11
Ponyville, Equestria
Home of Princess Twilight Sparkle
10:16 p.m.
Sunset’s parents didn’t last “all night long” as Pinkie would have wished. They left not too long ago, offering their last goodbyes for the night to their daughter. It was a tearful visit, one that Twilight and—admittedly—Applejack got a little emotional over. Sunset promised them she’ll visit in a day or two, after she got accommodated with Twilight and her friends first.
They spent the next three hours indulging themselves in Twilight’s throne room, drinking their laughter away with Applejack’s family apple cider and the stories they shared. When the party had ended and everypony went home, all that remained within the confines of Twilight’s castle were Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie, Rainbow, Rarity, Fluttershy, Starlight, and Sunset. They surrounded the Cutie Map, each pony occupying a major throne except for Sunset and Starlight. Starlight sat in Spike’s empty throne, knowing the young dragon who was hanging out with Discord for the night wouldn’t mind. Sunset sat on a small stool no bigger than Spike’s throne.
She didn’t mind. She was trying hard to hide her blushing cheeks as Starlight told everypony the story. And, of course, Twilight just had to interrupt several times.
“So, while we were off during our friendship mission, you decided it was a good idea to leave the castle unprotected to travel to another dimension with Sunset?” Twilight Sparkle asked, turning her gaze right to Starlight, who was slightly cramped in Spike’s much smaller throne.
“Oh, come on, Twilight!” Starlight said, tipping her apple cider only slightly. “It’s not like you keep this castle protected when we’re all gone anyway!”
“I have Friday!” Twilight exclaimed.
“Come now, Twilight,” Rarity said, sipping from her glass of cider, everypony else having a wooden mug. “Friday’s been tending more to the library than any other room in this castle! If anything, she is more like… a glorified librarian than a guard.”
The Alicorn blinked. Maybe it was the weariness of the late night that was getting to her, or that her cider was nearly empty that made her frown. She stirred the tip of her hoof around the edge of her mug. “Yeah… I really should look into getting some guards,” she chuckled.
Taking a big gulp from her mug, Starlight placed her cider aside. She managed to conceal a small burp. Sunset giggled at that. “Besides, I learned a pretty good friendship lesson while I was there!” Starlight said, turning to Sunset. “How has Juniper been, by the way?”
Sunset gripped her mug with both hooves, staring into it and smiling. “She’s definitely a lot happier now. Thanks to you.”
Rainbow chuckled, holding out her mug. “We seriously need to take a vacation to that human dimension. Sounds like a blast.”
“It really is,” Sunset agreed, pulling her mug forward and gulping down nearly all that remained. She was still trying to get back into the flow of using actual magic with her horn, but she was feeling too tired to even attempt it. So, she awkwardly fumbled her mug, nearly slamming it onto the map beneath her when her eyes widened.
She gulped down the cider in her bloated cheeks, saying, “Maybe you can all come back with me after this week! The girls and I were planning a lot this summer.”
“They won’t mind to see a second version of themselves?” Fluttershy asked, hiccuping after her large consumption of Applejack’s delicious apple cider.
Sunset laughed. Both at Fluttershy's adorable hiccup and the thought of seeing two of every one of her friends. “That does sound pretty awkward now that you mention it!”
“But it also sounds really fun,” Twilight said, earning several nods. She raised her mug with her magic and took a sip. “Then again, we have the School of Friendship to run. I’m sure we can figure something out. Give the kids a break for a week.”
A few moments of silence and smaller conversation filled the room. Pinkie babbled on to Fluttershy, Applejack and Rarity doing the same. Sunset looked to her right, noticing Rainbow Dash leaning back on her throne and gazing into her nearly-empty cider mug with a slick grin. She noticed the three gashes on the left side of her face, from her jaw bone to the bottom of her eye. It looked like it had cleared up ages ago, but the scars were still there. Sunset couldn’t recall Rainbow back in the human world having any scars, let alone on her face.
The human world… Which reminded her…
“Hey, everyone…” Sunset muttered, her voice apparently sounding much louder than what she heard, because everypony turned her way. Everypony. Sunset shook her head, chuckling. “Uh… I mean… everypony… Gosh, that’s gonna take some getting used to.”
Everypony laughed, but stopped to let her continue. Sunset forced herself to break her eyes away from her cider mug, bringing them forward so she could see everypony present. From Starlight to Twilight, then Applejack and Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy, and finally Rainbow Dash. They all eyed her. Smiled at her. She smiled too. “I just want to say… thank you… for setting all of this up.”
Twilight giggled. “You can thank Pinkie for the party.”
Pinkie stood up on her throne, grinning wide. “And Twilight for inviting everypony!”
Rarity smiled. “And the princesses for bringing your parents.”
Sunset nodded to each of their statements, almost freezing at Rarity’s. She continued. “Yeah… especially after everything I’ve done. I really shouldn’t deserve this party… this acceptance… after I blatantly betrayed Celestia and tried to take over another world.”
Some smiles fell, others remained intact. Twilight’s sympathetic grin remained where it was, her soft eyes holding well with Sunset’s weary pair. She said, “It just means so much that you would all go through this much effort just to welcome me back.”
“Do not dwell on the past, darling!” Rarity said, waving her hoof. “That’s why it’s called the ‘past’ for a reason. What matters now is that you’re home, among friends and family.”
Sunset raised her mug. “I couldn’t have asked for a better bunch of ponies to be my friends. I know tonight is where we’ve all formally met,” Sunset said, addressing Rainbow, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rarity, and Applejack, “… but I feel like I know you ponies just as well as I know my friends back in the human world. For that… I want to say thank you… for everything.”
“To friendship,” Twilight declared, raising her mug.
“To friendship!” they all said and drank away whatever they had left.
Several sighs reverberated across the throne room, several empty wooden mugs smacking against the map just to add to it. “Anyway… Sunset!” Rarity exclaimed, leaning forward on the map, gazing longingly at the unicorn across from her. More accurately, at what she was wearing. “About that absolutely stunning geode around your neck…”
Unfortunately, Rarity’s interests and Sunset’s long-overdue story would have to wait. The throne room doors burst open, everypony flinching in their seats and spinning towards the entrance. Collapsing forward, Spike clutched onto his chest, breathing rather heavily but managing to shout, “You guys! You guys!”
“Spike?” Applejack asked, already getting out of her throne. “What’s goin’ on?”
The young dragon shakily stood up, one claw over his heart, the other pointing behind him. He gasped, “You… all… have… to see! Outside!”
“Okay, Spike, just calm down—!” Twilight said, stepping out of her throne and approaching him. He shocked everypony when he yelled at her.
“Now!”
Maybe it was the panic in his voice, the desperate and terrified tone that he added to it. Maybe it was his eyes, wild and animalistic. Whatever it was, they all got out of their seats and rushed through the twin doors. As everypony shuffled past Spike out of the throne room, Twilight gripped his shoulder, stopping him so they were alone.
“What happened, Spike?” she whispered.
He gulped. He tried to. What he said left a strange chill rushing up Twilight’s spine. “There’s something seriously wrong with the sky.”
Twilight kept that in mind as she and Spike caught up with the rest of their friends. They had just made it outside of the castle, Applejack and Rainbow Dash shoving the massive doors aside and allowing everypony to step into the cool, night air. The rest of Ponyville was alive and awake, several terrified screams emanating from the town. They didn’t pay attention to that. They couldn’t.
“What in tarnation…?” Applejack whispered, her jaw falling instinctively.
Pinkie’s eyes nearly bulged out of her skull, Rarity and Rainbow Dash almost sharing the same fate when they turned their heads skyward. Fluttershy whimpered, cowering near Rainbow. “Oh, my…”
But none of their reactions were as bad as Twilight’s. She stepped in front of her friends, on Sunset’s right and Starlight’s left, and gave quite possibly the loudest and most profound gasp out of all her friends. It was probably the largest intake of air she’s ever had. Her jaw fell, eyes widening in both shock and awe. She couldn’t even lie when she felt that same horrified chill race back up her spine. Spike was right. There was something seriously wrong with the sky.
Luna’s moon being almost completely demolished was one of them, a second moon right next to it and suffering almost the exact amount of damage. The other thing was the massive planet hanging dangerously overhead, dangerously close to their own world. It was so massive that it covered nearly all of the night sky. It probably did, but the darkness of the night made it difficult to see how much the planet consumed.
“Sweet Celestia,” Twilight gasped. She brought down her gaze, finally noticing Discord standing just a few feet ahead of her and her friends. His head was to the sky, hands resting on whatever he called his hips. “Discord? What is this? What did you do?”
The Spirit of Chaos blew a raspberry. He spun his neck around, eyeing the Princess of Friendship. “Don’t look at me, Twilight. This is beyond even my understanding.” The Alicorn’s gaze fell, only to return to the alien planet above her head. Discord joined her, shaking his own. “Hmm… I do recognize this world, however. It’s Earth.”
“Earth?” everypony except for Sunset gasped, looking to one another. They gazed back to the dark planet above them shortly.
Discord stroked his goatee. He was thinking back to the correct Earth, the one that currently rested in their own dimension. It had the same features, the same basic structure and look as the Earth he remembered. He said, “The one in this galaxy, I presume. You know, the same world you and your friends spent a couple summers back.”
“Twilight?” Sunset asked, her voice so quiet the Alicorn nearly missed her. Twisting her neck to her left, Twilight gazed at the unicorn, noticing the quizzical and somewhat worried look in her eyes. She asked, “The same world that Friday came from?”
Twilight nodded grimly, twisting her gaze back to the sky. Sunset joined her, sighing. “Starting to wish I came back at a better time.”
No moment of stunned silence followed. From what went to straight shock transformed into surprise when a flash of light appeared directly in front of the group. In its aftermath, Princess Luna stood panting, bloodshot eyes centered on the group ahead of her.
“Princess Luna!” Twilight cried, taking several steps forward. Instead, she halted when Luna raised her hoof.
“There is no time for formalities, everypony,” the Princess of the Nights declared, dropping her hoof and immediately turning towards the Spirit of Chaos. “Discord, I’m going to need you to come with me.”
“Luna…” Twilight tried again, this time standing on Discord’s right so she was sure Luna saw her. And she did. She turned her beet red eyes to the Princess of Friendship and listened shortly to what she had to say. “What’s happening?” she asked.
And it was a question she could not answer. Her voice trembled, clearly worried and confused, which wasn’t uncommon. Luna dropped her gaze, sniffing and trying to hold herself together. She was a liar if she didn’t share Twilight’s feelings, or at least similar ones. It was at that moment did Twilight notice the wetness of her cheeks, the red of her eyes.
The remains of her moon. Twilight gasped, a hoof rising to cover her mouth.
“Be patient, Princess Twilight,” Luna told her, mustering up enough strength to sound strong. It hardly held well with the Alicorn. “We will discover what this all means soon enough. Discord.”
Discord just shrugged. “Oh, very well, Lulu,” he said, the princess frowning at that name but charged up her horn just the same. Discord quickly waved goodbye just before she could release the teleportation spell. “Be right back, everypony!”
“Discord…” Fluttershy whimpered.
Luna stopped. Discord stopped. The two of them stared at the Pegasus, seeing her leave Rainbow’s side and stumble forward. Luna sighed silently through her nostrils, her expression softening. She was surprised to see Discord’s own expression remain similar to her own.
Fear gripped her. The circumstances, what it left, and what it meant were all still up in there, all still unknown. That unknown was scary, terrifying even. Neither Luna nor Discord could have expected anything else as a reaction from Fluttershy, let alone any of the others. She was still clearly on edge after seeing the alien planet, still shaken to see Luna’s moon remain a shattered husk. Luna had managed to halt it and the other on their slow journey to their worlds, which would have inevitably ended in total destruction. She couldn’t move the planet any further away. That was a type of power that was beyond her. But she did stop all of the moon husks.
Seeing the expression on Fluttershy’s face, worry both for what the alien planet meant and worry for her friend, Discord only smiled. He nodded to her. “I promise I’ll be back.”
He vanished alongside Luna, and everypony just stood there. Gazing at the world.
The large, blue planet with its lands covered in flames hanging within the portal didn’t exist.
That’s what Rarity wanted to believe, but she still stood behind her friends, hoof over her heart, a horrified expression on her face, and her eyes holding nothing but vivid and terrible visions of what was to come. Visions she prayed would never come to her again, and for nearly two years… that’s the way it was. For a time, she started to believe that they were simply nothing, and not to worry any longer. But now… the pieces were falling into place. One by one. Slowly coming together.
She slowly looked down to her shaking hoof, then to her friends. She tried to reach out to them. She tried to tell them something… but found no strength to do so… and remained silent with them. With the cold corpses that flashed across her vision.
The visions are becoming fulfilled! Theres no turning back now! Things are gonna get messy!
Ow Rarity, but Earth, first time seeing it, eh, Sunset?
Oh Rarity. Your vision isn't just a bad dream anymore. Its becoming a cruel reality.
Have Twilight and the others told Sunset about what happened on Earth, yet? Truth be told, I’m still anxious to find out how Celestia and Luna reacted to that particular story, and also, how Twilight and her friends went about repairing their fractured friendship.
Tempest would make a great guard for the Princess of Friendship. Really hope to see her soon.
I think you meant Starting?
Poor Rarity. Seems that those visions are becoming more of a possibility now.
Nice little peaceful moment for our favorite group of ponies. Too bad everything is about to go to Tartarus.
Poor Luna... she has no moon anymore.
I think Twilight will have an hyperventilation moment!
Aw, hell. Things are getting crazy! Hopefully Luna and Discord will be able to handle the double moons and repair the damage. Because horrifying things are going to happen if they don't.
Rarity should probably bring up those visions sooner or later to the others. With what’s about to go down, venting sounds like a pretty good idea.
And with Luna and Discord on the case on Equus, I guess it’s only a matter of time until Dr. Strange and Wong respond as well on Earth.
Nothing will ever be the same anymore for Earth or Equus .
Avengers and mane 6 and sunset and starlight must go to earth and meet tony
Dread it, run from it
Destiny arrives all the same and now...
It's here or should I say I am
Rarity! Say something!
the moon getting destroyed reminds me of this cutscene from Sonic Adventure 2
Will the girls meet Shuri? I really want to see Twilight freak out by the technology of Wakanda. Also, can we have a "WHAT ARE THOSE!!!" and "delete that footage" reference?
9005474
In time, you will know what it's like to lose... to feel so desperate that you are right, yet to fail all the same...
Well I don’t know I think She could move it since she has moved the sun a few times in the comics, but that’s just nitpicking and would solve everything... well not everything Thanos is still Thanos but still...
https://m.Well it’s not covering in flames yet.... so that’s a good thing. Also speaking of those visions a lot of ponies and Marvel characters show up dead there, but you know who didn’t show up on those? SPIDER-MAN!!!! That’s right he gets to live in this version. My fav gets to live!!!
Hmm didn't think RD would put up a good face around Sunset espesially around Twilight after the Civil War on Earth, guess she doesn't want her to she temporarily cut herself off from Twilight and wanted to put on a Happy Face for Sunset so she wouldn't get on it
This is where all of the shit hits the fan.
Thanks for the badass scars, T'Challa!
🎤"Seems that Doomsday's come early this year!"
Further chapters are gonna be legendary so cue the legendary tune!
Twilight and friends are most definitely gonna brace for impact when more warfare begins. :)
Just thought this might be slightly appropriate
Also was just curious bit will you be adding any sequences from Titain? Only ask because it was rather interesting to see Thanos and Stephen's little speech to each other (Thanos explaining why he was were doing his quest and Stephen showing everyone's defiance to it) just thought that was an nice little moment of the two opposing forces represented in banter
I got goosebumps reading the panicked part. You did a good job.
Also, would Season 2 of Luke Cage be canon? Because the one episode with Danny was REALLY good.
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*to feel so desperate to be right. If you’re gonna repeat lines, at least do it the right way!
Half of Humanity, and Ponykind, will still exist...
9006273
Nah, half of the universe will still exist. Saying that is a bit of a mouthful.
9006294
How 'bout Multiverse? Including the EG Universe.
9006319
Remember what JD said about the ‘EG Universe is safe’? As much as I hate seeing my favorite characters there die, it’ll never happen.
Hey a callback to the first story! Looks like Rarity's nightmare is coming true.
Did they consume so much cider that they didn't feel the planet move? Or is the castle just that insulated?
9006332
Reality and Space Stones, remember? But it's safe to assume the dimension is safe, as long as Thanos does not bother ripping out the fabric interdimensional barrier of reality via a portal using a combination of those stones. At least not now.
9006416
Da, true dat.
9005551
I think it would be even more comedic if Twilight was fascinated by Doctor Strange, AKA, a human magic user.
(sigh) Discord, you might as well stick a sign on your chest saying "DEAD".
9005219 FULLLLFILLLLED!
9005241 First time for everything.
9005253 One more piece to the puzzle...
9005274 Gosh, that's such an easy line. Can't believe I messed that up. Thanks for catching it. And yeah, Sunset has already been informed about Earth and the Mane 6's adventures prior to. Once Sunset meets the Avengers, she'll have some fun interactions with them. And Celestia and Luna's reactions to the fallout from Civil War is coming soon, probably in the next few chapters.
9005308 Probably when she meets Doctor Strange.
9005317 Terrible, horrible things yet to come.
9005338 Will Rarity have the courage to even do so?
9005502 She might be too afraid...
9005551 Ugh, that lame dead meme. I like the idea of Twilight meeting Shuri, though.
9005665 Spider-Man's fate is still up in the air. We'll see what happens.
9005927 That, or she's trying to put the past behind them, act like it never happened.
9006007 I would love to see Rainbow with some scars like I have in the story. Would be badass indeed.
9006201 Warfare's beginning soon.
9006229 There might be some sequences from that battle. Whether or not it'll be on Titan is still up in the air.
9006236 I still have to finish season 2 to see if it can fit in the story.
9006416 Crystal is very sturdy. That, and being kinda drunk.
9006642
9006740
I... honestly cannot wait for Dr. Strange to visit Equestria. Because the Master of Magic is going to have FUN! And so are all the Unicorns who hnnng at his magic and suave looks.
9006740
trying to put it behind her if it wasn't that long ago, that doesn't usually work well and might catch up to her later
9006740
Fair enough look forward to it
Also, this is just my two cents, but I personally vote for keeping the whole spidey being on the half that disappears (hate myself for saying that) but it adds to the story and in the movie I think it shows how far Tony has grown as a person since the beginning
But that's just me
9007033 We'll see what happens.
9006972 It just might.
9006740
What Sunset just saw in Rainbow's face, is a horrible remnant, a relic, of the very horrible events that happened this past few summers, and she doesn't wanna talk about it.
9007074
The next thing Sunset sees, is that her world isn't the only one teeming with humankind. What she will witness goes as follows: A certain billionaire, playboy, genius, and philanthropist in his nano suit of armor, a Super Soldier from a war infested decade, a former wanted Super Soldier, a woman with powers contributed to the Mind Stone, A friendly neighbourhood in a nano suit, a guy infected with gamma radiation that goes green when angry, a legit God of Thunder from Asgard (the people killed), a group of spacefaring idiots protecting the galaxy, and, a Raccoon? A certain strange man who can also use magic via the Mystic Arts (Twilight would explode), a certain Mind Stone powered Android, and of course, a certain King of a nation in a suit of indestructible metal and claws of the nation marvelous with its fricking bleeding-edge Vibranium technology.
Twilight Sparkle: Are they with you?
Iron Man: We all thought they were with you.
*we see they are talking about the heroes from the Arrowverse*
Green Arrow: Dammit, Barry!
9006585
Oh, yeah, like what happened to Thor in Ragnarok. Twilight teleporting someplace else, and falling downstairs and refilling her apple cider out of nothing, whom he magically replaced the tea. Pinkie will be confused of the fact that Strange can bend reality to his will.
9006236
If Luke Cage joins this story, can we have a mutated Diamondback?
9006740
You just exposed the remnants of the tragic events to unsuspecting Sunset just pasted on Rainbow's face, way to go, King T'Challa.
9006740
I would love to see someone make a vector art of Rainbow Dash with T'Challa's claw marks on her face in DeviantArt, show-accurate.
9008719 So would I. That'd be great.
Holy crap-o-rama. That vision from A Beautiful New Age seemed so fleeting then. But now? It must be tearing Rarity from the inside out!
9009975 The only question is... will it all come true?
9010191
Maybe.
I hope Strange can try to confuse Pinkie more than confuses him (e.t. Pinkie tries to hug Strange, but is teleported next to somebody or someplace, like a racket of books or items, or teleports down the stairs tumbling, or is sent into a world of never ending falling like with Loki, Pinkie tries to ramble on Strange but finds herself magically shut up and sitting down, or conjures her a party cannon and various Pinkie stuff out of thin air whilst teleporting, something an overexilirated Twilight and Starlight cannot possibly do.)
It's times like this we wonder why Sunset can't enjoy a moment to meet the pony versions of her friends, knowing she just walked into a collision of two realms (And the one planet is not the Earth she resided in). You'd think Rarity would've brought up the visions that've haunted her for a while, but now even I don't think it's going to be the best time if it's just going to make the girls mad. And since Sunset didn't quite get all the details about the ponies 'last' visit to the Avengers' home, which was not the most pleasant experience with those heroes (Whom Sunset may or may not know about), looks like the two groups are about to be brought back together under the most difficult of circumstances.
Question is: Can both parties be able to function as a team considering last time they were in a war... With each other?