Tony flew as fast as he could, searching for the Crystal Empire despite the fact that he had never been in Equestria before. He was determined to find the crash site at all costs.

"HOMER, have you pinpointed the location yet?" he asked as he flew into the snow driven winds of Equestria's frozen north.

"Not yet, Mr. Stark," answered HOMER. "The weather up here is quite different than what it is back home."

"It's only a little snow, HOMER. Toughen up, will you?"

For several more minutes, Tony kept flying through the snow and then finally, he reached the wreckage where Shining Armor and his platoon continued to extract the guardians of the galaxy from the wrecked spacecraft. Noticing Iron Man coming into land, Shining Armor immediately went into defense mode, aiming his horn right at him.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Tony cried, motioning for Shining Armor to stand down. "I…come in peace."

But, Shining Armor wasn't buying it. As far as he was concerned, Iron Man was a threat to Equestria.

"You're about to leave in pieces," he said as several more Crystal guards aimed their horns and weapons at Tony.

"Look, there is no need for violence, pal. I'm just here to investigate the earthquake that happened this morning. If I take my helmet off, would it make you and your troops stand down?"

Not totally convinced by this, Shining Armor motioned for his platoon to stand down as Tony removed his Iron Man helmet.

"I'm Tony Stark," he said. "I'm also Iron Man. I've come to help you recover from what happened here. What happened here?"

"This ship crashed and caused an earthquake," answered Shining Armor. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm really here to expand my company, Stark Enterprises into Equestria, but I'm also here to help fight against the return of the goat dude."

This caused some of the platoon to become confused.

"I'm the leader and benefactor of the Avengers."

Hearing this, Shining Armor and the platoon were stunned and amazed.

"Then…you are the ones we were told about that were coming to Equestria," answered Shining Armor. "But then…who are these that we have rescued?"

Tony walked over towards the stretchers bearing the injured occupants and looked down to see Quill, weakly trying to keep his eyes open.

"Oh, Christ," Tony whispered. "Quill."

"T…Tony," Quill whispered back weakly. "So, we meet…again."

Tony couldn't help but feel somewhat sentimental at this, especially after Quill and most of the Guardians had been among those affected by Thano's finger snap.

"Yeah, especially under these circumstances."

Before they could say another word, they were all led away on the stretchers while Tony watched. As far as he was concerned, Tony's attitude towards the guardians of the galaxy was mellowed.

…

Meanwhile, the effects of the Guardians' ship crashing were being felt at Twilight's castle with the castle shaking at the effects of what had just transpired. Of course, they were not the only ones noticing what had happened.

"Well, that was a way to be woken up," said Spike, groggily as he tried to brush his teeth in the bathroom mirror which was already cracked by the earthquake. "If this is Emperor Grogar's work…"

"It's not his work, Spike," interjected Twilight, who overheard her assistant muttering in irritation. "If Emperor Grogar had been behind this earthquake, then the damage would have been much worse."

"If not, then who?"

No sooner did Spike say that did Tempest walk down the hallway past the bathroom.

"Twilight," said Tempest. "Has anypony heard about what happened?"

"The earthquake, no," replied Twilight. "What are you planning to do?"

"I need to see if Razzle is all right," she said, firmly.

"Of…of course, Tempest. Go do that."

Acknowledging this, Tempest immediately left to check on her sister while Twilight and Spike continued to pick up the pieces of the earthquake's impact on the friendship castle.

Meanwhile, Dr. Strange and Chancellor Neighsay were in Twilight's throne room looking through maps of the past and future to find out what was happening.

"Something tells me that the Guardians of the Galaxy have arrived in Equestria," said Dr. Strange, looking through a map of past events. "They were attacked by a spirit of a pony whose heart was black as night."

"You mean King Sombra, right?" guessed Chancellor Neighsay.

"If that is what whom you are referring to, then yes, it is him. According to the past, he was a despot who ruled over the Crystal Empire until he was overthrown. He tried to return recently, but was quickly killed by the Crystal Heart powered by the new ruler, Princess Cadence."

"You must really know the history of all creatures then?"

"I do, Chancellor," said Dr. Strange, causing the map to disappear. "Why do you think I took you under my wing to begin with? Because we both have the power to look into the past, present and future."

Neighsay then began to notice Dr. Strange looking despondent.

"What is it, doctor?"

"It's just that the Guardians of the Galaxy were among those who fought alongside me and Tony Stark against Thanos on the planet Titan. I didn't want the future to show me that this encounter would be in this manner, but I didn't have a choice. At least, they survived."

Suddenly, Dr. Strange felt himself start to vibrate wildly much to the shock of both him and Neighsay.

"Dr. Strange, what's happening?" cried Neighsay.

"I'm…getting…a…vision…that is…about to happen…"

The vibrating continued for several more minutes before Dr. Strange stopped vibrating.

"What is it? What did you see?"

"The spirit that attacked the Guardians," said Dr. Strange, a concerned look deep in his face. "Is about to ally with Emperor Grogar."

…

No sooner did Dr. Strange say those words did at that very moment, Grogar stood in front of his black cauldron.

"The time has come for you to return to me, my friend," Grogar laughed, as he began to once again chant his spell of resurrection and swinging his bell back and forth. "Bring me a sacrifice!"

Two donkeys brought forth another dead pony soldier from 1,000 years ago and threw it into the cauldron. Continuously chanting, Grogar watched with delight as the dark spirit emerged from the cauldron in the form of a gray colored unicorn, his horn red as flame and a long flowing cape was tied around his neck. His hooves were donned with metal armor and a metal choker was also around his neck. Grogar laughed in delight once the pony emerged.

"After 1,000 years, I have returned," the pony growled.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, King Sombra," said Grogar as he and Sombra embraced warmly. "My friend and neighbor."

"Thank you, my emperor," replied King Sombra. "For so long, my spirit was drifting into the outer reaches of the galaxy and now that my power has returned. Now that I have returned, the Crystal Empire will soon be mine once more."

"If you help me achieve what I desire, my friend," advised Grogar. "Then I shall help you achieve what you desire, sort of like us scratching each other's backs, if you will."

Hearing those words, Sombra laughed evilly for he knew that working with Emperor Grogar was a dream come true. Little did he suspect, however, that he would soon not be the only enemy of Equestria that would be recruited into Grogar's ranks…