought a shit ton of allies."

"Yeah I can see that," Quill said, grabbing his blasters. "Alright team, looks like we have a fight on our hands."

"Aw sweet, hey maybe the higher ups will reward us handsomely for this," Rocket said.

"I am Groot," came the voice of the Flora Colossus.

"Oh yeah, the reputation we'll have from beating Loki is even more impressive, it means more work," Rocket said.

"I am Groot."

"Yeah, I hope that guy with the large sword is here, freaking silver haired pretty boy," Rocket said.

"Wait, you met Sephiroth?" Tifa asked.

"That his name?" Rocket asked. "Tall guy, large black coat?"

"That’s him, wait when did you meet Sephiroth?" Tifa asked.

"A while back, talking with some hot chick with a scar over her eye," Rocket said.

"Sounds like you met Tempest too," Leon said. "Look just be careful, Tempest and Sephiroth are tough foes."

"I think we can handle them," Gamora said, bringing out her God-Slayer sword. "Let's go team!"

The Guardians rushed into battle, Quill firing his blasters, Rocket firing a minigun, Drax using his blades, Gamora using her sword and Groot using his natural tree abilities.

"Well, at least we have a few more allies," Tifa said, knocking an enemy out. "Let's keep going!"

---

Thor and Odin continued their brawl against Fenrir, Thor using his hammer to knock the beast back while Odin charged at him with his sword, plowing in into the leg.

The wolf knocked the All Father away, and focused back on Thor, the Asgardian God ready for more.

"I can keep this up for as long as I need to!" Thor, twirling his hammer.

"Yo Thor! Need help!?" Goku asked. He flew in ready to fight but Loki intercepted his path.

"Greetings Saiyan Warrior, I'm pleasantly surprised to see you again," Loki greeted.

"Can't say the same, I haven't forgotten the destruction you caused in Equestria," Goku said.

"You mean when YOU used that massive chi attack to destroy part of Equestria's Crown City?" Loki rebuted.

Goku grumbled in annoyance, "I won't make that same mistake twice! I hear you're really strong, why don't you actually show me your strength?"

"I'd be honored to, but it will take more than muscle to beat me!" Loki said, immediately blasting Goku, sending him flying back to a halt.

"Gotta be careful, he's probably as strong as Thor, and Thor's stronger than Lord Beerus, but in a way, it kind of excites me to go against someone this strong!" Goku immediately began powering up, entering his Super Saiyan Blue form. "Alright Loki, bring it on!"

"With pleasure!" Loki flew in, clashing his staff against Goku, the Saiyan putting up ki energy to block the incoming strike, the blow sending him flying backwards as Loki pursued.

Meanwhile Thor used his hammer to whack Fenrir across the jaw a few times, charging up with electricity to send him flying back, knocking him into the river. Thor readied energy from his hammer once again, intending to blast Fenrir in the river, then suddenly found himself blocking a strike from Akuma.

"You...the demon warrior of the Capcom Realm," Thor said.

"Hehe, there's nothing more fun than killing a God," Akuma taunted, going for another strike that Thor quickly blocked.

Thor leapt back, ready to strike when he noticed Fenrir emerging from the water. Fortunately Odin had shown up, ready for more.

"Son! I shall slay this beast! You focus on your own battles!" Odin said.

"Very well father!" Thor said, slamming his hammer down on Akuma, the demon warrior backflipping away. "To think you would work for my brother, I thought even you had more honor than that."

"Do not misunderstand, I couldn't care less of your brother's desires to conquer Asgard," Akuma said. "I just came to test my own power, and who better to do so with than a God of Asgard. Plus, it looks like that Cub Ryu is here, once I'm done with you, I can finish what I started with him. We'll see if he can do better job than his sensei."

"I will not let you harm others you cur!" Thor sent another blast at Akuma, to which the warrior punched the ground, sending up a wave of ki and Earth to soften the impact, the force still sending him flying backwards.

"GOUHADOU!" Akuma sent a wave of purple fireballs at Thor, the God flying through and hitting Akuma again, sending him flying towards the Rainbow Bridge, with Thor pursuing.

---

Many Archers on the gates of Asgard had opened fire on the enemies below, several falling to the attacks, except for Tempest and Sephiroth, the two menacingly approaching the gates. Warriors rushed in to attack but Sephiroth easily dispatched most of them with Flare attack, sending a bunch flying

The few that remained attempted to attack again but Tempest rushed in, using her take-down techniques to dispatch them with little to no trouble.

"Halt!" Heimdall ordered. standing before the two. "I shall not allow you to enter."

"I hope you don't think it will be that easy to get us to give up," Tempest said.

"I don't expect easy," Heimdall aimed his sword. "I am more than ready to remove you by force!"

"Fine by me," Tempest said, getting into position.

"Be cautious Tempest, Asgardians are a powerful group of individuals," Sephiroth said. "And I believe this one here is among the elites."

"I am aware, master," Tempest said. "Do not fret, you've taught me well after all."

"You are his pupil?" Heimdall asked. "To think one could mentor another in the path of villainy and treachery, such a waste of potential."

"Master Sephiroth didn't tell me anything about reality that I hadn't already learned for myself," Tempest said. "In the end, all a person can do is rely of their own power. After we conquer Asgard, I will use its resources to return to Equestria, and help The Storm King take over. Then he shall use that power to restore me to my former glory."

"She still hasn't picked up on his true colors, this poor girl's going to be disappointed," Sephiroth took a look around, seeing The Storm King not to far away, barking orders at his minions. "With any luck, he too will perish in this battle, what a useless king."

"If you were smart, you'd stand aside, unless you wish to die here and now," Tempest warned.

"I am not the one who is at risk of death if you continue to pursue this encounter," Heimdall warned.

Suddenly Sephiroth noticed an oncoming opponent dropping the sky, "Watch out!" He immediately stood before Tempest, using his Masamune to block an oncoming strike from Beta Ray Bill's Stormbreaker, though not without some effort.

"You're a quick thinker," Bill complimented, taking a leap back.

"Who is he?" Tempest asked.

"Another Asgardian?" Sephiroth wondered, taking note of Bill's appearance. "No, it couldn't be."

"You may call me Beta Ray Bill," the warrior introduced. "I am not Asgardian, rather I am of the Korbinite race. But, this is home to some dear friends of mine, as such I am here to fight for it, on behalf of The All Father Odin and his son, Thor."

"Wow, even outside of Equestria, people let Friendship make foolish choices," Tempest said.

"It is a multiversal thing," Sephiroth said. "Tempest, I will allow you to do battle against our Asgardian friend here, I will go for the Korbinite."

"Heimdall, anything I should know about them?" Bill asked.

"There isn't much I can tell you, all I know is that the man with the large jacket is from a version of Midgard, while the woman in the body suit is Equestrian," Heimdall said. "It surprises me, from what Thor has mentioned, Equestrians were supposed to be friendly creatures."

"I'm a lot smarter than a typical Equestrian, I don't believe in their Magic of Friendship," Tempest said.

"What a shame, I kind of liked knowing there was a least one world full of harmony, but I guess evil can exist anywhere," Bill said.

"Such is life, that is why we exist, to destroy that evil," Heimdall said. "Prepare for battle!"

"Tempest, fight hard, and don't die," Sephiroth said.

"I will Master!" Tempest said. She immediately rushed in for a punch that Heimdall blocked, the man using the helm of his sword to knock her back while Bill slammed his axe down again on Sephiroth, the former SOLDIER evading and sending his flare to blast Bill back.

Heimdall swung hard at Tempest, the woman being able to dodge exceptionally well and managed to get a kick to his head. This barely phased him as he managed to rush in with an elbow to her stomach and hit an uppercut to knock her back, the woman backflipping into place.

"Take this!" Tempest created a spark of electric magic that created distance between the two, allowing her a second to regroup.

Bill continued to strike at Sephiroth, trying his best to knock the sword away, but the top SOLIDER was quick to block and parry, though even he struggled to knock the Korbinite off balance.

"You certainly are no pushover," Sephiroth said, swinging his sword again with Bill blocking.

"Neither are you it seems, no wonder Loki recruited you," Bill elbowed Sephiroth back, trying again for another strike from his Stormbreaker, this one managing to connect with Sephiroth as he went flying. "Not unstoppable though."

---

Elsewhere as the Asgardian Armies fended off their foes, Mystique snuck through the battlefield from the sides, hoping to find one of the higher ranks. Before long, she came across members of The Warriors Three.

"Keep fighting! We must not allow harm to come to the civilians!" Fandral ordered.

Mystique quickly transformed, taking the form of an Asgardian native, "Sir! Please help me!"

"Yes ma'am? What is it?" Fandral asked.

"It's my child, I can't find him anywhere, he just disappeared!" the disguised Mystique said.

"Fear not, I shall help you," Fandral said, keeping his sword out, ready to strike. "Tell me, what does your child look like?"

"He's a young boy, a slippery little devil," Mystique said, slowly grabbing a dagger, ready to strike from behind.

"I do not see any children, stay close, we'll get you two reunited," Fandral said.

While fighting, Hogun noticed the dagger, and how the disguised villain readied a strike. "Fandral, behind you!"

Just as Mystique was about to attack, Cammy came diving in with a Drill Kick to the villain, knocking her out of her disguise. "Not this time Mystique!"

Mystique leapt to her feet, glaring at Cammy, "Of course a Street Fighter shows up, you bunch are just as annoyingly persistent as the X-Men."

"Quick, apprehend the shape-shifter!" Hogun ordered, though Mystique immediately transformed into a hawk, taking flight to avoid a fight.

"Don't let her out of your sight!" Fandrall ordered, following her. "Let's go!"

---

From a rooftop, Leon opened fire on the enemies below alongside a few archers, trying to reduce the numbers. Leon then grabbed a grenade and tossed it down, the blast sending several enemies flying off.

Despite this, Leon did not feel like he was doing much, "It just feels endless. Didn't think I'd find a situation worse than Raccoon City. At least zombies are more predictable."

"Leon!" Mega Man called, leaping onto the roof. "How's it going with you?"

"At this rate, I might run out of ammo before I even leave a dent," Leon said.

"Don't worry, we packed plenty," Mega Man said, tossing Leon a few boxes for different types of guns. "Keep at it, we'll push the enemy back."

"Appreciate it," Leon said, pulling out his shotgun. "Time to get back into it."

Mega Man himself leapt onto the ground, firing his Mega Buster at his enemies. A few tried to attack from above, but Rock turned his hands into needles and blasted his enemies with electricity.

He then grabbed his flame sword and started tearing down enemies, alternating between that and his Mega Buster, keeping all enemies at bay.

---

Nearby Ryu had sent a massive Hadouken attack while a nearby Quill was firing away with his blasters.

"You know, something about you seems so familiar," Star-Lord said.

"I've fought and teamed with The X-Men and The Avengers," Ryu said.

"No, it's not that...it's something else..." Quill tapped his chin. "How familiar are you with arcade games?"

"Huh?" Ryu asked.

"Like, you know Pac-Man, right?" Quill asked.

"I've met Pac-Man," Ryu clarified.

"Wait, you met Pac-Man?" Star-Lord asked. "Like, THE Pac-Man? The little yellow ball that eats ghosts?"

"Yes...why?" Ryu asked.

"I'm gonna need so much clarification on that," Quill said.

A few enemies came at the two, Star-Lord blasting them with his guns, while Ryu charged up his chi.

"MESTSU HADOUKEN!" He sent out a large purplish blast that took out a bunch of villains, to Quill's amazement.

"I swear, it's like something out of a video game!" Quill stated.

---

Sunset blasted a few more enemies as she reached the top of a building along with Doctor Strange, who himself used his magic to rebel the enemy forces.

"Alright, let's start small," Sunset said, focusing her magic.

"Remember, use your portal spells wisely, too much can be detrimental to the safety of Asgard," Strange warned, using his magic to shied Sunset.

"I got this," Sunset said, opening the portal with her magic. "Alright, time for a new team!"

As enemies fought down below, a young man with a red, pointy beard, blue shirt and backwards cap landed on the ground beside them, a few turning their attention to him. With a smirk, the young man held up his watch.

"Henshin a Go-Go, Baby!" Activating his watch, he began to transform into the Cinematic Hero, Viewtiful Joe. "Get ready evil-doers, for some Capcom justice!"

Many did not take this threat seriously, instead they focused their wrath in his direction, ready to bring him down.

Just then a few more heroes landed down, including a red-haired woman in blue spandex, a warrior in a white, spikey suit and a white headband, a swordsman with a black suit and white shirt and headband, and a blond hair man with blue sunglasses, a blue suit, a white vest with a yellow star.

Joe proudly stood before his team, naming them in order of appearance, "The Dinosaur Hunter, Regina. The Cyberbot Pilot, Jin Saotome. A powerful Star Gladiator, Hayato. And finally, the man himself, Captain Commando! We are, The Capcom Elite!"

"Wait, that's what we're going with?" Regina asked.

"Well yeah, no one seemed opposed to it," Joe said.

"I kind of was," Saotome said.

"Wait, if you were, then why didn't you say anything before!?" Joe asked.

"I mean, I thought we were still voting on it," Saotome said.

"I'm fine with the name," Hayato said.

"Yeah, I mean we are elites," Commando said.

"Yeah but I think our name should be a little more unique," Saotome said. "Like, the Capcom Combo, that works."

"Ryu's team uses that, though," Commando said.

"Ugh, Ryu gets everything, doesn't he?" Saotome said in frustration.

"I mean he is our best warrior, it's to be expected," Regina said.

"Um, excuse me everyone!" Sunset said, getting their attention. "I know you're having a team meeting, but there’s a more pressing issue ahead."

"Don't worry Sunset, we got this!" Joe reassured.

"How curious," Came a voice from nearby. Suddenly making their way over were a platoon of Rock Trolls, led by Ulik. "This is what Asgard has stooped to? Help from other dimensions?"

"Uh...who are you?" Joe asked.

"You may call me 'Ulik', your executioner!" Ulik said, gesturing his weapon. "Attack!"

"Take charge everyone!" Joe said, rushing in with this team to fight back the trolls and any other enemies in their way. Joe using his Henshin abilities for a speed advantage, Regina opening fire, Hayato striking with his sword and Commando dealing out quick blows.

Saotome readied for a fight himself, "Bring it on!" Using his abilities, he was able to battle against the oncoming enemies.

"So far so good," Sunset said, focusing back on the portal. "Do I have any more standing by?"

"You sure do!" From the portal came a kunoichi from the Glade of Ninjas. "Ibuki! On the scene!"

Also coming from the portal was the prized example of Rindo-Kan Karate, "Makoto, ready for a fight."

"And Sakura!" Came the schoolgirl dressed fighter.

"Oh, Sakura, you're here too?" Sunset asked.

"Of course, Ryu-san is out there fighting, so I'm going to as well," Sakura said, smirking sinisterly at Sunset. "I can't let you hog all of his attention now can I?"

"Uh, sure?" Sunset nervously said. While Sakura didn't hate her, over her time in Capcom, she could sense a budding rivalry for Ryu's attention.

"Is anyone else coming?" Strange asked, using his magic to repel some more threats.

Stepping through the portal next were a pair of wrestlers, the first one being a big, brute of a man, "So, this is Ragnarök. Just like in old stories, but real."

"Zangief! You made it!" Sunset said.

"Of course, I could never turn away those in need, plus it'd make me bad teacher for pupil," Zangief said, gesturing to Rainbow Mika.

"Whoo! Time to totally be a superhero!" Mika said. "Come on Master Zangief, show me more about Muscle Spirit."

"Dah, I do just that, and in time, you master Muscle Spirit as well," Zangief said, leaping below. "For Asgard!"

"Yeah! For Asgard!" Mika said, leaping down with the other girls.

"Wait for me!" Came a luchador dressed fighter, "A Cyclone is not enough to wipe away the evil of Asgard, you need a Hurricane! El Fuerte!"

Strange could only shake his head in embarrassment, "This is what it's come to. Ready to close that portal?"

"Hold on, more are coming," Sunset said.

"Who else did you get!?" Strange asked.

"Anyone I could talk to, I am training with a good chunk of these fighters after all," Sunset said.

Next came a newer fighter in the Capcom world, "It is I! Rashid of the Turbulent Wind." He looked down below at Asgard, "Sweet, it's kind of like an action movie."

"This is more than just a movie, this is real," Strange said.

"Indeed young master," Came the voice of his butler Azam. "This is Ragnarök, tales of mythology describe it as Asgard's Armageddon.

"I get that, and I got this under control," Rashid said, then turned to Strange. "Also, are you a wizard? Like in the movies?"

"Ask him later, you have people to save!" Sunset said.

"Let's go!" Azam said, Rashid leaping after him, flying on his wind.

"Do you train with him too?" Strange asked.

"Well he's newer so I train alongside him, really fun guy though, big movie fan, and a bit of a techno geek," Sunset said.

Next came a woman in green and yellow, "Am I late?"

"No, you're just in time Laura," Sunset said. "Hurry on down there."

"You got it, gonna give these fellas a shock!" Laura said, jumping down.

"...Is that quite all of them?" Strange asked.

Suddenly more popped through the portal, one by one.

"I will show them the divine in our class," came the voice of the Kazuki Estate Heiress, Karin.

"Asgard, a place for enlightenment, that is once we drive away our foes," Came the Yoga master Dhalsim.

"Owa! Aaaugh!" Came the voice of Blanka, the feral fighting leaping through.

"Looks like we can't handle this diplomatically," came the voice of the Metro City Mayor, Mike Hagger, who flexed off his shirt and jumped down with merely a pipe in hand.

"I hope no one's hurt too badly," Came the voice S.T.A.R.S. medic, Rebecca Chambers.

"Damn, this is quite the party," came the voice of an Anti-Umbrella agent, Bruce McGirven.

"I gotta find Chris," came the voice of Claire Redfield, the woman eagerly getting into battle as well.

"Trish! Dante! I'm on my way!" Came the voice of Lady, also rushing in to battle quickly.

"All weapons ready!" Came the voice of Zero. "Let's get to it X!"

"On my way," X said, coming through as well.

Another version Mega Man stepped through the portal, that being Volnutt, "We're here! Time to save the world."

"Wait up!" Came the alternate version of Roll. "I'll be close-by, call me if you need any repairs, same goes for Zero and the other Mega Men."

"Will do, thanks," Volnutt said, leaping down.

"Is that all, now!?" Strange asked.

Suddenly there was a wolf howling, that being Amaterasu. The wolf had made her way into Asgard.

"Amaterasu? You want to help too?" Sunset asked.

"Of course she does!" Came the voice of Issun. "The lady here has a ton of respect for Thor, she'd be more than willing to help."

"Well, that's great!" Sunset said.

"Come on Ammy, we have a world to save," Issun said, Amaterasu leaping into battle.

Sunset looked back to the portal, a look of disappointment on her face, "I guess Nero's not coming."

"Looks like no one else is coming at all," Strange said. "So why don't you-"

"Wait up!" Came the voice of Frank West, the photographer leaping through the portal. "My time to shine!"

As he leapt down as well, Strange scratched his head in confusion, "Uh...that looked like a regular civilian."

"He'll be fine, he's covered wars you know," Sunset said. She then closed the portal to Capcom. "Well that's one world down."

"That might be enough, you got way more than I expected," Strange said.

"But what about Square? They deserve a chance at Sephiroth," Sunset said, generating another portal.

"Ugh, fine, just make it quick," Strange said.

Using her magic, Sunset created a portal in which Barrett Wallace stepped through, the man ready for battle, "Thought you'd never make contact."

"I wouldn't leave you out of this," Sunset said. "You got the team ready?"

"See for yourself," Barrett said, gesturing to the trio of Cid Highwind, Vincent Valentine and Yuffie Kisaragi. "You three ready?"

"Got that right," Cid said, readying a spear.

"Of course," Vincent said, loading his gun.

"Wonder if there's any good valuables?" Yuffie wondered.

"Behave Yuffie," Barret warned.

"Oh fine," Yuffie said, readying her giant shuriken.

"We got more coming Sunset, keep that portal open," Barret said.

"How many more exactly?" Strange asked.

"Just enough," Barrett said. "Let's go Avalanche!"

"Right!" the team said, following Barrett into battle.

"Hopefully it's not too much, we don't want to overwhelm Asgard," Strange said.

"If we don't do this, there won't be an Asgard," Sunset said, as more stepped through the portal.

"This the place?" Squall asked.

"Yeah, are you ready for a fight?" Sunset asked.

"I'll be fine, SeeD training is top of the line," Squall said, readying his gun blade as he leapt down.

Next came Lightning, a once unwilling chosen of the fal'Cie, "Hope I'm not too late."

"You're just in time," Sunset said. "Be careful down there."

"I will," Lightning said, leaping into battle.

"Wait for me!" Came the voice of Tidus, warrior and Blitzball icon. "Wow, Asgard, it's as cool looking as the legends say...minus all the fighting."

"With your help, peace can return," Sunset said. "As long as you are ready."

"Of course, I got this," Tidus said, leaping down.

"Tidus! Wait up!" Came the voice of his friend Yuna, also leaping into battle.

Next coming through the portal was Noctis Lucis Caelem, alongside his crowns guard, Promto, Gladious and Ignis.

"So, me defending another Kingdom against monsters, not what I was expecting," Noctis said.

"Think of it as training for the day you yourself become King of Lucius," Ignis said.

"Plus we're going against Asgardian Mythology, that's cool in its own right," Gladious said.

"This battle's going to look awesome in a photo album," Prompto said.

"Is that really all you're thinking about?" Gladious said.

"Hey how often do we get to go to Asgard?" Promto said.

"If things go poorly, this might be our only time here," Noctis said. "Especially with Sephiroth out there."

"Oh right, hey none of us ever actually fought him right? Even though he's a big deal back home," Promto said.

"Sephiroth is beyond our domain, but his legacy stretches across all realms and lands within our dimension," Ignis said.

"So...do you think we can take him?" Promto asked.

"We should be more worried about Loki, that guy's one of the strongest Gods in legend," Noctis said.

"There's plenty for you four to keep an eye on," Strange warned. "If you're going to fight, do so carefully."

"Oh we will magic guy," Promto said.

"It's Strange," the doctor replied.

"No, magic isn't that strange, I can do it too, we all can," Prompto said, agitating the sorcerer.

"Strange is his name, Doctor Stephen Strange," Sunset said. "And you remember me right?"

"Miss Sunset Shimmer, I could never forget such a kindhearted woman," Ignis said.

"Uh, thanks Sir Ignis," Sunset said.

"Formalities are not required," Ignis said.

"Yeah, it sounds weird," Promto said. "Anyway, talk later, lets go kick some butt!"

The four leapt down, ready to battle themselves as Sunset turned to the portal, "There should be more."

Next through was the Android 2B, along with her partner 9S. "This is a bit beyond my programming, normally I fight against robots."

"Yeah, but this is a new world, and they need our help," 9S said, then looked aside. "Hey, Sunset Shimmer, good to see you."

"Same, and 2B, I know this is unusual, but we really need your help here," Sunset said.

"It's fine, it's not the first time I've taken some liberties," 2B said, readying her sword. "Let's go 9S."

"Roger," the boy said, following the woman.

"Her clothes looked rather revealing," Strange said.

"Did you seriously just say that?" Sunset asked.

"I'm just making an observation!" Strange immediately defended. "You're the one quick to that assumption, so if anything it makes you look bad."

Sunset shook her head in annoyance, then took note of the next arrival, "Crono!"

"Yeah, I'm here, ready to protect Asgard," the warrior Crono said, leaping down into battle. "I won't let you down!"

"I know you won't!" Sunset said, then noticed another person coming through a portal. "Aya!"

"Hey, I made it," came the voice of Parasite Hunter Aya Brea. "This looks a bit beyond my expertise but nothing I can't handle."

"You're not alone, you'll do fine," Sunset reassured.

"Appreciate the confidence," Aya said, leaping down.

"It amazes me how many people you know," Strange said.

"I did a lot of traveling the last several months," Sunset said, looking to the poral. Within moments, a swordsman in purple stepped out, alongside a blue-haired man and a woman with a naginata and a large ponytail. "Eleven! Eric! Jade! You made it!"

"Sure did," Erik said, looking down. "And not a moment too soon, it's chaos down below."

"You think we should go back for Veronica and the others?" Jade asked.

"Nah, the three of us are enough," Erik said. "Though I wouldn't be opposed to bringing Serena in case we get hurt."

"If it gets bad, we'll find your friends, but we're trying to avoid cluttering Asgard up too much," Strange said. "We haven't exactly cleared a lot of this with the King."

"We'll let our actions speak for us," Erik said, leaping down.

"Let's go," Jade said, leaping down.

Eleven turned to Sunset, offering a thumbs up before leaping down as well.

"Alright, next world," Sunset said.

"No more worlds," Strange said. "Capcom and Square is more than enough, if you keep opening portals, you're going to risk an imbalance."

"Yeah but..." Sunset looked down, she could see even more invading forces, Loki really came prepared. "What about Asgard?"

"Quality over Quantity, we have all the help that we need," Strange said, leaping down. "Come on! Keep fighting!"

Sunset was about to leap, but she still had her doubts, "Things are still so intense..."

---

Thor was still battling Akuma, Goku battled against Loki across the skies, Sephiroth was clashing sword with hammer against Beta Ray Bill, Tempest was battling against Heimdall while Joe lead his group against Ulik and his trolls.

"Well, maybe it won't be so bad, I mean we have plenty of fighters as it," Sunset said.

Loki had whacked Goku to the ground below, the Saiyan suddenly surrounded by various enemies, "Back off!" Goku began fighting off the various Chitauri, Frost Giants, Trolls and Storm Guards.

"Everything's going according to plan, now for the next step," Loki snapped his fingers.

Thor was still engaged in combat against Akuma, using his thunder to blast the demonic man back, "Each punch is filled with such hatred. I must hurry, Father is still locked in a fierce battle against Fenrir, if I hurry-"

Suddenly a Giant Snake emerged from behind, trying to attack Thor, the but the God was quick to leap back, now amazed by what he has seen.

"My other son, Jörmungandr, the Midgard Serpent," Loki said as Goku flew back up.

"Uh, that's a giant snake, how is..." Goku shook his head. "Never mind, I'm not done fighting you!"

"Actually you've bored me quite a bit, begone," Loki said, using his magic to fling Goku aside. "Time to see my sons destroy my worthless father and equally worthless brother."

Suddenly Strange used his magic to latch onto Loki, taking the God by surprise as he was flung into a building. He generated more magic and sent a beam in Loki's direction, the God using his Tesseract Staff to block the attack.

"Bothersome mage," Loki used his magic to send Strange flying further back.

"Stephen!" Sunset shouted in worry.

Loki looked down below, taking note of the newer warriors, "I don't believe I've seen any of them, that sorcerer must be gathering help, not that it matters. He just brought these fools to their demise."

"Everyone watch out!" Sunset called. "Loki's above you!"

Noctis looked up at the God of Mischief, "So that's him."

"Don't like the look of that guy," Erik said.

"So he's the head bad guy," Joe said. "Which means we have to defeat him!"

"Easier said than done," Rashid commented. "Even I don't know if I can go against him."

"Just do your best, everyone," Morrigan encouraged.

As Loki began to descend, Strange flew in again, sending a magic attack to knock Loki back, then sent a disc attack to the God.

"Enough!" Loki used his magic to repel everything and flew in trying to whack Strange with his Tesseract, the Sorcerer blocking with a magic shield, though not without some resistance. "I must say, you certainly fight hard for a place that isn't your home."

"Well Thor's my friend, plus something tells me that after you're done with this place, you'll go after the other realms, mine included," Strange said.

"Very perceptive, and quite accurate," Loki said. "Perhaps I'll even go after the Equestrian Realm too, I still want that Crystal Heart."

"A prize you'll never obtain!" Strange said, sending a magic beam back, engaging once again with Loki.

Sunset still seemed worried, Loki was putting up quite a fight, not that she should be surprised. From the distance, she could spot Thor battling against the Midgard Serpent. "What in the world!?"

"Giant Snake!" Ibuki shouted, everyone turning their attention to the beast.

Rebecca's eyes widened in panic, terrible memories surfacing in her head, recalling her own encounter with a Giant Snake back in Raccoon City, a conflict that resulted in her friend Richard Aiken getting bitten by the poisonous creature.

"Rebecca, are you alright?" Ibuki asked, getting the medic cop's attention.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Rebecca said.

"Watch out!" Barrett jumped in front of her, blasting a troll with his gun.

"Wow, thank you," Rebecca said.

"Don't thank me yet, we got a battle to win," Barret said. "Keep fighting everyone!"

The Midgard Serpent did not go unnoticed by Chris either, "Of course there had to be a giant snake, like Yawn wasn't enough."

"Well this isn't so bad, I mean you have experience killing creatures like that," Dante said.

"That creature is probably ten times bigger though," Chris said. "Wait, didn't you encounter a giant Snake once?"

"Oh yeah, Echidna," Dante said, recalling the viper woman from Fortuna. "She's nuts but she wasn't too bad looking."

Chris furrowed his brow, "You can't be serious."

"Hey, gotta appreciate the beauty of things now and again," Dante said.

---

Sunset grew concerned as she saw Thor battle against Jormungand, the God using his hammer to whack him a few times, but the giant snake sent Thor flying with a whack from his tail.

"How many tricks does Loki have up his sleeve?" Sunset wondered, then heard some stomps. She looked to see some Stone Giants making their way over from the distance, "Oh no!"

"Whoa! Giant rocks!" Quill shouted, getting the attention of everyone nearby.

"Huh?" Cloud looked to see the Rock Giants making his way over. "Of course, just what we needed."

"Cloud Strife!" Lightning called, getting his attention.

"Lightning? When did you get here?" Cloud asked as she leapt to his location.

"Sunset Shimmer brought me over," Lightning said, then turned her attention to the new enemies. "This truly is war."

"Between Shinra and Pulse, this is nothing new for us," Cloud said.

"It sure isn't, doesn't make the situation much better," Lightning said, aiming her Blazefire Saber. "But that's life for us, we keep fighting, no matter the odds."

"It's what we're good for," Cloud said, aiming his Buster Sword. "Let's go!"

The two leapt into battle alongside their comrades, doing their best to repel the destruction of Asgard.

"Sorry Stephen, but I can't take any chances," Sunset said, pulling out a magic ring and tossing it create a new portal. "Time for you, Team Sega!"

Instantly emerging from the portal was one of the fastest creatures in the multiverse, Sonic the Hedgehog, the Blue Blur speeding through and immediately using his homing attack to take down a few enemies.

"So, this is Asgard," Sonic said, looking around. "Could do without the invading army, fortunately getting rid of evil armies is a specialty of mine."

"Sonic! Wait up!" his friend Tails called, the fox flying in with Knuckles and Amy Rose coming in from behind as well.

"Sweet, time to go to work," Knuckles said, throwing some punches.

"Leave this city you bullies!" Amy shouted, slamming her hammer.

"So glad you made it!" Sunset stated, getting Sonic's attention.

"Oh hey Sunset, of course we'd make it, we wouldn't leave this world hanging," Sonic said. "I even had a few buddies on standby."

Also coming through the portal were Akira Yuki and his best friend Jacky Bryant, alongside a boy named Ryo Hazuki, the trio from Basel, Zephry, Vashyron and Leanne, the chicken boy Billy Hatcher and the Umbra Witch Bayonetta.

"Is that all of them?" Sunset asked.

"No, there should be at least one more..." Sonic said. Within seconds, a young man with a black trench coat and white mask leapt through the air, landing down below with what seemed like an Anthropomorphic cat on his shoulder.

"Show off," Jacky commented, making his way over with his team.

"That was cool, Joker," the cat creature said.

"Joker! Morgana! You made it!" Sonic said. "Looks like your cognitive powers work here too."

"Thankfully," Morgana said, then took note of the oncoming soldiers. He immediately leapt off, ready to fight. "Too bad Lady Ann and the others couldn't be here right now, but we should still be able to provide backup."

"Come on, let's show these ruffians some manners," Bayonetta said, readying her guns.

"Let's blast through with Sonic speed!" Sonic shouted, spin-dashing into battle alongside his world's natives.

"Not bad..." Sunset looked to her hands, thinking some stuff over. "Maybe a few more couldn't hurt, the more allies we have, the easier it is to fight away Loki's army. Plus, I did ask for these heroes to be on standby, they're probably itching for a fight."

---

Goku flew over to the direction of the Rock Giants, charging his ki, "KAMEHAMEHA!" His beam pierced through some rock giants, but it was not enough to destroy them all. "Gonna have to get in close."

Goku flew in delivering some punches to the beasts, knocking them to bits. More enemies showed up, trying to bring down Goku, though Drax and Gamora were quick to slay them, sticking close to the Saiyan.

"You possess great abilities, warrior" Drax said. "What land do you hail from?"

"Uh...Mount Paozu, which is on Earth," Goku said.

"A warrior from Earth? I'm surprised," Gamora said. "I know Earth is home to many great heroes, you however I do not think I have heard of."

"I'm from another dimension," Goku said. "Technically I'm a Saiyan from Planet Vegeta, but I was sent ot Earth as a baby to conquer it. Then I bumped my head and forgot my mission, at least that's what my brother told me."

"I have never heard of Saiyans, if they're anything like you, then they too must be fine warriors," Drax said, slaying an oncoming enemy.

"Actually, the Saiyans I know were conquerors who takes over planets," Goku said, sending a few ki blasts. "I was actually ashamed be part of something like that."

"I know that feeling," Gamora said, slicing an enemy down. "You can't change your past, but you can change your future."

"Oh yeah, Sunset Shimmer said something like that, sort of," Goku said. "She sang about her past not being today."

"Who is this...Sunset Shimmer?" Drax asked.

"She's the bacon haired girl on the rooftop over there, the one trying to make a portal," Goku said. "Huh...wonder who she's summoning?"

"She is a summoner?" Drax asked.

"Sort of, she said she was finding allies for Thor," Goku said. "Wow, she's bringing some out now."

---

At the rooftop, Sunset had just opened a portal, this time to Namco, and revealed her first surprise, "You actually came."

Standing before her was Jin Kazama, the grandson of Heihachi Mishima and the son of Kazuya, "Don't get the wrong idea, I'm not doing this out of Friendship. I just need the practice."

Another girl stepped out of the portal, "Plus, I talked him into it."

"Thanks Ling," Sunset said. "Jin, I know you're training yourself so you can be strong enough to defeat Kazuya and Heihachi one day, but maybe some good deeds can cleanse your soul too, and maybe Chun-Li and the other Capcom Warriors will not think of you as some monster."

"I am a monster, but for now, I'm on your side," Jin said. "Plus...Kazuya's been missing for a while, and rumor is he left our world. I may need your assistance to track him down, so consider this my end of the bargain as well."

"Also I brought a couple of fighters to help," Ling said, gesturing to Marshall Law and Paul Phoenix.

"Time for some Kung Fu," Law said, getting into stance.

"Best in the Universe, at your service!" Paul boasted.

"Oh sweet, I was hoping to see you guys soon, I hoped you could give me some martial arts training, some Capcom Warriors suggested you two," Sunset said.

"Smart choice, if you can keep up..." Law muttered to himself, "And maybe pay a small fee," he spoke aloud, "We would gladly train you."

"Great, but first thing's first, we need to protect Asgard," Sunset said.

"Sounds good to me, hell after this, I might shift my goal, no longer best in The Universe, but best in The Multiverse!" Paul said.

"Just hurry up and fight," Jin said, leaping down with his team.

"Alright, who else?" Sunset said, awaiting the next person.

Next through was a former police officer named Jack Slate, the man wielding a pair of .45 handguns. "This where the showdown is?"

"Yeah...though I have to wonder, how experienced are you with fantasy type monsters?" Sunset asked.

"Well it's not my usual schtick, but I'll manage," Slate said, making his way down to fight.

"Alright, anyone else make it?" Sunset wondered.

Next through the portal was a somewhat familiar face, someone Sunset has seen before, that being Brave Vesperia member, Yuri Lowell.

"Hey, been a while," Yuri commented.

"Yuri, you made it!" Sunset said. "Did you come alone or with friends?"

"I brought plenty of friends," Yuri said, gesturing to some allies, those from his world like the Krytian Warrior Judith and the mage Rita Mordio. Others from outside like Lloyd Irving, Genis Sage Jude Mathis, Milla Maxwell and Velvet Crowe.

"This is Asgard?" Lloyd asked. "It looks so different than back home."

"Seems like appearances vary across worlds," Rita said. "Of course I haven't seen many examples of that."

Genis knelt over the edge, "Wow, this really is a war. Is it true that we're really fighting Loki's Army?"

"Yes, he's invaded to take the throne from his father Odin," Sunset said.

"Wait, if Loki's here, then so is Thor, right?" Lloyd asked.

"He's not too far away, but he is going to need our help," Sunset stated. "Loki's army is massive and getting worse by the second!"

"Guess we have a God to slay," Velvet said, readying her sword. "This is not how I imagined my day going."

"Same here, but I can't turn away anyone in need of help," Jude said.

"Since you know healing artes, you might be able to assist anyone who's gotten hurt," Milla said.

"Speaking of healing, sure wish Estelle were here," Judith said. "She'd be able to help with that as well."

"Same with my sister," Genis said.

"But not everyone can make it," Yuri said. "It's fine, we should be enough."

"Wahoo!" came the voice of a creature as he flew through a portal, followed by a yellow ball.

"Was that, Klonoa and Pac-Man?" Genis asked.

Next was a man with a giant sword, who spoke no words and simply went to join the battle. Rita seemed to recognize him, "That's Siegfried Schtauffen, wielder of Soul Calibur, interesting."

"You really came prepared, Sunset," Yuri said. "By the way, is that Spider-Man guy here?"

"Oh, that'd be great, he and his wife are very powerful," Rita said.

"They're back in Equestria," Sunset explained. "I'd love to take you there after the battle, but we need to save Asgard first."

"Alright, everyone, get ready for a showdown!" Yuri said, he and his team leaping into battle.

"That might be enough..." Sunset said, looking at her magic. "Buuuut...."

Taking her chance, she created one more portal, this time bringing in Terry Bogard from the SNK World, "Sunset?"

"Hey Terry, remember what I said about Ragnarök?" Sunset asked.

"Yeah, I had a feeling you'd contact me, so I had some friends on standby," Terry said, gesturing to Joe Higashi, Andy Bogard, Kyo Kasunagi, Mai Shinraiu and Athena Asamiya. "We're here to help."

"Great, this is perfect, we'll be able to properly fight back Loki's army!" Sunset said. "Alright, time for a fight!"

---

As Strange continued his battle, he started to sense alterations in time and space. Looking below he spotted several more warriors, such as Sonic using his homing attack on several enemies, Yuri engaging in combat and Jin using his electric strikes on his opponents.

"What in the world!?" Strange saw that Sunset had just helped the SNK Warriors enter this world, "Dammit, I told her to cease the portals! She's going to cause an instability!"

"You're distracted," Loki used his staff to whack Strange against a building. "Time to get back to some planning."

Nearby Mega Man was seen running through and blasting all enemies in his side, using his leaf shield to absorb impact as he readied his sticky bomb. "Take this!"

He created a minor explosion, but not enough to diminish the forces by much. He prepared another attack, but that's when Sonic rushed in with a blue tornado to send the enemies flying away.

"Hey Rock, been a while," Sonic greeted.

"Sonic, you made it! Awesome!" Mega Man said. "Are your friends here too?"

"Yeah, take a look," Sonic said, gesturing to Tails, Knuckles and Amy doing their battles. "I got a few more from my world to help too, thanks to Sunset Shimmer."

"That's amazing!" Mega Man said.

"Sure is, just as cool as seeing your own allies, especially the other fighting robots, we'll protect this world no problem," Sonic said.

Pac-Man flew right by Quill, the space warrior looking in awe, “It’s him!”

“Quill?” Gamora said, curiously glancing. “Who is that?”

“The Legend Himself…” Quill said, that answer just confusing Gamora even more.

Overhead, Bill was sent flying with Sephiroth in pursuit, hoping to end the Korbinite, but to even his surprise, his enemy had more fight than he anticipated, "He is quite stubborn to die."

"I will not let you bring Asgard to ruin!" Bill went right back into attack, Sephiroth blocking.

"Does saying those precise words fill you with hopeful determination? At some point, they just begin to sound like hollow threats," Sephiroth said, parrying Bill away and then sending a flare attack which sent Bill crashing through a building. "Truth be told, I would much rather see where Cloud is, I can usually rely on him for some entertainment."

---

In the skies, Loki continued summoning monsters to Asgard, doing his best to bring the world to ruins. "These fools don't know when to quit. Truth be told, I had hoped that Fenrir and Jormungand would have vanquished Odin and Thor by now, but it seems as if those fools are putting up a greater fight than I would have liked."

Suddenly some gunfire was sent his way, Loki turned to see it was courtesy of Leon shooting at him from a rooftop, "Come on...take the bait..."

"That foolish mortal," Loki said, using his magic to deflect the bullets away as he floated toward Leon. He then began to levitate Leon, attempting to crush him as he did so, "Did you really think that would do anything to me?"

"Flash Kick!" Came Guile's voice as he jumped in for a kick that took Loki by surprise. Once he was stunned, he rushed in to throw a few punches, ending with another Flash Kick.

"Great work Guile!" Leon praised.

"It's not over yet," Guile said, cracking his knuckles. He went to throw another punch, but Loki blocked and jammed the Tesseract staff into his chest, then blasted a hole through Guile, sending him flying off the rooftop.

"NO! GUILE!" Leon shouted in worry.

"Was that your plan?" Loki asked, whacking Leon across the face to the ground. "What a failure."

Guile struggled to lift himself up, the solider bleeding from the wound Loki inflicted, and out of his mouth, but he was undeterred.

"Guile!" Carlos ran over to check on him. "Hey, you alright buddy?"

"I'll be-" Guile coughed up some blood. "Fine..."

"Hey you gotta take it easy right now, you're in no condition to fight," Carlos said.

"Concerned for your ally?" Loki said, suddenly appearing before the two.

"Bastard!" Carlos opened fire from his machine gun but Loki had deflected away the bullets and sent a throwing dagger at Carlos's shoulder, injuring him long enough for Loki to fly in with a punch to his stomach and another whack from his staff.

"You mortals serve nothing of worth, I'm almost embarrassed that my brother has to rely on you to protect Asgard," Loki said. "Rather, it's insulting that you even believed yourselves to be a threat to me."

Suddenly he took a punch to the face, courtesy of a very injured Guile, "Don't you underestimate us!"

"I'm surprised you're even still alive," Loki brought out a blade and slashed Guile across the chest and sent another blast, this time sending him through a home. "That won't last much longer."

"Loki!" Carlos began firing again, this time throwing a grenade in the process, the blast engulfing the God. "Did that do anything?"

"Only irritate me," Loki said, appearing before Carlos and jabbing one of his daggers into his sides. Carlos reeled back to pull the dagger out but this just left him open for Loki to jam his tesseract staff into the mercenary's chest, sending a blast right through him, Carlos falling lifeless to the ground.

"Another fool who tested my wrath," Loki commented.

---

Nearby Ulik was still engaged in combat with Viewtiful Joe, the young hero moving a lot faster than he expected. Thanks to Joe's watch, his speed was letting him be more than a match for the evil troll.

"Ready to give up, evil doer?" Joe asked, getting into a pose. "Or are you still willing to fight a losing battle?"

"This is not over yet, tiny man," Ulik said.

"Heh, typical bad guy banter, didn't think I'd hear it outside of a movie," Joe said.

"Hey Joe!" Came Chun-Li's voice, the woman running over. "Oh wow, you're actually here! And you're winning!"

"Hey Chun-Li, it's nothing I can't handle, and my team's back there fighting the other trolls," Joe said, gesturing to Regina and the others.

"That's great, you were always so amazing Joe! It's a shame we never used you more, you're the true hero of our world," Chun-Li said. "You're almost as cool as Captain America."

"Wow, really?" Joe asked, blushing a bit. "Hey, you're not being flirty, are you Chun-Li? I mean I'm flattered but I have Silvia, honestly I wanted to bring her but...well, you know how family life is."

"Oh of course, I'm just blown away by how much you've grown," Chun-Li said, getting close to Joe. "Why don't you step aside for a bit though, let me take a crack at this ugly troll."

"Hey!" Ulik shouted.

"It's fine, you're needed out there, fighting against the bigger threats," Joe said, focusing on Ulik. "I'll fight this guy and join you later, no way he's going to beat me."

"You got that right..." Chun-Li said, bringing a knife out.

"Joe! Watch out!" Hayato warned.

Joe turned around and saw the blade coming down at him, but fortunately Hayato was fast enough to tackle her down. "What in the world?"

"This is not Chun-Li!" Hayato said, grabbing his sword. "Reveal your true form!"

"Damn, you Capcom fighters are not making this easy," the supposed Chun-Li turned into Mystique. "No more tricks then."

"How dare you take the face of our of our greatest warriors, you shall suffer for that!" Hayato went to attack but Ulik immediately blocked and punched Hayato in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him while Mystique threw a knife at his chest.

"Hayato!" Saotome turned his attention to Mystique, rushing in for an attack. "For that I shall make you suffer!"

He jumped in with a cyclone kick to knock Mystique back, but the woman rolled through and pulled out her gun to shoot Saotome in the leg. This did not deter the warrior as he activated a button to summon a giant robot from a portal, taking Mystique by surprise.

"Sweet! It's BLODIA!" Joe cheered. "This will turn the tide!"

"You gotta be freaking kidding me," Strange lamented from nearby.

Jin immediately tried to crush Mystique but the woman transformed into an eagle, taking to the skies and flying toward the top of the robot with Ulik leaping onto its arm and climbing up. Saotome punched and stomped around, nearby crushing some forces below.

"Jin! Be careful!" Chris called from below.

"Wait, when did he even get here?" Dante wondered. "And how did he summon his Cyberbot?"

"Sunset probably helped with that," Chris said.

Loki flew over to the robot and blasted it with some magic to weaken the machine, to which Saotome whacked the God away. Mystique still appeared at the top, trying to break into the pilot's pit but she was grabbed by his mechanized hand.

"If I vanquish her, that's one general down, and a step close to defeating Loki," Saotome said. "For Asgard, and the glory of Cap-"

Ulik appeared at the top, bashing the head of the robot, trying to distract him, "Come out and face me!"

"Begone!" Saotome said, swatting at Ulik.

An annoyed Loki used his magic to lift the robot, surprising everyone on board, both Ulik and Mystique jumping off while Saotome's robot was flung back, Loki using an blast to hit the robot in it's fuel tank, causing an explosion, completely destroying BLODIA.

"JIN!" Joe shouted in worry, his teammates just as concerned.

Ulik landed down in front of Joe, sinisterly glancing at the young hero, "Seems like your ally is no more, do not fret, for soon-"

Suddenly Hayato stabbed Ulik from behind, however this left him open for some gunshots from Mystique. Regina fired away at the shapeshifter, to which she quickly made her escape.

"You won't escape me!" Regina followed after her.

"Regina wait!" Commando called, following as well.

Joe checked up on Hayato, "Hey, are you alright?"

"Don't worry about me, go after the shapeshifter," Hayato urged.

"But..." Joe noticed Ulik trying to escape from his predicament.

"I will finish this troll off," Hayato insisted. "Just go! I will join you later!"

Reluctant as he was, Joe knew it he had a job to do, he had to help save Asgard, "I'll come back for you!"

Joe made his leave as Hayato fell to his knees, weakened from his injuries, "Sorry Joe, perhaps you will need new members for your team."

Ulik freed himself, and was ready to finish off Hayato, but Dante sped in with his sword and with one swipe, finally vanquished the beast.

"Hayato!" Chris rushed in to check on his ally.

"Chris Redfield, it was good to see you one last time," Hayato said.

"Don't say that, we can patch you up," Chris insisted. "We just need to-"

"Watch out!" A magic blast came down at the three, sending Chris and Dante flying, the former feeling more of the brunt. Dante stood up, glancing at where Hayato was, finding only his lifeless body.

"I'm not done with either of you," Loki said, readying more magic. Suddenly Cloud came in, trying to ambush Loki but he took a blast instead.

Tifa rushed over with the rest of their Avalanche allies, "Cloud!"

"I'm fine, take out Loki!" Cloud ordered.

"I got this!" Yuffie said, readying her boomerang blade. "Take this!"

The girl tossed the weapon at the God, which he immediately deflected, but this left him open for Cid to rush in with a stab from his spear.

"How do you like that, fucker!" Cid boasted. Suddenly Loki punched through his chest, taking him and his teammates by surprise.

"Cid!" Yuffie shouted.

"Holy shit..." Cloud said as Cid's lifeless body fell to the ground.

Vincent furiously glanced up at the God, "Bastard!" He began to transform into a monster and lunged at Loki, trying to bite the God's head off.

"Begone!" Loki grabbed a dagger and jabbed it into Vincent, loosening the fighter's grip and reverting to his normal form as Loki again blasted him, creating a hole in his body.

"You're crossing the line pal," Barret said, readying his gun and opening fire. "Take this!"

"You mortals reek of desperation," Loki taunted, sending another blast their way and scattering the Avalanche group.

"Loki!" Came Lloyd's voice, the boy leaping up and trying to take down the God, to no avail as Loki blocked with his staff.

"More of you? Where do you even come from?"

Lloyd landed down, glancing up at the God, "I've heard stories about you, Loki, to think you're actually crueler than what I've been told."

"What could you know of Gods?" Loki said.

"You're not the only divine being I've faced," Lloyd said.

"I doubt whoever you got lucky against is anything compared to me," Loki said, readying his magic. "Now die!"

"Fireball!" Came Rita's voice, the young mage beside Genis as she blasted Loki with fire. "Genis, I got him stunned, go for it!"

"Time to show him his powerlessness!" Genis said, readying his magic as a giant sword appeared. "INDIGNATION JUDGEMENT!"

A large spark of electricity hit Loki, sending him flying, to the delight of the two mages, Rita rubbing the young elf boy's head. "That was amazing!"

"Thanks, I'm kind of a prodigy," Genis boasted.

"Certainly not shy about admitting it," Rita teased. "Still, that might not have been enough but hopefully he's weak enough for someone to pick off. Right now we should go help Thor."

"I'll let Lloyd know," Genis said. He was about to talk to his friend when suddenly, he took a blast through his chest.

"GENIS!" Lloyd shouted in worry.

"No!" Rita caught the boy before he fell, and turned to see that Loki had already returned, and he looked furious.

"Stupid children!" Loki said another blast, one hitting Rita and Genis point blank and causing a massive explosion.

"Rita! Genis! No!" Lloyd shouted in worry.

From a few roofs down, Judith took note of the situation as well," Yuri! Genis and Rita took a hit from Loki!"

"They what!?" Yuri asked, immediately striking down an enemy and running in the direction of the two mages. "Hang on!"

"Begone!" Loki sent another blast at Yuri's direction, then one at Lloyd, doing his best to rid himself of his enemies. "All of you will fall to my power!"

---

Nearby, Sephiroth was still battling against Bill, eventually parrying his axe strike and using his magic to send the Korbinite flying. "Powerful foe, kind of enjoyed fighting him. Now..."

He quickly dashed back toward the edge of the Rainbow Bridge where Tempest was still battling against Heimdall.

She had taken a bad blow from the Asgardian gatekeeper, knocking her toward the edge of the bridge.

"Surrender, and you will live," Heimdall warned. "Continue to fight, and you will surely perish."

"I'd rather die than give everything up," Tempest said. "Do your worse."

"Very well, at the very least, I shall grant you a Warrior's Death," Heimdall said, raising his sword. Before he could strike down, Sephiroth had stabbed him from behind, taking Heimdall by surprise. The warrior angrily glanced back at Sephiroth, "Very sneaky..."

Tempest looked very relieved to see Sephiroth, her master pulling the sword out and leaving Heimdall briefly subdued. She used this as a chance to zap him off the bridge, Heimdall falling to his demise.

"I'm sorry Master, if you didn't come, I surely would have fell at his blade," Tempest said.

"Don't waste your energy with apologies, instead use that sorrow to better yourself," Sephiroth ordered. "Now stand, our battle is not yet won."

"Yes sir," Tempest said, getting back on her feet. "Should we go after Thor?"

"I believe the Midgard Serpent is on that," Sephiroth said. "Follow me."

As the two went into town, Balder was battling against Akuma, the warrior sent flying across the Asgardian rooftops.

"Is this all you have, warrior!?" Akuma shouted, sending a beam of Dark Hadou toward Balder, destroying homes in the process.

"That guy's out of his mind," Sonic quipped.

"Akuma is one of our world's deadliest enemies," Mega Man said. "I mean, he's not as evil as someone like Wesker but when he's fighting, anything in his path is collateral damage."

"That's bogus," Sonic said. "Oh, rock giant, three o'clock."

"I got it," Mega Man said, blasting the creature. "Come on, we still have a city to clean up."

"Right behind you," Sonic said, resuming his battle.

Meanwhile Balder had dusted himself off. Akuma menacingly approached him when he found himself surrounded by Valkyrie and her team.

"Cease your actions demon," the woman warned. "Or face the wrath of-"

"Out of my way!" Akuma sent his chi blasts at the squad, blasting them out of the air, "Those who stand in my way will perish!"

"I do not fear you!" Valkyrie shouted. "For Asgard!"

"Valkyrie! Be careful!" Balder warned.

The woman flew in at Akuma, the demon fighter taking a stance. In a quick flash of light, he had delivered a massive blow to her chest, sending her flying to the wayside, then sent another chi blast her direction, resulting in a massive explosion.

"Valkyrie!" Balder shouted in worry, then turned his attention to Akuma. "Your violence comes to an end, demon!"

Balder rushed to attack when Akuma got into his stance. "DIE ONE THOUSAND DEATHS!" In a flash, nothing but violence ensued and when it was all said and done, Akuma was standing over Balder's lifeless body, "What a waste of time."

"Akuma!" Ken called, getting his attention.

"Oh its you, one of Gouken's brats," Akuma said. "Begone, you don't interest me in the least."

"We're not going anywhere," Trish said, appearing beside Ken.

"We will defeat you ourselves in need be," Jill said, also appearing.

"I just vanquished one of Asgard's supposedly strongest warrior, you have no chance against me," Akuma said.

"I don't doubt he was a strong guy, but I'm not one to be trifled with myself!" Ken rushed to attack, Akuma blocking his strikes and kicking Ken away.

Jill rushed in with a few kicks of her own that Akuma blocked and used a take down to subdue Jill. Trish tried attacking with her sword but Akuma kicked it away.

"Hadouken!" Ken sent a blast at Akuma that he immediately nullified and sent his own Gohadouken to Ken, sending him flying.

Trish and Jill attempted some double team maneuvers, they did nothing to stop Akuma as he sent them both flying with a blow.

"How weak," Akuma taunted.

"Try fighting me then!" Goku said, getting Akuma's attention.

"Ah, the Saiyan, your power intrigues me," Akuma said, getting into a stance. "Show me your power."

Goku could sense nothing but malicious energy coming from Akuma, the warrior wondering what manner of beast he was. "I'll make this quick, I probably don't even need anything higher than Super Saiyan!"

In his golden form, Goku speed in to punch Akuma, sending him flying but the demon halted to an immediate stop after a while and sent his blasts at Goku, the Saiyan guarding well against them.

"I'd take this seriously if I were you!" Akuma began to transform, his red hair becoming white and his body changing into a darker shade of red. "NOW DIE!"

The now transformed Shin Akuma rushed in with a massive blow to Goku's stomach, knocking the wind out of the Saiyan. Akuma then hit a mighty Goshoryuken uppercut to Goku and turned into a spin kick to the face.

Goku had backflipped, to the ground, the Saiyan amazed by what he was seeing, "He doesn't even feel human now, he feels so much different. Must be that dark energy Ryu mentioned. Throwing your humanity away for power though? Even I couldn't bring myself to something like that."

"GOHADOU!" Akuma readied a massive Ungyo Beam and sent it right at Goku, the Saiyan immediately blocking with both hands.

"Whoa!" Goku began to power up into his Super Saiyan 2 Form and deflected the beam away. He used Instant Transmission to appear beside Akuma, the demon immediately going for a punch that knocked Goku back. "Wow, he's stronger than I expected, or maybe I just need to step up a bit more."

"I know you have more power than this, SHOW ME!" Akuma shouted.

"You really want more? I don't know if you can handle it," Goku boasted.

"You dare to doubt me!" Akuma rushed in with a massive chop to Goku's sides, breaking a few ribs. "I will make you suffer!"

Akuma sent another blast, sending Goku flying into a building, then followed up with a massive beam that destroyed everything and everyone in its path.

This beam narrowly missed Proto Man, "Whoa...that was close."

"You alright?" Knuckles asked. "Where did that even come from?"

"Probably Akuma," Proto Man said. "This is getting dangerous."

"We knew what we signed up for," Knuckles said.

"You slowing down there, Knuckles?" Sonic teased.

"In your dreams," Knuckles slammed his fists together. "Come on, there's still more bad guys to take down."

Proto Man looked to the distance where Akuma was, "I still wonder how Loki talked him into joining, that guy must have a golden tongue."

Meanwhile Goku had crawled out of the wreckage, powered back into base form, "Probably should not have gotten cocky like that."

"Goku," Chun-Li said, helping him up. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, but that Akuma guy, he's a monster," Goku said.

"Yeah, he is, that's one of the reasons Ryu trains to get strong, to surpass him," Chun-Li said.

"At least Ryu is doing so honorably, I don't even want to know what that other guy did to turn into a demon," Goku said.

"That's the risk of learning the way of Ansatsuken," Chun-Li said. "That technique was bread for battles to the death."

"I get that but...hey watch out!" Goku warned, Chun-Li suddenly blocking a strike from Tempest. Meanwhile Goku blocked a sword strike from Sephiroth by clapping his hands at the tip.

"Good reflexes," Tempest complimented, then went for a kick to Chun-Li's head. She followed up with another punch but Chun-Li had parried and spun into a back fist and then turned for a kick to the chest.

"KIKOKEN!" Chun-LI sent her chi blast at Tempest, knocking her further back, the woman rolling into a battle position once again and sending her own electric magic at Chun-Li, stunning her long enough for a follow up knee strike to the stomach and an elbow to the back.

"Come on, I thought you were the Strongest Woman in Capcom?" Tempest taunted. "At least that's what Loki said, would you prove a God wrong just to spite him?"

Chun-Li immediately stood up lunged up to back kick Tempest on the side of the head, then hit her Lightning Kick technique, striking Tempest across her upper body and ending with a double fist to the stomach. "That good enough proof?"

"Why you," Tempest and Chun-Li resumed their battle while Goku continued to fight Sephiroth.

"I will give you credit, you're probably the strongest warrior I've faced since Cloud," Sephiroth complimented as he went for another sword strike which Goku ducked.

"That's quite the honor," Goku said, flying in with a punch to the face, sending Sephiroth flying. "Soon I'll be setting a new bar for you, Sephiroth!"

"Just try it!" Sephiroth said, coming to a stop and clashing in air with Goku.

---

Things seemed to be going well for the visiting warriors, Sonic speeding around and knocking out any enemy that was in his way. "Piece of cake."

"Do try not to let your guard down," Bayonetta said, shooting oncoming enemies. "It'd be a shame if you got hurt out there."

"You're one to talk," Sonic teased. "How often do you start dancing in the middle of battle?"

"Enticed by my dancing, are you?" Bayonetta teased back. "Well I don't do it as often as you think, but I suppose I do show off a tiny bit."

"We're Sega, style is kind of our thing," Sonic said, gesturing to Akira and Jacky taking a few enemies out in a display of Power and Speed.

"Especially the new boy," Bayonetta said, gesturing to Joker as he slayed some enemies in the blink of an eye, then stopped to tighten his glove.

"You got this Joker!" Sonic cheered, the Phantom Thief giving a thumbs up.

"Yo! Bayonetta!" Called Vashyron, "Me, Zephyr and Leanne are gonna practice our gun skills in a little game, wanna join?"

"Oh, I had no idea you were itching to be emasculated," Bayonetta jokingly said.

"Hey I'll make you eat those words," Vashyron said.

Sonic chuckled to himself, "For some reason I'm thinking of Shadow now, kind of wish he came too."

"Ah yes, Shadow. He acts tough but it's hard to take him serious sometimes, he's just too adorable," Bayonetta said.

Sonic stifled a laugh, trying not too think too hard about his rival being adorable, "Wow...I mean..." Sonic stifled again, "Sorry I just did not expect to hear that. Shadow, adorable?"

"Oh come now, you're pretty adorable too," Bayonetta said.

Sonic turned away, awkwardly rubbing his nose, "Come on, don't joke around like that."

"Sorry, wouldn't want to make Amy jealous," Bayonetta said, gesturing to the hedgehog girl whacking an enemy into a group like bowling balls, garnering a seal of approval from the nearby Ryo.

"Yeah, just what I need too," Sonic said.

"Sonic! You're moving kind of slow!" Mega Man taunted. "You're not getting tired are you?"

"You wish!" Sonic said, rushing to destroy a bunch of enemies.

"To be young and so energetic," Bayonetta said, then noticed an oncoming flying fox. "My dear Tails, you look so troubled."

"I was just scouting the area, things are looking really bad for our side," Tails said. "Loki's a lot stronger than we thought he was, then there's that Akuma guy, and Sephiroth. Many of the Asgardian warriors are injured or...worse. I just don't know if-"

"Oh come now, even when things look bleak, you mustn't give up hope," Bayonetta said. "If you did, then that dastardly Doctor Eggman would have taken over your world by now. Or any world he stepped foot in."

"Guess you're right," Tails said. "Plus we have a lot of powerful allies, we'll be fine."

"Hey Tails!" Roll called. "There's more enemies coming our way! Let's try to cut them off!"

"You got it Roll!" Tails said, flying over to the robot girl.

Mega Man continued blasting some nearby enemies while Sonic homed in on them. As he fought, the Android 2B showed up and sliced through a bunch.

"Whoa!" Mega Man looked up at her, curious by her appearance. "Have I seen you before?"

"I'm from Cloud's world, you must be Mega Man, I am 2B."

"Oh right, that Android I've always wanted to meet," Mega Man said. "Kind of a lot I wanted to ask about your world, Cloud told me some interesting things."

"Another time perhaps, battle is not the place for idle conversation," 2B said, rushing back into the fight.

"Wow...she's kind of cool," Mega Man said.

"Is your heart smitten there, Rock?" Sonic teased.

"What!? No! Also don't talk about romance when you're no good with girls yourself," Mega Man said.

"Got me there," Sonic playfully agreed, then took note of one of the leading enemies.

"Come on guards, what do I pay you for!" The Storm King shouted. "Take those Asgardians out already! Take all those annoying enemies out! This world won't conquer itself!"

"One of Loki's men," Mega Man said.

"What a loudmouth," Sonic commented.

Storm King groaned in annoyance, "I gotta do everything myself, don't I?" He brought out the Staff of Sacanus and with magic he got from Loki, he used it to destroy a fleet of Asgardian Soldiers. "See, not hard!"

"What a scumbag!" Sonic said.

"Hey you!" Mega Man said, getting his attention.

"What do you want you...uh..." Storm King scratched his head. "What are you?"

"I'm a robot," Mega Man said. "And I-"

"Don't care," Storm King blasted Mega Man, much to Sonic's surprise.

"Not cool dude!" Sonic homed in and whacked The Storm King across a few yards.

"Ow! Dang!" Storm King said as Sonic got closer. "Hey! Back me up here!"

Some Storm Guards along with Chitauri blocked Sonic's path while The Storm King made his escape.

"Move it or lose it!" Sonic warned, taking several out with his speed.

---

Nearby, Eleven and Noctis were teaming up as well, taking out some enemies with their allies not too far away.

"You think Odin will give us a reward or something once we're done?" Erik asked.

"Is that really important?" Jade responded.

"Well, no, I was just curious," Erik said.

"Lets focus on saving people, I'd rather not see more Kingdoms fall," Jade said.

"Right, of course," Erik said. He turned over to see Gladious using his giant sword to slay some enemies while Promto took a few pictures. "Sure could use that big fellow on our team, that guy could put the King's Top Guards to shame."

Meanwhile Eleven began casting some magic, and used his Zap to strike several enemies with Lightning. More of them began coming, Eleven getting ready to strike.

"Ignis, instructions!" Noctis suddenly called.

"Of course!" Ignis began throwing some daggers, one hitting a Storm Guard, one hitting a Chitauri and one hitting a Frost Giant, Noctis warping to each enemy with a strike to bring them down.

"It never ends," Noctis turned his attention to Eleven. "Sorry if I took your kills." Eleven waved it off, not caring too much as he continued to fight while Noctis focused on his opponents. "At least it's not a competition."

"That's 20 more points for me!" Dante called nearby.

"20? How are you scoring this!?" Chris asked.

"With Style!" Dante said.

"You can't be serious, kill streaks matter more! Especially taking out several enemies in a row!" Chris said.

"No way, it's about the combos!" Dante said.

"It's about speed and consistency!" Chris said.

"Kind of hard to do both," Dante said.

"Not when you're disciplined," Chris pointed out.

Also nearby, Star-Lord was blasting away at enemies, "How many is that there, Rocket?"

"Don't get cocky, Quill!" Rocket said, blasting enemies with his guns. "It ain't over yet!"

"I am Groot!"

"Yeah you tell him Groot, we got this in the bag!" Rocket said.

"Hey! No help! That's cheating!" Quill said.

"The flark you mean by that? Groot and I are a packaged deal!" Rocket said.

"Well...so are me and Gamora!" Quill said.

"We're not!" Gamora replied, slaying an enemy.

"Do not worry Quill, I shall aid you in your meaningless conquest of points," Drax said.

"It's not meaningless! It's about proving ourselves!" Quill said, then gestured to a large group. "Look, let's just-"

"SHINKU HADOUKEN!" Ryu sent another massive beam that destroyed a group of enemies. "Hey! Focus on the battle! This is more annoying than what Dante and Chris do!"

"Hey! We heard that!" Dante shouted from across the field.

"If you can hear me, then you're not fighting!" Ryu called.

Noctis groaned in annoyance, having overheard everything, "People are so loud."

"They're just getting into the spirit of things," Gladious said.

"Guys!" Yuffie called, running over. "This is getting bad, Loki just took several of our allies out! Cid, Vincent, some on the Capcom side, this is getting bad, you have to protect yourselves and each other well!"

"Don't worry, we'll guard each other with our lives," Promto insisted.

"Where's Cloud?" Noctis asked.

"I got separated from him, Tifa and Barret while fighting Loki," Yuffie said. "If we can find him, we can lead an assault to-"

Suddenly Yuffie was shot through the chest, taking Noctis by surprise, "NO!"

From the distance, Mystique opened fire again, everyone ducking out of the way. Promto grabbed his own gun and began firing at Mystique, to which she made a run for it.

"Someone stop her!" Prompto called.

Mystique kept firing to keep her pursuers away, but suddenly she took a gun shot of her own through the shoulder, courtesy of Regina, who had not stopped following her.

"This is where you die!" Regina fired again, trying to take out Mystique but the mutant fired back, getting her in the leg.

Suddenly Dante had his sword against her neck, "Don't move, or things will get bad for you."

Mystique then shapeshifted into Trish, turning around to face Dante, "Would you really hurt a friend?"

Dante looked a little taken back, hesitating to do much. However this plan failed as Mystique took some gunshots to the back, reverting her out of her form and falling over.

Walking over was Chris, having been the one to finish off Mystique, "That takes care of that."

Dante couldn't help but feel some sympathy, as his mind went to another, "This lady, wasn't she Nightcrawler's mother?"

"Yeah, she was, but she was also helping in destroy Asgard, she made her choice," Chris said.

"Plus, she killed Hayato," Regina said, making her way down. "She brought this on herself."

"I won't argue that," Dante said.

Just as he was about to leave, he heard Mystique calling to him, "Wait..." Dante turned to see the dying woman. "Please...I know we're enemies, but grant me one request."

"What is it?" Dante asked, kneeling beside her.

Mystique brought out a locket, holding in near Dante, "Please...give this to my son. Tell him I'm sorry."

Dante grabbed the locket, looking down at the item. He felt pity for this woman, but also anger in her actions, "Honestly, I don't even know if you deserve this favor. But, out of respect for your son, I'll do it. Still, you could have done better than this. All the sympathy in the world won't take back what you've done."

"Heh, I don't blame you, I just hope you won't hold this against Kurt, he's a good man..." Mystique said, her life finally fading away.

Dante sighed in frustration, "Evil or not, she was still a mother, Kurt's definitely going to be upset about this."

"No doubt," Chris said. "Come on, we still have a mission to finish."

With Yuffie, Noctis was still trying to check on her, "Yuffie, stay with me!"

"Do not bother," Ignis said. "She's gone."

"Damn..." Noctis pitied this poor girl. "So much for watching out for each other."

"Too bad Serena's not here," Erik lamented. "She could have helped."

"What's done is done, the best we can do is not let her death be in vain," Jade said. "Now let's keep fighting."

"Of course," Noctis said, grabbing his sword.

---

Far off, Sunset blasted some enemies from atop a roof, doing her best to help however she could. A few got in close to attack but she quickly used her martial arts training to fend for herself. Using kicks she learned from Chun-Li, strikes she learned from Guile, agility she learned from Cammy to dodge, allowing her to get the upper hand.

Once a bunch were piled together, she cupped her hands to generate magic with her hands, "HADOUKEN!" Mimicking Ryu, she sent the blast at the enemy soldiers, though one got in too close, to which she pulled out a gun and shot it in the face, following suit with a few others, emulating Chris's gun technique.

She eventually pulled out her sword, ready to take some pages out of the books of Dante and Strider and struck many of the enemies down, using her magic occasionally to provide assist.

"This isn't too bad at least, my training's paying off a-AH!" She had been knocked down and dropped her sword. She quickly scurried to grab it as the enemies got close, though she had help when Lady Sif showed up and slew those who threatened her.

"You alright?" Sif asked.

"I'm fine," Sunset said, standing up. "I was trying out some moves I had been taught, figured I could use them in battle."

"Experience makes the best training," Sif said. "Just be careful, after all-"

"Watch out!" Sunset said, gesturing to Loki.

"Sif, so nice to see you," Loki said, sending a massive blast in their direction.

"Watch out!" Sif leapt in front of Sunset and shieled her from the attack, knocking both off the roof.

"How noble," Loki said, landing down before the two. "Your time is up however."

"Not on my watch pal!" Paul shouted, rushing to attack. "Prepare for-!"

Loki whacked him aside, "Fool." Suddenly he took some gunshots from Slate, but they did nothing as the cop was sent flying from Loki's blast.

"Psycho Ball!" Came the voice of Athena as she sent a magic blast at Loki, one that immediately got deflected back at her.

"Ibuki! Go!" Makoto shouted.

"Got it!" Ibuki said, the two jumping into attack. However both girls were immediately dealt with by Loki and his magic.

"Got you now," Came the voice of Velvet as she tried to grab Loki with her Daemon arm. The God blocked her attempt, taking her by surprise, "I'm not done yet!" She tried to stab Loki with her wrist sword but he deflected that too and sent her flying.

"You really pulled a lot from these other worlds, haven't you?" Loki said to Sunset.

"Sunset, get to a safe distance," Sid said, pulling her sword out. "Now! Go!"

"But..." Sunset was hesitant to leave.

"I'll keep him distracted!" Sif tried to strike Loki, but in one fell swoop, he had sliced her left arm completely off, the woman crying out in pain.

"Sif!" Sunset shouted in concern.

"Foolish girl, of course what can I expect from one of Thor's friends?" Loki taunted. Sunset, despite the hesitation, tried to make a run for it, but Loki appeared before her with his magic. "Don't go so soon."

Sunset took a step back, breathing heavily as she pulled out her sword, "Stay back!"

Loki whacked it away. She pulled her gun out but that got whacked away too. He was about to strike down when Cammy came in with a Drill Kick to his back.

"I won't let you harm her!" Cammy went to attack again but Loki had brought out a blade and jammed it through her chest, Cammy coughing up blood as she fell lifeless to the ground.

"NOOOO!!!" Sunset shouted in grief. "CAMMY!"

"That could have been avoided if you weren't behaving like a fool," Loki said, aiming his blade. "Now for you."

Sunset began to panic, everyone was getting hurt or dying, and she felt so powerless to do anything to stop it. "No, I have to try harder, there must be something that I can do!"

In a moment of desperation, she began opening more and more portals across the multiverse, desperate to bring in the strongest warriors she could possibly find. This sudden boost of magic was felt by Doctor Strange, who knew what Sunset was planning.

"She can't! If she goes through with this plan, it could lead to the destruction of our worlds!" Strange had to find and stop Sunset, but within time, it would prove to be too late.

Sunset had opened portals accessing many parts of the multiverse, taking Loki by surprise. "What is this sorcery!"

Many warriors began to appear, the first being the Jedi Knight, Luke Skywalker, who looked around in confusion, "How strange."

Next came the wizarding prodigy from Hogwarts, Harry Potter, "This is unusual magic."

Next was the elf warrior from Middle Earth, Legolas, "What's happening?" Aragon!? Gimli!? Are you nearby!?"

Next was the Hidden Leaf Ninja Naruto, who was currently eating some ramen when he noticed his situation, "Uh...is this real, or some type of Genjutsu? I could have sworn I was at Ichiraku's Ramen just now."

Next was the half Viltrumite Superhero, that being Mark Grayson, better known as Invincible, "What's going on!?"

Nearby was another Superhero in red, white and blue, Japan's Top Hero, All Might, "Uh...I guess I am here now...wherever this is."

Next was the Captain of the Black Pearl, Jack Sparrow, "Is there any treasure?"

Then came the archeologist extraordinaire, Indiana Jones, "This does not look like the temple I was exploring."

Loki could not believe what he was seeing, more warriors to worry about, "Sunset you fool, you may have just doomed your new allies."

"Huh?" All Might turned to Loki, "Uh...why do you look familiar, I feel like I've seen you in a book once."

"Silence, I will give you one chance to return to your world, or suffer my wrath," Loki said.

"Ok, I don't know who you are, but you seem like a bad guy," Mark said. "And superheroes like me, we beat up bad guys."

"You a pro hero?" All Might asked. "I don't think I've seen or heard of you."

"I'm kind of new," Mark said. "My dad recently trained me."

"Ah that's great, I'm all for new blood," All Might said. "Who is your father if I may ask?"

Before Mark could answer, Loki spoke up again, "Do you fools want to die!? Begone!"

"You're already getting on my bad side," Naruto said, placing his hands up. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Suddenly there was an army of the ninja boy, taking Loki by surprise, "What is this sorcery!?"

"I'd like to know myself," Luke said, then turned to Loki. "But that can wait until after we rid ourselves of you."

"Dammit!" Loki flew off. "Army! Destroy them!"

Many of the soldiers went after the newcomers, each of them ready to fight.

"I don't know you men, but I trust we're all on the same side," Harry said.

"You trust well," Legolas said, aiming his bow and arrow. "I have fought at Helm’s Deep; I have plenty of experience."

"Never heard of Helm's Deep," Jones said, readying his whip. "I'll be sure to ask about it later."

"Here they come!" Sparrow said, taking out his sword.

"DETROIT SMASH!" All Might shouted, beginning the fight.

Sunset began to run, still summoning different warriors each time she used her magic. Warriors such as Spawn, John Rambo, Robocop, The Terminator, Kratos, Cole MacGrath, Nathan Drake, Gabriel Logan, Kat, Master Chief, Inuyasha, Liu Kang, Solid Snake, Sol Badguy, Ranga, John McClane, Maverick, The Doom Slayer and Shantae.

All of the were initially confused, but none hesitated to fight against the enemies they found themselves facing.

However, with each portal she opened, the more unstable the world became. Cracks started appearing, rifts opening, the world coming apart.

A few enemies lunged at Sunset, the girl instinctively opening more portals, this one summoning the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, all four taking down the enemies in a flash. Sunset found herself ambushed again, this portal summoning Yusuke Urameshi, who used his Spirit Gun to destroy a bunch.

"Sunset!" Strange called, taking a look below. Way too many portals have opened, bringing a bunch of warriors, confused, but still fighting. More rifts began to appear, Strange becoming more and more worried. "I gotta find her!"

Sunset had cornered herself, trying to hide from everything, fear building up as more enemies began to approach, them knowing she's nearby. Sunset had completely lost it, no confidence in herself as the enemies drew near.

Within seconds, they had all been taken out, likely by new arrivals. Sunset saw a hand reach out to her, which she hesitantly took. Looking up she spotted the Man of Steel, Superman.

"Are you alright, Sunset Shimmer?" The Kryptonian said as he helped her up.

"I'm fine, thank you," Sunset said. "Guess I brought you here too, you must want an explanation."

"You bet," Batman said, appearing beside her. "What's going on."

"Why are we in Asgard?" Wonder Woman asked. "From the looks of things, I can tell this is not the Asgard from our world."

"You're right, this is part of Marvel," Sunset said.

"Marvel? So the Thor here is the Avenger Thor," Superman said. "Where is he?"

"Uh, fighting a giant snake," Sunset explained. "I'm sorry about all this, I just wanted to help protect Asgard. I didn't mean to get this carried away summoning everyone here. I panicked and now-"

The world began to shake, taking everyone by surprise across all of Asgard. Thor himself, who had put distance between himself and Jörmungandr, felt worry by this change in development. "No..."

While he was distracted, Jörmungandr tried to sneak up on Thor, this snake being noticed by a nearby Indiana Jones, "You can't be serious, what type of hell is this?"

The serpent was about to strike, but Goku, who had separated from Sephiroth, used his Instant Transmission to appear before him, "KAMEHAMEHA!"

With one blast, the giant snake was vanquished, Thor being appreciative, "Thank you...but what is happening?"

"Wish I knew, things are just getting weird now," Goku said.

"Got that right," Came the voice of his Saiyan rival.

"Vegeta? When did you get here?" Goku asked.

"Whis just came back, did you really think I wouldn't want to be part of this? Hogging this battle to yourself," Vegeta said.

"Sorry, but you were busy, so I just took my opportunity," Goku said.

"You said Whis is back, he did not bring Beerus, did he?" Thor asked.

"No, but don't think he didn't want to come, I heard you messed him up good, his pride is what hurts the most though," Vegeta said.

"Not my problem," Thor said. "Asgard is still in danger, we must act quickly."

One more portal began to open, this one nearby Sonic, who had a smug look upon who he saw. "Well look who's here."

Indeed it was Sonic's rival Mario, alongside others from his world such as his brother Luigi, Link, Samus, Pikachu, Pit, Marth, Shulk, The Inklings, Little Mac, Chrom, Lucina, Robin, Rex, Pyra, Corrin, Min Min and Byleth.

"Wait, where's Kirby?" Tails asked.

"Uh, why are you asking?" Sonic asked.

"Because he could easily swallow up a lot of our enemies, making things so much easier for us," Tails said.

"We don't know where he is, sorry," Shulk said.

"Well you're here, so maybe you can help us save Asgard," Sonic said.

"Asgard?" Pit looked ahead, amazed by the sight. "Wow, the Legendary Asgard, feels so much different than Olympus."

"Seems like our help is needed," Chrom said. "Come on, lets save all we can."

Everyone agreed and rushed out to help, unaware that a Jigglypuff had also found her way here. The little creature looked around, trying to figure out her next move.

---

Jin himself looked a bit worried, the rifts were opening up everywhere, and some places were getting affected by it, "This isn't what I signed up for."

"Jin!" Xiaoyu called. "This world, it's-"

"Coming apart, I know," Jin said. "That Sunset woman might know what's happening, maybe she or that sorcerer can fix this."

"Good idea, come on, lets go find them," Xiaoyu said.

Also nearby Cloud and Tifa were fighting with assistance from Squall, the latter using his gunblade to its fullest while Cloud make quick work of his materia.

"We gotta find Yuffie and Barrett, I'm getting really worried about them," Tifa said.

"Lets focus on getting out of our own danger," Cloud said.

"Exactly, we can't help them if we can't help ourselves," Squall said.

A few more enemies ran to attack, but they were taken out with some fireballs, surprising the trio.

"Someone helped us out," Cloud said.

"Look!" Tifa said.

Nearby was the Keyblade wielding warrior, Sora, the boy doing a quick salute to Cloud and company before dashing off to fight more enemies.

"Well that worked out, come on, lets hurry," Squall said.

Loki had completely lost his temper, sending down blasts everywhere he could see, wanting to be rid of all those in his way, especially the newcomers, "Blast, I am so close to fulfilling my plans, I will not let this calamity hinder my progress!"

---

Sunset had rushed across Asgard with the Big Three of DC, then came across some enemies. Just as they were about to fight them off, Doctor Strange showed up and immediately decimated them, the Sorcerer looking furious.

"Oh, hi Stephen," Sunset nervously said. "How are-"

"Save it! I know what you did!" Strange scolded. "You deliberately disobeyed me and started summoning world after world here, all different warriors from the across the multiverse, creating a massive rift that I warned you could possibly happen! Did I not tell you about the Incursion."

"I mean, kind of, but I had to do something, people on our side were dying," Sunset said.

"So to counter that, you did something even more dangerous than what Loki was doing? That's poor logic Sunset!" Strange scolded. "I mean just a minute ago, I saw the freaking Power Rangers fighting those enemies! That's not supposed to be happening!"

"Doctor Strange, with all due respect, Sunset did not mean any harm," Superman said.

"But she did cause harm," Batman said, surprising Superman. "Her heart was in the right place, but I agree with Doctor Strange, she did not handle things well."

"Thank you, Batman," Strange said. "Sunset, there's still a chance to fix this, but you need to do what I say, starting with sending everyone back before-"

Within seconds, more trouble began to emerge, but this time, from a local threat. In the distance was the Fire Giant, Sutur, clinging to Odin's castle and surprising everyone present.

"What in the world!?" Sunset shouted in concern.

"NO!" Thor shouted in dismay. "Sutur has come!"

Also seeing this was Chris, who alerted Dante and Regina to the situation, "That can't be good."

"Well we're probably screwed now," Dante said.

Even many of the nearby guardians were concerned, given that they had recently gotten separated from their Square allies in some chaos.

"What do we do now?" Regina asked.

"Quill, do you have a plan?" Drax asked.

"I sure do," Quill brought out his music player. "Guys, huddle up!"

"Huh?" Dante saw the Guardians coming together. "Should we..."

"Sure, why not, let's go," Chris said, huddling with the team.

"Now I know things look bleak, but we didn't become the warriors we are because things were easy, we became those warriors because we refused to give up in the face of adversity. The toughest battles are what separates us from the weak, so I ask you, are we weak!?"

"Flark no!" Rocket said.

"There is nothing we cannot handle!" Drax said.

"Damn right there isn't," Gamora agreed.

"I am Groot."

"Capcom, you guys seem tough, I can look at you and tell you got the bravery to get through anything," Quill said. "Will you fight with us?"

"To the end," Chris said.

"Of course," Regina agreed.

"Wow, you're a pretty damn good speaker," Dante said.

"Alright, it's time to be a Hero!" Quill said, playing his radio as he and his team began taking out whatever enemy remained on the battlefield.

Quill flew around blasting them with his guns, Dante used his Stylish Combos, Chris ket up his momentum in eliminating enemies with his various firearms, Gamora slayed them with her sword, Drax used his full strength to destroy his opponents, everyone did their best to fight their hardest, not just to save Asgard, but remind themselves who the best is.

---

Meanwhile Loki was fighting off Volnutt, X and Zero, the two doing their best to bring down the God of Chaos.

"You guys got this! Don't let up!" the older Roll said.

X and Volnutt sent a massive blast at Loki, nearly sending him flying, this just enraging the God. "I grow tired of this."

"GENMU ZERO!" Zero sent a massive beam at Loki, but he whacked through it and sent a massive blast at the opposing robot.

"Zero!" X knocked his friend out the way, taking the hit himself, completely destroying him.

"NO!" Zero shouted in despair.

"X!" Volnutt was ready to strike, but Zero had sent him flying, damaging the robot.

"Mega Man!" His friend rushed to help. "Mega Man, are you alright!?"

"You fools bore me," Loki said. An enraged Zero went to strike but he was grabbed from mid-air and sent flying towards Volnutt and Roll. Lamenting, he looked up at the impending destruction, "I really would have liked to have taken over before Sutur arrived. Time to call everyone back." He began to make contact, "Team, our mission is in jeopardy, everyone come back together."

"On our way," Sephiroth replied. He spotted Tempest still battling Chun-Li. Moving in fast, Sephiroth had knocked the woman away with his sword hilt. "Let's go."

"Yes sir," Tempest said. "Loki, we are coming your direction."

"Halt!" An injured Valkyrie ordered. Sephiroth merely charged up his flare and sent it right at the Pegasus warrior, effectively ending her existence as he and Tempest kept moving.

"Better make this quick," Akuma replied, walking past a pile of defeated warriors.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," Storm King began moving as well.

Not too far off, Fenrir Wolf was standing over the injured Odin, "I will be there at once father." He began to leave when Odin called out to him.

"I'm not...done yet," Odin said, rising to his feet.

"You are strong, grandfather," Fenrir said, then used his blades to punch through Odin. "But I am stronger."

Odin's shout of pain was heard by Thor, "Was that my father!?"

"Huh?" Goku tried sensing for Odin's energy. "I found him." He quickly placed his hands on Thor and Vegeta, then used his Instant Transmission to bring the Thunder God to Fenrir and the injured Odin. "Oh no!"

"FATHER!" An enraged Thor readied some electricity and blasted Fenrir back. He leapt up and slammed his hammer to the ground, "MIGHTY THUNDER!"

Lightning began emerging from the ground in incredible burst, electrocuting Fenrir as Thor sent one more attack to completely vanquish his villainous nephew. "Father! I failed!"

"Fenrir!?" Loki got no response, he knew his son was dead. "Damn you Thor!"

Nearby Thor was checking on Odin, his father having taken a fatal blow, "Father..."

"Hang on, I might have a Sensu Bean," Goku said.

"It is pointless, I am not long for this world, Valhalla awaits me," Odin said. "Thor, my son...You must protect Asgard as its new King."

"But father, Asgard is falling, who's to say our home can even be rebuilt after all this damage?" Thor said.

"My son, Asgard is not just the land," Odin said, confusing his son. "Asgard is the people we protect. We can always rebuild, but the foundation of a Kingdom, is the King and its subjects. You will do well, have faith."

"Father..." Thor tearfully lamented as his father's life force faded away.

"I'm sorry, your father was a brave warrior, but as hard as it is, you have to keep fighting, your Kingdom depends on you now, Thor," Goku said.

"Be honored you got to see your father's final moments, that is something I could not experience for myself," Vegeta said. "I lost my Kingdom, but yours can still be saved, get to it!"

"I shall," Thor said, gripping his hammer. "For Asgard!" He and the two Saiyans flew toward the castle where Loki and his team were meeting up.

---

Various heroes did their best to stop the two, Legolas shooting his bow and arrows at Loki.

"Nice shot," Rambo said, assisting with his own bow and arrows.

"You too warrior," Legolas said.

"Begone!" Loki sent a blast at the two.

Spawn attempted to flank him, but Tempest stood in his way. "Lady, you do not want a piece of this."

She went to attack but Spawn sidestepped and knocked her aside. Sephiroth however rushed in with a sword strike to his sides, sending him flying.

Harry tried blasting them with his wand, Storm King put up a shield and knocked Harry away, while Sephiroth used his magic to send the Ninja Turtles flying.

"Hey, come on!" Came Terry, the martial artist standing before Loki.

"You can't be serious," Loki said.

"I'm very serious pal," Terry said, readying his attack. "BUSTAH-"

Loki blocked and sent Terry flying, "Imbecile."

Akuma fended off Rashid and Joe, the two wind users failing to overpower the demon while Sephiroth fought away Lightning and 2B. Even Sora tried and failed to take down Sephiroth, with Tempest being the one to knock him away.

Kratos then stepped forward, wielding his Leviathan Axe, ready to strike, "You are not the Loki I expected to see, but like the Gods of Olympus, you will meet your demise!"

"I am to believe you've gone against the likes of Zeus?" Loki asked.

Pit landed beside Kratos, "How about a guy who's fought against Medusa AND Hades!?"

"Boy, leave," Kratos said.

"H-hey, we're on the same side here," Pit said. "I've fought Gods before!"

"Listen you...watch out!" Kratos and Pit leapt back when Sutur tried to punch down at them. In the skies above, Goku and Vegeta rushed in to attack the Fire Giant, hoping to repel him.

"At least those Saiyans are proving somewhat useful," Loki said. "Now then..."

"Loki!" Thor called, the God stepping over with many of his allies.

"Thor...so you're still alive," Loki said. "I had hoped that Jörmungandr would have finished you off."

"He's dead," Thor confirmed, surprising Loki. "As is our father."

"Well...losing my son is not pleasant, but...to know Odin has fallen, almost makes it worth it," Loki said. "At the very least, I can go visit Hela, perhaps make a deal with her."

"You will be doing no such thing!" Thor shouted, aiming his hammer. "This ends now!"

The God leapt up and slapped his hammer against Loki's staff as his allies rushed to attack. Ryu went straight for Akuma, the two once again clashing their fists to determine what makes true strength, light or darkness. Cloud and Sephiroth had reignited their old rivalry, clashing their swords, one wanting to end a rivalry, the other wanting a good fight.

Even Sunset started doing battle against Tempest, the dimension traveler stuck mainly to her martial arts training to keep things from getting worse while Strange tried subdue The Storm King with his magic.

"I remember you, yeah you're the guy who interfered with my plan to take over Mount Aris!" Storm King said. "I'm so gonna destroy you for that!"

"Not happening," Strange said, using is magic to knock the Staff of Sacanus away. "How did someone like you even become King?"

"I had my ways," Storm King said, grabbing some dirt and trying to blind Strange, but the wizard blocked it easily and sent The Storm King flying. "You know what, forget this, I'm out of here. This is so not worth relying on irresponsible allies to take over. Gonna call my guards and..."

"King!" Tempest kicked Sunset away. "We can't surrender yet, we must not leave until the battle is won."

"Sorry, I have plans of my own," Storm King said, bringing some guards over. "You stay and die if you want, I'm going back to Equestria."

"Wait, what about my horn!?" Tempest asked.

"Not my problem!" Storm King said, trying make his escape.

"Wait! You promised!" Tempest called.

As Storm King tried to make a run for it, Vegeta appeared before him, the Saiyan not looking happy, "Uh, weren't you just fighting-"

"BIG BANG ATTACK!" Vegeta immediately did away with the Storm King, his crown sent flying towards Sephiroth, who grabbed it while still parrying a strike from Cloud.

Above, Goku was still fighting Sutur, but with help from Superman and Wonder Woman. "This guy's tough."

"Keep fighting!" Superman ordered.

"Asgard...will...FALL!" Sutur blasted the opposition back, this startling everyone below.

"Perhaps The Storm King had the right idea, this is not working out well," Loki said.

"Loki! Eyes on me!" Thor went for another strike, but Loki blocked and blasted Thor back.

"Sorry brother, but plans have changed," Loki said.

"I don't think so," Thor zapped Loki, about to go in with his hammer again, but Sephiroth blocked the strike with his sword. He leapt back alongside Loki, with Akuma joining him, as well as Tempest, who had gotten her hands on the Staff of Sacanas.

All four jumped at Thor as he held up his hammer. Loki struck the hammer with his Tesseract Staff while Sephiroth struck with his Murusama, Tempest with her own staff and Akuma with his bare hands, the might of all four immediately destroying Mjölnir from the impact.

Thor could not believe his hammer was shattered, the shock gave Loki a chance to blast Thor back, along with all the opposing warriors.

"I shall see you another time, brother," Loki warped what remained of his team to his ship, calling upon any surviving solider to join them.

Thor slowly rose to his feet, "Mjölnir...it is no more..."

The rifts began cracking open, more dimensions opening as the risk of more invasion began to seem likely. It was no longer heroes on their way over, now there ran the risk of villains as Sutur readied to deal a massive blow.

"Strange...what's going on!?" Goku asked.

"They're all coming through..." a worried Strange said ."I don't think I can stop it!"

"We need to retreat!" Vegeta said. "Everyone, make haste!"

The warriors began making a run for it, Sunset contacting everyone she came across, "Run! Flee Asgard before it's too late!"

"Get them to the ships!" Quill said.

"Is it going to fit everyone!?" Dante asked.

"I...don't know," Quill said.

Sunset looked to her hands, "Well, maybe I can open some portals to-"

"No! No more!" Strange said.

"But..." Sunset protested.

"My ship is big, it should fit plenty," Beta Ray Bill said.

"Hey! What about the other Asgardians!?" Chris asked.

"We have them!" Volstagg said, helping several of them flee. "Those other heroes are helping too!"

"This way ma'am," Mark said, assisting a woman with her children.

"I will get you to safety," Legolas said, to a group of girls who were happily following him.

"Quick! This way!" Sora said, helping some kids.

"You got this, come on," Terry said, assiting an injured solider.

"Come with me boys," Morrigan said, leading some men.

"Keep moving!" Squall ordered.

"We shall keep looking for more," Fandral said.

Sunset continued running, bothered by the rifts, "This wasn't supposed to happen..."

"Focus on escaping," Chun-Li said. "Worry about what happened later."

"An army blocks our path!" Drax said, gesturing to some remaining rock giants and trolls.

"I got this," Strange used a magic disc to cut through the enemies. A few got in too close but both Jin and Yuri teamed up to take them down.

"RASENGAN!" Naruto took an enemy out with his signature attack. "Got you!"

"Nice work," Mark said, high fiving the ninja.

"Die you bastards!" Spencer shouted, firing away at the enemies, using his Bionic Arm to whack a bunch back.

"TEXAS SMASH!" All Might said, knocking a bunch of enemies out of the way.

"That guy looks like a beast," Quill said.

"What do you mean? He is clearly Terran like you are," Drax said, Quill pitifully eying the oblivious Kylosian.

Not too far off, Whis was seen waiting by his cube, waving everyone over, "Oh greetings, how was the battle?"

"Dude, seriously!?" Dante asked.

"Once we fill the ships, we will locate on a nearby planet!" Strange instructed as everyone began boarding the various ships, focusing on getting the civilians on first before anything. Fortunately many of them survived thanks to the efforts of the heroes, little to no casualties. A bunch were placed in Whis's cube, while others were split between Bill's Ship and The Guardians'.

This meant more boarding but it was worth it as the heroes and warriors helped the civilians on board, but a few seemed to be missing.

"Where's Yuffie!?" Cloud asked.

"Cammy!? Are you nearby!?" Chun-Li asked. "Wait, where's Guile!?"

"Carlos!" Jill called.

"Where is Valkyrie?" Thor asked. "And Heimdall? Why haven't they come!?"

Sunset had a somber look in her eyes, wondering just how many may have fallen today, and wondering how much of it may have been her fault. She didn't have time to think much, Sutur had finished charging his energy, the land of Asgard about to be destroyed.

"We gotta fly!" Dante called.

"Wait, there's more coming!" Sif pointed out, gesturing to The Warriors Three and an injured Guile with a few other injured soldiers.

"We can't wait..." Strange said. "We have to go."

"No! We can't let them die!" Sunset said, readying her magic. "I'll just-"

With one strike, the land of Asgard was engulfed in flames and despite Sunset's efforts, she could not make a portal in time to save anyone else down below.

"GUILE!" Chun-Li shouted in despair.

"NO!" Sif shouted as well, seeing three of her finest warriors and friends engulfed in the flames as well.

Everyone else present on Bill's ship felt a solemn silence, the Capcom Warriors and The Square Warriors mourning their fallen comrades. Carols was gone, Guile was gone, Cammy, Yuffie, Cid, Vincent, Hayato, Saotome, X, alongside the Asgardian Warriors such as Volstagg, Fandral, Hogun, Balder, Valkyrie, Heimdall and King Odin. This probably not counting whomever may have perished from the other worlds.

With that, it was all over. The City of Asgard had fallen, Ragnarok had come and go. Despite that, Thor took pride in the efforts he made to protect his people, and wherever he rebuilt, it would still be Asgard, and he would still be their King, for now, they must recover from battle.

As they thought this over, another portal opened, a woman stepped that that Strange immediately recognized, "Clea?"

"Stephen, seems like we have a lot to discuss," the woman said.

---

While this was going down, another battle was commencing in Equestria, the fall out of Tony Stark's Accords matched against Steve Rogers's rebellion had taken its toll, heroes having picked a side and a grand battle was under way.

This was a Friendship Problem even Twilight Sparkle could not fix, the girl battling herself while Peter had his new suit on, ready for battle himself.

"Time to end this."

Author's Notes:

A lot of cameos here. Don't expect them to play too large a role in the end, just showing off the multiverse.

Final Conflict of The Accords

In Equestria, Mayday was seen staring out the Balcony, wondering what was going to happen. She knows her dad's out there, ready to end the conflict, and hopefully bring everyone home. She wanted to see for herself how this was going to go down.

Downstairs she heard what sounded like her uncle talking to Starlight, "I have to do something, I don't trust that woman with my wife!"

"Sounds like something Peter's said, not to mention that Apple Bloom would wholeheartedly agree," Starlight was heard saying. "Anyway we'll be happy to watch over your daughter for the moment."

"I have to make this fast, my Kingdom is unattended, but if I don't do something, all of Equestria will be in danger," Shining Armor said. "I'll be back later."

"Bye daddy," She heard Flurry say as he dashed out of the house.

Mayday called to him back from the Balcony," Uncle Shining!"

Shining Armor turned to Mayday, "Hi Mayday! I'd love to talk but I have to go help your mom and aunt!"

"Be careful! That Captain Marvel mare is really mean!" Mayday said.

"I know! I'll be fine, don't worry about a thing!" Shining Armor said, dashing off.

She heard a knock on her door, it was Franklin, "Mayday, your cousin's here."

"I heard," Mayday said, making her way to the door and downstairs. She spotted her cousin Flurry Heart speaking with Starlight.

"Your daddy won't take long, he’s just assisting in a...Friendship Problem," Starlight said. "A really long and complicated Friendship Problem."

"Okay Miss Glimmer," Flurry said, taking the explanation well.

"Why don't you go play with Mayday? She's here with a friend," Starlight said. "Meanwhile I still have to check things regarding Twilight's school."

"Wow, I'm surprised she even has a friend given how much of a loner she is," Flurry said, Mayday furrowing her brow.

"We'll keep a close eye on Flurry, that way the school thing won't be too much of a burden," Apple Bloom said.

"I appreciate that," Starlight said. "I gotta go check now, and make sure the students are doing fine."

"We'll keep things in order here," Apple Bloom said. "See you in a bit."

As Starlight left, Flurry took note of her cousin, "Oh, Mayday's here!"

"Hi Flurry," Mayday said, still a bit crossed by Flurry's prior remark.

"Perfect timing, Mayday, you don't mind entertaining Flurry do ya?" Apple Bloom asked. "Ah gotta adjust some meal plans."

"Sure, I'd be fine with that," Mayday said. "Frankie and I can entertain her."

"Wow, you're actually being hospitable, are you the real Mayday Parker-Sparkle?" Flurry teased.

"Don't sass me, come on," Mayday said, going upstairs with Flurry following.

"Such a good kid, now with Scootaloo and Dinky getting some supplies, Trixie and Autumn watching over Benjy and Aunt May taking care of Hope, this will give me, Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara more time to cook," Apple Bloom said, then heard a ruckus in the kitchen.

"Apple Bloom! Something went wrong!" Diamond Tiara said, much to Apple Bloom's annoyance.

"The downside to servants is that you never learn to do nothing for yerself," Apple Bloom said, making her way into the kitchen.

Upstairs, Flurry had gone into Mayday's room with Franklin, taking a quick look around, "Your room's always so tidy."

"Thank my mom for that," Mayday said. "So, Uncle Shining's off to Canterlot?"

"Yeah, he's mad at Ms. Danvers for some reason," Flurry said. "I mean, they don't normally talk to each other, but each time it always seems like she's giving him a look, and I think my dad hates that look."

"Well who wouldn't, that Carol lady just isn't nice," Mayday said.

"Really? She seemed nice to me, and to my mom," Flurry said.

"She hurt Rumble and Au...pple Bloom, she's mean!" Mayday said.

"Even my parents don't seem too fond of her," Franklin said. "Uncle Johnny thinks the real Carol's been replaced by a Skrull."

"You know, daddy and the others are out there, ready to fight, and I kind of want to see what happens," Mayday said. "I hate staying here and not knowing."

"Well not much we can do about it," Flurry said.

Mayday's eyes widened, a devilish smirk etching across her face, "Or is there?"

"Mayday...what are you planning," Franklin cautiously asked.

The young filly leapt onto her bed, triumphantly posing , "Alright lackeys, who's ready for a trip to Canterlot?"

"First off, don't call us your 'lackeys'," Franklin said. "Second, what are you even going on about?"

"We can fly down to Canterlot and see the heroes meet up!" Mayday said. "We'll be able to know for sure what's happening!"

"But why though?" Flurry asked. "We'd be safer here."

"My daddy could be in danger, I have to be there in case he needs me," Mayday said.

"Mayday, that's nice, but what can you do?" Franklin asked. "You're only eight."

"There's plenty I can do, with this," Mayday said, pressing a button. Within seconds, her glider her appeared out her window, surprising the two kids.

"Your Spider Glider?" Franklin asked.

"Eh, not sure if I'll use spider, my dad uses that name so much it gets tiring," Mayday said.

"Well, he's called 'Spider-Mane', spiders are kind of his thing," Flurry said.

"I know, but does it have to only be spiders?" Mayday asked. "I'm thinking...Arachna-Glider."

"Well, whatever you wanna call it, how is it gonna help?" Franklin asked.

"It has some webbing built into it, I'm hoping to add more like fire, ice and kinetic energy, like Johnny, Bobby and Remy, make it a combination of my dad's abilities and all of his friends," Mayday said. "With this, we can easily go to Canterlot, and check up on my daddy, and provide help if he needs it. Plus...he's using his new suit and I really wanna see him kick butt with it."

"You can't fight Mayday, it's against the rules," Flurry said. "Carol said one day she's gonna throw all rule breakers into Tartarus."

"You really think any of them will send a little girl into Tartarus? No one's that cruel," Mayday said. "But all the more reason my dad should win, to end that silly rule. Heroes are supposed to use their powers to keep the world safe, getting mad at that is just plain silly."

"Well, some powers are dangerous, so I kind of understand why Mr. Stark made these rules," Franklin said.

"Frankie, level with me on this," Mayday said. "If someone knows their powers are dangerous, and they're good, they'll try to control it. If it's an evil person and their powers are dangerous, you think a few silly laws will stop them from using those dangerous powers?"

"Uh..." Franklin scratched his head. "I mean...wow, that's a good point."

"It's common sense, which according to Deadpool, is the greatest superpower in the world," Mayday said. "Anyway, enough dawdling, I'm flying to Canterlot, which one of you are coming with me?"

"I'll go, if to keep you from doing something stupid," Franklin said.

"I'll go too, it sounds fun," Flurry said.

"Give me a second," Mayday said, grabbing a pen and paper, writing something down quickly.

"What is that?" Franklin asked.

"A note for my foalsitters, just so that they know where I'm going and don't have to worry," Mayday said.

"Wow, that's considerate of you," Flurry said as Mayday finished writing.

"Alright, let's get flying then," Mayday said, hopping on her glider, Franklin and Flurry doing the same. "Hang on tight!"

The girl flew her glider out the balcony and in the direction of Canterlot. However, she immediately ran into a small problem.

"Halt!" Came the voice of a Patroller Robot. "Remove yourselves from that mechanical device immediately."

"Ugh, not this piece of junk again," Mayday said. "Hey, move out the way, we have a showdown to catch."

"Return to your home, failure to comply will result in action," the robot said.

"What, you're gonna beat us up or something?" Mayday asked. "Do you know who I am?"

"A spoiled rotten little filly who best be getting back home," the robot said.

Mayday furrowed her brow at the robot, "What was that?"

"Get back home this instant, you little shrimp," the robot said.

"Shrimp!?" Mayday shouted in annoyance.

"Uh, why is this robot being mean?" Flurry asked.

"Probably Tony Stark's programming, no way my dad would have done this," Franklin said.

"Look you, move out our way, this is your last warning," Mayday said. The robot immediately wrapped the three in a net and dropped them down below.

"Ow!" Mayday shouted in agony. "Stupid robot!"

"Good thing the ground was close," Franklin said.

"This is no way to treat a Princess," Flurry said.

The robot lowered down to the trio, "What now, flesh beings?"

"This robot's ticking me off," Franklin said.

"Go home puny foals, or I'll tell yo mamas!" the robot said.

Mayday glared at the metallic being, "Look you, my daddy's out and about to be part of what could be one of the biggest battles in Equestria, I need to be there, because he's using this super awesome suit that he's been building for the last few days, and I need to see it out in the field, preferably using it to beat the snot out of some miserable old lady who thinks she's the best hero in the world! Newsflash lady, you're nothing compared to daddy, and I'm going to be there to see it, now MOVE!"

The robot then shot a paintball in Mayday's face, "Take that runt." Mayday completely lost her temper and punched the robot hard to knock it over, then grabbed a wrench and completely wailed on it, the robot calling out pain. "Danger! Danger! Robot in need of assistance!"

"AIN'T NO ONE HELPING YOU OUT! BITCH!" Mayday continued assaulting the robot, to the terror of Franklin and Flurry.

"I've never seen her this violent!" Franklin said. "Have you?"

"Not me, she usually talks tough, I've never seen her back it up," Flurry said, turning away from the destruction.

Mayday was seen huffing and puffing afterwards, then found herself getting dizzy, "What's happening...?" Suddenly she could some ringing in her head, almost as if the adrenaline rush was too much for her and she nearly fell over.

"Mayday!" Franklin caught her before she fell. "Hey, are you alright?"

"I'm...fine," Mayday insisted. "Come on, lets get back on the glider."

"Are you sure about that, seems like what happened took a lot out of you," Franklin said.

"I'm fine! Don't worry about me, just get on the glider," Mayday ordered.

"Gee wilikers!", came Cozy Glow's voice. "What could have happened here?"

"Not you..." Mayday lamented.

"Aw, I thought you liked me, don't you remember the fun times together?" Cozy Glow asked.

"Hey, take a hike," Franklin said. "We don't need you causing trouble."

"Franklin, that's not very nice," Flurry said. "She's just being friendly."

"Oh golly! Are you...Princess Flurry Heart!?" Cozy Glow asked.

"That's me, the daughter of Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor, Princess Flurry Heart of The Crystal Empire," the filly said.

"It's such an honor to meet the only known pony to be born an Alicorn," Cozy Glow said. "Oh, I wish I were an Alicorn, I could do such neat things."

"Well you can, just make lots of friends, it worked for Auntie Twilight," Flurry Heart said.

"Oh I plan on it, I already have six good friends whom I love very much," Cozy Glow said.

"Pretty sure they all hate you," Mayday said. "Even the ones nice to you probably hate you, I mean, you're kind of annoying."

"Mayday! Cut that out!" Flurry scolded. "You're gonna hurt her feelings."

"It's fine, it's just her way of venting, your poor cousin doesn't have a lot of friends, and it makes me sad because her mom runs a Friendship school, but how can she be a teacher and the Princess of Friendship if her own daughter isn't the friendliest pony possible," Cozy Glow said.

"I have Franklin," Mayday said. "I don't need to be surrounded by a bunch of fakes like you are, you and the rest of the students in this school can buzz off for all I care, if you neophytes need a school to make friends then I worry for the future of Equestria."

"Neophytes!?" came the voice of Toola Roola, alongside Coconut Cream. "Did you call us 'Neophytes'?"

"That's so mean!" Coconut Cream said.

"Do you even know what that means?" Mayday asked.

"No, but it sounds mean," Toola Roola said.

Mayday rolled her eyes in annoyance, "This is why I don't like talking to ponies, or any creature for that matter. Too much drama."

"Now we're dramatic? How can you be so mean!" Toola Roola said. "Hey, everypony, this filly's being mean and insulting our school!"

"Someone's being mean?"

"That isn't nice."

"She needs to learn Friendship."

"Oh, lets teach her, just like Princess Twilight would!"

Many ponies began coming over, this getting the attention of Sandbar, Gallus and Yona.

"What's going on?" Gallus asked.

"Not sure, but we should check it out before things get bad," Sandbar said. "Let’s hurry."

Many of the ponies began surrounding the trio of foals, much to their discomfort, especially Mayday.

"Alright, all of you really need to step off!" Mayday warned. "Don't you know who I am!?"

"Should we?" a magenta looking stallion asked.

"I'm Twilight Sparkle's daughter!" Mayday shouted.

"Oh yeah, she is," Rainbow Harmony said. "Wow, and you're not friendly? That's a bit strange."

"Well I'm sure we can help her," a turquoise mare with a blue mane said. "Come on, let's teach her about Friendship."

"Not interested!" Mayday said.

"Oh come now, everyone's interested in Friendship, what type of pony wouldn't be?" Toola Roola asked.

"One who's free to make her own choices, I don't need help from a bunch of second-rate dilettantes!" Mayday said.

"Golly she uses big words," Cozy Glow said, then used this moment to sneak away. "Still, perfect distraction, now to go and see if Martin is still nearby."

All the ponies began to surround Mayday, all of them talking to her at once, trying to get her to come with them to teach her about Friendship. The filly's heart began pounding fast, sweat forming on her head as she began to hold it in pain. For some reason the buzzing in her head was getting worse, all the voices turning into echoes as she started to visibly panic.

Flurry noticed that Mayday looked bothered, so she blinded everyone with her light, allowing the kids to leave. Once everyone recovered, they looked around in confusion.

"Where did Mayday go?" a yellow filly asked.

"There," Yona said, gesturing to the distance.

"Wow, we really did freak her out, didn't we," Rainbow Harmony said.

"That girl's such a weirdo sometimes, I mean even I wouldn't panic when talking to people," Gallus said.

"This could explain why she doesn't go to school, she's just really unsocial," Sandbar said.

"So, no friend for us?" Yona asked.

"Guess not," Sandbar said.

"That girl's going to end up really lonely," Gallus said. "Still, it is a shame. How can a very hi-profile superhero and a Princess of Friendship raise such an anti-social daughter?"

"No offense dude, but isn't Griffonstone full of anti-social griffons?" Sandbar asked.

"That's been our culture for years because we didn't have a Princess of Friendship reaching out to us," Gallus said. "Mayday is a pony who not only has parents who are good at making friends, but personally knows the teachers, so what's her excuse? That little panic moment?"

"She probably got claustrophobic, like you get," Sandbar said.

"That was not claustrophobia, that was friendship-phobia," Gallus said.

"That's not even a real thing," Sandbar said.

"Hey, what's happening out here!?" Jubilee asked, making her way over with Kitty and Hisako.

"A little run in with Mayday Parker-Sparkle," Gallus said.

"I really hope none of you caused trouble for her," Jubilee said. "You know she's sensitive."

"Yeah, that's obvious," Gallus said.

"Alright, back to the school dorms," Kitty instructed, leading everyone back to the School of Friendship.

---

Meanwhile Apple Bloom had come upstairs, "Hey kids, ah made something for ya." She looked around the room, "Kids, where'd y'all go?" She saw the note Mayday left and read it, "Dear Apple Bloom, off to Canterlot to see daddy fight, be back later, save me some pancakes. Love, Mayday." She put the paper down, "Alright well if they'll be back later then...wait a minute!" She looked back at the paper. "THEY'RE GONE!?"

Next came a scream so loud that it startled half the town, and especially everyone in the house.

"That can't be good," Scootaloo said.

Trixie came out of the kitchen with Autumn Blaze, the unicorn looking a bit annoyed, "What's with all the yelling?"

Apple Bloom rushed downstairs, "Big problem, Mayday left with the kids!"

"Come again!?" Trixie asked.

"She did WHAT!?" Scootaloo asked.

"That's terrible!" Silver Spoon said.

"So, they're not going to be eating?" Diamond Tiara asked, getting some glares. "What? I literally just cooked for them, I have a right to ask!"

"We gotta find them!" Apple Bloom said.

"Yeah, and quick, if Peter finds out his daughter left, we we're probably not gonna get paid!" Dinky said, now being her turn to be on the receiving end of some glares. "Oh come on, I need bits!"

"I will tear you apart!" Apple Bloom warned, freaking out Dinky.

"Wow, if she were a Kirin, she'd be pretty scary," Autumn Blaze said, much to Trixie's annoyance.

"Whoa, easy there Apple Bloom, try not to lose your cool," Scootaloo said, calming her friend. "Let's just hurry and see if they're at the train station."

"Good idea, hopefully Mayday could not have gotten far," Trixie said. "Unless...she took that glider of hers."

"Glider?" Autumn asked.

"This is a bit troubling, I'm going to let Starlight know, you stay here Autumn," Trixie said. "The rest of you girls try to find Mayday."

"Let's hurry!" Apple Bloom said, rushing outside, her friends quickly following.

Trixie sighed in annoyance as she left, "That filly can be such a headache."

"So, I guess I'm holding down the fort...cool," Autumn said, awkwardly looking around. "Wonder if one of the little kids need me?"

Apple Bloom and her friends immediately dashed toward the train station, figuring that the foals would have used that to get to Canterlot. When they got there, they spotted Tender Taps showing off his dance moves for four other old classmates of theres, those being Skedaddle, Kettle Corn, Carrot Crunch and Lily Longsocks.

"It takes practice, but with hard work in can be pulled off at a whim, second nature," Tender Taps said. "Dancing is a good way to express yourself, I'd be more than happy to help anyone interested learn how to be great at it. Maybe Briddleway will give you a call. So, what do you make of my proposal?"

"Well...it's nice, and I would definitely consider it in the future," Kettle Corn said.

"Not sure if I really want to try dancing in front of others, it seems embarrassing," Skedaddle said.

"Stage Fright is tough, I've been through it, but once you get past it, then it's a huge relief," Tender Taps said.

"Yeah but..." Kettle Corn noticed the Crusaders. "Apple Bloom! Scootaloo! And you other girls!"

"Other girls? Do you not know who I am!?" Diamond Tiara asked.

"Not now, Dia," Apple Bloom said, then focused on the others. "Hey, any of y'all seen a little girl come through here?"

"Specifically Spider-Mane's daughter," Scootaloo said.

"I haven't seen her, why?" Tender Taps asked.

"We were supposed to foalsit her, Princess Flurry Heart and a boy named Franklin Richards, but they somehow escaped and are on their way to Canterlot, where a big fight might happen," Apple Bloom said.

"Oh wow, that sounds serious," Tender Taps said. "Wait, how do you know a fight's gonna happen?"

"Remember what Spider-Mane said the other day about the conflict between Captain Equestria and The Iron Stallion?" Scootaloo said. "It might lead to a massive showdown."

"So like, Superhero vs Superhero?" Skedaddle asked. "Wow, that sounds cool! I wonder who would win?"

"Cool? What could be cool about superheroes fighting each other!?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Eh, in a way it can be pretty entertaining to see the heroes duking it out," Dinky said.

"Not when Mayday's going to be nearby!" Apple Bloom said. "We need a train to Canterlot."

"I'll go too, for support," Skeddadle said. "And to see who would win in a fight."

"I'll go too, if to keep Skedaddle out of trouble," Kettle Corn said.

"When do I get into trouble?" Skedaddle asked.

"We couldn't ask any of you to come," Apple Bloom said.

"I have no problems coming too," Tender Taps, affectionately stroking Apple Bloom's chin. "If at least to keep you safe, Apple Bloom."

The filly smacked away the colt's hoof, "Ah have a boyfriend, remember!?"

"Can't blame me for trying," Tender Taps said. "Well at least you got three others to help."

"Carrot, Lily, what about you two?" Scootaloo asked.

"Uh...I don't mind, but Lily might not be interested," Carrot said.

"Lily should come, she can be our muscle," Diamond Tiara said. "If worse comes to worse, she can beat up any of the lousy heroes."

Lily shook her head in denial, Scootaloo quickly coming to her defense, "You know she doesn't like showing off her super strength."

"Hey isn't Spider-Mane all about 'Great Power, Great Responsibility'," Diamond Tiara said. "If she has the power, it's her responsibility to use it."

"Pretty sure that's not the point of his quote!" Scootaloo said.

The train arrived at the station, Apple Bloom immediately boarding it, "Whoever's coming, come, just stay out of trouble!"

"To Canterlot!" Tender Taps said, boarding alongside Kettle Corn and Skedaddle.

Dinky followed next, with Scootaloo, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon right behind them. Eventually both Lily and Carrot decided to join as well, and the train was enroute to Canterlot.

---

Meanwhile at the edge of the Crown City of Equestria, Cap's Team was seen marching toward the city, ready to fight for freedom, for the end of The Accords, and to change Equestria back to normal.

"Today's the day team," Steve said. "If we pull this off, we can put an end to The Accords. If we fail, then we risk terrible consequences. Banishment, Imprisonment, anything Tony or Luna can think of."

"Really adds to the pressure," Sam said. "But that's always how it's been for us. Otherwise we wouldn't be The Avengers."

"I thought you were The Avengers because you 'Avenge' people," Taskmaster said. "Which has always been weird, it implies you wait till something bad happens before you take action, your name implies that tragedy is a necessity."

"You serious?" Sam asked.

"I mean, at least with Spider-Man, annoying as that kid is, he works his ass off to prevent the bad shit from happening, you'se guys don't do much until it actually happens," Taskmaster said.

"Tony, who's side are you on?" Sandman asked.

"I'm just pointing it out, hoping to get you guys to realize that maybe don't wait for anything really bad to happen in the fight before you go all 'Avenger', just go in and do what you can before it escalates," Taskmaster said.

"Weird hearing a villain say this," Janet said.

"Oh sure, label me, that's teamwork," Taskmaster said.

"Enough!" Steve shouted. "Let's not fall apart, otherwise Tony's side will pick us off. But to Taskmaster's point, he's right about one thing, take this as serious as you can, because it is. Go in ready to fight and ready to push back."

"I'm always ready fer that," Logan said.

"We go in, stop Tony however we can, and end the Accords," Steve said.

"And how do you plan to 'stop' him?" Taskmaster asked. "Like, give us something to work with, you do have a plan, don't you?"

"Just leave Tony to me, everyone else, try to keep the others away from us," Steve said.

"Eh, bettah than nothin'. What about you, Sun Princess, you got something in mind?" Taskmaster asked Celestia, the mare just staring off into the distance, seemingly confused and worried about what lay ahead. "Uh, hellooooooo, Earth to Sun Princess!"

"We're not on Earth," Sam said.

"Not the point" Taskmaster said. "Wait, what is the name of this planet anyway?"

"Uh, Equus I think," Steve said.

"You think? We've been on some unnamed planet for how long now?" Taskmaster asked.

"Hey until last year, I honestly thought it was called 'Equestria'," Janet said. "Then again, this could just be Earth, just in like the far future where ponies replaced humans. I mean it would explain a lot of the city names like Manehattan and Baltimare."

"That's just plain weird," Taskmaster said, then focused on Celestia. "Yo! Sun Princess!"

"Huh?" Celestia finally snapped out of her daze. "Sorry, I was lost in thought. Were you saying something?"

"Wow you're distracted, but you got a plan to take down the other side?" Taskmaster asked.

"I'm afraid I lack any type of tactic right now, I just know I need to subdue my sister before terrrible things happen," Celestia said.

"Terrible things?" Taskmaster asked. "What terrible things?"

"Worry about that later, Masters," Logan said, hoping to diverge the conversation before it got too personal. "Trust Steve and Celestia, they got this." "Granted, if they really did have this, they would have fixed this before it got out of hand. In a way, Taskmaster is right about the 'Avenging part', but it's better to wait until after the fight before I chew them out on this."

Nearby, Rumble looked ahead, somewhat worried about what was to come. He always wanted to be a superhero, he wanted to be just like Peter and Johnny, the two he admired most. Johnny for his charisma and style, and Peter for his heart and responsibility. He was so determined to be a hero, he would surpass anything in his way. Now, instead of going to fight bad guys, he's fighting other heroes. This is not what he signed up for.

"Rumble?" Came Silverstream's voice.

"Need something Silver?" Rumble asked.

"I'm just making sure you're fine, you look tense," Silverstream said.

"I'm about to fight Iron Stallion, Princess Luna, even Captain Spitfire," Runble said. "I still don't get it, why are we fighting the good guys? We're supposed to be the good guys. I wanted to fight villains, not heroes."

"Same, I never thought I'd have to turn against other heroes, what's worse is that I'm pretty much risking the security of Mount Aris by doing this, but I want to protect Equestria too," Silverstream said. "I just hope this is the right choice."

"Peter always says that being a hero means making tough choices," Rumble said. "Times like these, I see what he means."

"Peter's still with Tony Stark's side, right?" Silverstream asked. "Will we have to fight him?"

"...I really don't know," Rumble said.

"Well, you're not alone out there, I'll be right by your side," Silverstream said.

"Thanks, you're a great partner," Rumble said. "Ironic how close we’ve gotten.”

Kurt himself seemed to be praying to himself in preparation of what was to come, "Father...Forgive me for what I must do. I wish not to fight, but I also wish to protect those dear to me. Please, allow us to do what we must to stop this regime. I wish to make them see the light, to know there are better ways. Please, help us find the strength within ourselves to see this through."

"Very heartfelt," Matt said, getting Kurt's attention.

"Forgive me, prayer alleviates my worry," Kurt said.

"I get that, grew up Catholic myself, but you know that," Matt said. "Got me through some tough times, though it wasn't easy."

"Tough times are when we need God the most, that does not mean we will not suffer, it just means we must find the strength to endure, and trust God that it's all for something," Kurt said. "I'd like to think that even in the midst of unnecessary conflict, God is trying to make us see something. But, the answer is never a clear one."

"Not how God works, after all, we as humans need to put in the work, God is Father for a reason, fathers guide their children, they do not tell them everything because then we can never learn," Matt said. "The Freedom to make our choices is what makes us human, or at least sentient."

"Freedom, it is what we are fighting for," Kurt said. "I want the ponies to feel free once again, for that we must be their saviors, their heroes. That goes beyond religion, it is the duty of a good man or woman. I want my friends to feel free, especially Ocellus. Her fellow Changelings have been through so much, I shudder to think what someone like Carol Danvers would do to her just to be spiteful."

"Ocellus, is that a friend of yours?" Matt asked.

"Yes, one of the students at Princess Twilight's school," Kurt said. "A kind young Changeling, who's always thinking of others before herself. She's even helped me overcome personal conflict, one I should have been able to overcome myself."

"Nothing wrong with help from friends, even I know that," Matt said. "I still thank God for bringing me a friend like Peter Parker, when I needed one the most."

"I thank the lord for many of my friends, such as Kitty Pride, and Logan," Kurt said. "I am lucky to have Logan on our side in this unfortunately conflict, but...what about Peter Parker? Far as we know, he is with Tony Stark."

"Somehow, I don't think we have to worry about that," Matt said. "If I know Peter, I know he does not think like Tony Stark. He does what's right, even if people think it's wrong. He stands for justice more than his own reputation."

"That takes true bravery," Kurt said. "To be good for goodness sake, that is a fact of life many should follow, and I know Peter Parker will be the one to lead such a fine example."

Also nearby was a concerned Sugar Belle, not only was she likely to battle against Night Glider again, but this fight would likely extend to her two other friends, Double Diamond and Party Favor. Not to mention that now she was worried about Applejack, Remy and especially Bucky.

"You alright Sugar Belle? "Big Macintosh asked.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," Sugar Belle sadly insisted, but she knew she couldn't keep that facade up. "Actually, I'm really not fine, I'm actually very worried. One of my friends thinks I'm a traitor, and my other two friends probably feel the same way. I know I'm not the only one worried about this but I don't have that grit to power through on my own. Remy would help me out, but he got caught with Applejack and Bucky, plus everyone else that got captured too."

"Wish ah could offer advice, truth be told this has even me a bit worried," Big Macintosh said. "But Cap's doing this not to drive away our enemies, but hopefully make amends. Though, that would be quite troubling to pull off. Ah believe he knows that too, that won't stop him from trying, because good friends are worth it."

"I guess, if Cap can potentially make peace with Tony Stark, then I can make peace with my friends," Sugar Belle said. "I really don't want to hurt any of them, I love them all dearly. I did this to try my hoof at being a superhero, mainly since all my friends were inspired by Spider-Mane and his friends. But times like these, I feel like I overstepped a little. Part of me wants to quit, but another part would feel ashamed for doing so."

"Well, you gotta ask yourself, what makes you happy," Big Macintosh said. "Being a hero is a good thing, but not something everyone can do, it is a very difficult profession. But yer good at other things, like baking. You seemed really happy working at mah family's farm too."

"I like the simple life, Party Favor's all about socializing and getting people together like Pinkie Pie does, both Night Glider and Double Diamond are a bit more extreme, I'm just fine being a humble baker," Sugar Belle said. "I actually considered working with the Cakes at one point, but training with Remy on your farm just brought me closer to farm life. Honestly, I do like training with him, he's a nice man and husband.”

"Remy's become a true Apple, even he took a while to figure out where he belonged too, so he might understand yer struggles," Big Mac said.

"Probably, I never told him this because I didn't want to stop training, and I didn't want him to feel like he was wasting his time," Sugar Belle said.

"If ah know Remy, you were not a waste of his time, he always seemed happy to train you," Big Mac said. "And you don't need to be a hero to train anyway, knowing basic self defense skills is good too, at least you'd be able to protect yerself and yer loved ones."

"That's true, thanks Big Mac, it's always a pleasure hearing you speak, at least more than a few words," Sugar Belle said.

"Ah know I'm not the most talkative pony, but ah am willing to help friends and family," Big Mac said. "And you, Sugar Belle, well you feel like family. Ah didn't join just to help Applejack and Remy, ah came to help you too."

"Aw...you know it's funny, I used to have a bit of a crush on you, then I found out you were already married and it bummed me out," Sugar Belle said. "But, you've still been so kind to me, and I think Cheerilee is lucky to have you. I hope I can get lucky enough to find a stallion."

"Anyone you got yer eye on? I'm not good with romance, but mah wife and sisters, especially the little one, might be willing to keep a watch for ya and help you out," Big Mac said.

"Well...and don't tell anyone yet but..." Sugar Belle leaned in to whisper. "I think Bucky's kind of cute, think I got a chance with him?"

"Bucky? The fellow with the metal limb?" Big Mac asked. "Ah don't know him well, for that you might need to ask Cap. But if he's as good of a man as Cap is, then ah think you'd be just fine trying to court him."

"Thanks Big Mac," Sugar Belle said.

"Also, ah do apologize if ah did anything to lead you on, it was not my intention," Big Mac said.

"No it's fine, Night Glider's the one who encouraged me to go for it, which surprsed me because she thought you were cute too," Sugar Belle said. "She was so supportive afterwards, such a good friend."

Big Mac saw Sugar Belle wiping her eyes, the poor mare still worried about her friendship. At this point, Big Mac knew the best thing to do was to just let let her figure things out from here."

"Almost there," Rainbow Dash said, the girl looking just as pumped up. "Johnny, Gilda, Sue, you three ready?"

"I am," Gilda said. "Gonna take these punks down."

"I'm a bit worried," Johnny said. "I mean, Reed's on the other side of this, isn't he?"

"Oh yeah, you got your brother-in-law to think about," Rainbow Dash said. "And Sue, Reed's your husband, will you be fine going against him?"

"We'll just have to find out," Sue said, trying to maintain her own composure.

"Hey, we'll get by just fine," Rainbow Dash said. "Just have faith."

"Right, faith," Sue said, almost with a hint of sarcasm.

"Sue, if you don't want to fight, no one's making you," Johnny said. "I'm not thrilled about this either."

"Just...let me be, I'll be fine," Sue admitted.

"Alright, but you know we're here if you need us," Johnny said.

"Yeah, you're family, we got your back too," Rainbow Dash said.

"I know..." Susan said.

Spike also had his worries, not just himself, but for his wife, "Janet, Hank's with Tony too, right?"

"Yeah, guess so..." Janet said.

"Will you be able to go against him?" Spike asked. "Or would that be too much for you."

"I don't know Spike, there's so much I wanted to talk to Hank about, but until this conflict resolves, I won't be able to," Janet said. "Hell, I don't even know if I will at all. I really want to put all that behind me, and rekindle our bond."

"Rekindle?" Spike asked.

"In a friendly way of course, I'm your wife now," Janet said, a hint of worry seeping through.

"Uh, sure," Spike said. "Just remember, I'm here for you whenever you need me, even in the middle of a battle. Because I love you."

"Yeah, love you too," Janet said.

---

From Canterlot, the heroes there have begun making their way out of the city, knowing full well that a fight inside would likely cause a lot of damage, and of all the cities they needed to keep safe, The Crown City was among them.

"Today's the day," Bobby said. "Time to end this."

"I'm a bit nervous about this, dear," Rarity said. "What's going to happen after the battle concludes?"

"I can't say for sure," Bobby said. "Honestly the anticipation makes me a little anxious."

"We're all worried, Bobby," She-Hulk said. "I don't want to hurt any of them either, but we do have jobs to do. Letting our emotions get in the way of that won't do any favors."

"But Jen, imagine if someone you really cared about was on the other side?" Rarity asked.

"Yeah, imagine if you had to fight Bruce," Bobby said.

She-Hulk grew concerned, truth be told, she wouldn't be comfortable if she had to fight someone she really cared about. That did extend to many of The Avengers too, she's fought by their side a lot, and she doesn't want to see them as enemies, "I really wish things could be different. Look, if you're worried about anyone, I’ll do what I can to help. I am a lawyer after all."

Suddenly a whistle blew, courtesy of Kamala, "Get moving everyone! Go, go, go!"

"Where the hell did she get a whistle?" Bobby wondered.

"Carol appointed me official deputy, so I have authority now," Kamala said.

"Can she even do that? Tony's the leader here, not Carol," Bobby said.

"Carol's the strongest Avenger, she can do whatever she wants," Kamala said.

"Uh, I think Bruce might have a thing or two to say about that," She-Hulk said. "But I know better than to try and talk rationally with Carol."

"What's happened to her the last couple of years? She seems different," Bobby said.

"I wish I knew," She-Hulk said. "She just started changing, talking about being a strong leader, being the best female superhero, she's just developed this rude and condescending personality, then expects respect from everyone, even solidarity from other women. Like, I'm not going to respect a woman like that, heroes like us need to set better examples for the public, and she is setting a lousy example."

"She certainly doesn't present herself like a hero, that's for sure," Rarity said.

"Hey! Pick it up everyone!" Kamala said.

"Chill the beans, kid," Bobby said.

Up front, Tony was seen side by side with Spitfire and Luna, "Alright, as you all know, we're expecting a run-in with Steve Rogers, to those native, he's Captain Equestria, but to us on Earth, he's Captain America. Top Avenger, Beloved Hero, and a friend of mine, at least until recently. It still disappoints me that Steve is doing what he is, so hopefully after today, we'll put an end to that. It pains me that we may need exile him from Equestria, same with those on his side, but we created The Accords for a reason, to protect Equestria and Earth. We stand by our rules, without them, there is only anarchy. I know a few of you have friends on the enemy's side, I know this is hard for you, but part of being a hero means making tough choices."

"Tony Stark is doing his best to make sure our world is safe," Spitfire said. "Any measures he's taken is for the betterment of Equestria, and eventually Earth. It's on you today to fight for that and keep peace for our land."

"It is understandable if you do not wish to terribly injure our enemies," Luna said. "But that does not mean you hold back too much, you must fight like your livelihood depends on it."

"Because it will," Carol said, flying in, with Kamala cheering her presence.

"Steve Rogers means to destroy everything we in The Accords have worked so hard to build, with no remorse for his actions," Carol said. "He's torn apart Friendships and Families for the sake of his own vision. He's even gone to far as to recruit villains, a man like that deserves no mercy from any of us."

Tony furrowed his brow, each day he regrets getting Carol in on this, feeling she's become worse as the months passed. "Still, go in expecting a fight, but if you can avoid one, that's all the better."

"Of course there's going to be a fight, no way he'll stop his rampage now," Carol said. "With Princess Celestia by his side, no doubt he'll try to take over. Isn't that right Cadance?"

The love Princess nodded her head, "Right, we need to put an end to this."

"Really hate that chick..." Spitfire lamented.

"Did you say something, Spitfire?" Carol asked.

"Nothing you need to be concerned with, Carol," Spitfire said, turning back to the heroes and Wonderbolts. "Get ready to march."

Reed himself was on his way out the castle when Ben called him, "Come on Stretch, you're not really going out there, are you?"

"I have to Ben, I know you're concerned but I promised Tony that I would help the Equestrian citizens, plus think about how well this can work for Earth," Reed said. "We can each keep our families safe."

"Meanwhile your wife and brother-in-law are with Cap, aren't they?" Ben asked. "How is that keeping your family safe?"

Reed lowered his head in shame, realizing Ben might have a point, right now Reed doesn't even know why he's fighting, he's just going through the motions, "Just let me figure this out!"

Ben shook his head in annoyance, then turned to Hank, as he too was making his way out of the castle, "Hank, is this really how you want to do things too?"

"I have to help maintain some order," Hank insisted.

"Indeed," Came the voice of Doctor Hooves, the pony sporting a strange backpack. "It is about time we put a stop to all of this humdingery, but with the most care as possible."

"I still say you're all making a big mistake," Ben said. "Sorry Stretch, but this is one thing I can't bail you out of."

"We'll be fine," Reed said. "Hurry up gentlemen, we must meet with our allies."

Reed left with the two scientists, Ben standing back in worry. He spent the last day or so trying to get all the info he could from his friend, and hoped to talk sense into him. But it seems like Reed found himself way to deep into this mess.

"Eh, gotta do something, off his rocker or not, Stretch needs my help, he's always there for me, I gotta be there for him too," Ben began following after Reed. "I just hope I can figure out how to fix this crap without it tearing the family apart."

---

As Cap's team got closer to Canterlot, it didn't take too long for Tony's team to meet him just outside the city's outskirts, the two sides facing off.

"Tony..." Steve greeted.

"Hey Steve...nice little group of friends you have there," Tony said.

"Same goes for you," Steve said. "Carol...nice to see you."

"It's Captain Marvel to you, Steve," Carol said.

"Pleasant as always," Steve jested. "Natasha, I see you as well."

"Shame to see you on the other side," Natasha said.

"That's my line," Steve said. "Surprised Bruce isn't here."

"He's...busy," Tony said, not wanting to get into the whole space thing.

"Rainbow Dash..." Spitfire said, acknowledging her former flyer. "I finally give you a chance to join The Wonderbolts after years of begging, and this is how you repay my kindness?"

"You didn't give me much of a choice, the line was crossed when my husband got arrested," Rainbow Dash said. "I still love The Wonderbolts, but it needs to be fixed."

"Sister..." Luna greeted. "After all this time, I honestly did not expect to see you returning like this, turning against your own Kingdom."

"Is it really my Kingdom? Seems like you and Tony would rather me off the throne," Celestia said.

"That was not my idea," Tony said. "I wanted you to take a break from the throne to think things over, but it's obvious you came to the wrong conclusion."

"The only wrong conclusion I've came to was trusting The Accords, your rules are tearing my country apart,"" Celestia said.

"Uh, overreacting much?" Tony said. "You're acting like ponies are miserable. If anything this pointless rivalry is more upsetting to them than the actual Accords."

"Tony, since these Accords started, situations have only become worse, considering that incident in Manehattan along with the destruction of Las Pegasus," Steve said.

"Those were from violations of The Accords," Tony said.

"What violations?" Johnny asked, stepping forward. "All Dash and I did was save people in YOUR building, including Coco Pommel...who from what I can see, is actually among you today."

Tony turned to the mare in question, still using his armor, though adjusted for what Tony call easy mode. Not as powerful or efficient, but works well enough, "I'm sure Coco appreciates you saving her."

"I really do," Coco said.

"But your tactics were sloppy, I blame Daredevil, Elektra and Night Thrasher just as much," Tony said.

"Tony, you can't fault us for what Mr. Negative did," Matt said. "I know The Accords were to reduce accidents but they can't be completely prevented. Your need for control did not help things that day, and if that was a sign of things to come, it was only a matter of time before so much more damage could have been done."

"Like what happened in Las Pegasus," Luke Cage said.

"Hey, that was Felicia's fault," Tony said.

"Wow, rude much?" Felicia asked, before noticing a familiar pony. "Hey Thunder, how's it going?"

"Felicia," Thunderlane said, making his way up front, alongside Lightning Dust, the mare winking at Logan. "I'm a bit disappointed you're causing trouble again."

"You know me, I'm attracted to excitement," Felicia said.

Thunderlane rolled his eyes, though in that moment, he spotted another familiar pony, "Rumble!?"

"Thunderlane, so you're with The Accords?" Rumble asked.

"Well, yeah...but what about you? Aren't you with The Wonderbolts!?" Thunderlane asked.

"I was...until Carol Danvers crossed the line," Rumble said, glaring at the hero. "You have some nerve putting your hooves on my girlfriend like that."

"It was self-defense," Carol insisted, much to Rumble's annoyance.

"Don't even start with that nonsense!" Rumble shouted. "You're no hero! You're a bully!"

"Some guys are just intimidated by a strong woman, I guess," Carol said, shrugging off Rumble's concerns.

"Strong women don't hurt others like you hurt both of mah sisters," Big Mac said.

"Carol, what exactly happened in Ponyville?" Tony asked.

"I did my job, ask Cadance and Kamala, they were there," Carol said.

"It's true, she had to get a little tough with some of the ponies, but I'm pretty sure that was to stop a riot from happening," Kamala said.

"Great heroes you picked Tony," Steve remarked.

"Can it! You're the one who overreacted while I was still working out some kinks!" Tony said.

"What type of kinks let heroes get arrested for saving a town!?" Steve said. "And then arrest someone who was clearly possessed."

"He allowed himself to be possessed," Came Starswirl's voice, making his way over with The Pillars and eyeing Stygian. "He formed a deal with the Pony of Shadows, all because he wanted our power."

"You're wrong, Starswirl," Stygian said. "It wasn't your powers I desired; it was your respect. No matter what I did, I was never considered truly one of you, I did the work of bringing you all together because I wanted to protect Equestria, I helped you plan your attacks But no matter what, I was never good enough to be your equal."

"Is it glory you wanted then?" Starswirl asked.

"No...I wanted Friendship," Stygian said.

Starswirl's eyes widened a moment, part of him wanted to believe that, but another part worried it was mere deception.

"Look, some guys are meant to be on a lower scale, you should have just accepted that," Carol said. "In fact, all of you should have accepted your roles! Those on top know what's best, those on the bottom are just there to essentially be our servants, it is the roles you are best suited for."

"My goodness, do you ever shut that mouth of yours!?" Came a familiar voice. Swinging in was Peter, landing beside Steve and his team, wearing his new suit. "You are such a disappointment."

"Spider-Man?" Carol said in surprise.

"Wow Peter! You're here!" Rumble said.

"Hey everyone," Peter waved.

"Interesting suit," Steve said. "Is that metal?"

"Yeah, it's a new suit I've been working on, should increase my speed," Peter said. "I call it my Velocity suit, you see-"

"Peter! What's going on?" Tony asked, interrupting as both Luna and Spitfire looking equally as concerned.

"Tony, I'm sorry, but I quit," Peter said, this revelation causing not only stress to Tony, but also heartbreak for Luna. "I can't condone anything The Avengers have done lately; this whole system is oppressive. What you're doing isn't uniting the world, it's dividing it!"

"Peter, you can't turn against us too!" Luna pleaded. "The Accords can work! We just need a little more time!"

"How much more time do you need!?" Peter asked. "This feels less like some security improvement and more like a social experiment! Ponies aren't happy, those robots are annoying, the rules are frustrating, everyone's been so worried about Celestia. Tony, if we don't end this, ponies are going to rebel."

"Peter, don't do this," Tony said, the man nearly at his wit's end. "Don't make me have to hurt you."

"You're the last pony we want to fight," Spitfire said.

"There doesn't need to be a fight, just surrender," Peter said.

"He's right," Twilight said, flying in and standing by her husband. "We can resolve this with Friendship, not a fight."

"You as well, Twilight Sparkle?" Luna asked. "Figures you wouldn't turn against my sister."

"I don't want to turn against you either, Luna," Twilight said. "I just want Equestria to go back to the way things used to be."

"Twilight, Peter, understand this," Tony said, his patience finally running low. "I did these Accords, for you! I helped change the rules, I worked hard to show Celestia what our world can offer! Because I seem to recall Celestia wanting to shut the portals down, because of dear of my world, and those other worlds! I did this for all of you! So that you don't need to worry about any of your friends having to go home! And now Celestia wants to turn against my idea!? If it wasn't for me, most of you probably wouldn't been sent home by now!"

Celestia nodded his confirmation, "It's true, I had thought about sealing the portals. That was wrong, instead of trying to figure out how to keep us all living in peace, I was willing to take the easy route. I never imagined it would lead to all of this."

"We'll fix this, after Tony agrees to surrender," Steve said.

"I am not giving up on this," Tony said. "I worked to damn hard, I am not just throwing it all away because Celestia can't make up her damn mind!"

"Clearly that millennia without me has damaged her ability to rule too much, there truly is no fixing this," Luna said. "She's used to making her own choices, but that's too much power for one pony."

"Sister, we must not fight again, last time you were banished to the moon," Celestia said.

"I won't make the same mistake twice..." Luna said, her eyes briefly glowing green, this caught by Celestia as well as Twilight.

"No...Nightmare Moon can't return," Twilight muttered to herself.

"I'm done with this, Steve, if you will not surrender, that means you choose to fight!" Carol said.

"If that's what it's going to come to," Steve readied his shield. "Then that's what I'm going to have to do!"

"How disappointing," Tony said, completely covered in his armor as he readied his repulsors. "Avengers..."

"Assemble!" Steve finished, sending in his forces against Tony's as the First Avenger himself clashed his shield against Tony's repulsors.

---

Many on both sides picked a target to fight, Spitfire clashing against Rainbow Dash, Bobby clashing against Johnny, She-Hulk clashing against Hercules and even Luna clashing with Celestia.

"Just like a thousand years ago sister," Luna said. "But this time, I am not the one losing!"

"Have you truly lost your way again, Luna?" Celestia said, deflecting Luna back.

"On the contrary, I am seeing much clearly now," Luna said. "Indeed, you are not meant to rule!"

"Is this you talking? Or The Nightmare?" Celestia asked.

"I have complete control!" Luna shouted, blasting Celestia.

Doc readied his device, "Time to show off what I can truly do." With a press of a button, four large robotic legs came out, taking their stance on the ground. "Peter Parker isn't the only spider here now!"

"Head's up!" Came Dwayne's voice, the skater coming by and kicking Doctor Hooves after leaping off his board and then landing back on.

Carol was the first to notice Dwayne riding in, "You! But I had you locked up!"

"You had us all locked up," Applejack said, showing up with everyone else. "Couldn't keep us in fer long."

"How did you escape?" Carol asked.

"Ahem!" Clint was seen aiming his arrow at Carol. "Your reign has gone on a bit too long."

"Why you!" Carol sent a blast down, nearly hitting Clint, the archer rolling out the way in time as Carol began shooting beams at the others. "I'll teach you all to be defiant!"

Suddenly some webs latched onto her and Carol was sent crashing down, courtesy of Peter. "Time to bring you to our level for a bit."

"Nice work Peter!" Applejack said, then turned to her friends. "Come on y'all, let's liberate Equestria! Yeehaw!"

Everyone else rushed into battle against the forces of The Accords.

Carol pulled herself up, glaring at Peter, "You..."

"Don't you give me that look, you're the one who's forgotten what it's like to be an Avenger," Peter said.

"Oh Peter, always so naive," Carol said, charging her energy while Peter fully activated his Velocity Suit. "When I'm done with you..." Suddenly Carol had taken several quick punches, knocking her across the fields with Peter immediately giving chase.

---

As Applejack rushed into battle, she came across one of her best friends, "Rarity..."

"Applejack, so it's come to this, has it?" Rarity asked.

"Ah don't suppose it's pointless asking you to stand down," Applejack theorized.

"I was just about to ask something similar," Rarity said. "But, here we are, clearly on opposite sides of a conflict. No Harmony in that, is there?"

"Afraid not," Applejack said. "Sorry to say, but standing aside means putting mah husband in danger. Ah can't afford to do that."

Rarity stood in hesitation for a bit, while she wanted to turn tail and leave, she couldn't let The Accords lose either, especially for Bobby, who found his place within them. "I'm fighting for my husband too."

Rarity immediately sent a blast Applejack's way, the Earth Pony rolling and using her lasso to tie up Rarity, but to no avail as Rarity was too slippery. "If ah can, ah gotta tie her up without hurting her much, if at all."

---

Sugar Belle was zapping away some oncoming Wonderbolts, when she found herself face to face with the one Wonderbolt she hoped to avoid, "Night Glider!"

"This ends Sugar Belle!" Night Glider was about to apprehend her friend but Sugar Belle put up a shield to protect herself. "You're just making things worse!"

"Can't we talk this out? We're friends!" Sugar Belle said.

"You lost the chance to talk this out during that fight in Manehatten," Night Glider said. "I'm sorry Sugar Belle, but I have a job to do."

"Do you hear yourself? You sound like a drone doing what she's told and not thinking for yourself!" Sugar Belle said. "How is this any different than what Starlight did to us when she took our Cutie Marks?"

"Tony Stark let me have mine, he's allowing me my freedom at least," Night Glider said.

"Is he? Because you sure don't sound free!" Sugar Belle said. "You may still have your Cutie Mark, but you traded away your soul to keep it!"

Night Glider's eyes widened a moment, before shaking it away, "That's a lie! I'm still me!"

"Not from where I'm standing," Sugar Belle said, before taking a blast from the side, courtesy of Party Favor.

"Sorry Sugar Belle, I don't mean to hurt you," Party Favor said.

Double Diamond walked up by his side, "But, you're in our way."

"Party Favor? Double Diamond?" Sugar Belle looked hurt to see her three closest friends turned against her. "I don't understand this though, are The Accords worth more than our Friendship?"

"It's not that simple, I mean it's not like we wanted to turn against you, but you did break the rules, had you stayed put, the three of us could have helped you out," Double Diamond said. "Then you ran off with Captain Equestria and put us in a really tough spot."

"If you had just come back with me when you did, then we wouldn't be fighting," Night Glider said.

"But if I did, then I'd have to hunt down my friends. Remy, The Apples...Bucky," Sugar Belle turned away in shame. "I couldn't bear to do that."

"But you could bear to turn against friends you've known longer? That kind of hurts, Sugar Belle," Night Glider said. "We've always been there for you, especially me. When you had your heart broken because you couldn't be with your crush, I was the one consoling you. When you were heartbroken because of Starlight deceiving us, we all were there to comfort you and each other! You're the one who turned against us Sugar Belle, not the other way around."

"That wasn't my intention, I wanted to liberate everypony from The Accords for the sake of their own Freedom!" Sugar Belle insisted.

"Well, you failed, and now you have to pay the price," Night Glider said.

Before anything could happen, Bucky jumped in front of Sugar Belle, taking the mare by surprise, "Bucky! You're here!?"

"Hey Sugar, you're not hurt are you?" Bucky asked, turning his attention to the mare.

"No, not physically at least," Sugar Belle said.

"How'd you break out of jail? Didn't Captain Marvel throw you in?" Night Glider asked.

"I had a friend on the inside, someone who unlike you, could see through Tony Stark's bullshit," Bucky said.

"Well...you're still outnumbered!" Night Glider said.

"I'm pretty sure I can take all three of you on, I mean I'm the one who handled most of your training," Bucky said. "Though, you might be a bit of a wild card Night Glider, since you also trained with The Wonderbolts."

Suddenly Sam landed nearby, "It's still nothing compared to what me and Bucky went through when training with The Avengers."

Party Favor leaned to speak to his friends, "Uh...can we take them on?"

"Don't got a choice," Night Glider said. "You go for Sugar Belle, I'll go for Falcon."

"Winter Soldier’s mine then," Double Diamond said. Truthfully he wasn't too sure if he could beat him, but he also refused to back down.

"Let's bring it to them," Sam said, the three clashing against each other.

---

Meanwhile Rumble was flying through he battlefield. When the fight started, he lost track of where his brother was, and his worry took hold. It was then he ran into one of his newer friends, "Wind Sprint?"

"Rumble..." Wind Sprint greeted.

"Well, this is awkward," Rumble said. "You're still a Wonderbolt."

"Of course, that was our plan, to become Wonderbolts together," Wind Sprint said.

"Yeah, really hoped you'd be my Wing Pony too, instead I got saddled with Silverstream," Rumble said. "Which is fine, she's actually really cool, much better than her boring friends."

"I really would have liked that too," Wind Sprint said, the girl blushing a bit. "Guess we have to fight now..."

"I mean, we don't need to really fight, do we?" Rumble asked. "You can just choose not to fight. Me, I have to fight now, because I've seen just how bad the Accords can be. Or, at least, I just really dislike Captain Marvel. If the world is built in her vision, then I fear for that world, I'm not letting it come to pass. I will fight to bring her down at least, but I'd really rather not hurt you."

"I don't want to hurt you either," Wind Sprint said. "Still, I'll feel bad if I just leave, everyone's counting on me. We're supposed to be heroes right? Heroes can't just stand aside."

"Does this look like the work of heroes?" Rumble asked. "Everyone's fighting against each other, heroes are supposed to fight villains, and I don't think Cap's a villain, but I do know that Carol is. If you want to be a hero, you need to make a change for the better."

"I...well..." Wind Sprint was understandably confused, though in the midst of this, two more Wonderbolts made their presence known.

"Hold it right there," came the voice of Pickle Barrel.

"Your days of freedom are numbered, traitor," came the voice of Barley Barrel.

"Huh? Oh, you're those twins from Hope Hollow," Rumble said.

"That's right, The Barrel Twins, greatest rookie Wonderbolts and the fastest rising flyers in the group," Pickle said.

"Uh-huh, sure you are," Rumble said. "Look, you two seem new to all this, so let me give you a bit of advice-"

"Advice? We were in The Wonderbolts longer than you! We got our towns before you did! Don't act like you know more than us!" Barley said.

"I know you've been with The Wonderbolts longer than me, but one difference between me and the two of you is that I personally know Spider-Mane, I've known him for about four years now, he's been like a mentor to me and I've picked up a few things from the time I've spent with him," Rumble said. "It's thanks to him that I have a better eye of what's true justice and what's a false reality, what it truly means to have Power and Responsibility."

"You know, that'd be cool if Spider-Mane didn't betray Tony Stark," Pickle said. "You're just following the path of a traitor."

"So cute yet so rebellious," Barley said.

"You two can't be serious," Rumble said. "I hope you got good training from Spitfire if you think you can take me. I can take you both on so-"

Without warning, Wind Sprint tackled Rumble down from behind, trying to restrain him, "Stop moving and surrender!"

"Wind Sprint!? What in the world are you doing!? You're my friend!" Rumble said.

"I'm sorry, I can't just turn away from this!" Wind Sprint said, still trying to restrain Rumble.

"You're gonna turn against me!? After I took you into my group of friends when you were all alone!?" Rumble shouted in annoyance, breaking free of Wind Sprint. "I am SO disappointed in you!"

"Get him!" Pickle and Barley were about to fly in when Thunderlane flew over and blocked their path.

"Big Bro?" Rumble said in surprise.

"Hey, what are you doing!?" Pickle asked.

"You want my brother, you'll have to go through me," Thunderlane said.

Wind Sprint looked a bit surprised, the girl contemplating another sneak attack, but Silverstream landed right in front of her, glaring at the filly. "Don't even try it."

"You!" Wind Sprint went for a punch but Silverstream dodged and delivered a kick to her head.

"Wind Sprint!" Barely went to help but Rumble flew in front of her.

"Going somewhere toots?" the colt cheekily asked.

"Your charms won't work on me, no matter how cute you are!" Barley said, going for a punch that Rumble parried, the colt then chopping at her neck, knocking her forward.

"Normally I don't like fighting fillies, but that doesn't mean I won't," Rumble said.

"Hey you!" Pickle was about to strike but Thunderlane yanked him by the tail and slammed him down.

"Nice try rookie," Thunderlane taunted.

"So, no Equestrian Avenger role?" Rumble asked.

"You know me, I'm a rebel," Thunderlane joked. "Plus, if Peter sees something wrong with this, then I know I shouldn't put my faith in it either."

"Well put," Rumble said as the Barrel twins readied for more. "Time to show who the dominant siblings are!"

---

Nearby Rainbow Dash and Spitfire were doing battle in the air, the Element using her speed to her advantage. Spitfire was fast, but even she had trouble keeping an eye on her opponent.

However Spitfire was able to detect a pattern in Dash's attacks, she seemed to strike and fly around before going for another strike, likely an attempt to get Spitfire dizzy.

As Rainbow Dash went for another strike, Spitfire got a kick to her head, knocking the speedy Pegasus for a loop and allowed Spitfire to strike again with rapid fire punches and kicked Rainbow Dash down once more.

Remy from below grabbed some cards and prepared to attack Spitfire, when he barely found himself dodging an attack from Soarin, using those cards on him instead, while not directly hitting the Pegasus, the dust from the explosion did briefly obscure his vision, allowing Remy to whack him in the head with his bo staff.

"Wings ain't gonna do you much good if you can't get off the ground," Remy said. As he turned to see who was next, he came across a familiar face. "Reed?"

"Gambit...so it's come to this," Reed said. "You know, I'm not thrilled to be battling against you."

"But you will, aren't ya?" Remy asked.

"It's nothing personal..." Reed said, bringing out some mini orb droids, all of them aiming their laser sights at Remy. "Surrender, and you won't need to get hurt."

"Well, ain't this a damn shame," Remy said. "Sorry mon ami, but I have a family to think of."

"So do I," Reed said, using his orbs to send out laser zaps at Remy, the mutant effectively dodging and throwing some of his cards to destroy the machines, saving one for Reed in particular, who stretched out the way.

"How annoyingly persistent," Reed said, activating something for the Patroller Bots nearby, gaining them some extra shielding and weapons as they were deployed. "This should cover any time wasted on pointless battles."

"Don't take your eyes off me!" Remy rushed through the orbs to attack Reed directly, resulting in a stretch punch from the scientist that knocked him yards back.

"I'm coming Remy!" Gilda called from nearby, the griffon girl flying in to help when suddenly she was blocked by an unfamiliar face. "What the? Who are you?"

"Call me Darkhawk," the ponified metallic suit hero said. "So, you're one of the rebels that Iron Man mentioned, never seen anything like you before."

"I take it you're an Earthling, well I'm a Griffon," Gilda explained. "You're about to see how dangerous we griffons can be!"

The two began to clash, Darkhawk's tech going against Gilda's natural speed and strength, the two battling it out in the skies, doing their best to one up the other.

Many of the other Wonderbolts went for Sandman, who generated enough power to increase his size and bat many of the Pegasus ponies away, though they continued to swarm around him, trying to disorient him.

"Let's send this guy flying! Tornado time!" Misty Fly said.

Sandman was not making this easy, though the Bolts were about to gain a surprise assistance in the form of Daisy Johnson, hero name, Quake.

"I got this!" using her powers, Quake rattled the ground around Sandman, making it difficult for the part time villain to maintain his form as many of the Wonderbolts flew around and punched holes through him to weaken him.

"Marko!" Lizard rushed to assist his comrade, though found himself blocked by Bon Bon.

"You never should have left your cell!" Bon Bon immediately went to strike, Lizard doing his best to fend her off, almost surprised by her abilities to fight.

"Not bad ma'am, but I'm no stranger to battling strong enemies," Lizard said, wrapping his tail around her neck and flinging her away, focusing once again on helping Sandman. "If I can take down their group leader, the rest should-"

Bon Bon rushed in and tackled Lizard hard, "Don't you ignore me!" She continued fighting him, desperate to bring him down.

Johnny and Bobby were battling in the air, Johnny keeping his distance and sending fire Bobby's direction while the ice user was able to block and push back against Bobby's heat.

"You've been practicing, haven't you?" Johnny asked.

"Like I needed practice to defeat you, your fire's about as effective as a campfire in The Arctic!" Bobby said, creating some ice balls and sending them at the fire user.

"I'm no campfire, I'm an almighty volcano!" Johnny created a wall to stop the ice, then generated a massive fireball to blast Bobby and flew in to pursue, the two exchanging blows to overpower the other.

---

Logan and Fluttershy found themselves surrounded by some Patroller Robots, the mechanical beings taking the form of Tony Stark's armor. "Surrender is your only option."

"Wow, these robots are dumber than I thought," Logan said, using his speed to slice through the robots in seconds.

"I almost feel sorry for those robots," Fluttershy said. She noticed one attempting to sneak up on her, reeling her hind legs, she kicked it into a bunch of other robots, knocking them over like pins.

"Nice kick," Logan said, taking down another robot.

"I'm just glad I can use my training," Fluttershy said. "Well, not too glad, I'm not much of a fighter, but knowing that I can fight if I need to is reassuring. Though, I still might need more training, that kick is nowhere near what Applejack can do."

"Don't worry about what others can do, focus on yer own progress," Logan said.

"Logan!" Called Deadpool, the ninja making his way over and landing near the duo. "I bet you thought you'd never see me again."

"Why wouldn't I? We both live in Ponyville," Logan said. "Plus it was obvious you were gonna find me here, I'd be more surprised if you didn't show up."

"Dude! You're ruining my dramatic moment!" Deadpool said, pulling out his swords. "Eh whatever, we both know why I'm here. You are in MAJOR violation of The Accords. Going rogue, teaming with Cap, attacking Canterlot Castle."

"Bit of an exaggeration on that last part," Logan said. "Seriously though, do you honestly believe in The Accords? You've always been a bit of a free spirit, why sell your soul to Stark? Is this really about proving yourself or is there more to it than that?"

"Look, Logan, we've known each other a long time, haven't we?" Deadpool said. "From our Weapon X days, our adventures with the X-Men, and the last several years living in Equestria. You and I married our respective wives all in the same week."

"Yeah, what about it?" Logan asked.

"In all that time, how do you think I've been viewed by others?" Deadpool asked. "Do they take me seriously? Or as a joke? I mean, considering I helped bail them out about a year ago when our fellow Weapon X buddies came by, I figured that would put me in a better light with them. But I never felt that way, it just seems like old Deadpool's just good for a few laughs."

"So you thought joining The Accords would make us take you seriously," Logan theorized. "Honestly it just makes it seem like you joined up with Stark for superficial reasons, are you that worried about yer image that you took part in something as flawed as this?"

"I'm doing what I can to be better, I'm a father now, just like you, and I don't want my kids growing up ashamed of me," Deadpool said. "If I can make it as a hero, those kid now have a proper role model to look up to and I don't risk them going down the path I went."

"Wade, the best thing you can do for yer kids is not join Stark's pitiful Crusade, the best thing you can do is love them and be there for them," Logan said. "All a kid wants is to be loved by his or her parents, honestly joining Stark is going to have the opposite affect, if he gains too much control, the Equestria we know will take a dumpster dive, and your kid will just end up in a regime."

"Sorry Logan, but I am not risking turning traitor now," Deadpool said, both katanas in hand. "I've put too much into this, you say regime, I say safety, and all I want is for my family to be safe, and I want to be part of that. I will become my kids' hero!"

Deadpool lunged into strike, Logan blocking with his claws. "I tried to be nice, but if you want to fight, then let's see what yer made of!"

"Oh my, this is troubling, they shouldn't be fighting like this," Fluttershy said. For some reason, she felt like she was in immediate danger, so she turned to see that Pinkie Pie was sneaking up on her, looking ready to strike. "Uh...what are you doing?"

"Oooh, wasn't quick enough," Pinkie said, sheepishly backing away.

"Were you about to karate chop me!?" Fluttershy asked.

"Well...kind of," Pinkie admitted. "But I had to, see you're on the enemy's side, so I figured if I knock you out now, we won't need to fight! Everyone wins!" Pinkie had to rethink that, "Well not everyone, Cap's team would need to lose, but at least it'd be over fast."

"I am so disappointed in you, we’re supposed to be friends," Fluttershy said. "Bad enough our husbands are fighting each other, I didn't think you'd stooped to such a thing."

"Hey now, you're making me feel lousy, I didn't want to hurt you," Pinkie insisted. "I just needed to-"

"Lightning Kick!" Lightning Dust flew in and kicked Pinkie away. "Yeah! Take that enemy! No one messes with the Wolverine Family!"

Fluttershy furrowed her brow in annoyance, she hoped to get through to Pinkie Pie without violence, though it looked it couldn't be helped, "Uh, thanks Lightning Dust. Also, did you just shout your attack name?"

"Pretty dope right, fitting for a girl like me," Lightning Dust said, then noticed a nearby fight. "Logan's fighting Deadpool?"

"He is, it's a bit concerning," Fluttershy said.

"Nothing to be concerned about, Logan can whoop him," Lightning Dust said.

"I'm more concerned about the fact that they're fighting, not whether or not Logan can win," Fluttershy said.

"Halt!" This time some Royal Guard ponies came at the two.

"Guess we'll worry about that later, time to kick some flank!" Lightning Dust sped in to attack the guards, leaving Fluttershy still a bit concerned.

"Really wish it wasn't coming to any of this," Fluttershy went to assist how she could.

---

Doctor Hooves was currently busy against Dwayne, using his newly formed limbs to battle against the skateboarding hero, who whizzed past and fired some electric tasers that Doc blocked.

"You and that confound mobile contraption of yours," Doc said.

"It's called a skateboard gramps, I know these exist in Equestria, I've seen skateparks in Manehattan," Dwayne said, skating around.

"Whatever it’s called, it feels highly illogical to be using such a device in the middle of battle," Doc said, trying to attack again.

"Anything is good for battle," Dwayne plopped up his skateboard to block Doc's strike. "It's all about how you use it!"

He went to attack again, when another new opponent showed up, a mare with white and pink hair, "Night Thrasher..."

"Wait, is that you, Songbird?" Dwayne asked. He barely got an answer as he was immediately whacked away by her incredible strength.

"Thank you ma'am," Doc said, following in Dwayne's direction. "Let us apprehend the ruffian."

As Songbird was about to follow, she could spot the Heroes for Hire nearby fighting some guards. "You do that, I have others to assist."

"Luke, check it out, Songbird," Iron Fist said, Luke turning his attention to the woman.

"Looks like Stark's really called for reinforcements," Luke slammed his fists together. "No matter, we can take whoever gets thrown at us."

Nearby Clint is seen firing his arrows at the Patroller Robots, taking out as many as he could, though it was a lot tougher than he thought it'd be. "What the hell kind of upgrades did Richards and his Ponyville friend give these machines?"

"Clint!" Came the voice of Rhodey, better known as War Machine.

"Rhodey, you know I was thinking you'd never show up in Equestria, I mean we've been doing this Accords thing for how long now?" Clint said.

"Save it," Rhodey flew in to attack but Clint evaded back and fired an arrow at Rhodey's machine, causing a minor explosion. "Gonna need more than that to crack this armor!"

"I look forward to the challenge," Clint said, sending more arrows at his new opponent.

---

In the middle of battle, Stygian looked rather confused, not sure what he should do at this point. He wasn't much of a fighter, but he also couldn't bring himself to run, especially given the support his new friends had given him.

"What do to...what to do..." Stygian tried thinking over his situation.

"Stygian..." came the voice of Mage Meadowbrook, the mare making her presence known alongside two of her allies.

"Meadowbrook, Rockhoof, Mistmane," Stygian greeted.

"What you said before, about wanting respect and our friendship," Meadowbrook began. "What was that about? Haven't we always been kind to you?"

"I don't deny that, you've all treated me well for the most part, but I also felt like I wasn't appreciated, it made me feel a tad bit useless," Stygian said. "I did not mean to cause trouble with The Pony of Shadows, that was an unfortunate side effect. That power is gone, and I no longer care for the desire to be stronger. I just want to fix things."

"You should have told us how you were feeling," Mistmane said.

"Yes, we would have gladly helped ye," Rockhoof said. "I know how ya feel, laddy. When you want to help but you don't have the power to, that's when you do what you must to prove yourself. Sounds like you just wanted your own journey of self-worth, I can respect that."

"But dear, you were most certainly not useless to us, if it wasn't for you, we probably wouldn't have won a majority of our battles," Mistmane said.

"We should have noticed how you were feeling, and we're really sorry for that," Meadowbrook said. "You're an important part of our team Stygian, and a good friend."

"Do you really mean that?" Stygian asked.

"Of course, what say we put this behind us and grab a few rounds on me!" Rockhoof said.

"Uh, Rockhoof, we're still in the middle of a battle," Meadbowbrook said.

"Uh...right," Rockhoof sheepishly replied. "We should end this somehow, heroes should not be fighting amonst each other."

"What is going on here?" Starswirl asked, making his way over with Magnus and Somnambula.

"Oh hey Starswirl, we've patched things up with Stygian here," Rockhoof said. "Now might be a good time for ye to do the same."

"I really am sorry for the trouble I've caused you Starswirl," Stygian said.

"I see...well unfortunately for you, being sorry isn't enough," Starswirl said. "You willingly went off with traitors and willingly took part in the overtaking of Canterlot."

"Captain Equestria isn't trying to overtake Canterlot, he's trying to liberate Equestria from The Accords, he believes they are a detriment to our society," Stygian said. "This whole thing has caused even the Royal Sisters to collide with one another."

Starswirl looked up to see Celestia and Luna battling in the skies, it was a heartbreaking sight, and a worrying one too, especially after what he's learned about Princess Luna. "Even if Captain Equestria disagreed, he did not handle this the proper way. Fighting just leads to more trouble."

"It was the only way he could get Tony Stark's attention," Stygian said. "All he wants is Freedom."

"Well that pursuit is going to doom this country," Starswirl said. "I will put a stop to him myself, and reconcile things between Celestia and Luna, and hopefully deal with The Nightmare. For now Stygian, I suggest you come with me."

"Hold it," Rockhoof said. "Ye can't be seriously still considering Stygian here an enemy, poor lad just wanted respect. When's the last time you showed him any appreciation?"

"Now isn't the time," Starswirl said.

"He's right, Starswirl," Mistmane said. "You get too focused on your duty that you tend to ignore issues right under your nose."

"We don't want to do anymore wrong by Stygian," Meadowbrook said.

"You betray me as well?" Starswirl asked, glaring at the trio.

"No, we have no wish to betray you, as long as you don't betray us," Rockhoof warned.

"We can use our power to stop the fighting, but you must put your pride behind you," Mistmane said. "Think of Equestria's future."

"And what it could do to Earth," Meadowbrook said.

"Earth...I had hoped we'd never have to worry about that Realm again," Starswirl said. "I do want some more answers, especially from Princess Twilight and that husband of hers. So for now, I will put my faith in you that Stygian will not betray us, but this is not over between us."

"Starswirl, how will we put an end to this fighting?" Somnambula asked.

"Try to go for either leader, get them to stand down," Starswirl said. As he said, this, She-Hulk was thrown right by the group, with Hercules making his way over.

"Stygian, do these ponies mean you harm?" Hercules asked.

"No, not at the moment," Stygian said. "They just want to end the conflict."

"We all do, but the aftermath of the conflict is what's most important," Hercules said. "How do you plan to-"

"Watch out!" Meadowbrook warned as a beam came right at Hercules, the God leaping and the shockwave of the beam hitting the ground scattering the Pillars.

Looking up, Hercules could see yet another that Tony Stark seems to have brought from Earth, "Sentry?"

"Hercules," the hero Sentry said, landing down.

"Well now, Tony Stark really has been busy," Hercules said. "You wish to combat against me?"

"Well, out of all of us, he specifically seemed to want me to defeat you," Sentry said.

"I'm honored that Stark considers me that much of a threat to seek you out," Hercules said, cracking his hooves like knuckles. "I couldn't help but hold back a wee bit with She-Hulk, not that she isn't strong. But you, I feel like I can hold back even less."

"If I were you, I wouldn't hold back at all!" Sentry shouted, the two mighty warriors throwing punches at each other, creating a massive shockwave.

---

Nearby Elektra, Felicia, Matt, Taskmaster and Kurt were fending off some oncoming guards, robots and Wonderbolts, the four sticking close together, hoping to avoid getting overwhelmed by their opponents.

"Wow, Tony must have a really great budget to be able to afford this much help," Felicia said.

"Makes me wonder if I chose the wrong side," Taskmaster said, immediately earning some glares. "What I can't make a joke!?"

"Really not the time for it," Elektra said. "Just keep fighting, put an end to The Accords."

"Not a permanent end," Matt reminded.

"Yeah, yeah," Elektra said, knocking an enemy out.

"We have trouble," Kurt said, gesturing to the group of Natasha, Tigra, Kamala, Sky Stinger and Vapor Trails.

"Look who decided to show up," Felicia said.

"It's over fiends, today you finally fall to The Accords," Kamala declared. "Don't even try to escape."

"We're not...we're actually anticipating a fight," Taskmaster said.

"Well...good, because you couldn't escape even if you tried," Kamala said, getting some side eyes from her teammates. "For we, the warriors of The Accords, shall reign victorious and soon all shall be right in the world."

"Kid, how old are you?" Felicia asked.

"Don't call me 'kid', I'm old enough to drive," Kamala said.

"Uh-huh..." Felicia said. "Look, this isn't a game, you're fighting an actual battle. You're lucky you're not against supervillains, otherwise that attitude might get you killed."

"You five are supervillains!" Kamala said. "You broke the law, that automatically makes you villains."

"Wow, if breaking the law makes you a villain, then everyone here must be a villain because I'm pretty most of ya's broke at least one law," Taskmaster said.

"Not me, I'm a good girl," Kamala said, earning a facepalm from her teammates.

"Put a sock in it," Natasha focused on the enemies ahead. "To her point, you five need to be brought in."

"Not happening," Taskmaster said.

"Plus, even if we did, that won't magically make the fight stop," Felicia said. "So we might as well fight until there's a decisive winner."

"Just try it, you can't beat us!" Kamala said. "Girl power!"

"Oh God..." Natasha lamented.

"Look, maybe we don't need to fight at all," Kurt said. "Fighting won't solve anything, if we can avoid it, that would be all the better."

"Careful, his mom's a shapeshifter, she probably taught him to deceive," Kamala warned.

Kurt furrowed his brow, but refused to let that get to him, "As I was saying. Natasha, why do you side with Tony Stark? If Steve Rogers and Clint Barton could see he was in the wrong, couldn't you? Don't you trust their judgement too."

"I get why they feel this needs to be done, but that doesn't change the fact that this is against Tony's law," Natasha said.

"Tony's law? He is not ruler of Equestria," Kurt said. "The actual ruler is against this, at this point, what are you even fighting for?"

"He might have a point, what are we fighting for?" Tigra asked.

"For order of course!" Kamala said. "Yeah Cap's lost his mind, yeah Hawkeye's a dirty traitor, but that doesn't mean we have to be. Carol says this is worth fighting for, and she's the strongest Avenger."

"Wasn't she getting whooped by Hercules though?" Taskmaster said.

"Alright, that's it!" Kamala sent a stretch punch that knocked Taskmaster back and proceeded to attack while the allies on both sides acted quickly, Natasha doing battle against Elektra, the two having a rematch from days prior, with Sky Stinger, Vapor Trails and Tigra going for Matt, Kurt and Felicia respectively.

---

Not too far off, Angel Wings looked ready to find someone to do battle with, starting with a newly arrived combatant wearing full armor who was going against Coco in her suit.

"Whoever you are, you're no match for my newly evolved form!" Coco said, aiming her palm. "Now face my-"

The mystery fighter used a trident to whack the palm away, sending a large blast that incapacitated many of the nearby guards. Using another strike, Coco got whacked into the air, falling down.

"Oh that's it!" Coco tried activating something else, but found herself being levitated off the ground, "Wait that's the wrong-AH!"

Coco was sent flying off back toward the castle, crashing through the roof. This mystery knight how had attention focused on Angel Wings.

"Uh...reveal yourself!" Angel Wings said. The Knight began removing the helmet. "Oh, that was easy."

To her surprise, the knight in question was Dragon Lord Ember, the female grinning in satisfaction, "Like I was going to sit out the chance to bring down Tony Stark's empire. I'll add you to those I defeat on that path!"

She shot some fire at Angel Wings, with Laura rushing in and being fast enough to pull her out the way, "Whoa, she's ticked off."

"Hey thanks," Angel Wings said. "Um, who are you?"

"Name's Laura, I'm a friend of Lightning Dust. Now listen, do you still want to do this?" the girl asked, to Angel's confusion. "Do you still want to fight? Because something tells me you'd rather not be part of this."

"I mean, no but it's my duty," Angel Wings said.

"Pfft, fuck duty, this is corrupted nonsense, neither me nor anyone are going to take this," Laura said. "You can help me bring Stark down from within, or you can fly home, make a choice but I won't allow you to continue fighting for The Accords to take over, because you know that's a bad call."

"But...how do you know you can trust me? What if I betray you after this?" Angel Wings asked.

"I can tell you're a nice girl, I got a nose for this stuff," Laura said, then showed off her claws. "Plus, even if you tried to betray me, I'd kill you on the spot."

Angel Wings nervously gulped, "Fair point. So how do we do this?"

---

Nearby Spike and Janet were also locked in battle against others, trying to fend off all foes, including some oncoming Hippogriff Guards. Janet was hard to catch given her short stature while Spike kept them at bay with fire, careful not to hurt anyone.

Scott himself was flying around attacking people with several punches, taking everyone by surprise, "Boom! Can't hit what you can't see!"

"I got you!" Cloudchaser sped in to attack but lost sight really quickly and took a punch to her stomach and a kick to her head to send her flying. Her ally Pizzelle tried to attack but Scott was too fast for her too.

Next came Misty Fly, who was a bit faster and managed to nail Scott with a kick that knocked him over. "Ha, not so fast now are you."

"Scott, you alright!?" Spike asked.

Scott returned to normal size, "I'm fine, I'm...whoa!" Cloudchaser and Pizzelle tried to attack but Scott was quick to dodge, though his luck was running low when the captain of the Hippogriffs Sky Beak made his presence known.

"That's enough out of you," Sky Beak said.

"Oh, you're still on their side, must be awkward for Silverstream," Scott said.

"I don't know how you brainwashed my daughter, but once I defeat all on your side, I will bring her back to her senses!" Sky Beak said.

"Wait! Mr. Sky Beak! Don't make any mistakes!" Spike said.

"I will not be deterred!" Sky Beak rushed to attack with The Wonderbolts by his side, all of them trying to take out Scott.

"Hold on! I'm coming!" As Janet zipped around, she came across her ex-husband, "Hank?"

"Huh?" Spike noticed Hank in the corner of his eye. "Oh boy."

"Janet, I'm glad I found you before someone else did," Hank said. "Well, I guess someone else did find you, but you fought them off. What I mean is, I'm happy I found you before someone competent enough did."

"No one's competent compared to me," Janet boasted, getting a laugh from Hank.

"You've still got that spunk," Hank said. "I'd ask if you'd surrender, but I get the feeling you won't go down so easily."

"You know me well," Janet said. "And I know you're going to fight yourself, if you can. Scott has your suit. Wait, Scott!"

The second Ant Man found himself in a seemingly bad position, but all was not lost yet. "I have one little trick up my sleeve." Using a button, he immediately grew several times bigger, matching the size of even Canterlot Castle, startling anyone who noticed.

"Holy shit!" Spike shouted in surprise.

"Hahahahaha!" Scott triumphantly laughed. " No one can stop me now!"

"Hold on a second, Janet," Hank said, activating his own suit and growing that big as well, matching Scott's size.

"Uh, since when can heroes turn giant?" Misty Fly asked.

"I mean, they can do just about everything else," Cloudchaser said. "This is probably nothing to them."

"Hank?" Scott said, surprised to see his predecessor.

"Scott, you're very talented as Ant Man, but...you've got nothing on Yellowjacket," Hank said.

"Wait, Yellowjacket? Like a Bee?" Scott asked. "How'd you go from being an Ant to being a Bee?"

"Because this is going to sting!" Hank said, hitting and uppercut on Scott, stumbling him back as everyone did their best to steer clear of the giant hoof steps.

"Oh it's on now!" Scott said, lunging in and attacking, the two giant heroes clashing in an epic battle of titans.

---

Observing from the distance was the trio of Sweetie Belle, Smolder and Ocellus. The sole pony of the group as well as the Changeling were both horrified by the fighting while Smolder stood there in disbelief.

"I can't believe they're actually fighting like this," Sweetie Belle said. "Couldn't they have come up with a better solution?"

"Guess not, everyone here was just ready for a fight and that's what was gonna happen," Smolder said.

"What is it going to accomplish?" Sweetie Belle wondered out loud. "At this rate, what if one of them gets killed!?"

"They wouldn't go that far, would they?" Ocellus said.

"Can't be sure, one or both sides might start to get desperate," Smolder said.

Sweetie Belle groaned in frustration, quickly scouring the battlefield for any sign of her sister or brother-in-law, "I hope Rarity and Bobby are doing alright. I'm still a little peeved that they're even in a fight like this in the first place."

"I honestly expected better from Rarity," Smolder said. "Bobby, not so much."

"Come on Smolder, don't say that, Bobby's a great guy, he's just trying to find his place," Sweetie Belle said. "Not that I condone what he's doing here but-"

"Kurt!" Ocellus shouted, gesturing to the hero. "I see Kurt!"

Smolder could see Kurt in battle against Vapor Trail, the mutant easily using his teleporting abilities to outmatch his opponent. "Whoa, Kurt's an awesome fighter. Not bad for a guy who's all about peace."

"This is terrible, Kurt shouldn't be fighting, what if he loses and has to go back home!?" Ocellus shouted in worry.

"He'll be fine, he's winning," Smolder said. "I knew Kurt was awesome, he already looks like a beast."

"Don't say that!" Ocellus shouted. "Kurt's not a beast, and he shouldn't have to fight!"

"Are you even surprised? This dumb Accords rule is affecting countries outside of Equestria now, given Dragons are banned and Hippogriffs got sucked into this battle," Smolder said. "Kurt's fighting to free everyone, it makes sense, he's all about freedom and stuff."

"Oooh, but I'm really worried," Ocellus said, still thinking over the bad possibilities. "If Kurt goes, that's one less friend. I really felt a special connection to him, a sense of security if you will. I don't know if it's his religion or just who he is but-"

"Ocellus," Smolder said, placing her claw on her friend's back. "You're worried, that's fine. I don't want him to leave either, I really like Kurt too. But he's probably tired of this nonsense, and he is technically a hero back home with the X-Men.”

"Well, the X-Men won't turn away from injustice but they're not as proactive as Peter would be," Sweetie Belle said. "Bobby's trying to change that about himself but he's doing so in a lousy way."

"Well point is, Kurt's about helping others, I mean that's what people of his religion do, they help," Smolder said. "Sometimes, you gotta be tough, and Kurt's got super awesome powers, he can handle this."

"I hope so," Ocellus said.

"You really care about him, that's so sweet," Sweetie Belle said. "He seems really nice too, so its understandable."

"...Should I...do something?" Ocellus asked. "Maybe I can help him fight!"

"Bad idea, you might make things worse for him," Smolder said. "Let him handle this."

"Ugh, of course this had to happen," Came the voice of Blueblood, the stallion making his way over with Vision by his side. "Is there really a need for them to do battle with one another? There's so many other ways they can resolve this, how immature."

"Blueblood!?" Sweetie Belle said, the girl mildly annoyed. "What are you doing here!?"

"Sweetie Belle, he's a Prince, don't talk to him like that," Ocellus said.

"I know he's a Prince, but not a very sophisticated one," Sweetie Belle said.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Blueblood asked. "Actually, you do look familiar, were you at the wedding of my cousin Cadance?"

"Maybe..." Sweetie Belle said. "My sister was there too, you know, Rarity, your date at the Grand Galloping Gala years back?"

"Oh yes, Miss Rarity," Blueblood said, recalling that night. "That night did not go so well for either of us I suppose."

"It sure didn't," Sweetie Belle said. "Not that it matters, she moved on to a better guy."

"Yes, that same guy has eyeballed me a few times since being here," Blueblood said. "Even though I've apologized to Miss Rarity and she's apologized to me, but it seems like petty grudges can still be held, something Fancypants warned me about, given his own altercation with that ice-themed so-called superhero."

"So-called!?" Sweetie Belle shouted in annoyance. "Don't you disrespect my big brother!"

"Sweetie Belle, please, compose yourself," Ocellus said, then turned to Blueblood. "Forgive her."

"It's fine dear, not the first time this has happened to me, comes with the territory," Blueblood said. "What matters here is that there's a massive brawl that could be disastrous if it continues, I mean thankfully they're outside the city, but all it takes is one mistake, like the last time there was a big fight here involving that horrid Storm King and his pitiful allies."

"Tony Stark should have known this could happen, the signs were everywhere," Vision said. "Steve Rogers was dissatisfied with The Accords, many signed on were, but few said anything regarding it."

"Is there anything you can do Mr. Robot, sir?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"It's Vision, young one," the android corrected. "And I'm afraid not. Tony Stark is not keen on listening to reason, and Steve Rogers will not stop until those in power comply. Logically speaking as well, picking a side is not without its consequences."

"How so?" Smolder asked.

"If Tony Stark wins, those on the side of Steve Rogers will face consequences, spanning from imprisonment to banishment," Vision said. "Even if Steve Rogers wins, it will still split The Avengers apart. In truth, both men are correct in their own way. There must be order, but there must also be flexibility. Picking one side of either extreme will result in catastrophe."

"So, what you're saying is that, no matter who wins, this land is pretty much screwed?" Smolder asked.

"That sounds like an overreaction," Sweetie Belle said. "I say Cap winning would be more beneficial than Tony winning, especially if Peter's on Cap's side."

"Peter?" Blueblood said. "Oh, you mean Spider-Mane. So, he's sided against Tony Stark? That's rather surprising."

"Indeed, Tony Stark saw a lot of value in Spider-Man," Vision said.

"No, not that. It's Aunt Luna, she greatly admires Peter Parker, they're really close," Blueblood said. "I've heard talk that if not for Twilight Sparkle, then Aunt Luna would have been top choice to marry Spider-Mane."

"Uh, isn't she like thousands of years older than him?" Smolder asked. "That's kind of weird."

"I mean, Logan is much older than Fluttershy, and they go together really well," Sweetie Belle said.

"Not to mention that Aunt Celestia has had her eyes on a, certain hero, from what I've seen," Blueblood said. "I highly doubt Spider-Mane would have minded my Aunt's age."

"Well, kind of glad he went with Twilight, I think they go together well, I feel like Luna wouldn't be able to handle Peter's...charm," Sweetie Belle said. "Of course, if given the chance, I wish it were me that Peter was with, though my luck with romance has been zero to two."

"Rumble was your second crush, right?" Smolder asked. "I mean honestly, I think you lucked out there, he's not that charming. With your looks you can find any guy you want."

"Aw, do you think I'm pretty?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Smolder angrily turned away, hiding a faint blush, "I'm just speaking objectively. Never mind that, right now both your former crushes are down there fighting, you should probably be thinking of ways to end the conflict if you're that worried."

"I don't think there's much I can do, I'm not a fighter, unlike my future self," Sweetie Belle said. "I mean two of them just turned giant!"

"Oh yeah, still not as big as Dragon Lord Torch but pretty dang big nonetheless," Smolder said.

"This where the audience is?" Came the voice of Ben Grimm.

"Oh, you're The Thing from The Fantastic Four," Sweetie Belle said. "How long were you in Equestria?"

"Since yesterday, I came to talk things out with Stretch, I mean Reed, but no luck," Ben said, taking note of the fight. "It hurts seeing friends duke it out like this. Even more knowing that Johnny and Susie are fighting against Reed's side. This type of thing could destroy a family."

"It's already endangering my family's friendship," Sweetie Belle said. "Rarity is fighting Applejack, Bobby is fighting Johnny, can they even come back from something like this?"

"I hope to God they can," Ben said. "I don't want to pick sides, but if things get out of hand, I might need to go down there and take action of my own."

"I am in compliance with that statement," Vision said. "I fear that our interference may be inevitable."

---

Meanwhile Carol was still engaged in combat with Peter, the hero doing his best to dodge each strike. Of course it wasn't too hard, Carol was fast but Peter could read her moves well.

"After everything Tony did for you, after how good of a mentor he was, you turn against him," Carol said. "But I suppose it can't be helped, it's an alpha male thing, all the guys want to be on top. You're like a little boy who got a taste of manhood and you're grasping for it."

"I got my taste of manhood when I became a father," Peter said. "Given your haircut, I'd say you're more desperate for manhood right now than I am."

"Oh real mature," an annoyed Carol said. "For your information, the long hair gets in my eyes."

"I've never seen that happen to you, or a lot of the women heroes I've seen, like Sue," Peter said.

"Don't compare me to Sue, all that power she has and she still stays in her husband's shadow," Carol said. "Weak woman."

"That weak woman has gone against Doctor Doom," Peter said. "Also, her husband's shadow? The group is called 'The Fantastic Four', as in they're each Fantastic."

"If they're all so Fantastic, how come only one of them is even bothering to do the right thing?" Carol asked. "Susan's too foolish to understand which is the superior side, Johnny's too ignorant to know what true justice is, and Ben Grimm won't even fight like a man."

"Does putting down others make you feel better about yourself? Because I can just feel the lack of self-esteem oozing from you," Peter said. "I mean, I'm here if you need to talk out your problems."

"Pfft, talking out problems, I'm not some old sensitive degenerate, I don't let my emotions get in the way of anything I do," Carol said.

"No duh, you don't seem to have much emotion these days," Peter said. "Where's the Carol Danvers I used to know? The nice woman who always thought of others, the inspiring woman who never let troubles weight her down."

"I'm still that same Carol, I'm just not going to be so nice that I let people walk all over me," Carol said, charging up her power. "And I'm certainly not weighed down by anything!"

She sent a massive blast at Peter, ready to put him out of commission when suddenly, Peter fully activated his suit. Seconds suddenly became minutes and the blast coming towards him seemed to come to a complete stop.

He casually strolled over to her side, looking at the fury in this woman's eyes, "What did this to you? What took away the Carol Danvers I called a friend? The one who was a true Avenger? The original Ms. Marvel."

Peter reeled back and punched Carol in the jaw, time resuming and the woman feeling startled by the sudden attack.

"How...?" Carol asked.

"You're not going to be able to catch me," Peter said. "My speed is leagues above yours."

"Pfft, you just got lucky," Carol shouted, and then began flying in. "When I'm done-"

Peter activated his suit again, the woman looking frozen in place, "You have such a massive chip on your shoulder, it's so sad to see." He then hit an uppercut that knocked her back, just as time resumed.

"What the hell is going on!?" Carol shouted in annoyance. "Is this some weird type of magic?"

"The power of science," Peter said, gesturing to his suit. "And a little magic. It's Earth science mixed with Kryptonian science and some magic orbs from other worlds. A little something I spent the last year building, with help from my daughter."

"Your daughter?" Carol asked.

"You remember that I have a daughter right? Cute little girl, no scratch that, THE cutest little girl in the world with those adorable curious eyes and a smile that can melt the hardest of hearts," Peter said. "She gets Logan to smile, that says something. She's going to be a great scientist one day, she might come up with things even I never thought of, or Tony, or anyone. She's got potential and I will be there to make sure it flourishes. This suit is just the start."

"Here I thought Celestia hated tech, does your daughter even know that? Or are you having her follow a dream that will never come true?" Carol asked. "If Celestia takes back the throne, then everything goes backwards for this world, and your daughter will be left sad and disappointed. But I suppose it is like a father to fail his daughter, most men can't handle a strong woman, especially when that strong woman is his daughter, and everything he knows he can't be."

"Crossing the line there, Carol," Peter said. "I would never mislead my daughter, she wants to change the world, and I damn well will support that. I know ponies may not be ready for certain things but that's why you ease into it. It's like training wheels on a bike, or babies taking their first steps. That's an issue I have with The Accords, Tony's going from crawling to track with these rules, it took me a while to realize that but I'm there. I just wish you were."

"Oh I'm aware of the trouble Tony's causing, I'm just waiting for him and that emotionally vulnerable Princess of the Night to let their guards down enough so I can take over," Carol said.

"Excuse me?" Peter said.

"Tony Stark doesn't know what he's doing, he's a fool, like any man in power. All those tools and he can't use them to their full potential, like most men, he lets his ego think he's better than he actually is," Carol said. "Normally I'd hope for Luna to help me usurp him, but she's one of the weaker women, who feels her feelings and emotions can only be vindicated by a man, be it Tony Stark, or you, Peter."

"Me?" Peter asked.

"Not sure you can tell since you're usually dense, but Luna has really strong feelings for you, I mean it's like she's miserable you picked Twilight Sparkle and not her," Carol said, relishing in this moment. "Oh I can only imagine that love story. You're quite the heartbreaker Peter Parker."

"That...is just one big misunderstanding," Peter said. "I know Luna might have felt certain things but she's always been respectful of my relationship with Twilight, and I welcome her as an honorary member of my family with open arms. She's not weak, she's a happy mare."

"Because you only see what's on the outside," Carol said. "Honestly, she must have loved going on that mission with you to Klugetown, too bad Felicia Hardy screwed things up, would have made a nice date."

"Date? I'm married, I'm not dating a girl," Peter said.

"Eh, what's one girl or a hundred to a guy like you?" Carol said.

"You're getting on my nerves a little, what's the point of all this?" Peter asked. "That things didn't work out between me and Luna? We've come to terms on that."

"You, maybe, but Luna? Not so much," Carol said. "I mean, what concern is it of yours anyway? You're not the one who's heart was trampled on. That's the problem with Luna, she's letting her obsession with a guy like you dictate her emotions. Even Spitfire is down that path, it's shameful how giddy she gets when she's talking about that annoying boyfriend of hers. How can such a strong mare be so weak around a guy?"

"Because she loves him, and it's not a weakness, love is strength," Peter said. "A girl letting herself be emotionally vulnerable with a guy she cares about is a precious thing. Men like me, we love our significant others, we take care of them, and in turn they take care of us. We provide them security, they provide us comfort. Maybe if you found someone to love, you'd understand. And if you're not into men, that's fine, you can find a woman instead, whatever makes you happy. Hopefully then you'll have a better understanding, because right now you're really lacking information."

"Ha, think you're so intelligent now? All because you have a wife and daughter you think you understand others? Especially women?" Carol asked.

"I will never understand women, but I do my best, and my wife and daughter appreciate that," Peter said. "Also, I have a son as well."

"How nice..." Carol sarcastically remarked. "You know, Luna's talked about your daughter a few times, she agrees that she's a very bright girl, but she isn't very social, is she? Apparently she doesn't know how to interact with others? I certainly hope that's not some master plan of yours for you to keep her to yourself and utilize her smarts for your own profit. Or are you just ashamed because you truly have failed as a father? Knowing that your daughter can't bear to be out in public and-"

Peter activated his speed once again, the world moving in slow motion as he casually trotted over to Carol.

BAM! WHACK! POW! WHAM! PUNCH! CRACK! BOOM! CRUNCH! KA-THOOM!

Once he was done, time resumed and once again Carol was knocked around, the woman looking dazed with a bit of blood coming down her mouth.

"Alright, how about keeping my daughter out of this conversation," Peter warned.

Carol wiped some blood from her mouth, she hates to admit it, but Peter punches a lot harder than she expected. Getting in his head hasn't proven to be an easy task either, he's got resiliency for sure.

"What is your main goal anyway? Overthrow Tony as leader and oust Luna so you can rule?" Peter asked.

"I'm just trying to find the best course of action when it comes leadership in Equestria," Carol said. "Celestia is too weak willed to be trusted, Luna is too emotional and I dare not leave this world in the care of your wife, so I choose the only one I could mold into the ideal leader."

"Only one?" Peter said. "Wait, do you mean-"

Suddenly he was frozen in place, courtesy of Princess Cadance, and to the delight of Carol, "Great timing Cadance."

"Cadance!?" Peter shouted in surprise. "What are you doing!?"

"Forgive me Peter, but I need to make sure The Accords come out on top," Cadance said.

"Smart girl," Carol said. "See Peter, Cadance is the type of pony that would be perfect for Equestria. Smart woman, knows what her subjects need, and isn't guided by emotions, if anything she controls them more than they control her, plus she has a daughter worthy of being an heir, with some proper educating of course. The only thing weighing her down is her incompetent husband but as long as she keeps him in line, then it's all good. I'd say ditch him but she doesn't want to."

"Cadance, are you alright with this woman disrespecting Shining Armor? Your husband and the father of your daughter?" Peter asked.

"Well...I mean Shining Armor does mean well, but he could stand to be a bit more...useful I guess?" Cadance said.

"Wow..." Peter turned to Carol, a look of disappointment in her eyes. "Is your goal also to tear a family apart? I'm willing to bet you wanted this war to happen to drive not only Luna and Celestia apart, but also drive a wedge between Cap and Tony."

"I was hoping more that Cap would fall into line but he's too stubborn," Carol said, flying towards Peter. "But this works out too, and soon, all of you will be at my mercy."

"Are you really Carol? Or did you get replaced by a Skrull and no one noticed?" Peter asked. "There's no way you're this cruel."

"Cruel? I prefer to see it as...enlightened!" Carol then punched Peter hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. She then started throwing punch after punch, paying him back in kindness for what he did earlier.

Cadance looked a bit distraught, while she wanted to believe Carol had the right idea, she did not like seeing Peter getting hurt. She was very tempted to release the spell and talk this over with Carol, or anything that didn't involve Peter getting hurt.

"Here's a big one for you Peter," Carol said, winding up her punch, charging a massive amount of energy.

"Uh, Carol, that might kill him," Cadance said.

"He'll live, but he won't be moving for a while," Carol said, about to throw her punch when she took a blast from the side, courtesy of Shining Armor.

"I've been waiting to do that," the knight said, sending another blast at Carol's direction, but she dodged and used her charged energy to send a blast of her own towards Shining Armor, the stallion putting up a shield but getting knocked back by the force.

"That will teach you," Carol said, then suddenly found herself dodging more magic blasts. "What now!?"

Now it was Twilight's turn to attack, "You stay away from my brother and husband!" She sent more magic down at her, Carol quickly dodging and flying up to punch Twilight, the alicorn blocking with her magic. "That all you got!?" Twilight then zapped Carol once again.

"Cadance, get her off me!" Carol ordered.

Reluctantly, Cadance had used her magic blast to hit Twilights' wing, causing her to lose balance long enough for Carol to punch her towards the ground, right next to her very surprised brother.

"Cadance! Why would you do that to Twilight!?" Shining Armor said in disbelief.

"Sorry, I had to," Cadance said.

"Has this woman corrupted you this-" Shining's question was interrupted when Carol blasted him once again, knocking him away.

"That's enough from you," Carol said, then focused back on Peter. "Now then-"

Peter lunged in and tackled Carol out of the air, the two rolling across the ground. Cadance went to help but Twilight stood in her path.

"Cadance, tell me you're not actually siding with Carol Danvers!" an angry Twilight shouted. "This woman is tearing Equestria apart, why are you helping her!?"

"She told me it was for the betterment of our future," Cadance said. "She said Celestia and Luna can't handle the responsibility, so she's entrusting it to me."

"That's not her call, this isn't her country! Her job was to protect it, not conquer it!" Twilight shouted.

"Twilight, you just don't understand Carol, I've had a chance to talk to her many times the last few months, she's a great leader and teacher," Cadance said.

"She's a manipulator, and you're letting her get inside your head," Twilight said. "I am not letting you do anything to help her."

"Twilight, don't make me have to fight you," Cadance said. "I will if I must."

At this point, Twilight could only feel betrayal and disappointment, a look of melancholy in her eyes, "So...you choose a woman you've only known a short time, over the family you've built for the last several years. I looked up to you Cadance, you were my foalsitter!"

"Hey if you looked up to me, you wouldn't have been so quick to think I was evil when Shining Armor and I were getting married," Cadance pointed out.

"Are you kidding me!?" Twilight shouted, her magical aura flaring up. "You're gonna throw that in my face!? After everything else I've done for you!?" In her anger, Twilight blasted Cadance across the fields, flying in after her, not quite done yet.

---

Meanwhile, Mayday and her friends had shown up on her glider, close enough to see the fighting, but far enough to be safe from it.

"Whoa, that's a lot of superheroes," Flurry said. "Too bad they're all fighting each other, makes it really hard to root for a winner."

"Things really have gotten bad between Team Iron Man and Team Captain America," Franklin said, the boy feeling a bit worried for both sides.

"They should have just settled things in a tournament, that's more civilized," Flurry said. "I mean, superheroes fighting each other does sound entertaining."

"I mean, you're not wrong but..." Franklin grew even more worried. "I just hope no one gets hurt."

Mayday scoured the battlefield, "Uh, where is daddy? I can't...wait, there he is!" The girl gestured to Peter facing off against Carol.

"I know her, that's Captain Marvel, she protects my mommy's Kingdom," Flurry said. "Wait, why is she fighting Uncle Peter?"

"Guess Spider-Man ended up siding with Captain America," Franklin said. "What do you make of this Mayday?"

"I mean why wouldn't he? Captain Marvel's mean, she hurt Apple Bloom and she just seems like a bully," Mayday said. "I'm glad daddy's fighting her, he'll beat her up."

Carol went to attack Peter again, but the hero had appeared beside her and punched her sides. She went for an uppercut, Peter appearing behind her and punching her back. She tried for a kick but Peter responded with one of his own with a kick to her head.

Carol stood up to dust herself off, looking to strike again when she heard a voice, "Manipulator." She turned to strike but found no one there, then took a punch to the jaw. She then heard another voice. "Home wrecker." She looked around, trying to find any sign of Peter. "I won't forgive this."

She sent a blast behind her, knocking out some nearby Wonderbolts accidentally. "Shit!" She sent out more blasts, almost uncaring of who she hit but that ended when Peter punched her in the stomach, then charged up some electric energy to zap her while throwing another punch.

"Spider-Man's moving really fast now!" Franklin said. "That suit of his is really working well."

"Is it any surprise at all?" Mayday boasted. "Daddy and I made that suit together. It is the result of our combined genius levels. Mixed with some technology from other worlds."

"Like Superman's Kryptonian technology, right?" Franklin asked.

"You've been paying attention, of course I know you're a big fan of Superman," Mayday said. "That tech is what allows the suit to be durable and it adds to the speed. The Materia he got from a girl named Tifa gives the suit it's electric spark, daddy doesn't know how to really use its magic yet but he'll get there eventually. The bohdi blastia he got from a girl named Rita gives the suit energy like a magical battery, plus it has some slight shielding capabilities to make the suit more durable."

"Seems like he's pulled from other worlds," Franklin said.

"Well yeah, daddy always pulls from those around him," Mayday said. "He still remembers some of the moves he learned from Miss Chun Li, like those kicks. Plus daddy's motivation is to be as strong if not stronger than Goku. Not for the same reason Mr. Ryu would, but to make sure he's always strong enough to protect someone. He's going to continue being a great hero and I'm going to be right by his side."

"Like a sidekick?" Franklin asked.

"Sort of, I'm not going to fight," Mayday said. "Though...I wouldn't mind making myself a weapon to protect myself, and my dad if I needed to. Between you and me, I've been working on a version of the Mega Buster that Mega Man uses. He's my favorite Capcom guy, if you can't tell."

"Of course you like the robot," Flurry teased. "Personally, I think the best one is Guile, he reminds me so much of my daddy, I bet he's a family man too."

"Wait, where is your dad?" Franklin asked.

"I see him...and he's hurt," Mayday said.

"Hurt!?" Flurry asked, seeing her dad struggling to stand. "What meanie hurt my dad!?"

"Uh...I see something else you should probably be worrying about," Franklin said, gesturing to the fight between Twilight and Cadance.

"Mayday...why is my mom fighting yours!?" Flurry asked. "Like, what the heck is going on anymore!?"

"I have no idea..." Mayday said, the girl growing concerned. "Wow, these Accords have ruined everything! The sooner my daddy's team wins, the better!"

"Well he's doing great now," Franklin said, gesturing to Peter standing over an injured Carol.

"Had enough yet? Carl?" Peter mocked.

"You can't beat me, you will never surpass me Spider-Man!" Carol angrily shouted.

"Wow, must have hit you a bit too hard, you're delusional," Peter said. Suddenly he had an arm wrapped around his body. "Hey what gives!"

"Got you now Spider-Man!" Kamala bragged. "Try to escape, it won't-"

Suddenly Kamala took a hit to the head, courtesy of Matt's club, causing her to release her grip. "Sorry about that Spider-Man, she gave us the slip!"

"Get him!" Sky Stinger and Vapor Trail flew in to attack but Kurt had teleported beside them and kicked them into each other.

"Thanks Kurt," Matt said.

"It is no trouble," Kurt said, going in to attack again.

"You!" Kamala went to attack but Matt sidestepped and swept kicked her.

"That's enough kid, you're way out of your league, you aren't ready for something like this," Matt said.

"Hey, don't you talk down to my sidekick!" Carol warned.

"Yeah, I'm strong!" Kamala said. "I won't lose to the likes of you!"

"Wow Carol, you really like molding these girls into what you think they should be, sounds like projection," Peter said.

"Hey Carol helped me when no one would, you have no idea how hard my life was before I met her," Kamala said. "I was a very lonely girl with little to no friends, all I was good for was some pranks or teasing, my life isn't as good as the one you two have with your big, famous hero reputations, like I bet you couldn't even imagine my struggles."

Peter and Matt exchanged glances at each other, in spite of Matt's inability to see through his eyes, before the two focused back on Kamala.

"Sorry if you had a hard life," Peter said.

"But that's no excuse to side with a woman like Carol to make other lives harder," Matt said.

"I don't like being talked down too!" Kamala said.

"We're not talking down to you, we just want to make sure you turn out better than what Carol is teaching you," Peter said. "I mean-" Peter's Spider Sense went off and he leapt over an energy blast, glaring right at Carol. "You have no sense of honor, do you!"

Matt felt his own Radar Sense blip as he dodged out of the way of Kamala's punch, "Guess we need to do this the hard way."

Flurry could see this from her location as well, "So Kamala's fighting too, against some creepy guy in red."

"That's Daredevil, I think he's friends with my daddy," Mayday said. "They were both street level heroes that protected different parts New York."

"Oh yeah, while Spider-Man mostly handled Queens and Midtown Manhattan, Daredevil mainly stuck to Hell's Kitchen," Franklin said. "Different heroes working together, the way it should be."

"Daddy and Daredevil made it work, they had the right idea, too bad Tony Stark doesn't see it that way," Mayday said. "Where is he anyway? Any of you see him?"

"No, but I see Rumble," Flurry said, gesturing to the colt. "He's fighting that Pegasus girl that was on his Buckball team."

"Wait really?" Mayday said, taking note of Rumble's fight with Wind Sprint, with both Silverstream and Barley Barrel helping their respective teammates. "Wow, that's terrible, now that Friendship is in danger."

"Lots of them are," Franklin said. "I can see my uncle Johnny fighting Iceman."

True to his word, Mayday spotted the duo clashing in the skies above. "Eh, I mean I don't like Bobby but, I know he and Johnny are friends too."

"Applejack is fighting Miss Rarity," Flurry said, gesturing to the two brawling on the ground, Rarity sticking to her magic to keep Applejack from getting too close.

"Oh no...mommy's friends shouldn't be hurting each other," Mayday said. "They love each other, this just isn't right!"

"My dad's fighting Gambit..." Franklin said, gesturing to the nearby fight. "Gambit's a nice man, why is my dad fighting him?"

"If it's a mean hero, that's fine, but so many of them are friends with each other," Mayday said, the girl feeling a bit letdown. "This is why I'm glad I don't have many friends, Friendship isn't as magical as mommy says it is if this could happen."

"How could you say that? Friendship IS Magic," Flurry said. "Just because they're fighting doesn't make it less true."

"Come on, you see what I see, if Friendship really is magic, then no one would be fighting their friends out there," Mayday said. "Applejack wouldn't be fighting Rarity, Bobby wouldn't be fighting Johnny, Rumble wouldn't be fighting Wind Sprint. Even sisters like Celestia and Luna, and best friends like Iron Man and Captain America are fighting. Friendship is just an illusion."

"But what about us?" Franklin asked. "We're friends, is that an illusion?"

"Well, no, you actually make me feel safe," Mayday said. "But what about them!?"

"You said yourself, your dad is friends with Daredevil, and they're helping each other out," Franklin said. "One of Rainbow Dash's friends helped her out too when she needed it, Friendship is still a good thing, but I guess some friends just forgot that."

"You never will, right Frankie?" Mayday asked.

"Absolutely not, no power on Earth or Equestria could make me want to fight you," Franklin said. He turned back to the battle, "I wish the same could be said for all of them."

"I don't think all hope is lost," Flurry said. "The spark of Friendship can overcome even the darkest of times."

---

Rainbow Dash continued battling against Spitifre, ramming into her, knocking the wind out of Spitfire, but the mare still had the strength to headbutt Rainbow Dash.

"Is this because I called you 'Crash!?" Spitfire asked, punching Rainbow Dash.

"Please, I'm not a sensitive little filly," Rainbow Dash said, punching back. "This is about the lack of respect you've shown me and my husband!"

"Lack of respect? What are you talking about!?" Spitfire kneed Dash's stomach. "I had all the respect in the world for you two! You were my top flyers!"

Rainbow Dash elbowed Spitfire's back and followed up with a kick, "Then why did you undermine us any chance you got? Put us on probation over one accident and relegate us to the academy!?"

"I was trying to look out for you!" Spitfire said, raising Rainbow Dash's curiosity. "Things were changing, and I wanted to make sure you two stayed out of trouble as much as possible. Tony was mad when his building got destroyed so I did what I had to do to make it seem like I had your antics under control. I never meant to disrespect you."

"Why didn't you tell us this before!?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I didn't think it mattered, I mean you've screwed up before and always took your repercussions with stride, you always admitted to your mistakes when most Bolts would have tried covering it up!" Spitfire said. "But, maybe I was being too harsh, I don't even remember the last time I complimented you on a job well done."

Rainbow Dash hesitantly dropped her guard, sheepishly rubbing her head, "Maybe I did overreact myself, but given what happened with Johnny, and all this other piled on frustration..."

"You couldn't help but rebel," Spitfire finished. "You know, you're right about one thing. Carol was out of line, I should have stood up for you and Johnny more. I was just trying to help Tony with his idea, he's a good man and I think he had a lot of great points. Not to mention he's a really chill boss when he wants to be."

"Yeah, I remember how cool he was before all this," Rainbow Dash said.

"Dang it, we shouldn't be fighting," Spitfire said. "But, calling this off now, it's next to impossible."

"We gotta figure something out," Rainbow Dash said. "Otherwise, we'll tear each other apart."

"I'll go find my friends, you find yours," Spitfire ordered.

"Yes ma'am," Rainbow Dash said, speeding off.

"Heh, after all that, she still calls me 'ma'am'," Spitfire commented. "She's a good mare, better than I ever was."

---

Meanwhile Applejack was still dodging Rarity's blasts, doing her best to maneuver in. Though she couldn't help but notice that Rarity didn't seem to be putting her all into her attacks, she's even seen hesitation in her actions, and not to mention, it seemed remarkably easy to dodge as well.

Applejack tried rushing in again, Rarity sending her blasts, some seemed to be missing on purpose as well, further proving Applejack's theory. Once she got in close enough, she stood before Rarity, looking ready to strike.

Rarity readied her magic to protect herself, though to her surprise, Applejack held her hoof out in a state of surrender. "Rarity, this is ridiculous. Ah don't want to fight you. Ah can't, you mean too much to me, and-"

Almost to her surprise, Rarity brought Applejack in for a hug, the girl loudly sobbing, "I don't want to fight you either! This is so silly, you and I are best friends! I can't let some silly rule tear us apart!"

"Whoa, easy Rares," Applejack said as Rarity accidentally squeezed tighter.

"Could you ever forgive me for being so foolish!?" Rarity asked.

"Ah can, now can you please...lighten up the grip?" Applejack said, Rarity immediately obliging.

"Sorry dear," Rarity said.

"Look, we should stop this fighting, lets find our friends, family and husbands, see if we can talk some sense into them," Applejack said.

"Yes, of course," Rarity said, the two now looking to find others to stop the fighting.

---

Logan and Deadpool continued their brawl, Deadpool doing his best to knock Logan off balance, but he knows that this is a man with decades of experience. Logan in turn knew that Deadpool would be very difficult to defeat.

"Wilson, let’s say Stark wins, what do you think is going to come of that?" Logan asked, leaping back.

"Well I'll get to be a hero and be taken seriously, it's that simple," Deadpool said, going to attack again.

"Is it really that simple?" Logan asked.

"I'll make it work, I just want to be more than the funny guy of the group," Deadpool said. "No one ever takes me seriously, and I get that I've done and said stupid stuff before, but I still crave a little respect. I'm capable of change, I've had to do so to be able to be with Pinkie Pie."

"You? Change for Pinkie Pie?" Logan asked.

"Pinkie Pie, she knows when to take things seriously, and that's something even I struggled with. There was even a time where she herself found my actions annoying, if I didn't want to lose her as my girlfriend, I had to put in an effort," Deadpool said. "I'm glad I did, because I really did love her, and now she's the mother of my twins. Now it's their turn. Like I said before, I want to change, so my kids don't have to grow up with the shame of having a dad like me. All the love in the world won't mean anything if I can't be a good influence."

"Wilson, look around, are you proud to be part of this fighting?" Logan asked. "What would yer kids say? Knowing you found other heroes for something so petty? Is that really something to be proud of?"

Deadpool tensed up, hesitantly turning to the battle and seeing all the terrible things. Slowly but surely, Wade removed his mask, almost ashamed of what he's witnessing. "I...didn't even think of that part."

"You want to be better, that's a good thing, but this is not how it's supposed to be done," Logan said. "Fighting isn't a good way to solve a problem. You can still do the right thing, you owe it to yer wife and kids."

Wade looked at his mask, something he wanted his kids to think of when they think of the symbol of heroes. This is more like his old mercenary days, and that's not the message he wants to send for his kids, "What should I do then?"

"We stop this fighting, but do it more like our wives would," Logan said. "Remind everyone of their Friendship with one another."

"Yeah, sure," Wade said, placing his mask back on. "Let’s do this."

---

The heroes continued fighting across the battlefields, Elektra clashing hard against Natasha, the two making the most of their martial arts skills to outdo one another.

Quake continued using her powers to keep Sandman at bay, vibrating him and the ground around him while he slammed his fist down in an attempt to stop her.

Gilda and Darkhawk flying through the air, clashing against one another, Darkhawk making the most of his technology while Gilda stuck closer to her raw power.

Sentry and Hercules fighting hard enough to avoid causing too much damage around them, thinking of their teams, both focusing more on ways to incapacitate the other without getting too carried away.

Hank and Scott continued to battle, everyone steering clear of the two giants as they exchanged blows, trying their best to knock the other over.

Bobby and Johnny were across from one another, one hardening up his ice, the other readying his fire, neither willing to stop. Both charged in, ready to strike when Rarity and Rainbow Dash appeared in the middle, the two immediately stopping in their tracks.

"Rarity, are you nuts!? You could have gotten hurt!" Bobby said.

"Dash, you gave me a scare," Johnny said.

"This needs to stop," Rarity said. "No more fighting."

"This isn't taking us anywhere," Rainbow Dash said.

"But...the rules," Bobby said. "Rarity, you know we have to fight to keep Tony's rules in order."

"Are those rules worth losing so many Friendships?" Rarity asked. "Everyone's fighting each other over nothing! How could you be okay with that!?"

"I...I mean..." Bobby was conflicted.

"Johnny, I know we need to stop The Accords from taking over, but this is not the way to do it," Rainbow Dash said. "We gotta work this out peacefully before things get worse."

"It's...really not going to be that easy," Johnny said. "Stopping a fight like this is damn near impossible."

"It's better than not trying at all," Rainbow Dash said. "You know this is the right thing to do, don't you?"

"Please Bobby, make the right call," Rarity pleaded, both husbands now reconsidering things.

---

Meanwhile Peter continued to fend off against Carol, seemingly dancing in place as time just moved in a funky way for him. Carol was furious, no matter what she did, she couldn't stop him no matter how hard he tried.

"I...will NOT...lose to you," Carol insisted, throwing all the energy balls she could at Peter.

Peter sped right by her side, "You just sound like a villain now."

Carol immediately leapt back, sending more energy beams at Peter. Immediately using his speed and strength, Peter dodged all the blasts to deliver a series of strikes, using his speed to knock her off balance.

"Stop...moving..." Carol said, trying to catch Peter. No matter what she did, she couldn't keep up, Peter was just too fast for her. "I can't lose to you! I refuse!"

The hero eventually did stop, but not before dealing a final blow that finally brough Carol down. Peter wiped a bit of sweat from his head, then took a look around, seeing the rest of the fighting that was happening nearby.

Using his speed, he made his way around the battlefield, seeing so many hurt or injured. Cloudchaser, Luke Cage, Lizard, Bon Bon, Sugar Belle, Night Glider, Bucky, a lot of them fighting hard and some just not holding back.

He could see the showdown between Tigra and Felicia, Tigra with a few bruises on her face while Felicia was cut up a bit. He could see the blows that Thunderlane took and returned to Pickle Barrel. He could see Silverstream engaged in a fight with Barley Barrel, the former with some cuts and bruises, the latter with a black eye.

He could spot a now recovered Shining Armor facing off against Fleetfoot, as well as an injured Babs being tended to by Big Macintosh.

What really bothered him were the three big fights. Twilight against Cadance, Luna and Celestia and Tony and Steve. All this fighting only reminded him of his time in Sweetie Belle's future, seeing all his friends dying. All it takes is one mistake, and this war could get even more violent.

Flashes went through his mind, recalling the future versions of Dinky, Rainbow Dash and Applejack, as well as the injury that Pinkie Pie received. He could remember seeing the last bit of Luna's lifeforce, his inability to save Trixie, knowing what terrible fate fell on Apple Bloom, Twilight and Mayday. He could remember all the trauma he endured, leading him to that sinful night with Sweetie Belle. Everything rushed back to him, no matter what he did, no matter how much he tried to move in, he could never erase the trauma.

He hoped to do something the day the Changelings came like planned, to make peace with them, instead that ended in disaster with random rebels attacking the Changelings. One of the many things that likely led to The Accords. Now once again Equestria was in war, among heroes who should be protecting others, not fighting themselves.

He looked up at the battle between Scott and Hank, the boy trying to force a smile, "Heh...like Godzilla and King Kong, that's...that's..." It was pointless, despite his attempt at humor, hoping to alleviate his own stress, he just couldn't do it. "Why am I cracking jokes now? I gotta end this, now!"

---

As he resumed time, the battles continued, Celestia and Luna clashing in the skies above.

"Luna, one thousand years ago you challenged me, it resulted in banishment, why are you risking that again!?" Celestia angrily shouted.

"Last time I was corrupted by the Nightmare, it left me weak and vulnerable!" Luna said. "This time it's me! It's all me!" Luna's eyes briefly glowed during that, the mare holding her head in pain. "Stay out of this!"

"Luna, you're still being manipulated!" Celestia said. "You have to-"

"Silence!" Luna shouted, blasting Celestia. "I will not allow you to get in my head!"

"Luna, please, I just got you back!" Celestia tearfully pleaded. "I don't want to lose you again!"

Briefly hesitant, Luna held back on her next attack, thinking things over. But her rage just took over, "I...am not losing again!"

She sent more magic as Celestia blocked the attack. Last time she had to banish Luna, but truth be told, she could not do so again, not without The Elements of Harmony. Even if they were around, by this point, she feels like she could no longer use them anyway, she barely feels any connection to them, wondering how such a thing came to be. Perhaps it was her own anger and fault, as the last time she used them, she did so out of anger.

Mayday looked heartbroken the sight ahead of her, "This is bad, Luna shouldn't be fighting like this!"

"This is going to tear Equestria apart, somepony has to stop this," Flurry said.

---

Twilight and Cadance continued fighting nearby, but with less heart put into it. Neither of them really wanted to hurt the other after all.

"Cadance," Twilight leapt back, looking to her foalsitter. "We shouldn't be fighting, you're like a sister to me, I can't hurt you!"

"I don't want to hurt you either, you're precious to me," Cadance said, feeling remorseful. "I don't know what to think anymore, Carol just told me so many things and some of them made sense, but...I don't know, she made me feel like I'd only be of use if I followed her advice, I don't have the confidence to think for myself."

"Cadance, you're a great ruler and a wise mare, you taught me so much and you helped me become the mare that I am," Twilight said. "You're one of the reasons I have such a loving relationship with my husband, you're a smart mare, don't think less of yourself just because of some miserable woman."

"All those things she said about Shining Armor, I just took it, I couldn't even stand up for my own husband," Cadance said, the mare tearing up. "I'm a failure of a Princess."

"You're not a failure, don't talk like that!" Twilight shouted. "You're Princess Mi Amore Cadenza! You're an Alicorn, that's something you earned with your own hard work! Nopony can take that away from you! Not even that...that...THOT!"

"Thot?" Cadance asked.

"I heard Scott Lang say it once," Twilight said. "Look, we can end this properly, starting with Celestia and Luna before anything bad happens."

"Right...and Twilight," Cadance said. "I'm sorry about throwing that wedding thing in your face, that was uncalled for. I don't blame you for worrying about your brother, it's sweet how much you love him."

"I'm just glad you weren't evil, it would have broken my heart," Twilight said.

"Aw, you're the sweetest," Cadance said, extending her wings. "Lets hurry."

---

In the middle of it all, Tony and Steve were fighting the hardest. Tony sending his replulsor blasts at Steve, the first Avenger deflecting everything and rushing in to punch Tony in the jaw with his shield, then hitting him with an uppercut

Tony flew up, blasting down at Steve again, who once again tried deflecting but his shield was briefly knocked away and he took a blast to his chest.

Taking the opportunity, Tony flew in to attack but Steve punched him back, then rolled to grab his shield and charged in.

Tony sent more blasts, aiming near Steve's feet to make him stumble, but the Avenger rolled through, tossing his shield at Tony's head, stunning him long enough to jump in with a kick to knock the iron hero back again.

Tony used his thrusters to reel back in with a punch to Steve's face, then threw several more strikes at The First Avenger and blasted him across the field.

"Just give up!" Tony shouted.

Steve stood up, smirking at Tony as he wiped some blood off his face, "I can do-"

"This all day, yeah, I know," Tony said, finishing the sentence in annoyance. "Honestly does that make you feel cool or something?"

"I'm just being honest," Steve said. "I will fight you to the end if I have do."

Tony groaned in annoyance, he of all people know how stubborn Steve can be, it's usually admirable as an ally, not so much as an enemy. "You are not making this easy."

"Neither are you!" Steve shouted, rushing in with his shield just as Tony sent out his blast that parried the shield.

Tony reeled back and punched Steve across the jaw, Steve doing the same, the two taking turns trading blows, though Steve got in a knee to Tony's stomach, then hit him with an uppercut.

Tony rolled through, sending some smart bombs that Steve immediately blocked with his shield, but it did push him back more, allowing Tony to fly in with a punch that knocked the shield out of his hands and another uppercut.

Steve rolled back and shoulder rammed Tony, then leapt for his shield, rolling through to avoid another blast as he ran in with a shield uppercut, immediately following with some hard strikes, that began to damage Tony's suit.

"Suit levels, overloading," his computer said. "Risk of shut down."

"Not happening!" Tony shouted, sending an Ion Chest beam that sent Steve flying back, Tony struggling over to his former ally and delivering some massive blows to his face and stomach, headbutting him a few times and hitting an elbow to knock him over. "I worked...TOO HARD to make it here! I am not giving up on everything!"

Steve blocked a strike and returned one of his own across Tony's jaw, knocking him for a loop, but that didn't deter Tony as he hit an uppercut, knocking Cap over. "Why are you making me do this!? Your inept fighting is just going to drive this world into a spiral that it won't come back from! I mean really, what's the worst thing that can happen with a few laws to keep heroes in order!? To keep ponies in order!" Tony blasted Steve again, knocking him over, "What do you think you're saving by doing this!?"

"Our...Friendship..." Steve said, glancing up at Tony. "I'm trying to save our Friendship. I've seen what money and power can do, how it can corrupt! Dammit Tony, I'm doing this to protect you! Because I am not losing a friend to this bullshit!"

Tony's eyes widened in shock, trying to process this, not knowing what Steve could be talking about. "I'm...I'm not corrupt, I'm the good guy here! Dammit, I'm trying to keep the world safe! How is that corrupt!?"

"Hey look...I can see Captain America and Iron Man," Franklin said, gesturing to the two in the center of the conflict. "Are they done fighting?"

"Tony," Steve said, hesitantly making his way over to his friend.

"Get back," Tony warned, stepping away.

"Tony, come on, please," Steve said, trying to comfort his friend.

"I said get back!" Tony fired a beam that Steve dodged, that same beam going toward Mayday's glider, the vehicle taking a hit and all three kids crashing toward the ground, in the middle of the fighting. Tony realized only a few seconds too late, "Wait, were those...kids!?"

"Kids!?" Steve turned to where the glider may have crashed, making his way through the battle with Tony right behind him.

---

Mayday began standing up, trying to process what happened when she nearly got tramped on by some of the heroes, many of them still fighting, sending blasts at each other. Mayday frantically began moving around, trying to find her way out of this. "Frankie!? Flurry!?"

More beams came crashing down around her, magical or tech, explosions everywhere, too much to take in. Her senses were going off like crazy, trying her best to process what was happening, but it was going too fast. Her heart began pounding, the girl sweating, her breathing becoming abnormal, she couldn't handle this.

She curled into a ball, trying to drown out the noises of the fighting, the blasting, the nearby explosions, the tremors on the ground, especially from the two giants in the area, not to mention the battle between Sentry and Hercules, so much happening at once, so much ringing going on in her head, it was excruciating for her.

Before long, she began screaming in terror, crying out to be saved, "DADDY!!!!"

Peter's eyes widened in shock the moment he heard his daughter, "Mayday!?"

It was at that point that the fighting began to slow, many of the heroes taking note of the now scared and crying little girl.

"Is that Mayday!?" Johnny asked, flying over.

"Oh sweet heavens!" Applejack said, quickly making her way over.

"Mayday!" Rumble shouted.

"Oh damn..." Taskmaster said.

Everyone began to surround Mayday, trying to check on her, making sure she wasn't hurt. It was difficult since she was scared and crying.

"Mayday! It's me, Uncle Johnny!" the Flame hero said. "Don't worry, we're here for you!"

"Are you hurt!?" Rarity asked.

Mayday was still in a ball, trying to comfort herself, and while the other heroes meant well, they were not making things easier for the panicking girl.

"Mayday! Mayday!" Pinkie called. "Can you hear me!?"

"Of course she can, don't shout, you're going to make her more nervous!" Remy said.

"But we gotta do something!" Pinkie said.

"She's probably scared, she got caught in the middle of a fight!" Bucky said.

"No kidding," Rumble said.

"Mayday dear, it's Auntie Luna," the Night Princess said. "Say something to me."

"Someone find her dad already, that's who she wants right now!" Sam shouted.

Peter rushed over to the group, trying to get in, "Mayday! Mayday! Daddy's here!"

"Hey her dad's here! Move out the way!" Sandman said, using his powers to create space. "Go on Spidey."

"Thanks Flint," Peter said, rushing to check on her daughter. "Mayday! It's alright, daddy's here."

The moment Mayday saw her dad, she latched onto him, still crying from what happened, "Daddy!"

"I'm here, don't worry," Peter said, hugging his daughter.

"Daddy, my head hurts!" Mayday said. "It was too loud! I hated it!"

"I know, it's alright," Peter said, comforting his daughter. He knew what happened, from the sounds of things, Matt had an idea what was happening as well. Within seconds everyone moving in close again to check on her, much to Peter's annoyance. "Hey, too close."

"But we're worried," Rarity said.

"He said yer too close!" Logan shouted, getting their attention. "Back off from them! Let Parker do his job."

"Mayday!" Twilight said, making her way over.

"Her mother is coming now, please make room everyone," Kurt asked, everyone obliging.

"Oh Mayday," Twilight said, stroking her head while Peter continued to comfort her.

"Mayday!" Came Franklin's voice, his mother immediately noticing.

"Franklin? What are you doing here?" Susan asked.

"Why is Flurry here too?" Shining Armor asked. "What's going on!"

"This way!" the group heard. Coming in from the distance was Apple Bloom along with her friends. They came across everyone, by this point the fighting was done. "Uh, what happened?"

"Apple Bloom, why is Mayday here!?" Twilight asked. "You and your friends were supposed to be watching her."

"Sorry Twilight, she snuck away from us," Apple Bloom said. "Ah think she was worried about you."

"Well your lack of attentiveness nearly caused trouble for her!" Twilight scolded. "How could you be so careless, we trusted you to watch her!"

"It was an accident, we didn't mean to lose her," Scootaloo said.

"Yeah, we did our best," Dinky said.

"Well your best wasn't good enough," Twilight said. "I knew I should have asked Sandbar, he's a bit more responsible for his age."

"Hey, we're better that that piece of-OW!" Scootaloo hit Dinky's side before she could finish.

"Don't make this worse!" Scootaloo said.

"Twilight, I'm not happy either, but we can focus on that later," Peter said. "Right now, we need to get Mayday home."

"Wait, weren't you all just fighting right now though?" Diamond Tiara asked, earning some glares. "Sure seems like there was a fight."

"Yes, there was, thank you," an annoyed Peter said. "Look we need to-"

"Peter! Watch out!" Sweetie Belle called from the distance.

Too later, suddenly Peter took a blast from behind, courtesy of Carol, "Shouldn't have dropped your guard!"

"Peter!" Apple Bloom shouted in worry.

"Carol! What the hell are you doing!?" Tony shouted in anger. "This isn't the time to-"

"Shut up!" Carol blasted Tony as well. "This fight is not over!"

"Alright, I'm messing you up!" Rumble flew in to attack but he took a punch to the jaw. Silverstream tried as well but Carol dodged and kicked her aside. Johnny then flew in and sent a fire blast at her to distract her long enough for Steve to toss a shield at her head, Spitfire flying in to kick Carol to the ground.

Sandman generated a hammer and whacked Carol a few times, Bucky taking the opportunity to punch her with his metallic arm. Vision flew over and blasted Carol from behind with his laser while She-Hulk delivered a massive punch to her jaw.

Rumble and Silverstream flew in again, this time connecting blows to Carol while Tony blasted her a few times with his repulsors.

Luna and Celestia used their magic to latch onto Carol and sent waves of it to bring pain to the former pilot, with Cadance stepping in and helping with that. Twilight was the last, using her magic the harshest.

"This for everything you've done! I will NEVER forgive you, Carol Danvers!" Twilight shouted, then proceeded to us her magic slam her a few times before blasting her hard with her magic, leaving the woman unconscious.

Luna trapped her in a magical cage immediately, finally done with Carol's nonsense as she went to check on the hero she once loved, "Peter...are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Peter said. "Mayday?"

"I'm ok," Mayday said, wiping her nose.

"Mayday, what happened to you exactly?" Twilight asked.

"I don't know, so much was happening and it just hurt my head," Mayday said. "So many loud noises, so many people..."

"It's fine Mayday, we'll talk about this later," Peter said.

"Is there something wrong with me?" Mayday asked.

Peter shook his head, "No...There's nothing wrong with you, because I know exactly how you feel."

"Same here," Matt said. "It'll be alright Mayday, you're no longer in any danger."

"That's right..." Tony said, getting everyone's attention. With Luna and Spitfire by his side, he spoke up with words that surprised everyone, "I surrender...you win. I'm done pushing this."

"Tony..." Twilight said in surprise.

"Seeing your daughter crying like that, all because of my pride, and irresponsibleness...that's not the hero I'm supposed to be," Tony said. "I am not going to be responsible for any other little girl's grief if I can help it. Heroes make kids feel safe, I failed, so I'm done."

"You guys win, we'll concede to your demands," Spitfire said.

"Tony...listen," Steve said. "You're not the only one at fault here, we've all made mistakes, and I feel just as responsible for what happened just now. We don't hate your idea, it just needs a bit of work. I know you want to help, and maybe I could have handled this better."

"But, we can help now," Twilight said. "Tony, in spite of everything, we do want to give this a chance, you just need to be willing to listen, and be flexible."

"And perhaps, this is my fault," Celestia said. "Tony, if I hadn't worried you with my own fears, if I too had been more open minded, maybe things would not have gotten this far. I failed as a Princess, perhaps I am no longer suited to be Equestria's ruler if I allowed a war like this to break out."

"Princess Celestia, don't say that," Twilight said. "You're a great Princess, we can fix this."

"I want to fix this, I'm open to any ideas you might have," Tony said.

"I might have some," Blueblood said, having made his way over with the others. "I've been reading over these laws, and researching how things were handled before by this S.H.I.E.L.D. company. I may not have all the answers you need, but I am more than willing to give you my input."

"Oh, wow, thanks Blueblood," Peter said.

"Oh don't mention it, it's the least I can do," Blueblood said, unaware of a portal opening nearby. "Last thing I want is another war in this Kingdom I call a home, I mean can you imagine losing all that?"

"War?" Came the voice of Sunset Shimmer. Everyone turned to see the distraught Unicorn alongside Ryu, Cloud, Goku, Doctor Strange and Thor.

"Sunset? You're back," Twilight said.

"Twilight, what happened," an unhappy Sunset asked.

"Oh, just a little disagreement," Twilight nervously insisted.

"They went to war," Smolder said.

"Big mouth!" Rumble shouted.

Thor groaned in annoyance, "I can't leave you mortals alone for five seconds."

Tony pointed to Steve, "He started it." That got him a few glares, "Worth a shot."

---

Unbeknownst to them, things were not looking good in Ponyville, as ponies were now under the control of Martin Li, with Cozy Glow overlooking the town from the school.

"It's all going according to plan, soon I'll have all the Friendship Power I need to become Princess," Cozy Glow said, her intensity rising. "With all that power, and my sweet Sandy by my side, I will be unstoppable! Finally, I can have it all, friends, family, no longer just that pitiful little Pegasus. No one will look down on me! Anyone who does I'll just crush!"

Taking a moment to catch her breath, Cozy Glow calmed her mind, trying to regain some composure.

"Guess I got a teensy bit angry there, it happens to the best of us, right Starlight?" Cozy turned to see Starlight, seemingly under control.

"Y-yes Headmare Cozy..." Starlight was struggling to break free.

"Ugh, you and your resiliency, maybe I'll just imprison you or something if Marty can't keep you under control," Cozy Glow said, looking over the school. "Now, where's my sweet Sandy?"

---

At the Parker-Sparkle home in the lab below, Trixie along with Autumn Blaze, Gallus and Sandbar were in hiding with Hope and Benjy.

"Great, the moment the heroes leave town, a villain shows up," Trixie lamented. "Stupid Accords!"

"We're on our own for now, unless those heroes come back in time," Sandbar said. "Guess we'll just have to stop that villain ourselves, and rescue our friends."

"Right, Starlight's at the school still," Trixie said.

"So is Yona," Gallus said.

"And Jubilee," Autumn Blaze said.

"And Cozy Glow..." Sandbar said, worried for the girl. "We gotta get her back, I'm not letting anyone hurt her."

---

Meanwhile, at Capcom.

Wesker, Vergil, Juri and Tron were all standing before their own portals.

"You each know what to do," Wesker said. "Find the top spider of your timeline, and see what that spider can do."

"Yes sir," the three said.

"Make sure you come back with plenty of research data," the Researcher woman said.

"We certainly will, Vomi," Wesker said, leading his troops through the portals.

Many dangers still lurked as bigger trouble rose around the current situation. The war between The Accords was over, but one mission remained, to liberate Ponyville.

Pushing Back Negatives

The aftermath of the battle could have been much worse than it was. At the very least, everyone's alive. Plus no damage was done to Canterlot, with all the fighting taking place outside, and no projectiles going near the castle.

At the very least, the battle was over, with Tony admitting defeat, along with not wanting to risk causing more stress or anxiety for Mayday given that the poor girl was still shaken up from having been caught in the middle of the battle However the problems didn't end there.

Sunset Shimmer was back, along with her friends and allies, including Thor and Doctor Strange, along with her allies from other worlds, and she needed answers.

"Listen, I know we owe you an explanation," Tony began. "But let’s start with you, I mean, we haven't seen any of you in months. How are things back home? Did you find Loki?"

Solemnly, Thor shook his head, "My home is no more. I could not prevent Ragnarök."

"Oh my..." Celestia said. She recalled Thor worrying about losing his Kingdom, and it seemed like those worries had come to pass. "What of your subjects? And your father?"

"My father has fallen in battle," Thor confirmed. "As it stands, I am the current King of Asgard’s subjects.”

"I am so sorry to hear that," Celestia said. "I know it's hard to lose someone you care about."

"My father died honorably in battle, fighting for his people," Thor said. "There will be time to mourn, but I wish to tend to my subjects."

"Did you manage to save everyone?" Tony asked.

"I saved who I could, no doubt some were lost in the crossfire," Thor said. "But thanks to Sunset Shimmer and the rest of our otherworldly allies, we managed to save many."

"Just barely," Strange said. "Things could have been so much worse."

"But, they weren't," Ryu said. "Regardless of what happened in Asgard, Sunset did her best, same goes to all who fought, and those who died honorably in battle, as similar to King Odin."

"What about Loki and those other villains?" Peter asked, Mayday resting on his back.

"He was there as expected, but he got away," Thor said. "A Fire Giant had shown up, by that point, Loki knew he had no hoping of claiming Asgard, so he exited with his allies while Sutur decimated my home."

"So those villains are still out there?" Twilight asked.

"Most of them, at the very least, the one you call The Storm King has been vanquished," Thor said.

"The Storm King's dead!?" Silverstream asked. "Oh wow, wait till my aunt hears about that."

"Silverstream?" Strange said. "Wait, were you part of this battle too?"

"Oh, you actually remembered me, cool," Silverstream said. "And yeah, I'm a Wonderbolt. Or I was a Wonderbolt, until I quit since things weren't going so well."

"What exactly happened here?" Ryu asked.

"You mentioned a war," Sunset said.

"Right, so here's the thing..." Tony began. "Thor, remember how I said that I wanted to create a bit of order in Equestria with my Accords? How the plan was that everyone has a role and we can keep this world safe from destruction?"

"What about it?" Thor asked.

"It had holes, and it led to some really bad disagreements," Tony said. "Cap here didn't like my rules, so he rounded up an army to change them."

"It goes beyond not liking his rules, more like the rules caused situations to escalate," Steve said. "Heroes should not be arrested for saving people."

"...I'm going to need so much more info but first thing's first," Sunset said. "There are a lot of refugees on the other side of this portal. I thought they could stay here for a bit while Thor figures some stuff out."

"You brought refugees here?" Tony asked. "What would you do that for?"

"Tony!" Steve scolded.

"Hey Celestia's the one who wanted to limit interdimensional travel," Tony said.

"I can't argue that..." Celestia said. "It's fine though, if there are those who need our help, then we should help."

"Still, why here? Why didn't you bring them to Earth?" Tony asked.

"Sunset just needed to be back home, she's had a rough time in Asgard, and she really needed the company of her friends here," Thor said. "Plus, we may need a little assistance regarding another situation, so we figured while we were at it, we can have the refugees settle here temporarily until I figure out where I can build New Asgard."

"They'd probably have to turn into ponies," Tony said.

"There might be a way to work around that," Strange said. "But yeah, they might have to be ponies for a bit, hope they don't mind."

"Better to be ponies than to be living in fear," Thor said.

"I can assist you if you'd like Thor," Twilight said.

"I would appreciate that, and your magic may come in handy for...other reasons," Thor said.

"What other reasons?" Twilight asked.

"Like I said, Sunset was busy," Strange said.

"Strange..." Ryu warned.

"Look, I know she didn't mean to but...well you'll see for yourself when you go inside the ship," Strange said. "Seeing is believing."

"Just keep this in mind," Cloud said. "Sunset really was trying to help, she might have saved many lives in the process."

"I will not judge her actions, I trust Sunset did what she felt she had to do," Twilight said to alleviate any worry Sunset currently had. "I'll go in and see."

"Wanna go see too Peter?" Strange asked. "Something tells me you might like the surprise."

"I would but..." Peter gestured to his still spooked daughter.

"Oh what happened to Mayday?" Sunset asked. "Wait, why was she out here?"

"Honestly, I never got an answer but, she got caught in the middle of the crossfire and it gave her a really bad scare," Peter said.

Sunset immediately glared at those involved in the battle, everyone awkwardly turning away. She turned back to the filly, "How are you feeling, Mayday?"

"A little better," Mayday said, her voice soft but audible.

"Stephen, I don't suppose you know any magic tricks that would help a child feel better?" Sunset asked.

"What am I? A magician at a birthday party?" Strange asked.

"You could just say 'no'," Cloud said.

"Hey, let me take her," Goku said.

"Goku? You want to?" Peter asked, Mayday's ears perking. "Wait, are you even good with kids?"

"Well yeah, I have two sons, and a granddaughter," Goku said. "I know how to take care of a kid."

"Perhaps I should," Luna said, trotting over. "I am her Godmother after all."

"Wanna go with Auntie Luna?" Peter asked, earning a nod from his daughter. "You can take her Luna."

"Come dear," Luna said, using her magic to lift Mayday onto her back. "I'll keep you safe."

"Aw, I could have done that," Goku said.

"No offense mister, but you did hurt my daddy once, and you broke his suit," Mayday said. "I'm not sure if I want to be near you."

"Oof, that kind of stings," Goku said.

"Goku didn't mean to hurt your dad," Sunset said, thinking the statement over. "Well maybe a little, but that's his way of having fun."

"Well his way of having fun was a bit over the top," Luna said. "Put's Capcom's brutality to shame."

"...Brutality?" Ryu asked, very bemused.

"With all due respect Luna, Capcom isn't brutal, it just has very passionate martial artists," Sunset said. "They also fought bravely at Asgard."

"Well at least they can be useful for something," Luna said, trotting off with Mayday. "Let me know when you're done."

Sunset furrowed her brow at the night princess, her dismissal of Capcom got under her skin a bit, but she had something to attend to, so she put her feelings aside for the moment. "Come on, Peter, Twilight, I'll take you inside."

"That ship is in Marvel's Space, be ready to turn back human," Ryu warned.

"Where exactly in Marvel space?" Peter asked.

"Some uninhabited asteroid," Sunset said. "Come on."

While Sunset led Peter and Twilight inside, along with Ryu and Cloud, at this moment Thor focused his attention back on Tony and Steve.

"I trust everyone is unharmed for the most part," Thor said.

"Aside from some bruises, we're fine," Tony said.

"That's good, at the very least I'm glad you're alright," Thor said. "I couldn't stand to lose more friends."

"Thor, can you tell us what happened?" Steve asked.

"Only if you tell me what happened here," Thor said.

"Right, story time," Tony said, ready to explain.

---

Meanwhile inside the ship, the five that had entered had immediately turned human, Twilight briefly losing her balance, fortunately Peter had caught her before she tripped.

"Thanks, those first few steps always get me," Twilight said. "Of course it's been years since I've had a human body."

"Same, thank goodness for spider reflexes," Peter said, then looked around. To his surprise, there seemed to be dozens of people on the ship. "Are these the Asgardians? Wait, are they all Asgardians or..."

"It's mostly the surviving warriors here with some extras," Sunset said.

"Who does this ship belong to?" Peter asked.

"Thor's friend, Beta Ray Bill," Sunset said. "He calls it the Skuttlebutt."

Peter began to laugh a bit, "Skuttlebutt..."

"Peter," Twilight scolded.

"There were two other modes of transport, both are residing in this giant ship right now," Sunset explained. "One ship...rather cube, belonged to an Angel named Whis from Universe 7 in the Dragon World realm."

"A cube? Interesting," Peter said. "Who does the other ship belong to?"

"Sunset! You brought guests," came the voice of Peter Quill, who was joined by Gamora. "More portal summoning? I don't think that sorcerer’s going to like that."

"He knows about them, Quill, it's fine," Sunset said.

Peter scratched his head as he gazed toward Quill, "You're from the Guardians of he Galaxy, right?"

"Got that right, I'm Star-Lord, the group leader," Quill said.

"Oh yeah, I remember your name," Peter said. "I'm Spider-Man just in case you don't remember."

"You're an Avenger, right?" Star-Lord asked.

"I know them, I wasn't officially a member until a couple of months ago," Peter said. "Not sure if I still am though."

"Heard you left Earth some time ago," Quill said.

"He came to my world a few years ago," Twilight explained, then held her hand out. "Let me introduce myself, I'm Twilight Sparkle, Spider-Man's wife."

"Well to formally introduce myself, I'm Peter Quill," Star-Lord gestured to the Zen-Whoberi beside him. "This is Gamora."

"Hello," Gamora said.

"Interesting that your name is Peter...just like my husband," Twilight said.

"Peter Parker and Peter Quill," Peter said. "We can be Peter Squared."

"Ready to 'square off'," Quill joked, both Peters now laughing while Twilight and Gamora rolled their eyes.

"So, you helped do battle at Asgard?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, me, Gamora and our friends Rocket, Groot and Drax," Star-Lord said. "Sure as hell wasn't alone though."

"I can see..." Peter said, taking another look around. "I can tell not all of these warriors are Asgardian."

"They're not," Sunset confirmed. "While preparing for Ragnarök, I traveled the multiverse to recruit allies. Not just from Capcom and Square, but places like Namco and Sega, along with SNK."

"SNK? Who names these worlds?" Peter asked. "What does it even stand for? What do any of these names stand for?"

"Capcom's the one who named most of these worlds, not me," Sunset said. "These worlds aren't even aware of their names."

"It's true, even my friends in these worlds don't understand the names," Ryu said. "Some don't like their names, but it's just easier for us to label them if they're different enough from our world. Like your world is Marvel for it's Marvelous Superheroes."

"Well that's neat, but tell me this, what does Capcom mean?" Peter asked.

"I believe it means, Capital Commuting since we primarily commute to many different worlds," Ryu explained.

"Oh wow...that's actually really clever," Twilight said. "I should write this down somewhere."

"I have a list," Sunset said "Chun-Li filled me in on all the names."

"Want to see that later, I mean, one of the worlds is called 'Square' right? Do they like shapes or something?" Peter asked.

"No...we don't," Cloud said, getting a sheepish reaction from Peter. "It's meant to be symbolism of how our power multiplies like a number to its immediate power. Given your joke earlier, seems like you definitely understand that mathematical concept."

"Actually, that's really clever," Peter said. "Really eager to hear the others. So you just got those worlds?"

"Actually, I got way more than that," Sunset shamefully admitted. "At one point, I panicked so badly, I summoned warriors from several different dimensions, ones I'm not familiar with. I don't even know which world they came from, or how many are from the same world. Many of them don't even recognize each other so that makes it harder."

"I recognize a few, but pinpointing many of their home worlds will be a challenge," Ryu said. "Especially the few we in Capcom don't recognize."

"It's pretty amazing, I mean, first off, freaking Pac-Man is here, like the real deal," Quill said. "He's actually really cool in person...or orb."

"So, when you say Pac-Man, you mean the actual yellow ball right?" Peter asked.

"Exactly what I said when I met Ryu here," Quill said. "And I still feel like I've seen you in a video game, same with the guy with the long sword."

"I'm not a video game character," Cloud said.

"Actually, you could be, as can I," Ryu said. "In the multiverse, some of us may exist but in other forms of media. I very well could exist as a video game character somewhere, same with you Peter."

"I wouldn't be too surprised, I've met Superman and Batman, despite them appearing in comics in my world," Peter said. "Actually, even I have my own comics, they basically tell stories of my battles. I've been meaning to find some for a guy named Quibble Pants, he's part of geek culture, as evident by his love for Daring Do."

"Funny since Daring Do herself is actually real as well," Twilight said.

"Oh yeah, Rainbow Dash ran into her a few years ago, and I ran into Ahuizotl," Peter said.

"You never told me that," Sunset said.

"I'll be happy to tell you that story another time," Peter said.

"Well tell me this Spider-Man," Quill began. "Do you know what a Jedi is?"

"Dude, you have no idea," Peter said. "I can talk about that stuff for days."

"What if I told you that I saw a real one?" Quill asked.

Peter's eyes widened, the hero glaring right at Quill, "Bro, do not pull my leg."

"You'd be amazed who showed up here, literal legends bro, mind blowing stuff," Quill said. "All thanks to Sunset here."

"It wasn't all great, I mean, yes I summoned warriors to Asgard but..." Sunset shamefully shook her head. "It did not go so well."

"What didn't go so well?" Peter asked.

"I won't sugarcoat it," Ryu began. "Our side suffered some losses, friends of ours died in battle. Including warriors I know, ones who fought by our side."

Peter's prior excitement quickly faded, the boy growing worried, "Friends of yours...? Wait, where's Chun-Li? And Chris? What about Dante? Are they alright!?"

"They're fine, they survived. Right now they've overseeing our allies." Ryu reassured. "Chun-Li is grieving though, two good friends of her perished in battle."

"Who were they?" Peter asked.

"Guile and Cammy," Ryu said. "Neither of them survived Ragnarök."

Peter almost couldn't believe what he heard. While he wasn't too close with either of them, he was still familiar enough with the two, they seemed to be prominent warriors in the Capcom world. He recalls their battle against Gambit's team at the Marvel vs Capcom Tournament from years prior. "My God..."

"Meanwhile, Jill is grieving a friend of hers, a man named Carlos," Ryu said.

"Carlos? Uh, I don't think I'm too familiar with him," Peter said.

"He was at the Tournament we had years back, if I recall, his team lost by a team led by Black Cat," Ryu said. "He spoke with a South American accent."

"Oh right, I might remember then," Peter said. "Still, I'm sorry to hear that."

"Some friends of mine perished too," Cloud said, the pain settling in his heart. "Yuffie, Cid, Vincent, all while I was too powerless to help them. After everything we've been through prior, I thought we could survive no matter what."

"We're really sorry about your losses," Twilight said.

"Thor lost many of his friends too, it was hard on a lot of us," Sunset said.

Peter looked around, finding himself walking along with Twilight and Sunset beside him. Peter passed by the Capcom section, spotting the new warrior Rashid speaking with Zangief. Peter didn't know this warrior, but he could tell he was in mourning, hearing the name Akam.

"Rashid is one of the newer warriors in Capcom, joining the Street Fighter circuits," Sunset explained. "His butler and trainer Akam was a great man who fought alongside him in battle, at least one more time."

"That man must have meant a lot to him," Twilight said, heartbroken by the man's tears.

Sitting nearby, Ryu's self proclaimed apprentice Sakura and her friend Blanka seemed to be grieving as well while Zangief's apprentice Rainbow Mika along with the ninja girl Ibuki comforted them.

"One other warrior was lost, Master Dhalsim," Sunset explained. "Wise man, master of Yoga. While Sakura and Blanka weren't super close to him, they were around when he perished, and felt helpless to save him."

"It's hard to save everyone, but dammit if it doesn't hit hard when you can't," Peter said.

They then spotted Viewtiful Joe speaking with Regina and Captain Commando. All three were sad but Joe especially looked distraught.

"You remember Joe right?" Ryu asked, earning a nod from Peter and Twilight. "He was inspired by The Avengers to create a team of his own to protect Capcom. Ragnarök was their first major mission and two of them had already perished in battle. Joe lost faith in himself as a leader, feeling like he couldn't keep his allies safe."

"Poor guy, he looks like a big superhero fanboy, shame his dream didn’t turn out well," Peter said.

"Leadership is not without its struggles, he'll get better," Twilight said.

Peter took note of Zero sitting to himself while another version of Mega Man and Roll comforted him, "That Mega Man there, is he the one friends with Zero?"

"No, that's Volnutt, he comes from another timeline in our world," Ryu said. "The Mega Man friends with Zero perished as well."

"Who says robots can't feel sadness? Or understand loss?" Cloud pointed out.

"This is hard to see," Twilight said.

"Brace yourself then, because there's more," Ryu said.

Peter spotted Chun-Li with Ken, Spencer and Strider, the three men comforting her. Peter's never seen Chun-Li this upset, normally she always seemed to be upbeat and ready for anything, but here she was clearly distraught, understandably so.

Taking it upon himself, Peter walked over to the girl, "Chun-Li?"

"Peter..." Chun-Li said, the girl immediately embracing Peter in a hug, which he returned.

Twilight fortunately wasn't jealous, she was happy that Peter went to comfort Chun-Li, it showed his caring side. Ryu couldn't bear to look though, he did not wish to feel the same sadness. This did not go unnoticed by Ken, who knew his friend well enough to know he was hurting, but pushing it aside.

Peter broke away, wiping a tear from Chun-Li's eyes, "I know it's hard, but you'll make it through. You're a fighter, and I believe Guile and Cammy would want you to fight on."

"Yeah...I know they would," Chun-Li said.

Twilight nearby spotted Jill being comforted by Chris and Dante. She seemed to be handling it better than Chun-Li, but Twilight could still see the despair on her face. She barely knew Carlos, but she understood friendship. If it were her in that position, she'd be more of a mess.

"Twilight..." Peter said, then noticing Jill and her sadness. "It never ends."

"Unfortunately, it doesn’t," Ryu said.

Nearby was team Sega, with their best warrior Sonic sitting against a wall, a solemn look in the eyes of the usually peppy hedgehog while his friends Tails and Amy were trying to comfort him.

"He seems familiar," Peter said.

"That's Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega's strongest warrior," Sunset said. "A warrior he knew did not make it either, Sonic blames himself for not keeping all of his friends and allies safe."

Peter knelt to get a better look at the hedgehog, his eyes were occasionally wandering, looking to many of the others who were grieving. Peter had a feeling that Sonic grieved more than just his own ally.

The hero then noticed an unfamiliar duo, Zephyr and Leanne, the two were definitely missing someone, they kept muttering a name.

"This friend, Sunset, is his name Vashyron?" Peter asked.

"Looks like you spotted his friends," Sunset sadly stated. "You guessed right though. Sonic had just seen him too, apparently they were having a bit of fun prior to his demise. How can you be laughing with someone only to lose that person not even five minutes later? That's a type of speed even Sonic isn't comfortable with."

"Life just comes at you," Peter said.

Sunset then passed by the SNK group, Peter didn't really know any of them, but he could tell they were also missing someone, with the ninja girl Mai being comforted by her boyfriend Andy as his brother Terry kept his hat low to cover his face.

"Terry Bogard, from a world that rivals Capcom just as much as Marvel does," Sunset explained. "He and his friends all nearly made it, but at the last second, one of them got left behind trying to save a family. A great man named Joe Higashi."

"So that's Terry," Peter said, having heard the name before. "And this Joe guy, he must have been a good friend of his."

"Yes, he and his brother Andy, the gentleman there comforting that ninja woman, they were best friends with Joe since childhood," Sunset explained.

"Since childhood!?" Twilight asked, the girl blown away. "So, they lost a childhood friend in this?"

"Lots of people have here," Sunset said, the girl wiping away a tear. "Everyone lost someone, and some of it just didn't feel necessary. Most of it could have easily been avoided, if not for poor decisions."

"Sunset?" Peter said, noticing the woman's continued grieving.

"I'll be fine," Sunset said, holding back her tears and moving along, with Peter and Twilight following. Ryu had shown some visible concern for the girl but pressed on as well.

"Cloud, Sunset" Came the voice of Noctis.

"Hey Noctis," Cloud greeted.

"Who's this?" Peter asked.

"This is Noctis Lucis Caelem, King in Training for his country of Insomnia," Cloud said.

"Hi Noctis, I'm Twilight Sparkle," the girl introduced.

"Peter Parker, Spider-Man," the boy introduced.

"Hey..." Noctis said. "Sorry to interrupt, I saw a portal opening earlier and wondered if anyone was going home."

"Soon," Cloud said.

"Alright...and Cloud, I'm really sorry about Yuffie, I should have been able to protect her," Noctis said.

"We all had our part to play, even her," Cloud said. "We'll be done here soon."

"Sure, see ya," Noctis said, retreating to his group.

"He seems like a nice guy," Twilight said.

"He is, a bit on the reclusive side but I'm no different," Cloud said.

"Same with me and my daughter," Peter said.

Next were the Namco group, Peter vaguely recognized some of them, though a few in particular caught his eye.

"That's Yuri Lowell," Peter said. "One of Rita's friends, I saw him at the Marvel vs Capcom Tournament years back."

"Great work recognizing him, considering you haven't seen him in his human form before," Sunset said.

"It's the hair, he rocks the long hair look," Peter said.

"Heh, yeah, I suppose he does," Sunset said, trying to find a reason to smile.

"Well, I see Yuri, but I don't see Rita, or his friend Estelle," Peter noted. Upon noticing the sad look in Yuri's eyes as he seemed to comfort a young elven boy alongside another young man in red, he started to form the worst possible scenario in his head. "What happened with them?"

"For starters, Estelle wasn't at Asgard, she stayed behind," Sunset explained. "Rita however, she went to Asgard. She and that boy in blue Genis were working together. Then Genis got injured by an attack, so Rita immediately went to his aid to make sure the follow up attack didn't destroy him, but that was at a cost.

Those last few words had a major impact on Twilight, the Princess already dreading the truth before confirming, "You don't mean..."

"Rita sacrificed herself to keep him safe," Sunset confirmed. "Sorry, I know she's a friend of yours, she's asked about you too. I wish I could have brought her back."

Twilight began to tear up, thinking about the girl she met years back. Even Peter felt heavy hearted. He had just used the blastia she left for him in his suit, after years of research he found the best way to utilize its capabilities, and how Rita wouldn't even be around to see how well it was done.

"I can't believe everything that's happened," Twilight said, looking around some more. "How did so many die?”

Sunset shut her eyes, trying to hold back some tears before speaking again, "I've been asking myself that for the last hour."

Ryu could see the tears emerging out of Sunset. He wanted to comfort her, but unfortunately he could not figure out how.

"Excuse me, young lady," Came the voice of All Might, the hero joined by Mark Grayson. "I hate to bother you but, will it be long before we can go back to our own dimensions? I don't want to leave my home unguarded for too long, if people know I disappeared, they'll worry, and crooks will take over."

"Sorry, I'll get you home soon, I just need to find the dimensional portal that will help," Sunset said.

"Whoa!" Peter said, amazed by the sight of this man. "Dude, you're built!"

"Oh thank you..." All Might took note of Peter's suit. "Hm, interesting design choice."

"Uh, thanks, made it myself. From what I can tell, you seem like the superhero type, are you?" Peter asked.

"Yes, they call me All Might," The hero said. "Number One Hero in the World, or at least in Japan."

"You're Japanese?" Peter asked. "Wow, you speak perfect English."

"I spent some time in the States," All Might said. "What about you? Are you a pro hero?"

"Pro Hero?" Peter asked. "Um, well I am a superhero, never heard the term pro...well I sort of heard it but, well, it's a long story."

"It's always a treat to see heroes from other dimensions, like this young man here," All Might said, gesturing to Mark.

"Hey, nice to meet you," Mark said. "I'm called Invincible."

"They call me Spider-Man," Peter said.

"Ah, makes sense given the design," All Might said. "How does your quirk work?"

"Quirk?" Peter asked.

"Uh...your powers, wait what are they called in your world?" All Might asked.

"Superpowers, I never heard the term quirk used," Peter said. "But anyway, my powers allow me typical spider stuff, like crawling on walls, in addition to super speed and super strength."

"Can you make webs?" Mark asked.

"Not organically, I create something similar in my lab," Peter said, demonstrating with a web shot to the ground. "It allows me to swing around and create traps for enemies or safety nets for people I save."

"Fascinating, that's a mighty fine quirk...er, superpower you have," All Might said.

"So I take it you have like super strength or something?" Peter asked.

"Sure do, strength and speed," All Might said.

"I have super strength as well, plus I can fly," Mark said.

"Dude, lucky, I wish I could fly, that'd be the one power I wish I had," Peter said. "My wife here is lucky she can fly."

"Oh, so this young lady is your wife?" All Might asked.

"It's nice to meet you sir, my name is Twilight Sparkle," the Princess greeted.

"Such a lovely name, are you a superhero as well?" All Might asked.

"Eh, sort of, I'm not like my husband though, I don't really seek out crime or anything, but if something threatens my friends or family, I take charge," Twilight said.

"She's got really powerful magic," Peter said.

"Magic? So just like this lady here?" Mark asked, gesturing to Sunset.

"My name is Sunset Shimmer," the woman said. "And yes, where me and Twilight are from, magic is a normal thing."

"So, what worlds are you two from?" Twilight asked. "Are either of you Marvel? Or are you from Superman's world?"

"Marvel? Superman?" Mark asked.

"Did you see a man earlier with a blue suit and red cape?" Sunset asked. "That's Superman."

"Wait, Superman's here too!?" Peter asked, looking around. "SUPERMAN!"

This got him odd stares from many on board, some like Jin who recognized him but found him irritating, some like Sonic and Yuri, both seemingly interested in seeing Peter, this was even enough to get Ryu and Cloud to feel awkward at how loud Peter was.

"Last time he saw Superman, he started geeking out," Ryu said.

"Didn't Sunset Shimmer geek out too? Then started arguing with Spider-Man's wife over whether he was cooler than Batman," Cloud said.

"That was really awkward," Ryu lamented.

Peter continued to look around, eagerly awaiting the Justice League member, though this caused some minor concern for Twilight.

"Peter, don't pester Superman, remember everyone here just got back from a war and a majority of them are refugees," Twilight said.

Peter grimaced a bit, realizing his blunder, "Guess I got too excited."

"Spider-Man!" Called Superman, the hero making his way over with Batman and Wonder Woman. "It's so nice to see you."

"You too sir! Wow, you came to Asgard as well?" Peter asked. "All three of you? Wait, is the rest of the Justice League here?"

"It's just us Spider-Man," Batman said, his appearance looking vaguely familiar to Mark. "No one else came."

"Sunset Shimmer summoned us, seemingly by accident," Wonder Woman explained.

Sunset shamefully nodded her head, "It's true, I got so carried away, I summoned dozens of warriors from different realms. Stephen was furious at me, he said I could have caused an Incursion or something."

"I don't blame him for being mad, while you meant well, you could have destroyed several realities," Batman said.

"Come on Batman, she already got scolded by Doctor Strange and she feels bad enough, don't make things worse," Superman said.

Batman groaned in annoyance, "You're way too soft sometimes."

"And you're being needlessly harsh," Superman said.

"Come on boys, find a middle ground," Wonder Woman said. "In the end, we managed to save lives and Doctor Strange was able to contain the damage done. Sunset Shimmer did make a mistake but it's not our position to judge her."

"I don't blame anyone for being mad at me though," Sunset said. "I mean, take a look around. So many people here are lost and confused, I pulled them into a fight they weren't even expecting. I wouldn't be surprised if some of them were killed because of me. I already got so many other people killed because of my carelessness."

"Sunset, you can't mean that," Peter said.

"It's my fault though, they're dead because I brought them to Asgard," Sunset hugged herself to feel comfort, but she had little will to feel comforted. "It's because of me that the Capcom lost warriors, it's because of me that Cloud's friends died. If I had just listened to Stephen, then Rita would still be alive, and so would Joe and Vashyron. I never should have brought over so many people, and now...now..." Sunset wiped her eyes, the guilt eating away at her. "I brought this on myself, if I could go back and change things I would..."

"But you can't," Batman said, earning a glare from everyone, even Twilight.

"Sir, you know I respect you but Superman is right, you're being too harsh," Twilight said.

"Seriously, enough is enough," Superman said. "She's clearly heartbroken."

"I know that Superman, but it's also important for her to know the situation can't be reversed, she needs to move on from this grief," Batman said.

Superman glared a hole through his friend, "I don't think you're in any position to tell someone to get past their own grief."

Batman grumbled in annoyance, clearly no one was in the mood to hear it right now, so he sought to leave. "I'm going to find Doctor Strange, see if we can get an ETA on our return home."

As Batman left, he walked by Ryu and Cloud, the two glancing briefly at Batman both mistrusting of him, especially Ryu.

"Sunset," Cloud greeted. "Seems like you're making some friends here."

"Yeah, I was getting to know a couple of our new guests," Sunset explained.

"Dude, your sword's huge," Mark said. "You look like a JRPG character."

Cloud raised his eyebrow, then focused back on Sunset. "Finish showing Spider-Man and Princess Twilight around?"

"Barely, there's so many people to introduce them too, but I don't even know who they are," Sunset said.

"I recognize at least one of them," Ryu said, gesturing to a man in the crowd, who seemed to be talking to others. "That's Cole MacGrath, his world doesn't have a name yet, far as I know at least, but I've seen him when the Tekken warriors came to Capcom to partake in our Street Fights."

"Who's that girl next to him?" Peter asked, gesturing to Kat.

"I...don't know," Ryu said. "I don't think I've seen her before."

"What about the big guy next to him?" Peter asked, gesturing to the bearded spartan of the group.

"I'm not sure either, but I feel like I should know him," Ryu said. "I will say this, I get bad vibes from seeing him around. Plus he keeps giving Thor a dirty look for some reason."

"Well he seems like someone I do not want to mess with," Peter said. "Still, so many people."

"There could have been more too, I know warriors like Lara Croft and Agent 47 who could have come," Cloud said.

"Legends like Sam Fisher, or capable allies like Isaac Clarke," Ryu added. "List goes on."

Meanwhile Cole had noticed the group beside him, "Looks like the lady that summoned us is looking our way, and she's with her friends."

"Huh?" Kat looked over to the group, curious by their appearance.

Kratos glanced at Sunset Shimmer, curious about how this girl managed to bring him out of his world, and what type of magic she used. Though he finds it doubly interesting that he ended up in a different version of Asgard than he's familiar with.

"What do you make of her magic?" Kratos asked, surprising Cole a bit given that the spartan usually isn't a conversation starter.

"Eh, honestly magic really isn't something I'm totally used to, though I am familiar with world traveling," Cole said. "See that guy with the red bandana? I went to his world once, he and some other guy really had quite a fight."

"Is that other man around?" Kratos asked.

"I hope not, he's pretty dangerous. He tried taking over the world, thankfully a bunch of people thwarted him, but wow, he was not screwing around," Cole said. "Guy even had demon powers or something."

"Curious," Kratos said. "Are you familiar with the rest of them?"

"No...well I think I've heard of that guy with the spider insignia, think he's called Spider-Man," Cole said. "Apparently really powerful, like something out of a comic book."

"A what?" Kratos asked.

"Eh, it's a modern Earth thing," Cole said.

Sunset could see that the three warriors have noticed her, though she chose not to make too much eye contact, still feeling like she messed up really badly.

"Sunset," Ryu said. "About what you said earlier, you shouldn't be blaming yourself for anyone who's lives were lost in battle."

"I'm the one who summoned them to Asgard, so it falls on me if anyone dies," Sunset said. "It's my responsibility."

"I can't speak for everyone, but at the very least, anyone from my world who showed up to fight, showed up knowing the risks," Ryu said. "Any of us could have died out there, but it was a risk we all took. For some of us, it was the thrill of battle, for others, it was business, but for the most part, everyone joined to try and save as many lives as possible."

"I don't blame you for what happened to Yuffie, Cid or Vincent," Cloud said. "They wanted to try and help, but Loki proved to be stronger than we expected, same with his allies."

"But I'm the one who told them about it!" Sunset insisted. "If I hadn't, they wouldn't have asked to come."

"You weren't the only one talking about Ragnarök, word spreads fast in my world," Ryu said. "I wouldn't be surprised if any of them heard about it from Goku as well."

"But, what about the other worlds?" Sunset asked.

"That's not your fault, no one's going to blame you," Ryu said. "If you're worried about Joe Higashi, then don't. I know Terry enough to know he would not pass the blame onto you. If anything he probably blames himself for not keeping his friend safe."

"Anyone from the Namco world can't blame you either, they knew the risks," Cloud said.

"He's right," Came the voice of Yuri Lowell, the Brave Vesperia member making his way over. "I know you feel terrible about what happened to Rita, but believe it or not, she was actually excited to go to Asgard. She didn't plan to die of course, but we all knew that was possible. I should have been the one keeping an eye out for her, it's my duty to keep all my friends safe, and I failed."

"I'm sure you did your best, Yuri," Twilight said. "I will miss Rita though."

"Same here," Peter said, pulling something out of his suit. "This Blastia she gave me really came in handy today."

"Finally figured it out huh?" Yuri asked. "Well, I know she would have been happy to help."

"Spidey..." came Sonic's voice, the hedgehog nearing the group.

"Hey, you're Sonic right?" Peter asked. "Heard you lost a friend out there too."

"Vashyron and I weren't super close, but he was still a friend regardless, and one of my allies," Sonic said.

"Sonic, do you blame Sunset for what happened to him?" Ryu asked.

"Of course not, she didn't get him killed, he went out fighting like he loves to do," Sonic said. "If there's anyone to blame, it's the Storm King, he's the one who led the attack that took out Vash, at least that's what Bayonetta told me."

"There you have it Sunset, the fault lies on the villains, not you," Cloud said.

Sunset turned away, still feeling too ashamed of herself, "I still nearly endangered the world with my portals. On top of that, everyone here is stranded."

"We'll get everything back on track," Ryu said. "For now, we probably should explain the situation to a lot of our guests."

"I hope they're all understanding," Cloud said.

"Let me start, I am the reason they're here," Sunset said, making her way over to the extra warriors.

"That girl's coming this way," Cole said.

"Good, we should be able to get some answers," Kratos said.

Sunset stood before the crowd, clearing her throat to get their attention, "Excuse me, everyone!?" She did not speak loudly enough, many of the extra warriors were still busy conversing amongst each other, and a few Asgardians. "Um, excuse me!"

"She sounds way too nervous," Cole said.

"Hey, everyone!?" Sunset said, again trying to get their attention.

"Allow me," Kratos said, surprising Sunset as he stood near her. "WARRIORS!" With one yell, that started to get everyone focused on the Spartan. "This woman has something to say."

"That's the sorceress who summoned us to this realm," Legolas said, everyone focused on her now.

"Hi, I'm Sunset Shimmer, and I'm the reason you were in Asgard," Sunset began.

"You brought us here?" Came the voice of Master Chief.

"Yes, not by choice though," Sunset said. "See, I specialize in interdimensional travel, or at least I am still learning about it. I sought to use those talents to summon warriors to Asgard to protect them from the invading forces, including the God of Mischief, Loki. During the battle however, I began to panic, because I feared the risk of losing, and began summoning on instinct. I don't even know what spells I was using, I was in a state of desperation, but somehow it brought each one of you here. Thankfully you were all brave warriors who chose to fight for Asgard, for that I thank you, but I also apologize if this is any inconvenience for any of you. I promise that I will send each of you home, that is something I will personally guarantee."

Many of the warriors exchanged glances with one another, while it was nice that they got some explanation, they still find it amazing how they wound up in this world.

"How long will it take to bring us home?" Legolas asked.

"I just need help from Doctor Strange, he's a Sorcerer Supreme," Sunset said. "He knows more about magic than I do, and is a bit more familiar with this stuff."

"With a name like 'Sorcerer Supreme', I should hope his magic skills are up to par," Legolas said.

"I'm honestly amazed you know such magic," Harry Potter said. "I don't think the Wizards or Witches where I'm from can do anything like this, unless there's something they're not telling me."

"This multiverse stuff is a bit strange, but I've seen strange stuff before, including time travel," Cole said.

"I have traveled the Nine Realms of my world, through the power of The World Tree," Kratos said.

"The Tree of Yggdrasil?" Cloud asked.

"Yes, that very tree," Kratos said.

"Huh, funny, that exists in my world as well," Cloud said.

"Same here, Lloyd Irving can tell you more about it than I can though," Yuri said.

"Tell you what?" Lloyd asked, coming over.

"The Tree of Yggdrasil, apparently it exists in other realms," Yuri said.

"Oh, neat, we should exchange stories then," Lloyd said.

"Seems some of us here may have some experience with dimensional traveling at least," Luke Skywalker said. "If we work together, we very well may return home soon."

Peter began rubbing his chin, somehow these men looked familiar to him but he couldn't quite place where.

"I'll make sure to get you all home, and again, I apologize for the inconvenience," Sunset said. "This was not your battle to fight, and I should not have brought you here."

"What's done is done," Legolas said. "This may have happened for a reason after all."

"I'm fine with it too, good to stretch my legs a bit," Cole said.

"This trip gave me a taste of what to look forward to in the future," Kratos said. "For soon, Ragnarök will affect my world as well. If it's anything like this, then I must ensure that me and my son are absolutely ready for what's to come."

"Another Ragnarök?" Sunset asked. "Wow, and I thought one was bad. Well, I'd offer to help to repay your kindness, but after today, I'm not too confident in my ability to be of any use."

"Oh, maybe you can ask Thor to help you, the one in your world at least," Peter said. "There is a Thor, right?"

"I will never ask assistance from The Gods," Kratos said. "They cannot be trusted."

"Um, excuse me, Goddess here, who has strong connections to the Gods of Olympus in my world," Wonder Woman said. "Do you take issues with Gods?"

"The Gods of Olympus you say?" Kratos asked, glaring at Wonder Woman. "The same ones who took everything from me? Including my family!?"

"Whoa, easy big guy," Peter said. "She's not trying to offend you or anything."

"The Gods are terrible creatures who think only of themselves, I took great pleasure in wiping the Olympians of the face of that world, and I intend to do the same with those in Asgard, including the Thor and Loki of where I reside!"

"Come on dude, Thor's a good guy, and I'd like to think you are too," Peter said.

"There are no such things as good Gods, only corrupt ones," Kratos said. "Only a God like Loki could cause the destruction he caused in this world, and no doubt the Loki of my world will be much more ruthless!"

"Wish I could disagree with him, but he's not totally wrong, some Gods are scum," Cloud said. "Something tells me you would have hated Beerus."

"Who is Beerus?" Kratos asked.

"God of Destruction from another world, he lets the God name go to his head," Cloud said. "Thor wasn't having any of that though, the moment he threatened to destroy Asgard just because Sunset here disagreed with him on something, Thor kicked his ass."

"See, Thor's a good guy who cares about his home," Peter said. "It sounds like you went through something heavy, and I get that makes you angry, I can relate to that. But you can't let your anger take over your life. Use that anger to help others avoid what you went through."

"I already did, thanks to me, the Gods of Olympus are dead," Kratos said. "Poseidon, Hades, Hercules and even Zeus himself fell to my blade."

"Oh...wow..." Peter said, sensing a bit of awkward tension with everyone around. He could especially tell this took Wonder Woman by surprise. "You've been busy then, annihilating Gods...even Hercules, which is weird because he's usually a good guy."

"I did what I must, the Gods caused people to suffer, they took my family from me, so I took power from them," Kratos said. "After I killed Zeus, I retreated to Midgard where I started anew."

"Wow, that's quite the story...um..." Peter scratched his head. "Wait, I don't even know your name."

"You may call me Kratos," the war spartan said.

"Cole MacGrath," the man next to him said.

"Kat," the gravity shifter said.

"Call me Master Chief," the space spartan said.

"I am Legolas, son of Elvenking Thranduil," the elf said.

"Harry Potter," the wizard said

"Wait, hold on," Peter said, interrupting the intros. "Legolas already sounds familiar enough, but Harry Potter!? As in, THE Harry Potter?"

"You know me?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, I've heard stories of you, but...you're real!?" Peter asked, then turned to Luke. "Wait, you're familiar to me too, the way you're dressed, it reminds me of..." Peter noticed the weapon on his waste. "Is that a Lightsaber!? Are...are you a Jedi!?"

Luke raised his eyebrow in confusion, "You know of the Jedi?"

"Did someone say Jedi!?" Quill asked, making his way over.

Peter gestured to Luke, "That guy's a Jedi! Like a for real Jedi! Just like Star-Lord said!"

"Told you," Quill said.

Luke seemed rather confused. "What is happening?"

"Peter, I think you're startling Mr..." Sunset turned to the man. "I never got your name."

"Luke Skywalker," the Jedi said. That was enough to send Peter over the moon.

"LUKE SKYWALKER!? The real Luke Skywalker!?" Peter got in close, further freaking the Jedi out. "Oh man, I can't believe I'm meeting the real Luke Skywalker! Is this a dream? Someone hit me!"

Sunset shook her head, "Peter, you really shouldn't-" Ryu then delivered a massive punch to Peter, knocking the hero for a loop. "RYU!"

"He asked for it," Ryu said.

"Ow...damn!" Peter rubbed his face. "Dude you've been getting a lot stronger, haven't you?"

"Well I do want to surpass and defeat you in battle," Ryu said. "You're my friend, but also my rival."

"Still, this hurts, so this is real!" Peter turned to Luke. "Dude there's so much I want to ask you. What's it like being a Jedi? Are the stories on my world about you true? Or are there differences that I don't know about?”

"This is getting rather uncomfortable," Luke said. "I take it your world has heard of my expenditures but I'd rather you not fawn over me."

"Right, sorry," Peter said. "I’m just a big fan of yours."

"Well, that's flattering," Luke said. "I'd be happy to tell you a bit about my life in due time."

"Sounds great," Peter said, then remembered. "Oh, right, Harry Potter. You're a big deal in my world too, many read stories about you as well."

"Who wrote stories about me?" Harry asked. "There's no way The Council of Magic would be okay with muggles knowing about us."

"Hey dude, I just saw Pac-Man today," Quill said. "Anything's possible."

"Wow, the last time I felt this type of excitement was when me and Rainbow Dash found out that Daring Do was a real pony," Twilight said.

"A pony?" Harry asked. "Wait, what is happening here?"

"I can explain," Superman said. "See gentlemen, in some worlds, you exist as legends, stories told in the public. Many kids may have heard the tales of Harry Potter, or of Luke Skywalker. Similar in Peter’s world, many may have heard of Superman, as a legend rather than fact."

"That makes sense...come to think of it, I think I've heard of you as well," Harry said.

"That is the beauty of the multiverse, anything is possible," Superman said. "You’re either a type of myth like Greek Gods or true to life.”

"Come to think of it, there are enchanted comics in this dimension which lets you enter a seemingly fictional world," Twilight said. "That could be you men, seemingly fictional in one world, but real in another."

"Wonder if that incudes James Bond, that would be so awesome," Peter said.

“That’s possible too,” Superman said.

"Wonder how legends about me would go?" Peter said. "I can't imagine anyone being interested though.”

"I would be," Twilight said.

"Me too," Sunset agreed.

"I’d read it to my children," Superman said.

"Really? You would want to read a book about me, Superman?" Peter asked. "But...you're Superman, compared to you my adventures are pretty boring."

"I doubt that," Superman said. "Have faith in yourself, Peter. I know for a fact that many people love Spider-Man."

"Dude! Did someone say Spider-Man!?" came the voice of one of the Ninja Turtles, that being Michelangelo. The teen ran over and saw an abundant of awesome stuff. "No way! You are Spider-Man! Dude that is so awesome!"

"Whoa...you definitely feel like someone I've seen before," Peter said.

Sunset finally cracked a smile, but even then, she couldn't maintain it, still feeling guilt for everything that's happened. She then felt a hand on her shoulder, that coming from Mark.

"If it makes you feel better, I'm glad I got to fight, I so badly need the training," Mark said. "I've felt guilty for letting people die."

"Same here," Cole said, getting both their attention. "I've made some really bad mistakes. Tell you what, why don't we go and meet the rest of the warriors you brought over."

"That sounds great, I bet they all have great stories to tell," Mark said.

"Assuming they can communicate with us," Cole said, then looked over to Kat. "That girl...I have no idea what language she's speaking, but she's a badass in battle."

Kat looked over, waving at the trio, the others waving back.

"Wow she's cute, if I didn't have a girlfriend...eh, I doubt I could land a girl like that," Mark said.

"She know you're a superhero?" Cole asked. "Or is it still secret identity for you."

"Yeah, I had to tell her, at least that's what she said, she got pretty mad when she found out on her own," Mark said.

"Mad? What for?" Cole asked.

"Well, I should have been honest with her, I mean, we've been dating a couple of months, she had to know about my secret identity," Mark said. This got the attention of Peter, Twilight and Superman, even All Might looked curious.

"Uh...right, seems kind of a short time to be in a relationship to trust secrets," Cole said.

"She felt differently, plus she got mad at me because I wasn't spending enough time with her, so I have a lot to work on," Mark said.

"...Seriously?" Cole asked. Even Sunset looked put off by that.

Peter turned to Superman, "You hearing this?"

"Well I hear everything, but yeah, I definitely heard that," Superman said.

"Right, you have super hearing...is that rough?" Peter asked.

"It takes getting used to, but it does lead to Super Headaches," Superman said, laughing a bit at his own joke.

"Funny, my daughter just had a sensory overload, just like I get sometimes, I still gotta figure that out," Peter said.

"I'll help if you need me too, those can be a pain," Superman said.

Twilight herself was growing curious, and slightly worried as to what this meant for Mayday.

"So, should we say something to Mark?" Peter asked.

"Probably, what do you make of it Twilight?" Superman asked.

"I think I should put my two bits in," Twilight said.

"Let's go then," Peter said.

Even Ryu and Cloud were both curious by what they heard, Ryu being the first to speak up, "Should we say something too?"

"I am not good when it comes to girls, there's nothing I can say," Cloud said, then turned beside him to Sonic, the hedgehog still there and observing his surroundings. "How about you Sonic? You good with girls?"

"No, unlike me from another dimension," Sonic said. "Where he's dating a girl named Sally."

"Traveling the multiverse?" Cloud asked.

"You'd be amazed what I saw. Between having siblings, living with some rich kid, befriending some paranoid badger, even recently seeing a 'Donut Lord'," Sonic said. "I've seen my life in other realms, not sure if either of you have."

"I haven't, but someone I met once said he knows another version of me," Cloud said. "He should be here on the ship; I saw him during Ragnarök. His name's Sora."

"He's the dimension traveler as well, right?" Ryu asked.

"Yeah, I guess during his travels, he found his way to my world. He knew me but I didn't know him," Cloud said. "This multiverse stuff is very confusing."

"It is complicated, whenever we travel, Chun-Li and Mega Man are usually the ones to make sure we know where we're ending up, especially with Marvel," Ryu said. "We could easily end up in a version of their world where they don't even know who we are. It's not as simple as it seems."

"Any reason you guys do that?" Sonic asked. "Like what's this obsession with traveling the multiverse and fighting everyone? And why haven't you come to our world?"

"Hey we've thought about it, at least you and Mega Man got to have an adventure together," Ryu said. "As for this 'obsession' as you put it, it's just our own fascination with the multiverse, and trying to find the strongest foes and pushing our limits as warriors."

"Making life into an adventure, I totally respect that," Sonic said.

"Sonic!" Came the voice of Amy, the female hedgehog scurrying over. "There you are, you just got up and left."

"Sorry Ames, I came here to see the commotion, seems like Spider-Man had quite the mind-blowing revelation," Sonic said. "Did you need me? Or did Leanne or Zephyr need me?"

"They're being comforted by Bayonetta, amazing how friendly she is despite her attitude," Amy said.

"She's a lot more caring than she lets on," Sonic said. "Sunset Shimmer should be taking us back home soon, but she has to help all these other guys."

"Yeah, that's a lot of warriors," Amy said. "Sunset's been busy."

"She summoned them on accident, and she feels terrible about it," Ryu said.

"We all make mistakes," Amy said.

"Try telling her that," Cloud said. "Anyway, it looks like she's busy helping some kid out with love trouble."

"Love!?" Amy said. "Oh, my specialty! Which kid?"

"The guy with the yellow and blue spandex design," Cloud said.

"I am on my way then!" Amy said, rushing over to help out however she can.

"So is she your girlfriend?" Cloud asked.

"Uh..." Sonic awkwardly turned away, sheepishly rubbing her head. "Well, she's a good friend of mine at least. Like I said, girls are not my strong point."

"Probably shouldn't have asked, I hated when people did that with me and Tifa, and again with Aerith," Cloud brushed it off. "That's fine, sorry for prying."

"You're good dude," Sonic said, looking back toward his friends. Seeing the sadness in their eyes really tugged at his heart. The only thing worse than seeing his friends sad is not knowing how to make them smile again.

"Is something bothering you?" Ryu asked. "You look troubled."

"I'm fine, don't worry about me," Sonic said.

Ryu sensed Sonic was hiding something, but respected his privacy, "Well, if you're ever not fine, don't be shy to let anyone know. True strength is admitting when you're feeling weak."

"You sound like such a sensei, but I've always found that cool about you, Ryu," Sonic said.

"Ironic, I tell him what I should be doing myself, even I can barely handle this heartache," Ryu clenched his chest. "I have to be strong though, for her sake."

---

Outside Tony had just finished explaining the situation to Thor, Strange and Goku. "So that's what happened, my laws just did not work out well and that led to this fight."

"I admit I could have done better than create this conflict but I felt I had to do something," Steve said.

"I should have done more as a leader too, but I admit I failed terribly on my end," Celestia said.

"That's an understatement, truth be told I am very disappointed to know you were all this foolish," Thor said. "Arresting heroes for trying to help, blaming heroes for a job poorly done, gathering armies to start a fight. You're lucky no one was killed!"

"No one was killed, right?" Goku asked.

"There were no casualties," Steve said. "My goal was to eliminate the accords, not my friends."

"Well, thankfully you're all fine," Thor said. "Good to still have friends to come back to."

"Of course, and we'll help you with your troubles however we can," Steve said.

"You have our word," Celestia added.

"I thank you," Thor replied. "I will rebuild Asgard, but it looks like you may need to rebuild yourselves, so let us help each other out."

"My nephew Prince Blueblood has already come up with plans, we just need to all be in on this," Celestia said.

"Of course," Tony said. "So Celestia, you, me, Steve, Luna, Spitfire Blueblood and Thor can work out a new updated compromise for The Accords."

"Starswirl should assist as well," Celestia said. "So should Cadance, Twilight and Peter."

"Hey Strange, want to be part of this since you're kind of a guardian yourself?" Tony asked.

"I am not concerned about your laws, so long as you do not endanger the multiverse," Strange said. "I got enough of that from Sunset Shimmer."

"Come on Strange, you're being too hard on her," Goku said. "She didn't mean to make things bad."

"I'm aware that she didn't mean to, but it doesn't change what could have happened," Strange said.

"Good luck explaining that to her now," came Batman's voice as he trotted over. "Any mention will get you on the bad side of a lot of people. Understandably so, to their point, she is rather remorseful, it might be best to approach this with care to ensure she does not repeat her mistake."

"Hey Batman, are you good with hero laws?" Tony asked.

"Hero laws?" Batman asked.

"We're trying to create some order with heroics so we don't end up fighting each other again, any ideas?" Strange asked.

"Sorry, can't help you," Batman said. "Honestly, trying to impose too much order on heroics is detrimental, since many heroes technically act outside the law. They need their freedom, if I left it to my system back home, things would be so much worse."

"Noted," Tony said. "Alright, we'll brainstorm later, right now we should make sure everyone else is alright."

"What do we do about Carol?" Steve asked.

"You leave her to me, after the crap she pulled, she is not getting away with just a warning," Tony said. "When I'm done with her, she won't step foot on this planet or ours ever again."

"Any ETA on our return home?" Batman asked.

"I'll get on that, go round everyone up," Strange said.

"On it," Batman returned to the ship to get everything set.

"I gotta go talk to Clea once she finishes filling Wong in on what happened," Strange said, going ot the ship. "First thing's first, gotta maintain order."

---

Meanwhile Mayday is still a bit traumatized from the sensory overload she had earlier, Luna taking short strolls with her on her back to calm her.

"How are you feeling, my dear?" Luna asked.

"A little better," Mayday said.

"I'm sorry you nearly got hurt, because of us," Luna said. "I'm so glad you're safe."

"Why was everyone fighting anyway? You're all supposed to be friends," Mayday said.

"I know dear...you're right too," Luna said.

"Mayday?" Came Apple Bloom's voice, the mare walking over with Rumble, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.

"Hi Apple Bloom, sorry I left the house," Mayday said.

"I'm not happy you did that, but I'm relieved yer not hurt," Apple Bloom said. "What were you thinking anyway?"

"I wanted to check on my daddy, I got worried about him," Mayday said.

"Being worried about yer daddy is understandable and all, honey pie, but yer still a little girl, this was no place for you," Apple Bloom said.

"You're one brave kid though, I respect that," Rumble said.

"I wasn't that brave, I got scared when I thought I was gonna get hurt," Mayday said.

"Who doesn't get scared when they're facing danger?" Scootaloo asked. "I got scared when that Annihilus guy nearly killed me."

"Personally, I've seen the dreams of many ponies, even some of the heroes, fear exists, and you are young, do not be ashamed," Luna said.

"Alright Auntie Luna," Mayday said, then turned to her foalsitter. "Apple Bloom, you'll still be my foalsitter when mommy and daddy need one, right? I don't want to be left with those kids from the School of Friendship, they're weird."

"They're not so bad," Sweetie Belle said. "I actually really like Smolder and Ocellus."

"Silverstream is nice too," Rumble said. "Have any of them been mean to you though? I know that one guy Gallus can be a bit...impolite."

"I don't like anyone at the school, they're crazy!" Mayday said. "It started with that brat Cozy Glow, then a bunch of them started to surround me, trying to teach me about Friendship like a bunch of drones! There were like dozens of students surrounding me, thankfully Flurry managed to create a diversion so we can get away."

"They seriously did that?" Rumble asked. "Wow, and I thought Cutie Mark obsession was bad."

"Rumble..." Apple Bloom groaned.

"It's valid! I mean how often did Diamond Tiara tease you about it?" Rumble asked. "Even some of the Earth heroes find it strange. I still say Starlight did nothing wrong in her village."

"That's a bold claim Rumble," Luna said. "Still, I do agree that it is strange so many students would surround Mayday like that."

"They said I need friends because I'm a loner, they don't care that I like being alone," Mayday said. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I love being around Frankie and all of you. But I don't mind being by myself either, is that really a bad thing?"

"Uh...well, ah can't say," Apple Bloom said. "Personally ah hate being without mah friends or family, fer a long period of time that is."

"Same, I like the attention I get when I do something cool," Rumble said.

"So do I," Scootaloo said.

"I like company, but I can understand wanting to do your own thing," Sweetie Belle said.

"What about you Auntie Luna?" Mayday asked.

“I don't mind company, granted I am not great at expressing my emotions, even now I tend to be a bit of a loner," Luna said. "I don't mind really, sometimes solitude can be great. As long as I'm not stuck on the moon for one thousand years."

"That's a really long time," Mayday said. She then noticed Smolder, Silverstream and Ocellus making their way over, the filly immediately ducking behind Luna's mane.

"Everyone seems to be alright now," Ocellus said.

"Yeah, tensions cooled down," Silverstream said. "But wow that was quite a battle, even my dad was there, glad I didn't have to fight him, that would have been so awkward."

"Yeah, I bet," Smolder said, then took note of the night princess. "Oh, Princess Luna."

"Greetings, to all of you," Luna said.

"So, there's no more conflict after this right? Everyone's going to be friends again?" Silverstream asked.

"We'll do our best, but we may need to rebuild trust," Luna said. "Especially with those we've pushed away."

"Like the dragons?" Smolder asked.

"Yes...like them," Luna said. "I'll nullify the banishment, do not worry. I do apologize for that, I really just needed to maintain order."

"It's fine, I mean most dragons don't care to be in Equestria anyway, aside from Spike," Smolder said.

"I just hope this whole thing hasn't spooked The Changelings," Ocellus said.

"We have not had contact with Thorax at all, despite Tony's efforts to reach out to him," Luna said.

"Well what matters is that this whole thing is done, and we don't need to worry about upsetting neighboring countries," Apple Bloom said.

"I hope not, I'd be pretty sad if I couldn't see Smolder or Ocellus again," Sweetie Belle said.

"Aw, that's so nice of you," Ocellus said. "Isn't that nice Smolder."

"Yeah...sure..." Smolder reluctantly admitted. "Sweetie Belle's alright I guess."

"Sweetie Belle's a great friend to have, you two should consider yourselves lucky," Rumble said. "Times like these, you need good friends to rely on...unlike a certain traitor."

"Traitor?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Wind Sprint, after all I did for her, she turned against me," Rumble said, still feeling bitter. "Some friend she turned out to be."

"Go easy on her Rumble, she was just following orders," Silverstream said. "Not everyone had the courage to turn away from Tony Stark or Spitfire."

"It is very difficult Rumble, I do hope you forgive what she's done," Luna said. "I would hate it if this pointless battle ruined any friendships."

"Still, how did Silverstream end up more loyal to me despite how mean I've been?" Rumble asked. "It's just so ironic, isn't it?"

"I mean, you were pretty nice to us until you got jealous for some reason," Silverstream said. "All I did was remind you that we could be friends instead of enemies."

"Friendship can be so weird sometimes," Rumble said.

"That's what I'm saying!" Mayday said, finally speaking up before clamming back up.

"Oh Mayday, almost didn't notice you there," Ocellus said. "How are you feeling?"

"...Fine..." Mayday said.

"She's still a little shaken up," Rumble said. "Between what happened just now and some altercation she had with School of Friendship students, it's just been an off day for her."

"What happened?" Ocellus asked.

"Some kids were trying to force their Friendship logic on me," Mayday said. "They made it seem like I was weird for not having a lot of friends."

"Oh, we're sorry to hear," Ocellus said. "That must have been uncomfortable."

"It was...I just have a hard time making friends, and daddy says it's okay because everyone's different, and that having at least one friend to care about is enough," Mayday said. "They all talked so much, it gave me a big headache, not as bad as the one now but close to it."

"What can you three tell us about that school's atmosphere?" Rumble asked.

"Well, it's pretty friendly, and the students usually seem nice," Ocellus said.

"Sometimes, honestly some are a little stuck up, those are the type that need the school the most," Smolder said.

"But honestly, I can't comment on the other students much, I don't really talk to anyone aside from my friends," Ocellus said. "Honestly, I kind of understand what Mayday is going through."

"You do!?" Mayday asked. "But, you're in my mom's Friendship School, aren't you there to make like, a million friends!?"

"Well, Thorax would have liked that, but honestly, I'm no good at talking to others," Ocellus said. "Like you Mayday, I'm actually really shy. I use my powers to blend in with the background so I don't stand out too much. It's actually really great that your parents don't make you attend that school."

"Do you not like it?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"I mean, it's a nice school, and I did make my friends there, but it was really hard for me," Ocellus said. "I didn't go there by choice."

"Same, Ember dragged me to that school because she needed some type of ambassador for the dragons," Smolder said. "I don't even like others that much."

"Huh, that's curious," Luna said. "Guess that plan of Twilight's needed some work, that or the leaders did not think things through very well."

"Personally I was more than happy to go," Silverstream said.

"You would be Silver, I mean you're way more outgoing," Rumble said. "Sounds like Smolder and Ocellus may have had a rough entry. I mean, at least it worked out for you girls."

"Honestly it was lucky, I mean, the fact that I haven't made more friends makes me wonder if I really do understand the school," Ocellus said. "I mean, I just befriended my fellow ambassadors, along with Sandbar and Cozy Glow."

"Hey, you made friends that accept you how you are, in the end that's the important part," Rumble said. "Mayday just needs others to accept that she's really shy. I think that's why she's had issues with you and your friends, I mean, do you respect how she is?"

The three stood there a moment, trying to come up with the best possible answer, but they had to admit, this question did seem a bit tricky.

"I'd like to think we did, but I guess only Mayday knows," Ocellus said. "How do you feel about us Mayday?"

"...I thought you were all too pushy and judgmental about me not having friends, and that mean Griffon yelled at me over it," Mayday said. "Then my mom sent me to my room because I got angry at him."

"Oh, well..." Ocellus glanced to her friends, both unsure what to say. "Well, I'm sorry for making you feel that way Mayday, I don't mean to upset you.

"Same here," Silverstream said. "We really thought we were helping."

"The best way you girls can help is to not try so hard," Rumble said. "Ocellus, you seem to understand Mayday's feelings better given your similar shy natures, maybe you can help your friends figure this out."

"That sounds like a good idea," Ocellus said. "We really do want to co-exist with Mayday."

"Mayday, will you give them a chance?" Apple Bloom asked.

"We're not asking to be friends with you if you don't want, but I do want you to be comfortable around us," Ocellus said. "Because I know how it feels to be shy around others, and I don't want to do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable."

"Well...alright," Mayday said. "I'll try giving you a chance, but I still rather stick with Rumble and The Crusaders."

"Don't worry, we won't take their place as your foalsitters," Ocellus said. "It seems like you have something special with Rumble and the girls."

"Yeah, you've known them for years," Silverstream said.

"Ironically it wasn't until recently that I feel like we've gotten closer," Apple Bloom said. "I'm happy, Peter means so much to me, and ah want to do fer Mayday what he did fer me. Be a good role model and someone who's always there when you need'em."

"That's really kind of you," Ocellus said.

"Truth be told, ah also need a bit of practice since I'm gonna be a mama in about a year, who better to act like a parent to than a girl ah love a whole bunch?" Apple Bloom said.

Mayday blushed a little at the compliment, "I'm flattered you'd say that about me."

"Well it's true, ah really love you Mayday, and ah want us to be closer," Apple Bloom said.

"Me too..." Mayday said, flying off Luna's back and resting on Apple Bloom's back. "And I promise not to make you worry about me again."

"It's funny, ah use to do the same thing to mah own sister, running off like you did and worrying her like crazy," Apple Bloom said. "Guess ah should apply my own mistakes to looking after you, when possible at least. Ah mean, you have so many foalsitter options."

"You don't have to just foalsit, you can just visit me," Mayday said. "You promise to see me more?"

"Sure, and you can come to mah house fer sleepovers," Apple Bloom said. "But only at yer own pace."

"Alright, thanks Apple Bloom," Mayday said, gently hugging the girl from behind.

"That's so adorable..." Silverstream gushed.

"Took a few years, but I think she finally likes us Crusaders," Scootaloo said. "Plus being regular foalsitters doesn't sound too bad."

"Assuming she wants all of us," Sweetie Belle said. "Apple Bloom did do more work, I wasn't even around."

"You girls aren't bad either, and I'm over the whole 'Rumble is mine' phase," Mayday said. "Apple Bloom, you're really cool, so I'm happy you're Rumble's girlfriend."

"Oh good, because ah really love Rumble," Apple Bloom said.

"And I really love you, Apple Bloom," Rumble said trotting over to kiss his girlfriend on the cheek. "At least with me quitting, I'll have more time for you."

"What about your goal of being a superhero?" Apple Bloom asked.

"It'll come, I'm not giving up on that," Rumble said. "But, it does look like I have a lot of work ahead of me still. But if it means keeping you, Mayday, our baby and all our friends safe, I'll do it."

"I'll be right by your side," Silverstream said. "We're still partners after all."

"Yeah, we are," Rumble said. "It doesn't just have to be us, we can start our own little group. We'll make our own Avengers. You, me, and anyone who wants to follow us into a brighter future."

"You make it sound fun," Scootaloo said. "I might take you up on that. Laura does offer us martial arts lessons, Dinky's been making full use of it."

"Right, Laura can be our ally," Rumble said. "Hopefully we'll have more to keep this world safe, and if we get strong enough, well maybe Peter can retire and finally enjoy the good life he's earned."

"What you are suggesting is quite grand Rumble," Luna said. "I hope you know what you are getting into."

"It won't be a problem, would it Princess Luna?" Rumble asked.

"I don't think so, but let us wait until the Accords are properly fixed," Luna said.

"I'll run this by Peter too, I bet he'd be happy to hear it," Rumble said.

"Oh, by the way Rumble, my daddy's a bit ticked off at you for the Ursa Minor incident," Mayday said, Rumble's eyes widening in worry. "Just a fair warning."

"Aw...dammit," Rumble lamented.

"Oh, there you are," came the voice of Matt, the stallion joined by Sugar Belle and Bucky.

"Huh? Oh, Daredevil, what brings you here?" Rumble asked.

"Shining Armor and Cadance are looking for Mayday," Matt said. "They want to make sure she's alright."

"I'm fine mister," Mayday said. "My headache's gone."

"That's good, I know how bad that can get, what happened to you has happened to me, and to your dad," Matt said. "We have sensitive hearing, it happens so know that you're not alone."

"You are my daddy are friends, right mister?" Mayday asked.

"Yes, your father is my best friend," Matt said. "Honestly, I'm happy I get to talk to his daughter. You seem like a really nice girl, your father raised you well."

"Uh, thanks I guess," Mayday said. "Uh, so I guess I should go see Uncle Shining and Auntie Cadance."

"And your cousin along with Franklin Richards, they're both worried about you," Daredevil said.

"Isn't she cute?" Sugar Belle whispered to Bucky. "Wish I had a foal."

"That's nice, personally I don't think I can pull off being a father," Bucky said.

"Aw, well I think you can," Sugar Belle said.

"That's nice of you to say, but you barely know me," Bucky said.

"...Well, I'd like to get to know you more," Sugar Belle said. "If you'd like to that is. We could have lunch together."

"If you want, sure," Bucky said.

Sugar Belle held her excitement as she trotted off, "I'll go make plans!"

"Uh, sure...?" Bucky said, then noticed Luna smugly smiling at him. "What?"

"You have a date," Luna said.

"...I have a what!?" Bucky asked in disbelief.

Meanwhile Sugar Belle is happily trotting away, "Finally, a chance to get to know Bucky a little better. I should tell Night Glider and...oh, right." In this aftermath, Sugar Belle isn't even sure if she and Night Glider would still be friends. "I guess...I should just get ready."

---

Back in Ponyville; Trixie, Autumn, Sandbar and Gallus glanced out the window, keeping an eye out for what's ahead.

"Alright, so what's the plan?" Sandbar asked.

"It's simple..." Trixie began. "We go out, and see if there's a way to stop this."

"...That's a terrible plan," Sandbar said.

"Hey I'm not a fighter, but if we don't do something, the town's doomed," Trixie said.

"I think our best bet would be to go and find some help," Autumn Blaze said. "I mean, are we even allowed to fight enemies? That is against the rules of The Accords."

"Forget those silly rules! This is about survival!" Trixie said.

"Let's try to think this out though," Autumn said. "We could be heavily outnumbered, there's no telling who got corrupt, we need to take a quieter approach."

"Well, do you have a plan?" Trixie asked.

"Sort of, one of us should try to catch a train to Canterlot, since we know what's where all the heroes went," Autumn said.

"Yeah, to have their silly fight," Trixie reminded.

"Even so, if Peter knew about this, he would come back in an instant," Autumn insisted. "Or at least he'd send someone back."

"I suppose it's worth a try," Trixie said, before gesturing to the two kids. "But, we do have a slight problem."

"Oh right. Well, Gallus can watch over them!" Autumn suggested.

"Me!?" Gallus asked.

"You can watch over the kids while the rest of us go to find help," Autumn said.

"No way, I don't want to foalsit some kids!" Gallus said.

"Someone has to, unless Sandbar wants to do it," Autumn said.

"I would but, I'm too worried about Cozy Glow to stay here," Sandbar said.

"What about your parents and your sister?" Gallus asked. "Shouldn't you be more worried about them?"

"They're out of town, mom said she and dad was taking my sister to Manehattan to go to an art museum," Sandbar said. "I didn't go since I had work to do here, plus that's more Coral's thing than my own."

"Well what about Yona? Why are you more worried about Cozy Glow than Yona?" Gallus asked.

"I'm worried about everyone bro, but Cozy Glow's a kid, I gotta look after her," Sandbar said.

"And here I thought you found her annoying," Gallus said.

"She is, a little, but she's my friend, our friend," Sandbar said. "I gotta make sure she's safe. You can stay here with the little tykes."

"At least you'd be safe here," Trixie said. "Or do you want to risk fighting."

"...Are they at least well behaved?" Gallus asked.

"Uh, sure," Trixie said. "Hope's pretty independent, and Benjy...well not so much since he's only a few weeks old, but Hope can help you out, she loves watching over her cousin."

"Fine, just hurry back, I am not good with kids," Gallus said.

"We won't be long," Trixie said, leaving with her group. "Stay safe."

"Sure thing," Gallus said. Once everyone left, he immediately went to sit on a couch while grabbing a book. "Alright, I'm going to read a book, you two are going to not annoy me, got it?"

"I won't Mr. Gallus, but Benjy doesn't listen well," Hope said, gesturing to the boy running off. "There he goes."

"Dang it," Gallus placed his book down and pursued Benjy. "Hey kid, get back here!" Suddenly Benjy went through the floor, confusing the bird guy. "Uh, what just happened?"

"He does that sometimes, Auntie Twilight says it's normal for unicorn babies," Hope said. "The same thing happened to me."

"Well where is he!?" Gallus asked, taking a look around. "Hey! Kid! Where are you!"

"His name, Benjy," Hope corrected.

"Benjy! Benjy I command you to return!" He then heard laughing back in the lab. "Oh good, he's on the other side of this wall, time to go back into the lab." He tried to open the door, but he couldn't. "Uh, what's happening?"

"Door lock," Hope said.

"Locked? How?" Gallus asked. "We were just inside...wait, does it lock all the time?"

"Auntie Trixie know how to open it," Hope said.

"...Oh boy..." Gallus immediately rushed to the door, opening it to call out. "TRIXIE!"

---

Meanwhile Trixie and Autumn were both sneaking through the town the best they could, sticking to walls, bushes and garbage cans. Clearly many of the ponies were either under Martin's spell, or currently enslaved by the newly formed Demon Gang. The two were nearly spotted and quickly jumped into a nearby barrel.

"We gotta get to the train station, but it's still a ways from here," Trixie said as she struggled to get comfortable in the barrel.

"And there's a lot of ponies around, it's going to be hard to get through," Autumn said. "Wait, Starlight's been teaching you more about magic right? Can you teleport us to the train station? Or maybe even Canterlot, that'd be so much faster."

"I can teleport things, but I'm not great at teleporting myself, I haven't really practiced it much," Trixie said.

"Well can you teleport me so I can get Peter?" Autumn asked.

"Too risky, you might be in danger," Trixie said.

"But, we're in danger now," Autumn said.

"I know but..." Trixie still did not want to take a chance. "We'll save that for a last resort. But don't rely on my magic too much, I specialize mostly in illusions."

"Oh...illusions huh?" Autumn said, the mare having a sneaky idea.

As the Demons looked around for any other stragglers, they immediately spotted Trixie and Autumn nearby, the two running through, sticking their tongues out.

"Bet you can't catch us!" Trixie taunted.

"Eat our dust!" Autumn said, the two running off.

"After them!" the demons said as they chased after the two.

From the distance, the real Trixie was seen using her magic, the same that created those fakes. "All too easy."

"Wow, you're so awesome Trixie!" Autumn said, hugging the mare.

"Yeah, I know," Trixie boasted. "But, this was your idea, so we did it together."

"Teamwork," Autumn said. "Now come on, we still need to reach the station."

"Right..." Trixie said, though before leaving, she looked back at the school. "You think Sandbar will be alright?"

"He seems capable, determined too," Autumn said. "He should be fine."

---

Meanwhile, Sandbar, who had broken off from Trixie and Autumn the first chance he got, was making his way through the school, keeping a close eye out for any sign of danger. So far, no Demon Gangsters, though he did spot a few students.

Fortunately he knew his way around the school pretty well, and knew just where to hide if any of them got suspicious of his presence.

"Hopefully none of the teachers got mind controlled," Sandbar snuck through, avoiding gazes from the students, hiding the moment someone got suspicious.

Once he was in the clear, he dashed through the halls, making his way toward the counselor’s office, knowing that this is where Starlight worked. He hoped to see if she was alright, though risky because if she was mind controlled, he wouldn't stand a chance against her.

He peeked inside, spotting no one around, and quicky went in to take a breather. Sneaking around was exhausting.

"Man, the superheroes picked a really find time to fight with each other," Sandbar said. "Or I guess the villains just picked a good time to come to town. Kind of weird though, it's like the villain knew when the heroes weren't around. Was he waiting that long or something?"

"Probably," Came a voice, one that startled Sandbar. He turned around to spot a familiar face peeking through the wall. "Professor Pryde?"

"Just 'Kitty' is fine," the X-Men member said as she stepped through the wall. "And you're Sandbar, one of Princess Twilight's favorites."

"Favorites? That's flattering," Sandbar said. "Do you know what's happening?"

"Yeah, it sounds like Mr. Negative has come to Ponyville," Kitty said.

"Mr. Who?" Sandbar asked.

"One of Spider-Man's enemies," Kitty said. "His name's Martin Li, he has the power to basically turn you into the opposite of how you are, simply speaking that is."

"So, he Discords you?" Sandbar asked.

"Discord? Like that creature I've heard about?" Kitty asked.

"Yeah, he did something to turn Professor Sparkle and her friends into the opposite of what they were," Sandbar said. "Like, he made Professor Fluttershy mean and made Professor Applejack tell lies."

"Oh, right, I've heard of that," Kitty said. "I teach mostly human and mutant culture, but I'm still learning about some Equestrian stuff. I know who Discord is, I just wasn't sure what he did, but it's good to have the knowledge."

"Well at least you're not being mind controlled," Sandbar said. "Is there anyone else that isn't?"

"Some students are, but they're prisoners, so I'm trying to free them," Kitty said. "Unfortunately he got to Hisako and Jubilee."

"Dang, I was hoping Juby can help," Sandbar said. "Hey, have you seen my friend Yona?"

"Uh...which one is that?" Kitty asked.

"The Yak," Sandbar said.

"Oh right," Kitty said. "I saw her earlier but I don't know if she's been caught or mind controlled yet."

"What about Cozy Glow?" Sandbar asked. "Do you know if she's safe?"

"I can't say, last I saw I think Starlight went to check on her as well," Kitty said. "I haven't seen Starlight in a while, I hope she's alright."

"Do you know where she went?" Sandbar asked.

"Toward the Headmare's Office," Kitty said. "Now maybe you should-"

"I'm going to find her then," Sandbar said, immediately making his leave, to Kitty's surprise.

"H-hey! Don't just go! It could be dangerous!" Kitty warned.

"Don't care, Cozy might be in trouble, I gotta go find her," Sandbar said as he stepped out the door. "One way you can help is to go to the Parker-Sparkle home and make sure my friend Gallus is alright, he's watching over some kids!"

Sandbar had made his exit, Kitty scratching her head in confusion, "He must be good friends with that girl. Still, not sure if I should just let him go. Ugh, this really should not be up to me, but I gotta do what I can to help."

As Kitty went to do what she needed to do, Sandbar had made his way toward the Head Mare office, hoping to find any sign of Cozy Glow.

"I hope she's around here," Sandbar said. "Cozy Glow!? Starlight!?"

He checked across the room, looking out the window to see if he spotted them, and even looked behind every possible angle, even the desk just in case Cozy Glow may have been hiding.

"If not here, then where?" Sandbar wondered.

"The room's up here!" He heard Cozy Glow say.

"Excellent," came another voice, one unfamiliar to Sandbar. Knowing they were about to enter, he hid under the desk, just in case Cozy Glow was being controlled.

The filly had entered the room alongside Martin and a mind-controlled Starlight, playing tour guide for her new guest. "Here it is, Headmare Twilight's office. Or at least, former Headmare. With the Starlight under control, the school in our grasp and Twilight being away, there's nothing stopping me from taking over."

Sandbar's eyes widened in surprise upon hearing that, not just the plan, but who said it. "Did she...no, it can't be! She wouldn't..."

"Why do you want this school again?" Martin asked.

"Easy, this school is the key to making friends," Cozy Glow said. "Making friends means power, it worked for Twilight Sparkle, and it can work for me. In time, I will become the new Princess of Friendship, and all that power will be mine to wield!"

"Such strange logic, making friends means power?" Martin said.

"It's a philosophy of this world. Friendship is Magic," Cozy Glow said. "It isn't some cheesy metaphor either, it's literal magic!"

"This can't be happening...is it that guy? What's he doing to her!?" Sandbar angrily gritted his teeth. "I know this isn't real! This is not the real Cozy Glow!"

"Your world has such strange customs," Martin said.

"Hey, I didn't make the rules, I just know how to play the game," Cozy Glow said. "Twilight became an Alicorn Princess with just five friends, and a boyfriend. I already have a group of friends, sort of. I only like two of them, the rest are dumb and annoying, but once I'm Headmare and Princess of Friendship, I can just get rid of them and have new friends in their place. I'll have plenty to pick from, with your help at least. Just make sure you keep all these ponies in line, and find everyone. Meanwhile, I still need to find Sandbar, figure out a way to get him to join my side."

"Your side?" Came Sandbar's voice, the stallion popping out from behind the desk, startling Cozy Glow and alarming Martin.

"S-sandy? Well this is a nice surprise," Cozy Glow nervously said.

"Cozy, what's going on!?" Sandbar said, trotting over to the filly. "Why are you with this strange stallion?"

"Uh...he's, I mean..." Cozy couldn't figure out what to say at this point. "Come on Cozy, think, do something! Work the charm! Remember your cuteness is a weapon, use it!"

"Cozy!" Sandbar shouted, losing his patience a bit. "Please tell me what's happening. Why were you saying this stuff? What's this about you taking over?"

"Well, I'm embracing the Magic of Friendship," Cozy Glow said. "See the more friends I have, the better things in Equestria will be, because if I'm Princess, then I will make everypony my friend, thus continuing the spread of magic! And the best part is that you can be right by my side, as my Prince!"

Sandbar raised his eyebrow, then glare at Martin, "You! I bet you did this to her!" Sandbar trotted over, grabbing Martin by the shirt. "You have about five seconds to release your-"

Martin then hit an uppercut to Sandbar, knocking him several feet back, much to the dismay of Cozy Glow. "MARTIN! That wasn't the deal! I told you to NEVER hurt my dear Sandy!"

"Well, he did find out about your plan, we have no choice but to take him under my control," Martin said.

"No, just, let me," Cozy Glow said. "I don't mind a bunch of mind-controlled allies, but I want at least one pony to love me without being forced."

"Have it your way, but if he continues to be a burden, I will have to deal with him..." Martin brought out his Naginata. "Permanently."

"Watch it, I'll tell Discord and he'll send you back to Earth!" Cozy Glow warned.

"Discord!?" Sandbar asked, rubbing his chin as Cozy Glow's eyes widened.

"Oops, said to much," Cozy Glow turned to Sandbar with a fake smile. "You just ignore that last part my sweet Sandy."

"Cozy, please tell me this is some type of elaborate mind control scheme," Sandbar said, a hint of desperation in his voice. "Tell me that this villain is just warping your mind, just like the others!" Sandbar gestured to the only other mare in the room. "Just like Starlight!"

Starlight glanced at the young stallion, feeling a hint of familiarity, "S-Sand-"

"Silence!" Martin increased his hold on Starlight, amazed by this mare's willpower. Once he felt he had it under control again, he turned back to Sandbar. "My boy, I'm afraid nothing hurts more than the truth, doesn't it?"

"This isn't true! You're controlling Cozy Glow!" Sandbar shouted. "Free her! Now! I'm not letting you take her from me!"

"You're quick to jump to conclusions, aren't you?" Martin said. "Of course, I'd thought you'd be more cautious after what happened in Manehattan, guess Suri was right, you are a bit rambunctious."

"Suri...?" Sandbar's eyes widened. "Wait, you're that Lee guy! That means those guys in Manehattan, they were your henchponies!"

"Finally catching on," Martin said. "Shame it has to come to this however."

"Dude, free Cozy Glow from your spell, right now!" Sandbar demanded.

"Sandy...he's not controlling me," Cozy Glow said. While she knew that going along with his suspicions would be beneficial, she couldn't bring herself to lie to her crush. "This is the real me, it always has been."

"Cozy, you're not making sense," Sandbar said, his voice losing all sense of hope. "You're not evil, you're my friend! This isn't you!" The stallion trotted closer, some tears forming in his eyes. "Tell me this isn't true Cozy! You wouldn't betray us!"

"I'm not betraying you; I still want you in my life," Cozy Glow said. "I love you, and I want you to be all mine. Join me Sandy, we'll rule Equestria as the Prince and Princess of Friendship. Doesn't that sound nice? All that power? All those ponies bowing to you? Being treated like a God!?"

"I don't want any of that! I just want my friend back!" Sandbar angrily shouted, tears fully streaming down his face. "You're my friend, Cozy Glow! You're not evil!" Sandbar trotted to Cozy Glow, standing over the filly. "You are NOT evil!"

"Sandy...I know this is going to take some getting used to," Cozy Glow flew up, gently stroking his cheek. "But don't worry, you can have all the time you need to adjust. Martin will keep you somewhere safe until this sinks in, alright?"

Sandbar took a step back, still glaring at the two, his heart breaking. Even if he didn't feel romantic attraction to Cozy Glow, he still loved her as his friend. This filly whom he has known for about a year now. All the time they spent together, from study sessions to just cuddling. She was a girl who needed a family, one he tried to be for her. He couldn't accept that it was all a lie.

"Sandy?" Cozy said.

"I can't believe you," Sandbar said, glaring once again at Cozy Glow. "I can't believe you did this! Don't the others mean anything!? What about the others!? How's Ocellus going to feel about this!?"

"Hey, aside from Ocellus, did any of those others really care about me? I was just the annoying kid to them!" Cozy Glow said. "Especially Gallus, all he did was bully me or make me feel like I didn't belong! I was just a burden to him! Well that's fine, because I never liked him either! I dislike all your other friends, but I hate Gallus the most! He's lucky all he got away with during that Buck Ball game was a minor stomach virus, I could have made that drink so much worse for him."

"Wait, you're the one who gave him stomach poisoning!?" Sandbar asked.

"He made a big deal out of nothing, I just gave him what he wanted in a way," Cozy Glow said.

"You did something that petty just because of a few mean names!?" Sandbar asked. "What did you call those two villains over as well!?"

"That was beyond my hooves, I had no idea they were going to attack, plus one of them tried to hurt me because he was too dumb to know who I was," Cozy Glow said. "But that's fine because you saved me that day. You risked your life because you care about me."

"Of course, I care about you, or at least I did," Sandbar said. "I thought you were my friend, now I know I risked my life to save someone so cruel!"

Cozy's heart tugged a little, "Cruel? Sandy, that kind of hurts my feelings."

"Well how do you think I feel right now!?" Sandbar shouted, his sadness turning into anger. "I am so disappointed in you! I...I can't even call you my friend anymore, not after all this."

"S-sandy..." Cozy's eyes watered a bit, but the girl fought back the tears with anger of her own. "How could you say that!? I love you! I'm trying to give you an opportunity to join me here!"

"I'm not joining you, I'd never join a villain," Sandbar said.

"Are you KIDDING ME!?" Cozy Glow shouted, getting in Sandbar's face. "You don't seem to understand something, Sandy. When I say I love you, then you love me back! You're my boyfriend Sandbar! I am NOT letting you get away from me! You and I will be together forever!" She flew in closer, Sandbar trying to back away as the filly gave a hardened glare that started to freak him out. "I don't want to mind control you, I want you to love me back, but if I have to make Martin control you, then I will!"

"Finally coming to understand," Martin said. "Perhaps we should hurry and-"

Suddenly the leader of the Demons took a blast from Starlight, who then zapped Cozy Glow. "Finally, took me a while to break out of that."

"Starlight?" Sandbar asked.

"Hey Sandbar, sorry if I worried you, Martin's powers are strong but I'm no stranger to control and manipulation," Starlight said.

Martin angrily stood up, glaring at Starlight, "That's it, for that, you will perish!"

"Run!" Starlight shouted, ready to fight again as she clashed with Martin Li. "I'll hold him off, try to rescue anyone you can!"

Sandbar reluctantly ran off, but not without Cozy Glow noticing, "Sandy! You're not getting away from me!" She flew after him, calling on the Demons and controlled ponies. "Stop that stallion!"

"Oh boy," Sandbar had to move fast to avoid capture while Cozy Glow pursued him.

In time, more of the demons showed up, trying to intercept Sandbar. He had to make his leave, and fast. He briefly looked back at the furious Cozy Glow, to think this girl was someone he called a friend. Part of him was still in disbelief, but he had to accept that she's not that little girl.

---

Back at the Parker-Sparkle home, Gallus desperately banged on the door, "Come on kid! Open up!"

"I don't think he knows how to," Hope said.

"You're not helping!" Gallus shouted. "Alright, I just have to think carefully and-"

"Hey, I think there's someone in here!" a voice said, one that belonged to Lyra. "Let's barge in and take him to Mr. Li."

"Oh no..." Gallus said, his hope dwindling. "Someone get us out of here!"

"Need help?" Came Kitty's voice as she peeked her head through the wall, freaking Gallus out.

"Professor Pryde!?" Gallus said as she completely phased through.

"Hey Gallus, what's the trouble?" Kitty asked.

"Spider-Man's son is stuck in the lab, you gotta get him out before-" Suddenly the sound of crashing came out of the home. Kitty stuck her head downstairs, seeing a big hole in the wall. "Oh boy..."

"What?" Gallus asked.

Benjy had accidentally touched a button on Peter's car, sending out missiles that destroyed part of the home, and giving an opening to the demons. "Surprised Peter has missiles in his car."

"What's a car?" Gallus asked.

"I'll save him!" Kitty went down to help Benjy but found herself surrounded the moment she got inside. "Crap..."

"Hey! Open up so I can-" Gallus's pleas were interrupted when demons burst through the front door. "Oh no!"

---

Back at the ship, Mark was getting explanations regarding the situation with his girlfriend and trying to get him to understand things.

"Mark, understand that you did nothing wrong," Amy said. "That girlfriend of yours should be understanding. She should know why you kept it a secret, it might bother her but if she's still getting to know you, it's better to wait on certain things. True love is about making hard but right choices, and you made the right call not telling her yet."

"Also it sounds like she gives you shit over dumb stuff," Cole said. "Like, complaining about running away when she knows you're just changing into your hero gear?"

"Not many can handle that secret too," Twilight said. "When Peter told us about his secret, he seemed reluctant at first but we all understood why. She should have understood your troubles."

"I know it's tempting to tell someone, sometimes I wish I told some friends of mine my secret," Peter said. "I told Twilight shortly before we were dating but that was beyond my control."

"And I would not have minded if you kept that secret," Twilight said. "Well, maybe a little, but more for worry of your safety."

"At least Twilight makes sense," Sunset said. "She has powers too, she can help Peter. What can this girl do for you Mark?"

"I...don't know," Mark said.

Sonic turned to Ryu and Cloud, "Wait, he's worried about having told his girlfriend his secret, but he just told everyone his real name."

"Probably because he's in another dimension and it doesn't matter," Cloud said.

"Or that incident made him reluctant to keep it a secret because now he would feel like he's hiding something," Ryu said.

"Oh...dang," Sonic said.

"Mark, my girlfriend knew right away about my powers, mainly since I never bothered to keep it a secret, even if I wish I could have," Cole said. "But I was fine letting her know since I had been dating her for a long time."

"I had a girl I knew before Twilight, and there were days I wish I could have told her," Peter said. "I never did because she actually hated Spider-Man, and I didn't want her to know we were one in the same."

"Why did she hate Spider-Man?" Mark asked.

"I...made some really bad mistakes, I'll just leave it at that," Peter said, still feeling some remorse. "Point is, even if she didn't hate Spider-Man, telling her still would have been risky. She was a good friend of mine for years but we still hadn't been dating that long, and even so, it's still up to the hero when to tell. I mean if you're planning to marry the girl then yeah, she probably needs to know, but it sounds like you barely knew this girl. If someone like me can barely tell a girl I was already friends with, what right does your girlfriend have!?"

"If she really loved you, she would have understood you," Amy said.

"I guess..." Mark said. "Uh, Spidey, did you eventually tell that girl? Or did you break up and never see her again?"

"...She died, so I couldn't ever tell her," Peter said, earning instant sympathy. "I will admit, I wish I did, but again, Great Power means Great Responsibility, and I had to be responsible with my secret. Even if I never...if I never..." Peter started thinking about Gwen again, suddenly feeling remorse. "Should I have told her? Maybe it would have saved her life. But...then again..."

"Peter?" Twilight said, snapping her husband out of it.

"Sorry...it's not a pleasant memory," Peter said.

"I know the feeling," Cole said, recalling his own losses.

"We appreciate you sharing with us," All Might said.

"Point is Mark, you made the right choice by not telling her, and she had no right to be mad at you," Superman said.

"I say you dump her and find a girl who appreciates you," Amy said. “You deserve it.”

While this was going on, Peter again felt strange, but for different reasons. Something was eating at him and he couldn't explain it.

Twilight turned to her husband, "Peter...are you still bothered by Gwen? Do you need a break?"

"It's not that..." Peter couldn't shake the worry. "Something's wrong..."

"Something's wrong?" Twilight asked, this getting everyone's attention. "What's wrong?"

"I gotta go..." Peter tried to run but his suit malfunctioned, the hero unable to use his speed. "Dammit!"

"Peter, what's happening!?" Twilight asked.

"I think Benjy's in danger!" Peter said.

"Who's Benjy?" Cloud asked.

"Our son," Peter said.

"Your son?" Ryu asked, then remembered. "Oh right, Twilight, you were expecting when we last saw you."

"Yes, I gave birth about a month ago," Twilight said.

"We gotta get back to Ponyville!" Peter said. "Something's wrong!"

"Uh, maybe I can open a portal," Sunset said, using her magic to generate yet another portal, this one glimpsing into Ponyville.

"Wow, those are ponies..." Mark said, then noticed some chasing others. "But what's happening?

"Is that our home!?" Twilight asked, gesturing to ponies breaking inside.

" I gotta save my son!" Peter jumped through the portal.

"Wait for me!" Twilight said, following.

"Should we help?" Ryu asked.

"We should," Cole said, turning to the others. "Anyone want to save more lives?"

"I'm down," Quill said.

"We'll continue the fight," Master Chief said.

"I'm a pro at keeping villages safe," Naruto said.

"You got it," All Might said.

Sunset jumped through, using her magic to keep the portal open from her end, as she transformed into a pony, much to everyone's surprise.

"This is what you'll look like, if you still want to help, come on through, just be careful," Sunset said.

"Eh, we'll make it work," Cole said, many agreeing.

"I'll go get some friends," Amy said, running back to her allies.

"Excellent, come on!" Ryu said, jumping through the portal alongside Cloud.

Soon Quill, Sonic, Master Chief, Mark, All Might, Cole, Kat, Luke, Harry, Legolas, Naruto, Yuri, Lloyd, Pit, Samus, Shulk and even Kratos were hopping through the portal.

"Anyone else want to come?" Sunset asked. Before anything though, the portal was destroyed, surprising Sunset from her end. "What in the world!?"

"Hey what happened!?" came the voice of the half-genie Shantae.

"So not cool, dude!" Mikey said.

"What's going on!?" Shouted Doctor Strange. "Why are more portals being made!?"

"Hey, what happened!?" Amy shouted, having made her way over with Knuckles, Joker and Bayonetta, the group were joined by Dante, Chris, Noctis, Eleven, Terry, Jin and Xiaoyu. "Where's the portal!?"

"No more portals without my supervision! I'm still trying to send everyone back home and I don't need any more potential rifts!" Strange said.

"Hey pal, the girl who opened that portal wanted to save a village," Spawn said, slowly walking over to Strange. "I know you have order to keep, but that order could result in casualties."

"First off, who even are you? Why do you look like demon?" Strange asked.

"Call me Spawn, short for hellspawn," the demon said. "I think you can put two and two together, sorcerer."

"Don't act like you intimidate me, I've encountered the likes of you before," Strange said.

"Sir, Spider-Man sensed danger in his home, that's why Sunset opened the portal, we were going to protect his son," Amy said.

"Then your ass showed up and ruined shit for us," Spawn said.

"Kind of overreacted there, magician guy," came the voice of John Rambo. "People still need our help."

"I understand that, action movie guy," Strange said, mocking Rambo a bit. "But acting on emotions just leads to trouble! If there's a problem, approach it with caution."

"That type of thinking just gets people killed," Spawn said.

"It started a war in Equestria, I'm trying to make sure you guys don't end up destroying it yourselves!" Strange shouted. "Just trust Spider-Man for now."

"Better be right about this, Strange," Chris warned.

"Yeah, better not let our friends bite the dust," Dante said.

"Wait, isn't the portal open to Equestria?" Xiaoyu asked. "We can use that and let the heroes know!"

"Good thinking, come on!" Amy said, running over with her allies as everyone began to follow.

"Hey! Don't overcrowd the country!" Strange warned.

---

In Ponyville, the heroes had arrived, many still in their normal forms as the magic slowly started to overtake them.

"You might transform any second now," Twilight warned, as only she, Peter, Superman, Sunset, Ryu, Cloud, Yuri, Samus and Shulk transformed due to them existing in Equestria prior.

"Surprised I haven't, that's fine though," Sonic said, speeding into town.

"For Ponyville!" Ryu said, leading the charge.

"Also try not to kill anyone!" Peter insisted.

Kratos scoffed, "Soft hearted, but fine." He placed his Leviathan Axe away and focused on his strength.

Peter rushed through town, immediately arriving at his house and finding the destruction. He saw Kitty fighting away the Demons and keeping Benjy safe. He rushed in and attacked, taking several of them out at once.

"Peter! Thank goodness you're here!" Kitty said. "I have your son."

"Thanks for keeping him safe," Peter said, knocking more out. "Anyone else around?"

"Gallus is upstairs with Hope, and Sandbar's in the school looking for Starlight and Cozy Glow," Kitty explained. "How did you get here? What happened with Tony Stark?"

"That conflict's done but I'll explain later once me and my team free this town," Peter said.

"Oh you brought a team? Great!" Kitty said.

"Is my aunt around?" Peter asked.

"I haven't seen her," Kitty said. "By the way, Mr. Negative is the one behind this, I last saw him at the School of Friendship."

"Crap...of course this happened," Peter said. "Just keep my son safe, and go make sure Hope and that other kid are safe too."

"Sure," Kitty said, taking Benjy and going upstairs.

"I'll leave the town to the others, I gotta find Li," Peter said, rushing toward the school.

---

Near the train station, Trixie and Autumn were close to escaping when they found themselves surrounded by demons, and many mind-controlled allies, including Cheerilee.

"By order of Martin Li, you two are coming with us!" Cheerilee said.

"There's no way I'm joining you!" Trixie said, getting into a stance.

"Then you leave us no choice," Cheerilee said.

"Ok, kind of making me mad here, you wouldn't like it when I'm mad," Autumn warned, close to changing into a Nirik.

Suddenly Ryu and Cloud showed up to beat everyone up, leaving only Cheerilee who got whacked in the head by Trixie's karate chop.

"Take that!" Trixie boated.

"Whoa easy, she's still a friend, just mind controlled," Autumn said, then turned to the two. "Thank you mystery strangers."

"Wait, they're not strangers, this is Ryu and Cloud," Trixie said. "Peter's friends from different worlds."

"Good to see you..." Ryu took a moment to remember, "Trixie!"

"Yes! So glad you remembered," Trixie said. "But how can you not? I am Great and Powerful after all."

"Weirdo..." Cloud scolded. "Just explain what's happening."

As this was going on, All Might and Mark worked together to take out as many as they could using their speed and strength as a duo.

"You'd make a good sidekick, Young Mark," All Might said.

"Thank you sir," Mark said, standing beside his ally. "Things are going well, maybe we can-"

Suddenly both were turned into ponies, All Might being a muscular Earth Pony while Mark took the form of a Pegasus.

"Huh, that happened..." All Might said. "Gonna be hard to move, but I think we'll manage."

"Let's fly," Mark said.

Elsewhere Cole, having also transformed into a Unicorn, zapped some enemies, but lacked the same impact, "Why do my attacks feel weaker?"

"Halt!" some ponies tried to attack but Kratos, transformed as well, kicked them all away.

"Hey, you got horns and wings, just like that Twilight girl," Cole said.

"Not sure what it means, but fine by me," Kratos said, still ready to fight.

Master Chief used his strength to knock the enemies away while Luke used the force to lift several up and toss them aside, careful not to hurt them too much.

"Why does my connection with the force feel weaker?" Luke wondered. "Armored warrior, do you feel strange too?"

"A little, nothing I can't handle though," Master Chief said.

"Something about you reminds me fo a Mandalorian," Luke said. "They are also warriors with armor and even helmets, the latter due to religious reasoning."

"Interesting," Master Chief said. "How strong are Mandalorians?"

"They are quite a formidable race of warriors," Luke said, then noticed more demons coming. "We shall speak later, keep fighting!"

Naruto dashed through the village rooftops, using his skills to effortlessly take down the demon, "Being a pony isn't so bad...I just need to get used to running like this but it makes for great training." He kept going, passing by Harry and Legolas, both of whom seemed to be struggling in their pony forms. "Guess not everyone can handle it, I better help them out."

Even Lloyd seemed to struggle, Yuri keeping enemies away from him, "It takes getting used to. Granted I only had this form for an hour and that was years ago but still, you do get used to the feeling."

"I hope so," Lloyd said, trying to fight. He then spotted Superman effortlessly taking enemies out, being careful about it. "Wish I could be that guy."

Quill flew around punching enemies in his path, trying to liberate whoever he could. "So this is where Spider-Man's been all these years, not a bad place."

"It's great, isn't it?" Sunset said, zapping some enemies. "It's a place I call home. Mostly at least."

"Mostly?" Quill asked.

"While I don't have anything against where I'm from, I just like exploring other places, you run out of things to explore when you're only in one dimension," Sunset said.

"I get that, I'm the same when I travel the galaxy," Quill said. "Born on Earth, but Lord of the Stars."

"Wow, clever," Sunset said as Sonic sped by, taking out a bunch of enemies. "He's still a hedgehog, guess he can resist the magic."

"Lucky him, it's harder to fight as a pony," Quill said. "But not impossible."

"Well, she's having fun," Sunset said, gesturing to the nearby Kat, who used her powers to let her float and throw items at enemies.

"So are they," Quill said, gesturing to the trio of Samus, Shulk and Pit.

"Lets see someone doubt my skills now!" Pit said.

"Don't lose focus," Samus scolded.

"Yeah, you’ll find yourself in a bind," Shulk agreed.

"The multiverse is fun," Sunset said.

---

Meanwhile Peter had arrived at the school, sensing a fight not too far away, "Sounds like Starlight."

Nearby Sandbar was still seen running, even being chased by a friend of his, "Yona! Snap out of it!"

"Crush him, Yona!" Cozy Glow ordered.

As he dashed through the halls, narrowly escaping Yona's line of sight, he came across Peter ,the two nearly colliding.

"Whoa, where'd you come from?" Peter asked.

"Spider-Mane!?" Sandbar asked, somewhat annoyed. "Well good of you to show up. While you were out fighting your buddies, we were being terrorized by Martin Li!"

"Eh, sorry about that, where is he," Peter said.

"Upstairs, but there's something you should know," Before Sandbar could explain, many Unicorns blasted the two and sent them flying out of the school, with Starlight being blasted out of the office and toward the ground.

"Starlight!" Peter leapt to grab her in his hooves before she hit the ground. "Starlight, are you hurt?"

"Huh?" Starlight looked up to see the hero. "Oh, Peter, you came back. I'm so glad, things are not going well."

"Don't worry, I'm here for you," Peter said, letting Starlight down.

As he did, Martin had landed nearby, glaring at the hero. "Greetings Spider-Man."

"Martin Li...didn't expect to see you again after all this time," Peter said. But Johnny did mention seeing you in Manehattan, before Daredevil ran you out of town."

"I haven't forgotten you, but it seems like everyone has forgotten me in the midst of their conflict," Martin said.

"What do you want from Equestria?" Peter asked.

"Power of course, mixed with its amazing magic," Martin said. "A friend of mine offered to help me with that conquest, if I helped her."

"Her?" Peter asked. "You don't mean Suri Polomare? She's a scummy mare but she's not evil."

"No, not Suri, though I do miss her company," Martin said. "No, I am referring to another friend."

"Peter Parker," came the voice of Cozy Glow, the girl joined by Demons. "So, you're finally back."

"Cozy Glow? What are you doing out here?" Peter asked.

"She's working with him," Sandbar said. "Cozy Glow is on Martin Li's side! She's been working with him this whole time!"

"Huh?" Peter turned his attention back to Cozy Glow. "You? But...you're only a kid!"

"One with ambition," Martin said.

Peter glared at the villain, "What the hell did you do to her!?"

"Nothing, she approached me," Martin said. "She desires power, and I desire control."

Peter turned to the child, "Cozy, I don't know what Martin's told you, but you can't side with him! It's not safe!"

"Too late Spider-Mane, or do you prefer Spider-MAN?" Cozy Glow asked. "I have a goal and you won't stop me. Once I take over the school and become Head Mare, I will have all the friends in the world! And nopony can stop me!"

"Yeah but..." Peter raised his eyebrow. "Wait, you're doing this to make friends?"

"Yes, I want to have lots of friends," Cozy Glow said.

"...But, you had friends," Peter said.

"Only six, and like Princess Twilight always says, Friendship is Magic!" Cozy Glow said. "I'll have so many friends and I will become an Alicorn Princess!"

"Cozy, it doesn't work like that, Twilight became an Alicorn because Princess Celestia choose her to be...I think," Peter said.

"Yeah, because she has friends! Powerful friends!" Cozy Glow said. "All the ponies in Equestria, plus a few Earthlings, would make great friends, powerful friends that will make me the new Princess of Friendship!"

"You're doing this to become a Princess of Friendship?" Peter asked. "Why? I mean, why do you want that title? Do you think it's easy?"

"The Princess of Friendship is loved and adored, that's what I want for me," Cozy Glow said. "I want ponies to love me, adore me, not cast me aside or treat me like trash like I've been since I was small! Do you have any idea what it's like growing up without a family!? I spent my life in an orphanage where ponies were mean! This school is my big break, I can finally have the friends and family I've always wanted! The Title of Princess will help me achieve that, and then...I will NEVER be lonely again!"

Peter did not feel anger for this girl, instead he felt sympathy for her. Under her evil eyes, he could see a sad filly who's been misguided into villainy. "Cozy...I'm sorry you feel this way, but this is not the way to do things. Forcing ponies to like you isn't enough!"

"Hey, I offered Sandy a chance to love me for real, but he betrayed me! Just like everyone else in my life!" Cozy Glow shouted, a tear forming in her eye. "With power and control, I never have to worry about being hurt again!"

"Cozy, I did love you," Sandbar said. "You meant so much to me, but...what you're doing is terrible, you're hurting ponies!"

"Eh, a little bit of revenge is good too, I mean they hurt me, so I hurt them," Cozy Glow said. "What goes around, comes around."

"Two wrongs don't make a right," Peter said. "Cozy, you can still make the right choice here, please. If you want a family, I can ask Twilight to help you find one. You can even live with us for a bit, it's doing wonders for Starlight."

"He's not wrong," Starlight said. "Cozy, I know about the loneliness you're feeling, I felt the same when my friend Sunburst left. Now, I will admit, you probably have it worse than me. I at least still had my father and I honestly got super angry over nothing. But I tried controlling ponies to my whim, it just makes things worse. Don't make my mistake."

Cozy's eyes briefly widened, the girl thinking things over for a second. However, once glance at Martin made her realize she still desired that power, she was already so close, she did not want to start over.

"Sorry...but I can't give up now!" Cozy Glow shouted. "Ponies-"

Suddenly more allies teleported in. Goku had brought over Matt, Dante, Chris, Chun-Li, Mega Man, Steve and Tony.

"Goku!?" Peter asked.

"Hey Spidey, sorry I couldn't bring more, Celestia didn't want the town too overrun," Goku said. "Plus this might be plenty."

"Quality over quantity!" Peter said, before turning to Cozy Glow. "That's a lesson I teach my daughter, but I think you need it more. Six real friends is better than a million fake ones."

"Don't you dare try to confuse me!" Cozy Glow said. "Ponies, attack!"

The newcomer heroes battled against their oncoming enemies, Chun-Li using her kicks to keep them back, Mega Man using his Mega Buster, Goku speeding around.

Steve and Tony immediately went into action again, fighting side by side with each other, Tony blasting enemies in the distance while Steve took out anyone getting too close.

"What in the world!?" Cozy Glow shouted. "They're working together now!?"

"That's true Friendship Cozy Glow," Peter said. "They were not going to stay enemies forever."

Martin took a step back, trying to think things over when Sonic, Cole, Kratos and Mark appeared behind him.

"You must be the top guy," Cole said. "Give up."

"I think not," Martin immediately used his powers to affect the trio, slowly infecting them. "I feel the anger in you, let it run free and destroy my enemies!"

"No...I can't...!" Cole said, trying to resist.

"I'm...not...gonna," Sonic was also trying not to give into despair. "I won't!"

"Do it!" Martin said, the four being controlled and sent to attack.

"Not good," Dante said, colliding against Cole.

Mark flew in to battle when All Might stood in his path, blocking the boy, "Snap out of it!"

Mega Man went for Sonic, sticking to his humanoid form to better match against the hedgehog, "Sonic, don't make me hurt you!"

Even Master Chief stepped in to combat against Kratos, hoping to calm the Spartan of another world.

"Attack! Destroy them!" Cozy Glow shouted, sending more to attack.

Peter went to stop her but Martin stood in his path and punched him through a nearby building. Starlight tried to fight but Martin zapped her with some dark electricity.

"Starlight!" Sandbar went to help, but Cozy Glow blocked his path.

"You're not going anywhere!" Cozy warned.

"Cozy, you have to stop this! I'm sorry you suffered, but I thought I was helping!" Sandbar said. "I thought you were having fun with us, I really thought you were happy! Wasn't I making you happy? Could I have done more?"

"You were making me happy, but you still refused to admit your love for me," Cozy Glow said. "That's something I desired more than anything!"

"But Cozy...you have to understand, you're too young for me right now," Sandbar said. "If you were older, I'd probably love you back, but now isn't the time."

"Would you have waited for me though? Or moved on?" Cozy Glow asked. "I've seen how Yona looks at you, how you've looked at her, and many other girls. I mean, you could have easily just gone with Silverstream, or Smolder, or even Ocellus, break my heart some more."

"Cozy..." Sandbar felt sympathy for this girl. "I would never want to hurt you."

"You say that, but do you mean it!?" Cozy Glow shouted, her eyes angrily tearing up yet again. "I'm tired of empty promises, I'm tired of uncertainty. I need things, now!"

Sandbar nervously scratched his head, "Look, Cozy..."

"Take this!" Gallus flew in and kicked Cozy Glow away, standing in satisfaction afterwards. "I have been waiting SO long to do that!"

"Gallus? Where'd you come from?" Sandbar asked. "Where's Hope and Benjy?"

"Professor Pryde has them," Gallus said. "But I told you that girl was evil, didn't I? I called it a mile away!"

"I mean...yeah, I guess you did," Sandbar said. "Still...I kind of feel bad for her."

"Don't, she's just being manipulative," Gallus said.

"Maybe...but still," Sandbar said.

Within moments, more ponies came into town, the flying team of Johnny, Spitfire, Thunderlane, Rainbow Dash, Lightning Dust, Silverstream and Rumble emerging out of a portal with Logan, Laura, Fluttershy, Bobby, Rarity, Remy, Applejack, Deadpool, Pinkie, Janet and Spike stepping through.

"If it takes longer, I'll send more through, good luck," Strange said.

"Come on, attack everyone!" Logan said, everyone rushing into battle.

"I'll check the Parker-Sparkle home," Rumble said.

"Right behind you," Silverstream followed after Rumble.

"Thunderlane, Dust," Johnny said. "You, me and Dashie are gonna lay waste to these punks!"

"I am so fired up!" Lightning Dust said. "The battle continues!"

"I'll go find Steve and Cap!" Spitfire said, flying off to assist her lead allies.

Everyone rushed to attack some more while Matt went to engage with Martin.

"Daredevil, here to thwart me again?" Martin asked.

"Like you have to ask," Matt rushed in to attack with his billy club, Martin sending him flying back after a blow.

"Negative!" Johnny shouted, flying in as well. "Payback time!"

Martin blasted Johnny while Rainbow Dash tried to circle around, but took an attack on her own.

Thunderlane and Lightning Dust kept the extra demons at bay, with Laura joining to help.

"This town's been pretty busy, huh?" Laura said.

"Got that right," Lightning Dust said, she and Laura then double teaming some enemies.

Martin continued fighting away his foes, Matt trying to take him down with some martial arts but Martin had used his Naginata's grip to whack Matt away. He then used his staff to block a kick from Chun-Li and blasted her away.

Logan tried to attack as well, Martin rolling aside, even dodging blade strikes from Deadpool. More demons came to fend off the new attackers, including a controlled Hisako and Jubilee, while Martin tried to plan a strike from nearby to eliminate one or more of her enemies.

Just then, Peter leapt back into battle, kicking Martin aside, landing near the downed Cozy Glow.

"We're losing!?" Cozy Glow shouted.

"Don't doubt victory just yet," Martin said, the two standing side by side while Peter, Matt, Johnny and Rainbow Dash faced off against them.

"Surrender!" Peter warned.

"Never...not until this world is mine!" Martin shouted, expanding more Negative energy. "I will have total control!"

"I am not giving up my chance to rule!" Cozy Glow shouted.

Starlight joined Peter and company, Twilight appearing beside them shortly afterward.

"Why is Cozy Glow with that strange pony?" Twilight asked.

"She and Martin Li have been plotting together it seems like," Peter said. "Cozy wants to take your title as Princess of Friendship."

"She wants to what?!" Twilight asked.

"She has a lot of misunderstandings about Friendship," Starlight said. "We need to stop her!"

"But how-" Twilight’s words were halted when Martin Li sent out a massive shockwave, trying to knock all of them back, or better yet, control them.

"Why fight, when you can join!?" Martin said.

"His power...being in Equestria for so long really gave him a boost," Peter said, trying to resist.

"My head..." Starlight said, rubbing her temples.

"Don't give in!" Twilight said, resisting temptations herself. "Fight back!"

Johnny also felt his own frustrations come to light, weeks of disrespect were piling, but he wasn't going to give up just yet as he sent a fire blast near Martin's hooves, the villain taking a step back with Cozy.

Peter used this as an opportunity to speed right by Martin and connect with a kick to his head to knock him toward the school. Peter fired some impact webbing, hoping to tangle up Martin, but the Demon leader dodged.

Cozy tried to blind Peter but Twilight stopped her with her magic, "I don't think so, young filly!"

Starlight rushed in to blast Martin back while Johnny circled around and blasted him from behind. Matt and Rainbow Dash did a double team kick to his chest while Peter dashed in and hit an uppercut to knock Martin into the air.

Peter then webbed Martin and slammed him down hard, then pulled him back to punch him against a nearby wall.

Martin angrily lunged at Peter again, trying to stab him with the naginata, but Twilight had blasted the weapon out of his hooves while Peter delivered another punch to knock Martin to the ground, immediately webbing him up.

"No!" Cozy Glow flew in to attack as well but got webbed up in an instant herself.

With Martin down, many of the controlled ponies were coming back under control, including the allies.

"My head..." Sonic said.

"Sonic, are you alright?" Mega Man asked.

"Yeah, sorry Rock. I shouldn't have let myself get controlled like that," Sonic said. "Guess I really am still feeling bitter, but I can't let that control me, I just gotta press on."

"Even with your speed, escaping your feelings is difficult," Mega Man said.

The others slowly got back to normal, Cole and Mark apologizing for their trouble while Kratos looked ready to really hurt someone.

Superman landed nearby, "I managed to get ponies to safety, I came to help stop the villain but I guess that job was done."

"So Superman is here," Johnny said. "And a lot of people I don't recognize."

"Peter, did you find Benjy?" Twilight asked.

"He's fine, he's with Kitty," Peter said.

"Actually, he's with me now," Rumble said, flying in with Benjy while Silverstream had Hope.

"Oh good, glad you kept my kid safe," Peter said.

"Of course, I would always keep your kids safe," Rumble said.

"Always?" Peter asked, glaring at the boy.

"Minus any Ursa Minor incidents," Rumble said.

"Which you're going to help finish clean up after," Peter said. "I'll talk to you more on that later."

Rumble saw this coming, especially after Mayday's warning. "Yes sir."

Silverstream looked over to the tied up Cozy Glow, the girl confused, "Peter...what happened?"

"There's a lot that needs explaining," Peter said. "At least everything's under control, unless there's another villain nearby."

Suddenly Amy peeked her head through a portal, "Finished?"

"Uh, yeah, we stopped the villains," Peter said.

"That's great, I'll go tell Doctor Strange," Amy said, then noticed the male hedgehog. "Thanks for being a hero again Sonic, you're the best."

Sonic bashfully turned away as Amy left, Mega Man then smugly turning to the hedgehog, "Is that romance my scanners detect?"

"Not funny bro," Sonic said, Mega Man shrugging it off.

"Whoa, that's the speedy hedgehog," Rainbow Dash said. "Should I challenge him to a race?"

"Maybe not, I don't think he's in the mood," Fluttershy said.

"Everyone's in the mood to race, especially speedsters," Rainbow Dash said.

"Still, don't bother him right now, it's not worth it," Fluttershy said.

"We'll see about that," Rainbow Dash said, Fluttershy rolling her eyes in annoyance.

"Still...how could this happen?" Twilight wondered.

"That's what I'd like to know," Came the voice of Neighsay as he stepped through a portal. "Care to explain what's been happening Princess?"

"Ah! Chancellor Neighsay!" Twilight said.

"Twilight Sparkle, I hope you have a very good explanation, because as it stands, you are very close to losing your school again, this time for good," Neighsay said.

"Sir...I can explain everything!" Twilight said. Though given that not only have many of her teachers had engaged in conflict, one of her students even tried using the school to help her take over Equestria. Things were not looking good for the School of Friendship."

"Twilight..." Peter said. "You might need to accept the truth, this school's days are numbered."

"Telling words...explain," Neighsay said.

Twilight relented, "Fine...I'll tell you everything."

---

Elsewhere in Tartarus, the villains had just seen the showdown in Ponyville. Needless to say, they were worried.

"Discord...who were those other guys?" Shocker asked.

"Oh, them? I'm not sure," Discord said.

"You're not sure!?" Adagio asked. "Discord, we're about to invade in a year, we need more information!"

"Sorry, even I'm kind of stumped," Discord said. "You may be in a losing situation."

"Are you planning to send us to our destruction!?" Mysterio shouted, all the other villains ready to start fighting.

"Whoa, whoa, easy now," Discord said. "I'm just pulling your legs."

"You...are NOT funny!" Electro warned.

"How do you plan on helping us combat this!?" Aria asked.

"Hey if they can accept help from other dimensions, so can we," Discord said. "This could be an opportunity for us. Plus, we have plenty of remaining potential allies."

"Pfft, like who?" Adagio asked.

"Why, there's allies in space," Discord said, gesturing to an image of Loki, Sephiroth, Akuma and Tempest having reunited near the edge of Planet Hala.

"Loki?" Shocker asked. "Would he even join us?"

"Maybe if I asked, otherwise that's one more rival for us," Discord said.

"Discord!" Electro warned.

"Maybe stop with the jokes," Tirek said, with Goblin, Doc Ock, Annihilus and Chrysalis visibly agreeing. "You're wearing on our nerves."

"Fine...but I am still looking into more allies, like from Marvel," Discord showed an image of Doom conversing with Ultron, Dormammu and even Kazuya Mishima. "Oh look, a Namco ally."

"Who the hell is that guy?" Adagio asked.

"A fighter," Discord said, keeping it vague. "Oh, what about Capcom, they seem to be doing their own traveling."

"Huh?" Sonata took note of the images. "Are those...other Spider-Men?"

"Close..." Discord said. "Similar powers, but not the same.

Wesker was seen facing off against Gwen Stacy, better known in her world as Spider-Gwen.

"Dude, what's with the sunglasses? It's not even that sunny, are you trying to look cool?" Gwen asked.

"I have my reasons," Wesker teased. "Please, show me more of your power."

"Gladly!" Gwen said, battling against Wesker.

Discord clapped from Tartarus, "Amazing isn't it? Oh, and there's Vergil."

Vergil had gone against his own Spider-Man, that being Miles Morales.

"Look pal, the anime con is down the street," Miles said. "Now get out of my neighborhood, I'm not telling you again. Otherwise I'm forcing you out!"

"You're full of yourself," Vergil said.

"I have reason to be! I'm not afraid to knock you out!" Miles shouted, jumping in to attack, Vergil sidestepping.

"Wow, poor coordination," Vergil said.

Both fighters were unaware of another person watching the battle, a man with a purple helmet. "What's this supposed to be?"

"Miles is new but he's so much more fun, got a bit more spunk than Peter, just like Gwen," Discord said. "Oh, and there's Tron."

In her world, Tron was testing the power of her Gustaff against Peni Parker's SP//dr.

"Not bad, could be better," Tron said.

"You haven't even seen what it can do yet!" Peni shouted, amping her suit up. "I'm taking you down, new girl!"

Discord again was pleased, "And finally...Juri fighting a guy from the future."

In the dimension she was in, Juri was seen flexing for Spider-Man 2099, also known as Miguel O'Hara, "As you can see, my Tae-Kwan-Do is heavily regarded as one of the best. From what you've seen so far, wouldn't you agree?"

"...Meh," Miguel said. "I've seen better."

"Oh that's it!" Juri leapt to attack once again.

Discord was pleased, "Marvelous, wouldn't you say?"

"Why are there other Spider Men and Women?" Shocker asked.

"Because multiverse," Discord said. "Timelines just change...like this one."

---

In The Dragon World, Trunks was seen collecting himself after yet another attack from Goku Black, but things were getting worse for him.

"Black's gotten stronger, plus now I see him alongside these other strange creatures and whatnot," Trunks pulled himself back up but fell down, with his friend Mai by his side.

"Don't push yourself too hard," Mai said.

"I have to do something! If I don't, who will?" Trunks said.

"I know but..." From the distance, Mai could see a portal opening. She quickly grabbed her gun and aimed. "Who's there!"

Stepping through was a muscular man with grayish hair, big guns and scars on his face. "Weird, I don't recognize this city."

"Who are you!?" Mai shouted.

The man glanced at her and Trunks, "You two look like you've been through hell. Were you fighting Sentinels or something?"

"Sentinels?" Trunks asked.

"You know, giant robots," the man said.

"The only robots from this world were a pair of cyborgs if those count, and I destroyed them long ago," Trunks said. "Wait, who are you anyway?"

"Name's Cable," the man said. "But if robots didn't destroy this place, what did?"

Despite not knowing him, Trunks was certain this man was not an enemy. Ever cautious though, he still kept a close eye on him, "Before I tell you anything, tell me. Where did you even come from?"

One problem resolves, more lay in wait.

Author's Notes:

Looks like the Ragnarok cameos made a return. One more chapter after this.

Resolving Changes

Within Ponyville, Twilight and Peter had begun explaining the situation the best they could to Chancellor Neighsay. Though it was not looking so good for her school.

"Things got a bit out of control with Tony Stark's Accords, while he meant well and did his best to keep Equestria safe with his laws, certain heroes felt different and a massive conflict occurred," Twilight said. "And unfortunately due to our negligence towards the end, a student of mine was able to enact a scheme alongside a villain to take over the town."

"Traitorous students and teachers partaking in a civil war, is not acceptable!" Neighsay said.

"I know, honestly don't understand how this could have happened with Cozy Glow," Twilight said. "She was doing so well, if it was my own negligence as her teacher, then I accept responsibility."

"Twilight Sparkle, for once again failing to adhere to the rules of the EEA, I hereby shut this school down, again!" Neighsay said.

Twilight solemnly agreed, much as she hated to admit it, there was no talking her way out of this. This was much worse than last time and would require more than a simple fix.

“I accept that punishment,” Twilight said, Peter gently stroking her back.

Suddenly a portal opened near the trio of ponies, the caster in question being Strange, "Twilight, Peter, is everything alright here?"

"Yes Stephen, we stopped the trouble plaguing this town," Twilight said.

"Oh good," Strange said. "Shall I send your daughter over?”

"Yeah, it's safe here," Peter said. "Send over whoever wants to come."

"Sure thing," Strange said, going to alert the Princesses.

It wasn't long before Celestia and Luna had teleported to Ponyville along with Starswirl, Cadance, Flurry, Mayday, Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Kurt, Smolder and Ocellus.

"What happened while we were gone?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Long story," Peter said. "But we stopped the villains at least."

"Well that's good," Apple Bloom said, turning her attention to a webbed Martin Li. "Is that the guy?"

"Yeah, Martin Li, or as I know him as, Mr. Negative," Peter said.

"He pulled a Discord on everyone, turning them into jerks," Rainbow Dash said. "But, we freed them."

"That's great, but is there a reason Cozy Glow's webbed up too?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Cozy Glow turned traitor," Peter said. "She helped Li take over."

"Traitor!?" Ocellus asked. "Peter, are you sure you have that right? Cozy Glow wouldn't betray us!"

"He's right," Sandbar said, getting Ocellus's attention. "Cozy Glow was on Martin Li's side, she turned her back on us."

"No, it can't be," Ocellus turned to the young Pegasus. "Cozy, tell me you didn't do any of these terrible things!"

Cozy Glow turned away, barely reacting to the Changeling, either not caring enough to explain it, or perhaps she doesn't have what it takes to face her after what she's done.

"That young filly?" Luna asked, gesturing to Cozy Glow. "She helped this villain overthrow the town?"

"I need some answers," Twilight said, trotting over to Cozy Glow, the filly still looking irritated by her loss. "Cozy Glow."

"What is it?" Cozy Glow replied, barely showing any care regarding what she's done.

"Why would you betray the school?" Twilight asked. "Haven't you learned anything about Friendship?"

"Well yeah, I learned power," Cozy Glow said. "Friendship is how you became a Princess, those who have friends have the power.”

"That isn't how Friendship works," Twilight said.

"That's how it works for you, I mean you're one of the most powerful ponies in Equestria," Cozy Glow said. "Like on your first day in Ponyville, you used incredible magic to defeat an Alicorn before you yourself were one. I just needed the right friends, and I needed a lot of them. More friends, more power!”

"Cozy, I'm so disappointed in you," Twilight said. "If this is what you truly believe, then I'm sorry I could not teach you."

"Well, you taught us, Princess Twilight," Gallus said, gesturing to his friends.

"This isn't about you, dude!" Rumble scolded.

"Rumble, now isn't the time for more fighting," Twilight said.

"But he's being out of line," Rumble said. "If Cozy Glow felt true Friendship from the six she regularly hung out with, then she probably wouldn't have turned evil like this."

"Rumble, I thought you were past this grudge you had against them," Apple Bloom said.

"I'm not trying to vilify them though, Gallus said he learned true Friendship from Twilight, but if that were true, I think he and the others could have done more," Rumble said. "I know they're not responsible for her but don't act so righteous about the fact that they didn't betray the school."

"Pardon me for wanting Professor Sparkle to feel better about herself," Gallus said.

"Figure out another way, or just don't say anything!" Rumble said. "Like dude, you make it seem like 'oh six out of seven isn't so bad', no, that's not how it works. It's like Peter said, you're focused too much on the quantity of things, you make it seem like you don't even care that she turned evil, because that's just one friend out of six for you that you lost."

"You know, he has a point," Silverstream said. "We shouldn't be relieved at still being a group of six, we should be sad that we lost out on someone in our group."

"Well to be fair, she never really got along with most of us," Gallus said. "I always knew she was a troublemaker, she just ended up being a villain on top of that."

"Ow, harsh," Rumble said.

"You be quiet! Don’t act like you’re any better!” Gallus shouted.

"Yeah, I'm not, but at least I'm not pretending I am," Rumble said. "You're the one acting like you know what you're saying, while showing a complete lack of sympathy for Cozy Glow, or the friends in your group that cared about her. I mean, isn't Ocellus close to her? Maybe she feels upset."

"I am upset! This doesn't add up!" Ocellus said. "I've always done my best to be a good friend to Cozy Glow, shouldn't that have been enough for her!?"

"Same here," Sandbar glared at the filly. "You meant so much to me Cozy Glow, you really hurt me today, can you even live with that?"

"Hey, I offered you a chance to join me and you told me 'no'," Cozy Glow said. "I didn't hurt you Sandbar, you hurt me."

"But what about Ocellus, now she's hurt, does she deserve it!?" Sandbar asked.

"...I guess not, but would she have joined me if I asked?" Cozy Glow pointed out.

"Cozy, if I knew about what you were doing, I would have done everything in my power to pull you away," Ocellus said. "I know what it's like to be part of an evil group. The day our hive had its metamorphosis was a great day, because we were free! I was happy, you should have been too! You were born lucky!"

"Lucky!?" Cozy Glow shouted. "You know I'm an orphan! How is that lucky!? I suffered long enough, I deserved my reward! I couldn't just give up on my goals! The more friends I have, the less lonely I would have been!"

"So...is it about the power? Or you just don't want to be alone?" Peter asked.

"Well...who says I can't have both!?" Cozy Glow said. "Being adored means more power, more power means Princess, and Princess means everyone loves me! Everyone worships me! With so many ponies worshipping me and treating me like a Goddess, I would never have to worry about being alone again!"

"Let me," Sunset said, trotting over to the girl. She knelt before the filly. "So, you were on a quest for Friendship."

"Yeah, pretty much," Cozy Glow said.

"And in this quest, you thought the best way to go about it was to force others into doing your bidding," Sunset said.

"Yeah," Cozy Glow admitted.

"You also probably think you know better than your teacher," Sunset said.

"You said it, not me," Cozy Glow replied.

"You imagined yourself greater than you are now, with power, and respect," Sunset said. "You yearned to prove your superiority, but in doing so, you severed bonds with those who once held you in high regard and caused a lot of grief."

"Where are you going with this?" Cozy Glow asked. "Is there a point?"

"Yes, the point is that you remind me so much of myself," Sunset said. "Like you, I desired the power that Twilight has. Granted this was well before Twilight was Celestia's top student, but I did want power like hers. Like you, I too acted out of line and did what I wanted anyway. I even stole Twilight's crown."

"Oh how I would love that crown," Cozy Glow said.

"I'm sure you would," Sunset said. "But, it was wrong of me. I desired power so much, I lost sight of the consequences for doing so. I lost my bond with Princess Celestia for years, and like you, I ended up working with a dangerous villain from Earth. Things could have been so much worse for me, but thankfully I got a second chance that I'm making full use out of. I mean, I'm still able to do what I love, and I'm able to explore the multiverse, all because of a second chance, one you can get one day Cozy Glow."

"The only second chance I want is to overthrow you ponies and become the new Princess of Friendship," Cozy Glow said. "Unlike you, I won't stray from my goal. Maybe you fear Spider-Man's power, but I don't! I have an advantage he could only dream of!"

"Cozy Glow, I know you feel this way now, I felt the same when Peter defeated me back on Earth," Sunset said. "But that feeling will go away. I mean, even if I'm not the Princess of Friendship, I'm still happy traveling with my new friends in Capcom. I got to see so much of the multiverse. Maybe you can join me one day, wouldn't that sound nice?"

"I have my own multiverse friends," Cozy Glow said.

"What multiverse friends? You mean Martin?" Peter asked.

"Oh you're so naive Peter Parker," Cozy Glow said. "There's tons you don't know."

"What are you even getting at?" Peter asked.

"Peter, it's fine, I'll take care of this," Luna quickly said. "Cozy won't be a problem once me and my sister get to the bottom of this.”

"How are you going to do that?" Peter asked.

"She just needs a time-out somewhere," Luna said. "Mayday, go with your dad, I have to tend to Cozy Glow."

"Alright," Mayday said, flying over to her dad. "I knew she was evil, score one for me."

"Sister, I will bring this child to our castle," Luna said, then turned to Martin. "Same with this miscreant."

"Don't think this is over," Martin warned. "I will return, you haven't seen the last of me."

"Take them both away sister, I will meet with you soon to discuss what to do," Celestia said as Luna left. "Now, as for the school."

"It will be shut down unforuntately," Neighsay said.

"Wait, what about us?" Silverstream asked. "Without the school, where would we go?"

"Weren't you back home in Mount Aris?" Johnny asked.

"Only because of The Accords, and that I was a member of The Wonderbolts, which I don't think I still am," Silverstream said. "I was hoping I could just stay at the school again."

"Yeah, me too," Ocellus said.

"Yona like school," the yak girl said. "Yona no want to return home."

"Sorry, but if the school closes, so does the dorms," Twilight said. "You might need to go back to your own Kingdoms."

"Nooo!" Sweetie Belle lamented, hugging Smolder tightly. "We were just starting to bond too!"

"H-hey!" An embarrassed Smolder shouted, prying herself away. "Easy with the contact!"

"Sorry," A sheepish Sweetie Belle said.

"I'm with Sweetie Belle here, but for Silverstream," Rumble said, turning to the Hippogriff. "I hoped we could hang out more."

"Maybe merge groups," Scootaloo said.

"Seriously!?" Sandbar shouted. "I offered a while ago and you hated it, now you want to try the merge!?"

"Better late than never, right?" Scootaloo said.

"Pfft, whatever then, do whatever you want," Sandbar said, trotting off.

"What's with him?" Scootaloo said.

"He's sore about Cozy Glow," Silverstream said. "Understandable, she was our friend."

"Not a good day for us," Smolder said.

"I'm sorry, there isn't much I can do for you," Twilight said.

"I mean, you could just move to Ponyville," Johnny said. "Nothing's stopping you."

"We don't have bits," Gallus said.

"Well then, get a job somewhere," Johnny said. "You want something, work for it."

"I had a job actually, pay wasn't bad but I don't think it's enough to get me a place to live here," Silverstream said.

“We’ll figure something out Silver,” Rumble said.

“Until then, ah wanna find mah family," Apple Bloom said.

"Yeah, let's get this town cleaned up," Peter said. "Man, a lot to do today."

"Maybe those annoying robots can help," Mayday said. "Be useful for something."

"What about Thor?" Twilight said. "And everyone else that came?"

"Right, geez, I don't even know where to start," Peter said.

"Let's round up all the ponies and make sure they're tended to," Sunset said. "Hopefully there are no injuries, or worse."

"Yeah, I'm worried about Aunt May," Peter said, then turned to his otherworldly allies. "Would any of you mind lending a hand?"

"Sounds good to me," All Might said.

"You got it," Cole agreed.

"We'll take care of this in no time," Sonic said.

"Appreciate that," Peter said. "Afterwards I'll help make sure you get home alright."

"Oh, Uncle Peter!" Hope said, getting his attention. "Our house is broken!"

"Huh?" Peter asked. "Broken how? Did the place get trashed?"

"Something blew up in the lab," Hope said.

Mayday's eyes widened in despair, "SOMETHING WHAT!?" Immediately she dashed off in the direction of her house. Moments later a loud scream of despair rang across the fields. "MY LAB!"

"That's...not good," Peter said.

"Were there valuables or something?" Mega Man asked.

"That, and Mayday really loves the lab, it's where she goes to be herself and free from the stresses of the world," Peter said.

"Oh that poor child," Superman said.

"Well hopefully everything can be rebuilt," Mega Man said.

"I know a guy who can help," Sonic said, immediately speeding away.

Gallus shook his head in annoyance, "If you ask me, she could use that place a lot less and be part of the real world."

"Gallus!" Ocellus scolded.

"Hey she's clearly detached, I mean you should have seen how weird she acted earlier today when those other kids tried befriending her," Gallus said, this catching Peter's ear. "It's like she thought it was the end of the world or something.”

"Hey, moron, you know her dad's right there and can hear you," Rumble said, gesturing to Peter.

"Um, yeah, what happened exactly to my daughter?" Peter asked.

"I have no idea, it started when some students tried talking to her, then she started breathing weird, then Flurry Heart blinded everyone, " Gallus said.

Peter looked irate, wondering what could have happened to Mayday, "Find everyone who spoke to my daughter, and tell them to meet me in front of my house, or what's left of it."

"Peter, what are you planning exactly?" Twilight asked.

"I'm gonna give everyone a Friendship Lesson of my own," Peter said. "Gallus, Yona, gather everyone while the rest of us clean up."

"Why us?" Gallus asked.

"...Cuz I said so," Peter said, trying not to get annoyed.

"We'll help too," Ocellus said. "Let's hurry."

---

Some time passed by, more heroes from Canterlot came to Ponyville to fix up the place. Due to the amount of heroes, progress went really fast, and in time, everypony in town was accounted for. So far there were no casualties, but several injuries.

"Mr. Cake! Mrs. Cake!" Deadpool called, he and Pinkie going to greet the couple.

"Thank goodness you're both okay," Pinkie said.

"Yeah, we held up just fine," Mr. Cake said, gesturing inside to the foals that were staying. "The kids are safe too."

"I'm so glad your twins and mine are alright," Pinkie said.

"Same with Logan's daughter, and wow, you even have the Apple kids," Deadpool said.

"Things got bad really fast when that Martin Li fellow took over," Mrs. Cake said. "Thankfully we had a bit of help."

Coming into view was Pinkie's sister, Maud. "Hi Pinkie, hi Wade."

"Maud! You're here!" Pinkie said, immediately trotting over.

"I heard trouble in town, so I came to see if you were alright," Maud said. "The Cakes told me you were in Canterlot fighting other heroes.”

"Well we're glad you're safe too Maud, thanks for keeping an eye on the kids," Pinkie said.

"Of course, they mean everything to me," Maud said.

Deadpool raised his eyebrow at the girl, "I know you mean that but the way you say it..."

"Everyone has their own form of expression, Wade," Pinkie said.

"Well Maud's cool at least, she's not mean to me, unlike Limestone," Deadpool said.

"That reminds me, Limestone had a message for Laura," Maud said. "Where is she?"

"She should be around, why don't you take Rina to Logan and Fluttershy," Pinkie said.

"Sure," Maud replied, going to fetch the filly.

"We'll get the Apple Kids to their families too," Pinkie said.

"Right, glad that old lady's alright, too bad about her hip," Deadpool said. "Sucks that this happened, so much for being a great hero."

"If it makes you feel better, you're my hero," Pinkie said.

"Yeah, it does," Deadpool said.

---

Near the front of the school, Peter had assembled all the students. Many of them were fine, only a few needing to see the doctor, but it was enough for Peter to begin what he wanted to say.

"First off, I'm happy you're all safe, that's the most important thing," Peter said. "Second, however, as some of you might know, the school is shutting down."

"It's terrible!" Toola Roola said. "How will we make friends without The School of Friendship?"

"You don't need a school to do that," Peter said. "Honestly what did you even learn in that school about making friends?"

"The six elements," Coconut Cream. "Magic, Loyalty, Kind-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know the Elements," Peter said. "But, there's more to Friendship than that. Friendship is about understanding the other individual you want to be friends with. From what I hear, you haven't mastered that concept, or come close to it."

"What does that mean?" a blonde mare asked.

"You students met my daughter earlier today, correct?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, we did," a dark pink stallion said.

"And what did you do when you met her?" Peter asked.

"Well we heard she was saying not so nice things, so we wanted to teach her about Friendship," Rainbow Harmony said.

"Yeah it did seem weird that Princess Twilight's daughter would be so antisocial," A pink maned Earth Pony mare said. "I mean, Twilight's the Princess of Friendship isn't she? Wouldn't that friendliness rub off on her?"

"You," Peter gestured to the mare who just spoke. "What's your name?"

"Strawberry Scoop," the mare nervously said.

"Strawberry huh? Funny, Rarity knows a Strawberry too, she does not like Apples," Peter quipped. "Anyway, question. Do you know my daughter personally?

"Uh...no, not really," Strawberry Scoop said.

"Follow up question, do you know my wife personally?" Peter asked.

"I mean...I've seen her a few times," Strawberry Scoop said.

"Does that mean you know her? Or that you know of her?" Peter asked. "Because to know someone, you'd really need to be that someone's friend. And while you seem like a nice mare, you are not friends with my wife, nor do you know my daughter. So tell me, what is it that seems weird about my daughter seemingly anti-social?"

"Well..." Strawberry Scoop did feel a bit intimidated right now. While he didn't look it, something about his tone and demeanor suggested Peter was very annoyed. "I guess...she doesn't talk to anyone so..."

"We just think she doesn't like anyone, so we tried teaching her how to be a proper pony through Friendship," Rainbow Harmony said.

"Wow, okay," Peter commented. "So my daughter isn't proper enough? Why? Because she isn't out making friends like Pinkie Pie would? Not everypony acts the same you know. Some ponies just want to be to themselves."

"But if she doesn't have friends, she'll be sad and lonely!" came the voice of a pink Earth Pony mare with purple hair.

"...You, name," Peter said.

"I'm Berry Bliss," the mare said.

"That's quite a bold statement Berry," Peter said. "Care to back that up?"

"Well...I know I'd be lonely without my friends Citrine Spark and Peppermint Goldylinks by my side," Berry said, gesturing to a yellow unicorn with green hair and a turquoise Earth Pony with orange hair.

"So just because you feel that way, that means everyone should?" Peter asked.

"...No..." Berry said.

"Exactly, you don't speak for everyone," Peter said. "Now did any of you even ask my daughter if she was comfortable getting Friendship Lessons?"

"Well, we didn't think we needed to," Rainbow Harmony said. "It's good to have a lot of friends so you can always be happy."

"Is that what you honestly believe?" Peter asked. "Wow, I am so worried about Equestria now, I hope this is not a normal mindset. Guess I never noticed just how Tunnel Vision this whole Friendship thing can be."

"Tunnel Vision?" Toola Roola asked.

"Time you students get one final lesson. Not everyone makes friends the same way, and not everyone wants to have a lot of friends," Peter began. "If you're the type of person who feels comfortable around a lot of ponies or whatever creature you meet, that's fine. I'm not saying you can't be outgoing, but you need to understand that there are those who aren't like that. Ponies like my daughter, they don't like being around large crowds, and are happier when they're by themselves usually. Now my daughter isn't that much of a loner that she can't communicate with others, but it has to be at her own pace. She already has a friend, and he understands her emotionally. He knows how to talk to her and he respects her personality. It sounds to me like no one here respected my daughter's personality."

"We just wanted to help," Goldylinks said.

"I appreciate the thought, but you still went too far," Peter said. "You could have really scared my daughter today. She is VERY uncomfortable with large crowds."

"We didn't mean to upset her," Toola Roola said.

"That's fine, just don't let it happen again," Peter said. "The way I see it, all of you owe my daughter an apology, and I never want to hear about anything like this happening again with her or anypony else.”

“Oh brother,” Gallus said.

"I heard that!" Peter called. "You be ready to apologize too."

"Hey I didn't make her freak out!" Gallus said.

"No, but you made her cry weeks back, and you never apologized for that either," Peter said.

"Wait, you lot made Mayday cry?" Deadpool asked.

"Jerks," Bobby said.

"Who asked either of you!" Gallus shouted. "Ugh, once this is over I'm going right back to Griffonstone."

"Hey wait, what about our plan to move here?" Silverstream asked.

"In the air," Gallus said.

Twilight looked a bit worried, seeing Peter scolding her students like they didn't know how to be social, it made her worry that her school may not have been the success it was anyway. But she also worried about her daughter.

"Why would Mayday be so scared about making friends?" Twilight said, then turned to Fluttershy. "Does this seem weird to you?"

"Of course not, Mayday's just really shy," Fluttershy said. "I used to be that way too, don't you remember?"

"Yeah, but you grew out of that," Twilight said.

"Not totally, I'm just more comfortable around my friends, just like Mayday is around hers," Fluttershy said. "Peter wasn't wrong, some of the students just didn't seem to truly understand Friendship."

"But I thought I was teaching them," Twilight said. "I thought we were."

"Guess we weren't the best teachers after all," Fluttershy said. "I think we were all so focused on what we wanted to see for Equestria, we didn't stop to think about what the students needed. We need to create a good environment so that everyone can be themselves. If Mayday feels like she's an outcast because of these students, or if they see something's wrong with her when there isn't, then I guess we failed our goal."

"I just want Mayday to have a lot of friends," Twilight said. "I want her to be happy."

"Twilight, tell me, would Mayday be happy with lots of Friends? Or with the few she has now?" Fluttershy asked.

"I just don't want her to miss out," Twilight said. "If Celestia hadn't sent me to Ponyville, I would have missed out on meeting all of you. It was the best day of my life, aside from the day I married Peter, and the days both my kids were born."

"Everyone's different Twilight, even kids," Fluttershy said. "I mean, Logan's a loner and he's fine. He makes friends at his own pace too."

"But Logan looks so miserable sometimes," Twilight said.

"Because he's coping with trauma," Fluttershy said.

"Peter handles it well," Twilight said.

Fluttershy groaned in frustration, "Twilight, you really need to stop comparing one individual to another, this might be what Peter's worried about, teaching everyone the same instead of different. I mean, I thought you learned this lesson that one time you tutored Rainbow Dash."

"I...well, yeah..." Twilight said.

"I can't tell you what to do with Mayday, but I do think Peter's right about a lot of things," Fluttershy said. "Maybe that school isn't what we needed right now."

It stung for Twilight to hear one of her friends say that. It just hammered home what a failed experiment the school probably was. Given what happened with Cozy Glow too, it did seem like she went wrong somewhere.

Moments later, Mayday was standing in front of the students, the girl seemingly concerned. Just the sight of them started to raise her anxiety as she began to sweat.

"It's alright Mayday," Peter said, rubbing her head. "I'm right here with you. Everyone here just has one thing to say, it won't take long."

Not too far off, not only were friends and family of Peter and Twilight present, along with Franklin and Flurry, and the off-world guests.

"Gotta admit, Spider-Man really knows how to organize a crowd," Dante said.

"Seems like they upset his daughter," Chris said. "Understandable that he'd go full on father-mode."

"Never mess with daddy's girl," Dante said.

"Alright, so what do you all have to say to my daughter?" Peter asked.

Rainbow Harmony was the first to speak up, "Sorry Mayday, we didn't mean to upset you."

"Yeah, we just wanted to help," Toola Roola said.

"Next time, we'll respect your privacy," Coconut Cream said.

Bit by bit, all the other students began to apologize, the only ones not speaking up right away being the Student Six, which did not go unnoticed by Peter.

"Hey, you six, you're next," Peter said.

"Three of them already apologized," Mayday said. "Silverstream, Ocellus and Smolder."

Silverstream and Ocellus briefly glanced at Smolder, knowing she didn't actually apologize but figured Mayday was cutting her a break, likely due to her newfound Friendship with Sweetie Belle.

"I really do mean it though, Mayday," Ocellus said. "I will never do anything to hurt you again."

"Just do your best, that's all I want," Peter said.

"Yona sorry too," the yak girl said, then turned her attention to the last two boys.

"Sandbar? Gallus?" Peter said. Neither of them responded. "Uh, am I talking to a wall or did you two go deaf?"

"Better answer him," Johnny warned. "If you don't talk, I'll make you."

"Ugh fine," Sandbar said. "Sorry I upset your daughter, can I go now?"

Peter furrowed his brow at the stallion, but feeling sympathetic toward how he must be feeling right now, he decided to let it go, "That's fine, you're free to do whatever."

"What a waste of my time," Sandbar mumbled as his trotted off.

Peter paid little mind to Sandbar as he left, though he was a bit concerned for him, along with feel empathetic toward his current feelings regarding Cozy Glow. "Your turn Gallus."

"Actually, I refuse," Gallus said, surprising everyone present.

Peter raised his eyebrow in curiosity, "Come again?"

"You heard me, I'm not apologizing to your daughter," Gallus said. "I don't think I should have to."

From the distance, Gilda, who had recently returned to Ponyville, could only lament this situation, "Not good..."

"Gallus, all I want is a simple, 'sorry', it doesn't have to be grand," Peter said. "Even if you didn't mean to, you still upset my daughter."

"Well she was being a brat!" Gallus shouted, earning some glares. "Do you have any idea what's she's been saying to us? Then she acts like we were mean to her for no reason!"

"If my daughter gave you trouble, then that's when you come to me or my wife to deal with it," Peter said. "It's not your place to discipline her, or call her a ‘lost cause’.”

"I have a right to tell her off," Gallus said.

"Gallus, are you out of your mind!?" Ocellus asked. "Why are you talking like that to Peter!?"

"Because he's a lousy parent, and an even lousier superhero," Gallus said. "I mean he couldn't even keep-"

Suddenly Johnny got between the two, glaring at the Griffon, "Dude, watch it. I will drag you back to Griffonstone myself!"

"Johnny, please don't make this worse!" Twilight said.

"Come on Twi, you heard what he said! He had no business disrespecting Peter!" Johnny said, glaring back at Gallus. "You don't ever call Peter a bad father or superhero! He's a great man, kid! If he's mad at you, then YOU are the one who messed up, not him."

"Oh that's rich coming from the guy who blew up Tony Stark's building," Gallus said.

"You wanna go there? Don't act like you're so righteous," Johnny said. "You damn near started a fight your first week here, you disrespected teachers, then you pulled some stupid prank that got Twilight in a ton of trouble, and now because of how poor your Friendship Education was, this school is closing!"

"The school's closing because teachers like you decided to ruin all of Princess Twilight's work with your dumb fighting," Gallus said.

"Okay, you know what, next time villains attack, don't rely on any of us to save your ass! You ungrateful little shit!" Johnny said.

"Johnny, enough, please!" Twilight said. "I know you're standing up for Peter but you need to act better than this!"

"You should listen to her," Gallus said.

"Gallus, will you shut up already!" Gilda shouted, flying over. "You're the ambassador for Griffons, do you know how bad this makes us look!?"

"It's fine G, anyone with common sense wouldn't blame an entire village for their idiot," Johnny said.

"You're one to talk about 'Village Idiots'," Gallus said.

"Another arrogant punk-shit,” a nearby Spencer said.

"Remember dude, I could destroy you in an instant," Johnny said, showing off his fire. "Be grateful I'm not one of the bad guys."

"Alright, break it up," Peter said. "Johnny, glad you have my back, but don't let him get under your skin."

"Fine by me," Johnny said, flying off.

"As for you Gallus, I can't make you apologize to my daughter, but this just means you are not allowed near her," Peter said. "Not until you're ready to apologize."

"Fine by me, I don't like kids anyway," Gallus said, extending his wings and taking off.

"Gallus wait, don't just leave!" Silverstream shouted, flying after him.

"I knew I should have suggested Gabby," Gilda lamented.

Peter sighed in frustration, he really did not want to make an enemy out of anyone unnecessarily, and wondered if he took this too far. "Am I doing the right thing here?"

"Peter, you're looking after your daughter, you are in the right," Johnny said, then turned to everyone. "No one thinks Peter took it too far, do they?"

"No way," Dante said. "I would have done the same thing."

"So would I," Chris said. "Only I wouldn't have been as nice."

"I'm disappointed in Gallus, I expected better from him," Rainbow Dash said.

"I’m on your side, Peter,” Mark said.

"You did nothing wrong out there," Rumble said. "You had a right to put everypony in their place."

"You're just being a good dad, that's so sweet of you," Amy said.

"Having a child is precious, a real man stands up for his daughter," Spawn said. "You're good in my book Spider-Man."

Peter glanced at his wife, "Twilight? What about you?"

"Well..." Twilight seemed to be at a loss for words. "I mean, I understand why you had to say what you said but..."

"Twilight, you're not siding with Gallus, are you?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yeah Twi, he dissed your husband," Johnny said. "He also doesn't even care about your daughter!"

"I know he's a bit brash...but he is one of my students," Twilight said.

"Wow, kind of disappointing, Twilight," Bobby said.

"You should be on Peter's side!" Rainbow Dash said.

"It's fine, everyone," Peter said. "We can talk about this later, Twilight."

Many still felt a bit disappointed in Twilight for her hesitation, even Fluttershy gave her friend a slight glare.

"Alright, show's over then," Johnny said, turning to all the former students. "Rest of you get packing."

Everyone began spreading out, all except one filly. A unicorn with a pink coat and yellow mane who trotted over to Peter.

"Sir, if it's any consolation, I agree with a lot you had to say about the school," the filly said. "I mean, it's a nice concept but it did feel utterly pointless. I got sent here for being 'anti-social', but this school didn't really help me fit in, it just made me feel even more out of place."

"Sorry to hear that," Peter said.

"Eh, what can you do?" the girl said. "Still, why do I need friends anyway?"

"Well they're nice to have, so long as it's not forced," Peter said. "It's like I tell my daughter, go at your own pace. You don’t need a bunch of friends, I had little friends back home and I turned out fine. Things got complicated but I have good memories, plus I still have friends from Earth that are here now, and I still managed to make new friends, because I made the choice. You can make the choice too, no one should have to make it for you."

"Wow, you gave me more useful Friendship Advice in just a few sentences than I got in the last few months," the filly said. "Wish more ponies thought like you."

"Well maybe I can give you a bit more advice," Peter said. "You can come by my house sometime. Also, did you relay any of this to my wife?"

"Not yet, Starlight did try 'fixing' me though," the girl said.

"Hey, wait a minute," Mayday said, trotting over. "You must be the filly Miss Glimmer was talking about then, she mentioned a troubled filly the other day."

"Wow, troubled? That's harsh," the filly said.

"I feel for you, being forced to make friends," Mayday said. "At least no one forced me to be friends with Frankie."

"Frankie?" the filly asked.

"That boy over there, next to my cousin," Mayday said, gesturing to Franklin and Flurry Heart.

"Oh, that's Princess Flurry Heart, she's so pretty up close," the filly said. "So, that boy is your only friend?"

"Yes, and I'm quite happy with that," Mayday said. "Maybe that's all you need, one friend you can rely on, and maybe see if it grows from there. I like being a loner but I also like Frankie's company, he makes me feel less weird."

"Lucky you, I'm the sole weirdo," the filly said. "Oh, I never introduced myself. My name is Luster Dawn."

"Mayday Parker-Sparkle," the filly said. "But you probably already knew that."

"Yeah, everyone knows the daughter of Princess Twilight and Spider-Mane," Luster Dawn said. "I heard about your diss earlier today, calling everyone neophytes or something. It takes guts to speak out against this school, but I suppose being who you are makes it easier."

"Hey I'm glad at least one student has enough sense to know this place was a waste, and I'm glad it's getting shut down," Mayday said. "Sucks for my mom but, what can you do."

"Mayday, you know I can hear you, right?" Twilight said.

"Well mom, if you don't care about my feelings, why should I care about yours?" Mayday asked.

"Mayday!" Peter scolded.

"Holy shit," Johnny said.

"Dayum!" Bobby said.

Twilight could not believe her ears, the fact that her daughter would even say such a thing. Deep down however, she couldn't deny that she might have deserved that one, given how little she has given to Mayday's feelings on a lot of matters.

"Um, Mayday, I admire your guts but that might have been a bit too far," Luster Dawn said.

"Whatever, I'm already second in my mom's life after her dumb school and those favorite students of hers, so it's not like I have much to lose," Mayday said.

"Ahem..." Peter said. "Luster Dawn, is it? Would you mind going back home? I need to have a word with my daughter."

"Sure, I'll see you around then," Luster Dawn said, trotting off.

"Mayday, come with me please," Peter said. "Johnny, go find Superman, I saw him flying near the edge of town to make sure nopony's unaccounted for. Tell him to come to Twilight's library."

"Yeah," Johnny said, flying off.

Peter remembered one other thing, "Hey Bobby, can you see if Daredevil's in town? I need to explain some stuff to my daughter, he might be able to help."

"Sure," Bobby said, gliding off.

“I should go to Manehatten and pick up my daughter,” Rarity said, trotting toward the train station.

As Peter was about to leave, Ocellus called to him. "Excuse me up Peter."

The hero turned to face the young girl, "Do you need something?"

“I never got to thank you," Ocellus said.

"Huh? For what?" Peter asked.

"The only reason I'm here, able to make the friends I made, is because of you," Peter said. "You offered a friendly hoof to the Changelings and got most of The Hive to change their ways. If it wasn't for you, I'd probably still be under the rule of Queen Chrysalis."

"I'm happy to help," Peter said. "It's great you turned out better, if you stayed with Chrysalis, things would have been so much worse."

"I can imagine," Ocellus said, then brought Peter in for a hug. "You're a great guy, Peter."

"You're not so bad yourself," Peter said, returning the hug for a moment before the two broke off.

"Glad I can be a proper Changeling ambassador," Ocellus said.

"That type of pressure must be rough," Peter said. "I just hope you know that you're still your own Changeling."

"Don't worry, I still have my individuality," Ocellus said. "Anyway, I still want to make things right with Mayday, is there anything I can do?"

"Just give her time," Peter said. "I gotta go talk to her about some stuff, meanwhile you should probably comfort your friends, especially Sandbar."

"Right..." Ocellus looked sad again. "What's going to happen to Cozy Glow?"

"She's definitely going to be disciplined for this," Peter said. "But hopefully her behavior can be corrected."

"I hope so too," Ocellus said.

Not too far off, Leon was observing the two, the US Agent feeling some suspicion regarding Ocellus.

"Hey, you..." Strange said, trying to get his attention. "Leon, right?"

"Yeah?" Leon asked.

"We're going to start bringing you all back soon," Strange said. "Get ready."

"Uh-huh..." Leon said, still focused on Peter and Ocellus, to which Strange himself noticed.

"That must be one of the Changelings," Strange said. "Sunset mentioned they ruled over Equestria in one timeline."

"They did, I was there," Leon said. "Years ago I was asked by Wolverine to help a girl named Sweetie Belle restore peace and eliminate leftover Changelings. Honestly I hoped to ensure that future won't come to pass here too."

"Looks like it won't, thanks to Peter playing Peacekeeper," Strange said.

"Sweetie Belle said Peter ended up in that future too after messing with Time Travel," Leon said. "Thankfully he found his way back to his original timeline"

"Wait, he did what?" Strange asked.

"I don't know the full story, she just mentioned that he made a mistake, got stuck in the future, then returned to the past," Leon said. "That future apparently existed because Peter was thought to have died in a lab explosion, obviously he didn't."

Strange focused back on Peter, sensing something unusual. "Interesting...I'm gonna need a word with Twilight about this later.”

Nearby, Sonic had reunited with Mega Man, "Alright, I brought Tails, maybe he can fix that girl's lab."

"That's nice of you to do Sonic," Mega Man said.

"Call me a sucker for an adorable little girl, she reminds me of Cream," Sonic said.

Nearby, Rainbow Dash had floated near Sonic, "So...hedgehog."

"Huh?" Sonic said.

"You, me, race, now," Rainbow Dash said.

"Uh, I'll pass," Sonic replied.

Rainbow Dash did a double take. "Run that by me again?"

"I'll pass on the race," Sonic said.

"Whuh? You can't just 'pass' on a race! You're a speedster, you gotta race me!" Rainbow Dash said. "It's a law!"

"I'm not the racing type," Sonic said.

"Wuss," Rainbow Dash said.

"Only making me want to say 'no' more," Sonic said.

"Race me," Rainbow Dash said.

"Can you not take 'no' for an answer?" Sonic said.

"If you don't race me, I'll just annoy the heck out of you till I get what I want," Rainbow Dash said.

"Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy scolded. "Please don't bother that poor hedgehog."

"But I want to race him," Rainbow Dash said.

"If he doesn't want to race, then don't make him, that's not polite," Fluttershy said. "You don't have time to anyway, we still have some cleaning up to do."

"Ugh, fine," Rainbow Dash glared at Sonic. "You lucked out."

"Uh-huh, sure," Sonic said as Rainbow Dash left. "Man, that was annoying."

"Sunset Shimmer says she's very competitive," Mega Man said. "I respect that about her."

"Tch, you would," Sonic said. "Personally that girl isn't even my type so I don't want her chasing after me with this."

"You let Amy pester you..." Mega Man smirked at Sonic. "Unless..."

"Watch it," Sonic warned. "Anyway I hope Tails gets that job done fast."

---

At the Parker-Sparkle home, Mayday was seen hugging the twin tailed fox, "Thank you for fixing up my lab."

"It's no trouble, but I'm not done yet, so would you mind letting go?" Tails asked, Mayday obliging. "I don't know how much I can get done before I have to leave, but I'll do what I can."

"You go on kid," Peter said as Tails returned to work. "Mayday, we need to talk."

"Look, I know you're upset because of what I said to mom, but it's true," Mayday said. "She's too focused on that school, she picked it over you just like she'd pick it over me."

"It's not that she's picking the school over either of us," Peter said. "That school just means a lot to your mother and it's hard for her to just turn away from it."

"It shouldn't be that hard though, I mean, I may not understand Friendship, but I do know family," Mayday said.

"I know kid, and I admit she's too attached to the school, probably from the pressure of being the Princess of Friendship," Peter said. "But your mother, she loves you much more than she loves that school. She would never pick it over us."

"I hope not, those students gave me such a big headache," Mayday said.

"Yeah, we need to discuss that too," Peter said. Moments later Superman had come inside the library, alongside Matt and even Twilight. "Hey Twi, back already?”

"Supervising the town can wait, I needed to check on you and Mayday," Twilight said.

"Well, you're just in time, we're about to give Mayday a nice chat regarding her sensory," Peter said.

"Sensory?" Mayday asked.

"Oh yeah, you wanted to talk about that," Superman said.

"That's why you got me too, isn't it?" Matt asked.

"You guessed it," Peter said. "Would you mind helping?"

"I'll offer what I can," Matt said.

"Daddy's what's happening?" Mayday asked.

"Mayday, earlier today, you got scared by all the fighting, right?" Matt asked.

"Yeah, it gave me a big headache," Mayday said.

"You had a sensory overload," Matt said. "For some, their senses are very delicate and prone to overstimulation."

"Whether it's from a bunch of heroes fighting one another..." Superman said.

"Or being surrounded by students trying to force Friendship on you," Peter said. "You hear so much at once, it's loud, it's jumbled, and it messes with your head."

"It's too much for your brain to process," Matt said. "And it can become overbearing."

"...So, is there something wrong with me?" Mayday asked.

"I wouldn't put it that way, you just take things in differently," Peter said.

"But you're not alone Mayday, because what happened to you, has also happened to me," Superman said.

"And me," Matt said.

"And me," Peter confirmed.

"Huh? It happened to all of you?" Mayday asked.

"Yeah, sometimes there are situations that hurt all of us," Peter said. "Especially loud noises."

"Here's a secret for you, Mayday," Matt said, pulling his mask off. "I'm completely blind, I can't see a thing out of my eyes."

"Wait, you're blind!?" Mayday asked. "But, you move so normally!"

"It's part of my radar sense. I can see you, but differently," Matt said. "Kind of like a bat."

"Oh, so like Batman?" Mayday asked.

"Batman can't do that type of stuff," Superman said. "Unless it's one of his gadgets."

"Point is, due to my blindness, and partially due to the reason of it, my other senses got stronger, especially my hearing," Matt said. "It can be scary when so much is happening all around, I remember how scared I was when I woke up from the hospital after my accident. I could hear so much at once, and that's just one example."

"I have super senses Mayday, including hearing," Superman said. "I can hear just about everywhere, even the slightest whisper on the other side of town. if I can hear all that, imagine how my ears react when it's something loud," Superman said.

"I hate loud noises too," Peter said. "It bothers my ears, and it gives me the same type of headache you have."

"Including the ringing?" Mayday asked.

Peter nodded his head, "Yes, the ringing too. That we have to talk about more between us."

"Just remember, you're not alone on this," Matt said. "I'm willing to bet Wolverine has this issue too, he does have heightened senses after all."

"Well, at least I'm not alone," Mayday said. "So, there really isn't anything wrong with me?"

"For the hundredth time, no, there isn't," Peter said. "Look, you do things at your own pace. You're a bit anti-social but you clearly know how to have a conversation considering you chatted up with that Luster Dawn girl, and you're close with Franklin Richards. You’re just introverted, I am too."

"So am I," Matt said.

"Same," Superman admitted.

"Wait, you are Superman!?" Twilight asked. "You do not come across that way."

"It's true, I mean I don't mind being around others but even I need my alone time," Superman said.

"Twilight’s the same,” Peter said.

"Me? But, I grew out of my introverted nature," Twilight said.

"No you didn't, you still take time to yourself to read," Peter said.

"I can't be an introvert Peter, I'm the Princess of Friendship," Twilight said. "I have to be a social pony."

"Uh, Twi, you can be introvert and social," Peter said. "You don't just stop being an introvert, it's part of who you are."

“But…” Twilight wasn’t sure how to process this, growing even more worried about her Friendship Princess Title.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, Matt taking immediate notice. "Sunset's here, with Doctor Strange."

Superman turned to the door, "Yeah, they have company."

"Wait, how did you two..." Mayday shook her head. "Right, you have superpowers."

Peter opened up, showing Sunset with many of the otherworldly allies, "Hi Peter, I'm about to send everyone home, do you want to say any good-byes?"

"Sure," Peter said. "Hey Superman, I guess this means you too."

"Yes, of course," Superman said, floating over to Sunset. "Remember Mayday, you're fine how you are. You're a special little girl who does things her own way, and as long as you're not hurting anyone, you're free to be how you are."

"You got it, Superman," Mayday said.

"Yeah, just helping my daughter through some stuff," Peter said. "Trying to remind her that she's fine how she is. I mean, you think so too, right?"

"Well yeah, she's a nice girl," Sunset turned to her many allies. "Don't you all think so?"

"She's a bit sassy but she's well behaved," Ryu said.

"I like the sassiness, means she has spirit," Dante said.

"She has a strong will," Chris said.

"Thanks guys, glad you feel that way," Peter said.

"She's lucky to have a dad like you, Spider-Man," Mark said. "Just promise you'll see her as more of a daughter than a successor."

"Uh, sure, of course," Peter said, scratching his head at that oddly put statement.

"Your daughter is lucky to have her dad, and it sounds like you're a remarkable man," Harry said. "She did seem worried before though."

"She has a hard time making friends, which she's fine with but she doesn't know if she should be fine," Peter said.

"As long as she's happy, I can count my friends on one hand, and I get by just fine," Cole said.

"She probably just needs someone to understand her at her core," Yuri said. "Anyone who can't isn't worth the effort.”

"Exactly, it sounds like your daughter is just a bit reserved, I can understand that," Luke said. "Of course I did grow up lonely at times, spending my life on a farm and working with droids did wear on my nerves. Little did I know, those would be the least of my problems."

"You worked with Droids!?" Mayday asked. "That's really cool mister!"

"On a farm, though?" Twilight asked. "Wonder how Applejack would feel about something like that?”

"I don't think she'd like that; you know how old fashioned she is," Peter said.

"That makes sense given her reaction to the Flim Flam Brothers' contraption," Twilight said.

"Still, working with robots sounds amazing!" Mayday said. "Imagine a planet where you can work with robots!"

Luke turned to Peter, "I take it robots aren't common in this world."

"Tech barely exists here, and too few robots exist in mine," Peter said. "Some are evil though."

"Some droids can be used for evil," Luke said. "Sounds like your planet is just getting off the ground in regard to tech."

"Speaking of tech Peter," Superman said, getting his attention. "That suit, was it made from the Kryptonian tech I gave you?"

"Oh you noticed, yeah it is," Peter said. "Helped me move much faster, I can probably take The Flash in a race."

"I bet he'd love to see you try that," Superman said.

"Hey, what about magic?" Harry asked.

"Magic's super rare, of course most sorcerers try not to make themselves known," Peter said.

"I can vouch for that," Strange said.

"Magic is common in this world however, hence all the Unicorns," Twilight said.

"I'm familiar with Unicorns, they exist in my world," Harry said. "Hippogriffs too.”

"Your worlds seem interesting," Mayday said. "What else can you tell me about them."

Luke turned to Strange, "Is it possible to wait?"

"If you must, but anyone who doesn't want to wait, come with me," Strange said. "The sooner we get you home, the less of a risk you all are."

"Why are you so worried, anyway?" Peter asked. "Is them being here unstable?"

"I'm not sure, back in Asgard, an incursion nearly happened because Sunset started summoning everyone at random," Strange said. "Now, an incursion may not happen here, each world is different, but I would rather not take any chances. Better safe than sorry."

"I suppose you're right," Luke said. "I don't mind staying a bit longer though, but anyone who wishes to go home likely should."

Peter took note of Celestia not too far away, chatting with Cadance, Spitfire, Bon Bon, All Might, Steve and Tony. "You all decide, I have something to take care of."

Without another word, Peter leapt away, leaving everyone surprised, especially Sunset. "Kind of thought he'd want to hear more."

"Looks like he's determined about something," Ryu said. "Twilight, you're alright with us saying here for a bit, correct?"

"Sure, I don't mind," Twilight said. "If Mayday doesn't at least."

"Right, we don't want to make her uncomfortable," Luke said.

"I think I'll be fine," Mayday said.

"I might have an idea, give me a second," Sonic said, speeding off and returning literally a second later, holding Jigglypuff. "You like pets, right? This is a Pokémon, her name's Jigglypuff."

"Jiggly!"

Mayday's eyes sparkled, "She's so cute! I want her!" Sonic placed the Pokémon next to her, Mayday immediately hugging it. "So soft!"

"Jigglypuff!" the creature hugged her back.

"Sonic strikes again," Mega Man complimented. "May we come in Twilight?"

"Of course," Twilight said.

“You all go, I should go see Franklin Richards, be back in a second,” Superman said, flying off.

---

Nearby Steve and Tony were explaining the situation to All Might.

"So I hoped that with heroes more organized, there'd be less bad stuff happening," Tony said. "It backfired however.”

"Heroes need to exercise free judgement, not be told who the bad guys are and when to save the day," Steve said.

"Hm, interesting," All Might said. "Back in my world, you need a license to be a hero. Though most of the population in my world has powers, so the laws were made to keep all that under control. How is it in your world?"

"Well on my Earth, it's minimal," Tony said. "Even I don't have powers I just built a suit."

"I wasn't born with mine, I was given it in a lab," Steve said.

"Interesting, well I would say that order should be kept but keep it flexible," All Might said. "The system in my world is a bit flawed. I still abide by it, it's my duty after all, but maybe you can do better. Just use your heads."

"He's correct," Celestia said. "I know you both can figure something out."

"We will," Steve said.

Moments later, Peter had landed near the Princess, "Celestia, I need a word with you."

"Is anything wrong?" Celestia asked.

"Not in town, but there's something that's been bothering me for a while," Peter said. "Remind me, why did you send Twilight to this village?"

"Huh?" This question took Celestia by surprise, even Luna had to wonder what brought this up. "I sent her here to make friends. She was always in her observatory back in Canterlot, I figured she'd needed a good change of pace."

"This was around the time Twilight was reading about Nightmare Moon, too," Peter asked. "Is that right?"

"Yes, Twilight was adamant about preventing her return," Celestia said. "Thankfully things worked out and Luna was cured of what possessed her."

"I'm glad she was, and it had to do with The Magic of Friendship too," Peter said.

"Yes, Twilight's Friendship is what saved Equestria," Celestia said.

"That's all fine and dandy, but here's the issue," Peter said. "Why did Twilight need to come here to make friends? Didn't she already have friends back in Canterlot?"

This gained Bon Bon's curiosity, given that Lyra herself has brought this up.

"Well, she did, but she seemed disinterested in them," Celestia said. "That's why I sent her to Ponyville, to make new friends."

"Uh-huh, so basically you told Twilight to forget her old friends in Canterlot just to start over here?" Peter asked. "Shouldn't you have encouraged her to rekindle her bond with her old friends?”

"I suppose I should have..." Celestia said, now feeling a bit uneasy, something Steve started to take notice of. "But, things were complicated and Luna was returning. Plus, I sensed greater potential in the friends she made here."

"Wait, did you know she was gonna make the friends she made?" Peter asked. "I mean, that all came together pretty well."

"Sort of..." Celestia said. "Peter, is there a reason you're so interested in this subject?"

"I'm just trying to figure this Friendship thing out," Peter said. "Is it really for a pony's benefit, or is there some power link you're trying to exploit?"

"Peter!" Steve scolded. "That's a bit out of line."

"It's fine, Steve," Celestia said. "Peter, I don't know what's giving you this idea, but I assure you everything I've done with Twilight was for her benefit. I would never do anything to hurt my most faithful student."

"I know you wouldn't, and maybe you think you're doing the right thing here," Peter said. "But a lot that I've seen so far, it's just worrying me. Just earlier some students tried forcing Friendship on my daughter to 'fix' her because they think she's miserable without it. One student took things too far with that alliance with Martin Li.”

"A misguided child I assure you," Celestia said.

But Celestia, something needs to change here,” Peter said. “I want my daughter to grow up in a world that's a bit more accepting of who she is, and that goes for all ponies who struggle with social activities. I agree that it's good to have friends, but it's also good to be yourself. Life is hard enough as it is, don't make it harder."

"I fully understand that," Celestia said.

"Alright, I'll leave you to it, I hope you really consider what I had to say," Peter said, making his leave.

"Well, that got a bit uncomfortable," Tony said. "Say what you will but Peter is not afraid to speak his mind."

"For better or worse," Steve said.

"Remember when he had a really bad temper?" Tony asked. "He was ready to snap at someone."

"He was like sixteen at the time or something, teens have hot tempers," Steve said.

“Peter rarely gets angry, it’s unsettling when he does,” Cadance said.

“Angering the nice ones means you really messed up,” All Might said.

“So Auntie, what do you think of what Peter had to say?" Cadance asked. "Even I must admit, sending Twilight here without making amends with her friends seemed like a strange choice."

"She did eventually at least," Celestia said.

"Well not for nothing Princess, but it did hurt Lyra that Twilight basically forgot about her," Bon Bon said. "Not as much as Moon Dancer, but this stuff isn't exactly a competition. I mean, I'd like to think any of them could have been the Elements of Harmony.”

"Perhaps," Celestia said. "Anyway, let us hurry here, we must return to Thor and Blueblood."

"They can wait," Tony said. "I want to make sure all the towns are alright too."

"I'll send some flyers," Spitfire said.

---

Nighttime came, the otherworldly heroes were preparing to say good-bye. A larger portal was made so that many in Equestria could see the heroes without any of them having to step outside the ship.

"Still feels like my arm is there," Sif said, looking to her missing limb.

"That’s phantom pain, you get used to it," Spencer reassured, gesturing to his bionic arm.

"Hope this doesn't take too long," Master Chief said. "I have an Infinite amount of problems to deal with."

"I must tend to my own Ragnarök," Kratos said.

Ryu, Chris and Dante were waiting patiently, then noticed Smolder glaring at them, the three feeling odd.

"That kid's glaring at us again," Dante said.

"Ignore her," Chris said.

Smolder kept her glare up, still furious with the three for what they did to her brother years ago. Sweetie Belle, who was next to her, noticed the tension and stroked Smolder's back to alleviate it.

"If you talked to them, they might apologize," Sweetie Belle said.

"Pfft, not in the mood," Smolder said.

Mayday meanwhile was saying good-bye to her new friend, "Bye Jigglypuff! I'll miss you!"

"Jiggly," the Pokémon went back to her world's group.

"Good thing she didn't sing, huh?" Pit whispered.

"Don't jinx it now," Shulk said.

"Your daughter is well behaved," Luke said to Peter. "I agree with you, she's fine as is. As long as she doesn't get too scared of socializing."

"She's capable of talking to others as long as she doesn't feel pressured," Peter said.

"She seemed fine today when I was telling her stories," Luke said. "It's all about approach."

"Thanks, means a lot to hear you say that," Peter said.

Twilight herself was talking to Harry, "What's Hogwarts like anyway?"

"Nice place, met a lot of friends there," Harry said.

"You were happy to be there, weren't you?" Twilight asked. "No one forced you?"

"I was miserable at home," Harry said. "My parents died when I was a baby, the family that raised me were cruel. I'm grateful at seeing parents like you and your husband who love their child very much."

"I'm just worried that I haven't done well as a mother," Twilight said.

"No mother is perfect, if you're willing to try, that's very important," Harry said. "You'll do fine."

Meanwhile Rambo was talking with Logan, "So, you been in a lot of combat?"

"My whole life," Logan said.

"Same, been fighting for as long as I can remember," Rambo said. "Gets to me sometimes, imagine waking up and sweating bullets."

"Don't have to imagine it," Logan said. "I know Peter doesn’t need to either."

Rainbow Dash had a chance to talk a bit with Indiana Jones, "Yeah there's this girl named Daring Do in my world, you kind of remind me of her since you seem like the rugged archeologist type."

"That's nice, so does she run away from boulders too?" Jones asked.

"Sometimes," Rainbow Dash said.

Jones chuckled a bit, "I gotta come back here sometime."

Sunset prepared to send everyone off as well, but just being around them was reminding her of her prior failure, and how many must be hurting because of Ragnarök.

"Sunset..." Ryu said, getting her attention. "It's time."

"Yes, of course," Sunset said.

"We need to wait for Clea," Strange said.

"Here I am," Clea said, coming in with a woman. "And I brought some assistance."

Strange noticed his old friend, "Hey Wong."

"Stephen, you've been busy," Wong said.

"Sure have, thanks for coming," Strange said.

"That's not all," Clea said, gesturing to a girl. " You remember America Chavez, correct?"

"Hey, how's it going?" America said.

"Good grief..." Strange lamented.

"Who's she?" Sunset asked.

"She can generate portals to wherever she wants," Strange said.

"Yeah, I'm pretty unstoppable, ain't no one do this better than I can," America said.

"Just...try not to mess up," Strange said.

"Pfft, I got this old man," America said.

Dante gestured to his allies, "Anyone else already hate her?"

"Dante, we just met her," Chun-Li said.

"And I hate her," Dante said.

"Same, she reminds me of Luke," Spencer said. "Probably one of those punk-shits Strange mentioned before."

Spawn also looked visibly annoyed, "Who the hell is this girl?"

"She's...peppy," Amy said.

"More like arrogant," Spawn said. "If she's from that Strange guy's world, then no wonder he's all tightly wound, he's got little brats to deal with."

"First we need to open some portals," Strange said. "Now we may have figured out who goes where-"

Suddenly America started punching several portals into existence, "Yo! All of you check to see which world is yours! Hop to it, we ain't got all day!"

"Dammit America, don’t be so reckless!" Strange scolded.

"Dude chill,” America said, then noticed something else. "Also, what's with the horses? Some look like heroes, like Cap, Stark, Thor, even Spidey."

"That's because that portal leads to Equestria, so they take horse forms," Strange said.

"That’s just weird," America said, then called to the others. "Yo hurry up!"

"Alright, bossy..." Naruto said, looking around and spotting something. "I see my village. There's Sakura, and Hinata, and Shikamaru."

"Yeah, yeah, hurry up guy," America said.

"Please be nice," Sunset said. "Thank you for your help today, Naruto."

"You got it, thank you for showing me a world beyond my own," Naruto said, stepping through. "Come by my world sometime, I'll treat you to Ichiraku's Ramen. It's yummy."

"There's my planet," Luke said. "I see R2-D2."

"R2-D2? That name sounds familiar," America said. "Actually, something about you reminds me of a movie, except it had a badass chick."

"Why did her saying that set off my spider sense?” Peter wondered. "Oh well, Bye Luke!"

"Thanks for visiting Mr. Skywalker!" Mayday said.

"Bye Peter! By Mayday!" Luke said. "May the Force be With You!"

"This is a dream come true for me," Peter said as Luke left.

"I bid you all farewell," Harry said, stepping through his own portal.

"To peace and prosperity," Legolas said, taking his leave.

"Be safe!" Rambo said.

"Don't cause more trouble!" Spawn warned.

"When trouble strikes, be ready to Go Beyond Plus Ulra!" All Might encouraged.

"Plus Ultra?" Peter said. "So cool!"

Mark was about to step through, then turned to Peter, "Hey, thanks for helping out today, see you around!"

"Good luck in your world, Invincible!" Peter waved off.

Everyone else started leaving, from the Ninja Turtles, to Inuyasha and Indiana Jones. Sunset also helped team Nintendo make their way home, Sonic waving them off.

"Justice League, you're up," Strange said.

"I bid you all farewell," Superman said, taking his leave.

"Bye Superman!" Franklin called.

"Take care everyone!" Wonder Woman said.

"Bye Wonder Woman!" Flurry called.

Before Batman left, he had one thing to say. "Sunset. I know how much you’re struggling, I relate to it. Please, try to move on, it’s not worth holding onto the pain.”

“If you know, why do you hold onto the pain?” Sunset asked.

"Because it's my burden, to make sure no one else feels this anguish," The Dark Knight said. "Because, I am Vengeance. I am the Night. I, am Batman."

Sunset may have been a Superman fan, but she could not deny the amazing presence Batman showed as he stepped through his portal.

Kratos, Cole and Kat also stood before their own respective portals.

"This place wasn't too bad, we should come back sometime," Cole said, Kat nodding in agreement.

"Pfft, I can't stand this world, too pure," Kratos said.

"Are you always this edgy?" Cole asked.

"Take care you three," Ryu said, waving them off.

"See ya, Ryu," Cole said. "Let me know the next time you and those Tekken Warriors clash."

Just as Kratos was about to step through, he took note of Thor and Hercules, "What do you want?"

"I know how you feel about the Gods," Thor said. "You are justified to an extent but know that not all Gods are cruel. You helped me today; I would be more than happy to return the favor."

"Me too," Hercules said. "Allow me to right whatever wrong you've felt from the Gods."

"Pfft, even if my son believes the goodness in Gods, I am not ready to do so myself," Kratos said, making his leave. "Just stay out of my way."

Thor sighed in frustration, but his interactions with Gorr have shown that some scars take a while to heal.

Sunset grabbed a ring, "Sega, you're next."

She created a portal that the fighters started stepping through.

"This is so weird," America said. "I mean, a world with giant animals?"

"They're not that giant," Sunset said.

"Whatever, as long as I don't see a-" as she was saying this, a new face popped in.

"Oh, there you guys were," Came the voice of Charmy Bee. "Wow, neat place, there's a lot of-"

"AH!" America freaked out so much, she accidentally created a new portal that sucked in some Asgardians.

"AMERICA!" Strange shouted. "What did I tell you about controlling your damn powers!?"

"Hey you know I hate bees, it's how I lost my parents!" America said.

"Wait, how?" Dante asked.

"When she was little, a bee scared her and it resulted in her powers activating, sending her parents away," Strange said.

"It's traumatizing," America said. Many around, while sympathetic, did find this weirdly confusing. "Look, I'll go find those Asgardians."

"Hurry, Thor's lost enough already," Strange said.

"Oh he'll be fine, he just needs to man up a bit," America said, punching through some dimensions to find the Asgardians.

"Man up?" Sunset asked. "Wow, big talk coming from a girl whose parents are probably dead over some little bee."

"Hey don't talk crap about America!" Kamala shouted. "You can't possibly imagine the pain she's gone through."

Sunset glared a hole through Kamala, her eyes briefly glowing red and startling everyone nearby, especially Kamala before Ryu stepped in, "Ignore her, she's not worth it."

Sunset took a breath, trying to calm her anger, to which Cloud also stepped in to help comfort her.

"I...should check on Carol," Kamala said. "She's in the Dungeon right? Don't need to escort me, I'll go on my own."

Kamala quickly scurried off, Bobby shaking his head annoying, "What a dumb bimbo."

"Glad that got resolved fast," Peter said. "Still, I haven't seen her eyes like that since the time I fought her on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier."

"Uh...did I cause trouble?" Charmy asked.

"You're good Charmy," Sonic said.

"Just some minor mishap," Amy said.

"And Sunset, remember this," Sonic began, getting her attention. "Sometimes bad things happen in life. But don't try to force yourself to feel better. Take all the time you need to be sad and start over. You got it in you."

"Oh, um, thanks Sonic," Sunset said.

"Vashyron would want you to press on," Sonic said. "Right Zephyr?"

"Yeah, he would," Zephyr said. "Don't be a stranger either, come by anytime."

"Sunset," Joker said, getting the girl's attention. "To Sonic's point, holding in pain will just result in unrelenting sadness. I've seen it happen, I've seen how bad a cognition of your failures can become. It will destroy you from within if you're not careful."

"Sure, thanks Joker," Sunset said.

With that, each of the Sega team went through their portal, with Sonic being the last one in. "Take care Sunset." He turned to the others. "Bye Mega Man, bye everyone!"

"Bye Sonic!" Mega Man called. “Have fun on your new Frontiers!”

Before stepping through, he turned his attention to one other guy, "Yo, Spider-Man!" Once he had Peter's attention, Sonic continued as he left. "Keep this world safe. And Mayday! Remember, slow is good too, not everything needs speed!"

"Okay!" Mayday said.

"Namco, you're next," Sunset said, creating a portal for them.

Many began stepping through, Yuri Lowell being the last, "Hey, remember. Rita wanted to help, what happened wasn't your fault. If anything I should have been the one to protect her. You're a great woman Sunset, Rita believed so too. Learn from any mistake you feel you made and press on."

"I'll try," Sunset said. Once Yuri went through, she created a portal for the SNK Warriors, which each of them went through.

"Been nice seeing you again," Terry said. "Come back anytime you want, I know you been training and I got some moves I wanna show ya."

"Alright Terry," Sunset said. After he went in, she created her portal to Square.

"Noct, you're up," Cloud said.

"Are you coming too?" Noctis asked.

"Not yet, I'll catch you later," Cloud said.

The Square characters went in one by one, the last one before the portal being Eleven. He turned to Sunset, offering a thumbs up. "Be strong."

"Sure thing," Sunset said. After that, she created the Capcom Portal, though to her surprise, she found someone chatting with a pair of Monster Hunters, alongside employees of Devil May Cry and a young blonde girl.

"Yeah, I know that Ryu and his cronies have been traveling with some red head who apparently knows magic, that doesn't make him cool, for all I know he's looking for another world to live in since I'm the one rising to the top."

"Luke!?" Chun-Li shouted, getting the man's attention.

Luke Sullivan turned to the portal. "Huh? Where'd you come from?"

"Talking shit again!?" Spencer asked. "To Leo and Leia nonetheless!"

Dante noticed something, "Nero? V? Nico?"

"Hey Dante, have fun in your travels?" Nero asked.

"How was Asgard?" V asked.

"Long story," Dante said.

"We could have used your help," Sunset said.

"I was busy," Nero said. "Our world has troubles too, especially with The Demon King. Nothing we can't handle."

"Sherry," Chris said, getting the girl's attention. "How are things regarding the B.O.W.s?"

"Not too bad, Jake's keeping a close watch on things," Sherry said. "I am too, I just came by to check on Nero. His friend Kyrie send me."

"See, we got things under control," Luke said. "No need for any of you old-timers."

"I'm about to knock his punk-shit ass out," Spencer said.

"Not before I do!" Ken said, rushing in with everyone sans the Capcom Seven.

“Is that everyone?” Wong asked.

"Almost," Whis said, the man in his cube alongside Goku and Vegeta. "But we can take care of ourselves."

"See you later Sunset," Goku said. "Peter, Ryu, Twilight, same with you three."

"Bye Goku, give Chi-Chi and your sons my regards," Sunset said.

"If Gohan's alright with it, maybe he can come by with his daughter, I'd sure love to show Pan around," Goku said.

"That'd be great," Twilight said.

"Ryu! Cloud! Dante! Get strong, all of you!" Vegeta demanded. "I know you have that potential."

"Damn right we do," Dante said.

"That reminds me, I still have to reach Thor's level," Goku said. "So fun having new limits."

Whis left with his cube, this finally sending everyone home.

"Guess that only leaves us," Star-Lord said.

"Let's blast off for now, I have a lot to plan," Sunset said. "We all do."

"Yeah, I have to meet with Guile's family," Chun-Li said. "It won't be easy."

"Speaking of family," Dante pulled out a locket, looking down on it a moment as he mentally prepared for what he must do. "Nightcrawler!"

"Huh?" Kurt's ears perked as he made his way to Dante. "You called?"

"Here, your mother wanted you to have this," Dante said, handing over the locket.

Kurt took it in his hands, seemingly confused, but opened it to show a picture of him from when he was an infant, "My mother gave you this?"

"Yeah, she did not survive Ragnarök, sorry I should have told you earlier but so much happened," Dante said. "Before she died, she wanted me to give you this, and tell you that she's sorry."

"Hm, I see..." Kurt said, pocketing the item. "Thank you for delivering it."

"Are you going to be alright?" Dante asked. "I know the pain of losing a mother, and despite what she's done, she seemed to truly love you."

"I will be fine, I will pray to God for the strength to carry me through this," Kurt said. "And I pray to God that you will find the strength to overcome the losses you felt today."

"God's never really been my pal, probably because I'm part demon, but thanks," Dante said.

"Of course, good luck on your travels,” Kurt said.

"Yeah, sure," Dante said, making his way back to his friends, but not without one more sympathetic glance towards Kurt. "At least you have good friends to help you, Nightcrawler."

As he stepped into his world, Kurt was greeted by Ocellus, the changeling quick to check on her friend. The first thing she was a tear, "Kurt?"

"My mother is gone..." Kurt said, holding her locket. "I know she followed the path of evil...but she was still my mother."

Ocellus's heart broke when she saw more tears coming down her friend's eyes, "Kurt..." She then pulled him into a hug, hoping to alleviate his pain. "Don't worry, I'm here for you."

Strange then remembered he had something to do, "Twilight, may I speak to you in private?"

"Sure," Twilight said, the two trotting off somewhere.

Peter raised his eyebrow, "What could he have to say to her?"

Once alone, Strange began speaking, "Twilight, what can you tell me about Peter's Time Travel to the Changeling future?"

"Well, he said he was testing a spell from Starswirl the Bearded and ended up in a dystopian future,” Twilight explained. “Why, did he break some rules?"

"Time travel here is beyond my jurisdiction, but I should warn you," Strange said. "There is a very high possibility that the Peter here isn't your Peter."

"Huh? What does that mean?" Twilight asked.

"I mean his true timeline may be that Changeling future," Strange said. "That place existed because he disappeared, and since it still exists, coming back to this timeline didn't mean he returned, he just came to a new timeline."

"That's...impossible, he has to be my Peter,” Twilight said.

“That may not be possible,” Strange said.

"Strange this really doesn't add up, that Peter is my Peter, not some other timeline's Peter," Twilight said. "He created another timeline by mistake, that's all. That's not his timeline, this is his timeline."

"I don't think it is, I can tell, he gives off a different aura compared to everyone else," Strange said. "He's not from this dimension."

"You're wrong!" Twilight said. "Stop filling my head with this stuff, I already have enough to deal with, I don't need you telling me that my husband is an imposter!"

"Twilight, I'm not trying to upset you," Strange said.

"Then drop it! I don't want to hear this nonsense!" Twilight warned.

Strange put his foreleg up in defeat, "Alright, I'll respect your desire."

"Well...good," Twilight said, trotting off. "I'm going back to my husband."

Once everything was settled, Sunset bit one final farewell to her friends, "I'll see you all later."

"See ya," Peter said, everyone waving as the portals closed.

"Hey if you can! Keep an eye out for Bruce Banner!" Tony called before the portals disappeared. "Hey Thor, getting everyone settled?"

"We will camp out near the edge of Canterlot for now," Thor said.

"We'll supply everything you need, then in time, we will rebuild Asgard," Celestia said. "You may pick any part of Equestria that you desire."

"Thank you Princess," Thor said.

"Well, I don't know about all of you, but I'm calling it a night," Peter said.

"Same, lets go home Peter," Twilight said.

"Wait, what about the other heroes?" Mayday asked.

"Figure it out tomorrow," Peter said, ready to leave.

---

On the other side of Sunset's portal, the girl was standing there, still feeling the events of the day sinking in.

"Hey, I think I can find a nearby planet for you all to crash at if you're not ready to go back," Star-Lord said.

"That could work, are you alright with that Sunset?" Ryu asked, then noticed the girl was still saddened. "Sunset?"

"Huh?" Sunset turned to Ryu. "Sure, that's fine..."

"Sunset, is there anything you want to talk about?" Ryu asked.

"I'll be fine, gotta press on," Sunset said.

"If you say so," Ryu said. "I just hope you know that if you feel like there's a problem, that you can tell us."

"We're your friends after all," Cloud said.

"I'll keep that in mind," Sunset said. "Well, let's get moving."

---

That night in Ponyville, Rumble was trotting alongside Apple Bloom to her farm.

"What a long day, from fighting heroes, to fighting mind-controlled ponies," Rumble said. "Plus everything that went on in Asgard."

"Things sure are going to be different," Apple Bloom said. "Say, how are things with you and Wind Sprint?"

"I'm still a little ticked off that she turned against me, but we'll work things out," Rumble said.

"Everyone seems a bit on edge with their friends. Johnny and Bobby, Sugar Belle and Night Glider, even Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. But ah trust they'll work things out."

"Same..." Rumble turned to Apple Bloom. "Hey, thanks for being by my side, even when things got hectic.”

"Of course, things happen, and I'm sorry ah got so moody when finding out about me being pregnant. Ah didn't handle it well, but now I'm kind of happy that ah get to be a mom. Even if ah am a bit young, but Peter and Twilight made it work, so we can too," Apple Bloom said. "Thanks fer wanting to be there for me. Ah know you'll be a good father."

"I aim to be a good father, and I aim to be a great husband too," Rumble said, taking Apple Bloom's hoof and kneeling. "Will you marry me?"

Apple Bloom's eyes widened once those words hit her eardrums, "Hold up! Did you just say what ah think you just said!?"

"I know we're still young, and maybe I'm rushing things but we're going to be parents, and I am set on taking good care of you two," Rumble said. "I want it to be official between us, our link of love. Now Apple Bloom, I ask you again. Will you marry me!?"

"I...well..." Apple Bloom nodded her head. "Yeah, I'll marry ya Rumble."

Rumble's eyes began to water, the boy crying tears of joy, "Really? That's great!" Rumble brought her in for a kiss to celebrate. "It's going to be an amazing wedding! I promise you that! I am going to make you the happiest mare in Equestria!"

"Ah already am," Apple Bloom said. "Ah love you Rumble."

"I love you too," Rumble said, bringing Apple Bloom in for another kiss.

---

Meanwhile a portal to Tartarus had been opened, with both Cozy Glow and Martin escorted in cages.

"Welcome to your new home," Luna said.

"What is this place?" Martin asked.

"We call it Tartarus," Luna said.

"Tartarus? From Greek Mythology!?" Martin asked.

"Good, you're familiar with it, less for me to explain," Luna said. "You will no longer be causing anymore trouble for the good ponies of Equestria. Most of all, you damn sure will not be causing any more grief for Peter."

"If I wanted to, I could turn you into a force beyond all recognition," Martin warned. "Why I could-"

Suddenly his head felt like it was in a vice, "Watch your tongue, cur."

"Isn't this a bit harsh, I am just an adorable little filly," Cozy Glow said.

"If you're old enough to work with villains," Luna said, releasing her hold on Martin. "Then you're old enough to be punished like them."

Luna made her exit, leaving the two villains behind. Martin took a moment to regain his composure, "How frustrating."

Cozy Glow nervously looked around, she could immediately see that neither she nor Martin were alone. Monsters could be seen everywhere, Bugbears, Cockatrices, Manticores. All locked in cages for the moment, but Cozy feared they could break out at any time.

"I wish Sandy were here," Cozy Glow whimpered. Her mind raced back to the stallion in question, who despite everything, she still deeply cared about. The girl began to sob a bit, something Martin began empathizing with.

"You poor child." Cozy stopped crying and spotted Octavius, "Locked in a cage? In this miserable place? How repulsive."

"Doctor Octavius?" Martin asked.

"Ah, Mr. Li, a pleasure to see you again," Octavius said as the other villains started to make their appearances known. "We have much to discuss."

"Got that right," Adagio said.

Martin could spot many familiar faces, from Shocker, to Electro, but what surprised him the most was seeing one man even he barely liked, "Osborn!"

"Hey Martin, been a while," Goblin said.

Sonata trotted over to Cozy's cage, then used her supersonic scream to destroy the lock, "There we go." She opened the cage to let Cozy Glow out, "You're free now. Don't worry, the guards rarely check this place nowadays.”

"Golly, thanks Miss," Cozy Glow said, stepping out.

"Ahem...what about me?" Martin asked.

"We'll let you out, after we work out a deal," Goblin said. "Sit tight, there's much to explain."

---

In Capcom, Wesker had returned alongside his allies, the group looking quite satisfied with their travels.

"So, how was it?" Wesker asked.

"I expected to fight a Spider-Man," Vergil said. "Instead I ended up with a Spider-Boy. He was no match for me, he's lucky I didn't kill him."

"The girl I went up against was pretty tough, and smart, but nowhere near as great as me," Tron boasted. "Plus my Servbots managed to snag some valuables."

"My guy was a bit of a jerk, and tougher than I gave him credit for," Juri said.

"The young lady I fought was entertaining, but not as entertaining as Peter," Wesker said, then turned to the Researcher Woman. "Vomi, did you get enough combat data?"

"Plenty, this should do well for my research," Vomi said.

"Now that this is settled, we should get into contact with Doom," Vergil said.

"Might I suggest a few more allies from our world?" Juri said. "Like, why don't we try and find Sigma or something."

"I suppose we can," Wesker said. "Discord's invasion is in a year, we want to be prepared for that as well."

"I can make more upgrades to help us, we just need more gear," Tron said.

"Did you say gear?" came the voice of a man in a purple helmet, one standing in front of Vergil's portal.

"Who are you?" Vergil asked, aiming his sword.

"Easy there, I'm just a friend," the man said. "They call me, 'The Prowler'."

"I don't recall asking," Vergil said. "What do you want?"

"I just saw you fighting Spider-Man, and I got interested in your little operation," Prowler said. "Seems like there's some big opportunity with this plan of yours, and I am more than willing to offer my services, for a good price."

"Why should we let you join?" Wesker asked.

"That girl said you need gear, and I can help," Prowler said. "I'm considered the most dangerous thief in America, you need something stolen, I can do it for you."

"Do we need this guy?" Juri asked. "Let’s send him packing."

"Now, now, nothing wrong with an extra ally," Wesker said. "You will need to prove yourself Prowler, and I have a few tests in mind for you."

"I can get it done," Prowler said.

"Hey, hold on a second!" Came a voice. The villains turned to see Viewtiful Joe's enemy, Alastor.

"Not this guy again..." Juri lamented.

"Wesker, I'm done with this!" Alastor said. "I ask you for months, even years to let me join in on this plan. Instead you just ignore me in favor of total randos. What does this nerdy woman and that wannabe have that I don't? Viewtiful Joe's been assembling a team and no doubt he'll come after you. You'll need my help!"

"...You know what, maybe you're right," Wesker said, to the surprise of his allies. "Vomi, step aside please."

"Sure..." Vomi said, moving aside as Wesker went to work, bringing up a new portal.

"Another spider powered individual resides there, if you can prove your worth, you can join our crusade," Wesker said.

"Excellent," Alastor said. "Lookout Spider-Thing, I'm coming for ya!"

The demon boy leapt through, confusing Wesker's allies.

"Where did you send him?" Vergil asked.

"Somewhere he can 'Ham' it up," Wesker said, sinisterly chuckling.

Meanwhile Alastor found himself in front of a barn, the villain confused, "Uh, where's the spider?"

"You calling me?" Came the voice of Spider-Ham. "Sup?"

Alastor took a moment to register this before flipping out, "WESKER!"

---

Six months had passed, towns had been fixed and Friendships had been mostly mended, though some lingering issues remained that needed more time before there could be true harmony.

Sugar Belle had eventually moved into Ponyville to continue her work on the Apple Family farm, while still courting Bucky. Thunderlane had entered a relationship with Lightning Dust and were saving up for a house. The Student Six had moved back home, though Smolder and Ocellus discussed saving up for an apartment in Ponyville, Autumn Blaze also expressing a desire to live there. Starlight had fully moved into the Parker-Sparkle home, where she continued her bond with Peter, Twilight and Trixie. Thor had located his new Asgard in the Badlands dessert where his people would not be bothered thanks to a magic barrier. Meanwhile Sunset continued her training and travels across the multiverse, and hoped to one day see all those other heroes again.

In Catnterlot Castle, a meeting held by Tony, Steve, Luna, Celestia, Peter, Twilight, Shining Armor, Cadance, Spitfire, Bon Bon, Starswirl and Blueblood was being held.

"So, with these new rules, any hero who comes to Equestria has free reign to use their abilities to stop disasters," Blueblood declared. "No hero is limited to one town, and anyone who works off the books will not be penalized for heroic actions. Honestly this makes so much more sense, not sure why you didn't think of it sooner."

"I was trying to be organized, I mean this is hardly any different than what we did before," Tony said.

"If it isn't broken, then don't fix it," Blueblood said.

"At the very least, we got more heroes interested in coming here," Tony said. "And those robots that Reed and Doc created can still be used."

"Without the pestering," Blueblood said. "It wasn't too bad, but it did get on our nerves a bit."

"Well ponies and heroes should still want to sign up, they'll get paid for their services," Tony said. "If they want to work for free well it's on them."

"They will have to check in with us on whatever disaster they prevented so we can make any necessary measures," Spitfire said. "Can't allow too much freedom."

"All about balance," Steve said. "Also, just so we're clear, no one will be forced to register, even if they have powers?"

"Well yeah, this isn't some mutant registration act," Tony said.

"Well that's good for Lily," Peter muttered.

"You say something?" Tony asked, Peter shaking his head.

"Just some babble," Peter said. "Say, what's the situation with Carol?"

"She's still locked away in that high security cell, under tight watch," Tony said.

"Oddly enough, I feel kind of bad for her," Peter said. "She used to be a great woman, wish there was a way to get the old Carol back."

"Peter, it's not happening," Tony said. "I know you're a nice guy who wants to see the good in others but Carol is not the Miss Marvel you once knew. You need to let it go."

"I'm tempted to agree with Tony, even if I too miss the old Carol," Steve said. "Shame to see an Avenger take a fall like that."

"Even those three villains showed more honor," Tony said. "They willingly let themselves be incarcerated again, shame since they fought honorably."

"Marko and Connors don't feel ready to be in society yet, they're worried about slipping up again," Peter said. "But Masters seems happy here, isn't he training the knights?"

"Rather remarkably as well," Celestia said.

"Well he's used to training villain henchmen," Tony said. "Hopefully the knights prove more useful."

"They did fine when I led them," Shining Armor said.

"Well anyway, that concludes The Accords at least," Tony said. "Plus we got most of the other Kingdoms on board. Queen Novo is giving us another chance, Dragons are at peace with Equestria. Pinkie Pie managed to convince the Yaks somehow, Gilda helped with Griffonstone, Zecora put in a good word in Farisi, even The Changeling Hive and The Kirin Grove are fully on board."

"Most credit goes to Ocellus and Autumn Blaze," Peter said. "But what about places like Abyssinia and Dimondia?"

"Give it time," Tony said. "But it's not like they have to join us, as long as they're not enemies, it doesn't matter what they decide."

"Asgard's a bit reluctant right now too, but they're rebuilding so we won't bother them," Twilight said.

"Good to have nations united in harmony," Luna said. "Speaking of which, Twilight, what is the latest on your school?"

"I'm turning it into a recreational building, it will be a while before it's complete since we're reworking it," Twilight said.

"It might still have a classroom or two but it will be a better place to hang out," Peter said. "Everyone can make friends at their own pace."

"That's great, but now that this is done, there's one more matter at hand," Tony said. "I'm retiring from The Avengers."

The stunned silence that followed spoke volumes; many could not believe their ears.

"Tony, did I hear that right?" Steve asked.

"Yes, I'm stepping down," Tony said. "As of right now, I am no longer an Avenger."

"But why?" Peter asked.

"Because, I caused a war between heroes, if things got worse, this whole country could have been negatively affected," Tony said. "I've been thinking about this for months and I'm sorry, but I can't call myself an Avenger."

"But you fixed everything," Twilight said.

"I had to, I wasn't leaving my mess to someone else," Tony said. "But I have to face the consequences of my actions. I don't deserve the title of hero any longer."

"Let's talk about this," Steve said.

"There's nothing to discuss," Tony said. "Steve, you can handle things from here, I'm going back to Earth and running my business. Iron Man is no more."

"He's not the only one stepping down," Spitfire said. "I'm resigning from The Wonderbolts."

"Wait, you're what!?" Peter asked.

"I talked things over with Soarin, he's going to be head until he can find a replacement," Spitfire said. "He'd do it permanently, but he doesn't think he can handle the responsibility. Plus, he and I want to settle down, and one day start a family. Lastly, I haven't been the best Captain, like Tony I fixed my mistakes so I can retire with some sense of honor."

“Didn’t expect this,” Bon Bon said.

"If that is what you two desire, then no one can stop you," Celestia said. "Truth be told, even I have thought about stepping down."

"Princess?" Twilight asked in disbelief.

"Sister you can't," Luna said. "I cannot rule Equestria alone, I've made mistakes too."

"Mistakes are fine if you learn from them," Peter said. "But I do agree, Luna shouldn't be ruling alone, she's a Nighttime Pony."

"She won't be...for I have decided that Twilight will take my place," Celestia said.

"Me!?" Twilight asked.

"Uh...Celestia, not that I don't think Twilight can handle that...no screw it, I'm being honest," Peter said. "Twilight can't handle that, she's still relatively new to being a Princess, you can't just make her the new ruler of Equestria!"

"I know Twilight Peter, I think I know what's best for her," Celestia said.

"Like you knew what's best for her with her friends?" Peter asked. "Celestia, I don't mean to disrespect you but I don't want you dumping this responsibility on my wife!"

"Now see here!" Starswirl shouted.

"Whoa, easy, lets not start a fight!" Steve demanded. "Peter, I'll talk with Celestia about this, is that fine with you?"

"She's your girlfriend," Peter said. "Just make sure you straighten this out."

"Lets end this on a decent note," Tony said. "Steve and Celestia need to have a couple banter, Spitfire and I need to prepare for retirement."

"Very well, I conclude this meeting," Blueblood said.

---

Peter and Twilight had returned home, a slightly bigger home thanks to the repairs and additions it received. The family were all together in the living room, Trixie chatting with Starlight, and the visiting Autumn Blaze and Sunburst, Janet playing Peek-a-boo with Benjy, Hope drawing a picture, Aunt May cooking in the kitchen.

Shining Armor and Cadance were also there, meeting up with the visiting Susan Storm and Reed Richards, both sets of parents picking their children up.

Even nearby Mayday had her ear placed against the pregnant belly of Apple Bloom, "Your baby kicks hard."

"Yeah, gonna be a great farmer one day," Apple Bloom said.

"Or a flyer," Rumble said, sitting next to his fiancé.

"Is the baby gonna be born before your wedding?" Flurry asked.

"Probably, the wedding is six months away, the baby is due in five months," Rumble said.

"I can't wait for either," Mayday said. "I’m happy for you, Auntie Apple Bloom."

"Aw thanks Honey Pie," Apple Bloom said.

"Babies are cute, wish I had a little brother like Mayday, or a sister like Frankie," Flurry said.

"Not a sister like mine, she’s a pain," Franklin said.

"Anyone else want to hear?" Mayday asked.

"I would," came the voice of Mayday's newest friend, Luster Dawn. She placed her ear against the belly, "Like this?"

"That's fine," Apple Bloom said. "Just listen carefully."

While this happened, Mayday flew to Rumble, kissing him on the cheek, "I’m happy for you too."

"Thanks, love you May," Rumble said, kissing her head.

Smiling at this display, the couple went upstairs and into their room, with Twilight laying on her bed, "What a day."

Peter laid next to her, "Tell me about it."

"I can't believe Tony and Spitfire retired," Twilight said.

"I can't believe Celestia wants you to succeed her," Peter said. "I hope you weren't too bothered by anything I said. I just don't want you taking on too much."

"It's fine,” Twilight said, turning to the side and placing her hoof on Peter's face. “I know you were just worried about me,"

"I know you'd do the same for me," Peter said, stroking her mane. "Still, given everything that Celestia's been through, I wouldn't be surprised if she really does retire. I mean, she had to watch over the country by herself for 1000 years, plus now that she and Cap are an item, she may focus on that."

"That would be great for her honestly, Cap's a great man, perfect for Celestia," Twilight said.

“Say, have you heard about anything regarding Cozy Glow?" Peter asked.

"No, according to Luna, she sent her away to somewhere supposedly better, where she can't bother us and we can't bother her," Twilight said.

"I'm worried about her, I hope I can see her again," Peter said.

"Me too, I have some mistakes to correct with her," Twilight said.

Peter laid Twilight against her pillow as he mounted over her. "Guess we have a lot to do, but we'll do it together. Regardless of what happens, I'm fine as long as you're by my side. I never, ever want to be without you."

"Me neither," Twilight said, engaging in a kiss with her husband, the two ready to physically act on their love, unaware of what's to come in the future.

In six months, comes a showdown worthy of the multiverse.

Author's Notes:

That's the end of this story. Hope it was enjoyable. See you next time.