Steve Rogers and his fellow Avengers looked up at the female hippogriff as she stared back down at them. The rest of the hippogriffs surrounding them also were looking intently at them as well.

"Look, I know you want to be in denial about this," Steve pleaded to the female hippogriff. "But, this is a creature that is extremely dangerous and God knows who this guy is capable of."

"We know exactly how dangerous Grogar is, honey. But the fact that he was able to escape is impossible. He was sentenced to eternal banishment, something that should have happened to the Storm King. But, he's dead and that's all that matters."

"Perhaps there is something about Grogar that you also fail to understand," Steve continued as the female hippogriff turned her back on him and his fellow Avengers. "He has the power to bring creatures back from the dead."

A series of loud gasps befell amongst the crowd of hippogriffs upon hearing this. The female hippogriff felt her eyes widen upon hearing this and turned sharply around.

"What did you say?"

"Grogar is a necromancer, a dude you don't want to mess with," remarked Sam. "Everything that we were taught about him is true and to the point. He could possibly bring this Storm King back from the dead."

"My queen," said Seaspray. "Everything that is being said to you is completely true and to the point. Grogar may not have had the powers when our ancestors helped banish him, but during that time, he must have gained some kind of…"

Before he could finish his sentence, he was silenced.

"Last time I checked, baby, Grogar was nothing short of a deranged Emperor. What makes you so sure he became a necromancer and for that matter, gaining the ability to resurrect the dead?"

Reaching into his suit pocket, Steve pulled out a series of pictures for the hippogriff queen to look at. Carefully studying the pictures, the queen realized more and more of the gravity of the situation.

"And where were these pictures taken?"

"By Intelligence at S.M.I.L.E."

"S.M.I.L.E.? What is S.M.I.L.E.?"

"An organization that was formed in the wake of the Storm King's attack," replied Sam, rising to his feet. "Monitoring outside threats made against Equestria, including yours."

"And if you think that we are just a bunch of know-it-alls, you're wrong because we were told all about this from S.M.I.L.E.," added Steve. "Your homeland could become threatened once again if you don't accept the severity of the situation."

The Queen looked and studied the pictures intently and realized that what was being told to her was the truth and nothing but the truth. Handing the pictures back to Steve, she came to a decision.

"My Queen, I think we should…" Seaspray started to say before being interrupted.

"…Prepare for war," she finished. "After all we have heard about the Storm King possibly being brought back from the dead, we cannot take any chances. Return to wherever you came from and tell your superiors that we are standing by ready to assist."

Bowing to the Queen, Steve, Sam and Wanda were all dismissed as the Queen watched with eagerness. The thought of their most feared enemy being brought back from the dead didn't bode well with the hippogriffs.

"Seaspray, have both hippogriffs and seaponies alike prepare for battle," she said. "By our lords and masters, I, Queen Novo, will not allow Emperor Grogar to bring our most feared enemy back to life."

Stamping her claw down hard on the ground, the declaration of war had been passed.

…

On their way back to S.M.I.L.E. aboard their jet, Steve and his team were reflecting on what transpired.

"It really had to take the showing of pictures to convince her," sighed Wanda as she looked back at Steve. "Do you really think that maybe these non-pony creatures aren't taking these things seriously?"

"Personally, I'm not sure Wanda," remarked Steve. "All we know is that Emperor Grogar has the same power level as Thanos, so we can't just take him lightly."

"I agree," added Sam, who was piloting the jet. "Everything that we have learned about this Chaos Gauntlet, half the universe disappearing into Tambeleon. Seems to me like its déjà vu all over again."

"It's going to be fun relaying everything to Fury Swipes," sniffed Steve as the jet approached S.M.I.L.E. headquarters. "Among many other things."

…

Meanwhile, back in the Crystal Empire, Tony Stark continued to stand next to the bed of Peter Quill while he and the Guardians continued to recover from their freefall.

"But I don't understand, Stark," Peter sighed. "Why do you think I should be given a second chance after I costed us a win against Thanos?"

This caused Tony to sigh heavily as he sat down on the side of Quill's bed.

"Because I had decided to reflect," he replied. "After we were defeated and you guys all were turned to dust, all I could do was float in space wondering if I would ever come home to Earth and see the love of my life again. I even recorded a message to tell my love that I love her very much and would always be thinking about her."

"You did?"

"Yeah. Julia loves me just as much as I do. You may not know this, Quill, but she used to be married to a guy that didn't really care for her or her daughter. Impregnated at 18 years old, forced to raise her child and go to college, yep, that was Julia."

Quill began to think of what Tony was saying in a deep manner. He turned his attention towards the still unconscious Gamora and remembered just what Tony was describing. Like Julia, Gamora had been through a lot.

"My girl was just like yours, Stark. Orphaned at a young age, became a stepdaughter to Thanos and forced to take part in his perversion of other planets. Guess that there is something we both in common, don't we?"

"And something to think about because I don't think we could both live with ourselves if we lose more than just this impending war."

Getting to his feet, Tony stepped out of the room as Drax watched. Looking over at Quill, he couldn't help but sympathize with him.

"Like I said, Quill," he remarked. "There is always a second chance."

Stepping away from the room where the Guardians were being kept, Tony activated his nanotech armor and flew back to Canterlot.

…

Meanwhile, at the Wonderbolt Academy, a large cargo plane touched down on the runway and stopped in front of the Wonderbolt Barracks. Opening the door, the plane revealed not cargo but humans in traditional dress from their homelands.

"Are these the warriors from Wakanda?" asked Spitfire to her second-in-command, Soarin'. "The ones that we were told to watch for?"

"I think it is, Spitfire," remarked Soarin' while he and his superior watched the warriors disembark from the plane. "You know something, with all this growing war talk, don't you think that maybe…?"

"Yes, I've been thinking about this for a while too," sighed Spitfire. "We're going to have to improve our aerial strength somehow. But, in order to do that, we are going to need some outside help."

"How do you propose we do that? Who do you think might be able to help train our recruits for the fight ahead?

Spitfire got herself an idea and headed back to her office to put her ideas down on paper. She was going to reach out to someone, but wasn't going to reveal the someone until the time was right…