Tony Stark walked into the hospital room looking down at the injured Guardians of the Galaxy. But he had his eyes on Peter Quill, their leader.

"So, we meet again," Tony said as he walked towards the bed that Quill was laying on. "You lying here on a hospital bed with the rest of your friends. What happened this time?"

But Quill said nothing. For he could well remember how much of an ass Tony was when they fought Thanos on Titan.

"Hey dipshit, I asked you a question."

"Come on," Quill whispered. "Must you be like this? We just got attacked by some invisible force and you decide to kick us while we are down? I'm sorry if I cost us…"

Before Quill could finish his sentence however, he felt a sharp pain from the injuries he had sustained. A nurse pony took notice and attended to him.

"Chances are," Tony remarked. "You couldn't control your anger and yet…while I am justifying in my anger towards you, I can understand why you would be angry."

"Oh…so you understand?" Peter snapped weakly. "That I couldn't bear the thought that Thanos would kill Gamora, the love of my life?"

Quill weakly turned his attention back to Gamora, the green skinned creature that was the love of his life.

"Listen, I get that you were upset. But your anger costed us a chance to defeat Thanos once and for all. Why couldn't you control it?"

"Does it really matter if I could change the past, Tony? Does it? Look, all that matters is Gamora is alive…nothing more. Look, I'm sorry if I costed us a win against Thanos, but take it from my perspective, will you? How would you feel if you would lose the love of your life?"

This made Tony think back to when he was drifting in space following the loss to Thanos. He had lost everything close to him including his protégé and the chance to hold Julia in his arms again. Every single word he had spoken to the damaged Iron Man helmet he was wearing was still playing in his mind like a broken record.

"This thing on?... Hey, Julia. If you find this recording, don't feel bad about this. Part of the journey is the end. Just for the record, being adrift in space was your promise of rescue is more fun than it sounds. Food and water ran out four days ago. Oxygen run out tomorrow morning. And that'll be it. When I drift off, I will dream about you. It's always you."

"Well? Answer my question, Stark. Would you control your anger if a mad titan would end up taking the love of your life away?"

Sighing heavily, Tony sat down at the edge of Quill's bed, looking at him right in the face.

"I wouldn't control it, Quill. You're right about that. But I was leading all of us in the fight against Thanos and my plan was simple: retrieve the Gauntlet and beat him into submission. If there is ever a second chance that we would work together fighting this Emperor Grogar, maybe you can redeem yourself."

Hearing this made Quill think that Tony had a point. He was right, there always was a second chance to clear up the mess he had made in allowing Thanos to get a win against the Avengers.

"Partially, I think he's right," said a weak voice that belonged to Drax the Destroyer, trying to look at Quill in the eyes. "There is always a second chance, Quill."

"Mr. Clean's got a point there."

Quill turned his eyes up to the ceiling and considered the fact that he could get himself a second chance. But, the question was, would he?

…

Meanwhile, Tempest Shadow and Razzle Fizzle continued their visit while Tempest helped her sister clean up from the earthquakes as a result of the Guardians crashing in Equestria.

"Emperor Grogar?" gasped Razzle Fizzle. "Are you sure he has returned, Fizzlepop?"

"I'm very much certain, Razzle," replied Tempest, looking down at a picture of her as a filly before her encounter with the Ursa Major. "Everything that I was told about him from Dr. Strange is due to come to pass eventually. If the Storm King was dangerous, then Emperor Grogar is just as dangerous. The only difference is the Storm King was more of an amateur whereas Grogar is not."

Tempest placed the picture back on the shelf and proceeded to go about helping her sister clean up the mess.

"Don't you see, Razzle? If I become Princess Twilight's royal guard captain, I can give myself the chance to fully redeem for my actions in the eyes of Equestria."

"I…I can see that, Fizzlepop," stammered Razzle Fizzle. "But, are you certain that it will work for you? I mean, what difference it will make? You could be killed in the fight ahead or else."

Clutching her sister's hooves tightly, Tempest looked at her sister intently right in the face.

"If I die, Razzle, I die a hero," she said firmly before pulling her sister into an embrace. As she hugged her sister, Tempest felt a small tear forming in the corners of one of her eyes. Although she was more than willing to lay down her life for the good of Equestria, she had a fear, a fear that she couldn't get rid of from her mind.

…

Over at S.M.I.L.E. headquarters, Fury Swipes was in his office when a series of loud knocks were heard, interrupting whatever work he was working on. A human female with short blonde hair and dressed in a black pantsuit walked into the office.

"What is it, Romanoff?" he asked, startled from being interrupted. "Can't you see that I am…?"

"It's urgent, Fury," she interrupted. "One of the shuttles we launched ended up being destroyed."

This caused Fury to drop whatever he was doing and race out of the office, following his agent towards the command center, where all the agents on duty were frantically trying to reach out to the shuttles.

"When did this happen?" demanded Fury. "I want answers!"

"About 18 hours," replied Agent Sweetie Drops, approaching the cat like creature. "It's no doubt that it is the spirit of King Sombra."

"That is now alive once more," interrupted Lyra, handing Fury a report that he read. "There hasn't been any trace of him since the attack."

Throwing the report on the floor, Fury snarled as he struggled to control his frustration and growing anger.

"That son-of-a-bitch of a goat," he growled. "He must have brought King Sombra back from the dead. Has anypony told the Princesses about this?"

"No," replied Lyra. "Apparently, Lord Tirek and Cozy Glow escaped from Tartarus around the same time Sombra was resurrected."

"Great, just great," grunted Fury. "All right, I need somepony to head over to Tartarus and find out what happened. Romanoff, you're heading to Tartarus. Agents Heartstrings and Sweetie Drops, you go with her. I want answers and I want them now."

Not wanting to invoke more of Fury's wrath, Romanoff led the two pony agents out of the command center and towards Tartarus.

…

At the same time, Tirek and Cozy Glow were far away from Tartarus and were staying low to avoid being captured.

"Is this part of your plan, Tirek?" Cozy muttered as they hid in a bush. "To hide like cowards."

"If we were in the open, Cozy," Tirek replied, whispering sharply. "We would have been captured and sent back to Tartarus by now. So, we stay low until it is safe for us to go forward."

Just then, they heard a rustling sound from within the bushes and Tirek powered up his horns, eagerly awaiting who was behind those bushes. At that moment, a donkey came through and looked up at them.

"Who are you?" Tirek asked.

"I'm a servant of his highness, Emperor Grogar," the goat answered. "I've orders to bring you both before the demonic goat."