//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 – Celestial Fire // Story: Infinity Era // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// 10 Earth Florida, USA Clearwater Beach 11:48 p.m. Jack Spencer was never lucky with the ladies. The pulsating beats from the massive stereo systems could be felt for miles across the long, sandy beaches. It was so incredibly loud that the very sand danced alongside the twirling, half-naked bodies of the partiers. Colorful lights shot off from the massive stage and bounced up and down, following both the beat of the song and the hundreds of people dancing to it. Summer nights and parties. Late summer nights and parties. The entire beach had transformed into a rave once the sun fell, and it had been going strong non-stop. Aside from the mountains of trash stacked in massive piles and scattered across the edges of the area the rave was occurring, and completely ignoring the couples making out on tangled blankets from one end of the beach to the other, Jack Spencer found the experience to be relatively enjoyable. Sure, he got a few drinks splashed in his face whenever he got too close to the nearest chick in the smallest bikini, but when didn’t that happen every now again? Jack liked to believe that, anyway, as he stumbled towards the shore to take a piss. He slurred the wrong words to the wrong song he wanted to think of as he undid his belt buckle, zipped his fly down, and let nature take its course. Jack wasn’t particularly kept “together” considering he was on his fifth Jack Daniels and counting. He always liked to drink something named after him. He was an ass that way. But when he decided it was time to drain the tank, he thought of no better place than the wide ocean, the same place where all little sea critters did their business. It only made sense to follow the natural order of things, right? He tried to, at least. The shore seemed to shrink away from his piss trail. Confused, Jack whistled a tune and stumbled slowly forward, looking like a bow-legged jackass holding his dick and flinging his piss all over the place. A couple broke their lips away from each other and saw him, trying to hide their laughter. They never saw the shore shrink back into the sea. No one did. No one except Jack. “Hey!” Jack burped, continuing to push himself onward, trying to catch the water with his draining urine, which had miraculously managed to continue in a stream lasting longer than twenty seconds. “Where do you think you’re going, buster! You’re not going anywhere until I add to your density or whatever science shit…” Jack let loose whatever else he had when the sirens started crying. The sounds of the rave were instantly drowned out by the sounds of concerned partiers, everyone yelling at the DJ to turn up the music. They used more colorful language. The DJ flipped everyone off and pointed towards the ocean, all eyes turning in said direction. By the time everyone did, the tsunami sirens were drowned out by the screams. Human screams. Terrified, shocked, confused, all directed towards the approaching tide and retreating quickly from it. But not Jack Spencer. Even as the entire beach line was abandoned and everyone ran for their lives, only Jack Spencer was the one to notice the massive planet covering half of the night sky. Then the wave washed him and half of the city away. Equus Manehattan, Equestria 9:55 p.m. Coco Pommel was awakened to the sounds of the city. She groaned, pulling the side of her pillow over to cover her face, and hopefully block out the constant noise. It was no use, as even the slightest, smallest noise managed to slip through her pillow and keep her awake. Aggravated, the pony kicked away her covers and strode towards the window. It had been a long, busy day for Miss Pommel. What went as an average planning schedule for the Midsummer Theater Revival turned to absolute disaster when her actors cancelled on her, saying they would be spending the summer traveling to Saddle Arabia to be performing in another play. That information alone set Coco back even further on her planning for the play. She would have to hire new actors, still set up an appointment for renting the location, set up the stage, and get the costumes ready. If things didn’t get going more smoothly by tomorrow, she would have to push the Midsummer Theater to the end of summer! It was tiresome. It was painful. Coco sighed as she approached her apartment’s window. If only she had Applejack and Rarity to help her this time around. That option was always on the table. But for now, she just wanted to get a good rest before starting the same routine the next morning. Those sounds that just so happened to arise almost near midnight kept her up. At least, that's what her clock read. Pushing her curtains that stood directly behind her desk aside, she expected to see the usual traffic jam, ponies screaming at each other, everything that ever was Manehattan and nothing else. That’s not what she saw. Instead, the light of the moon that used to shine directly into her apartment was no more. It was dimmer, surely not as bright as it once was. It was not as it once was, appearing to have been shattered, broken against another moon that was nearly identical to it. Her eyes widened at that, but her jaw fell when she saw the other world hanging directly over her city. She could see the lights, presumably from the cities that could have existed on the alien world. It was so dangerously close that Coco Pommel instinctively took a step back, but not before casting a quick glance to the city below. Ponies screamed and fled the streets, some gazing up to the planet and sharing the same expression Coco felt. She found slight comfort in that, knowing now she wasn’t seeing things. Her attention shifted to something else, something that literally arose from her desk. Her quill and parchment began to float, hovering just a few feet above her wooden desk. Coco froze at that, her breathing intensifying. Mustering up enough bravery, she rose her shivering hoof and poked at the quill. It spun from her touch, but continued to hover in place. By the time Coco brought her hoof back, she was already off the ground, hovering several feet from her floor. Her screams joined the thousands of other ponies who began to rise from the earth. Earth New York, USA Manhattan Curtis Hoyle’s Rehab Session 11:59 p.m. Frank Castle’s watch beeped twice, causing the drowsy veteran to stir in his chair. He stared at his watch, noticing that the time read midnight. He growled, but decided it was as time as ever to head home. “I was wondering when you were gonna get up.” Frank looked back, noticing Curtis stacking the remaining chairs away. Sighing, Frank got up, practically dragging his chair, the metal legs scratching against the floor. It was not Frank’s first time during Curtis’ rehab sessions for recovering veterans, but week after week things only seemed to be getting more stale. Nothing seemed to change. Other veterans—people—always told Curtis that he was doing something right, that they had something to look forward to. For Frank, he just felt like he already told his story to them, and he was just there for Curtis. Not a bad thing, just something he felt obligated to go to instead of willing. Pulling the chair forward, Frank handed it to his old friend, who smiled and received it. “Hey, Curt. Sorry about drowsing off during your…” Frank began to say, but was instantly cut off. “It’s not the first time it’s happened, Frank. No biggie,” Curtis said, placing the last chair with the others. Curtis walked past Frank, who only nodded and followed several feet behind him. “You should’ve woke me up earlier,” Castle called to him, who only chuckled to that. “I was planning on it, but you just looked so peaceful,” Curtis laughed, placing the remaining cookies into a zip lock bag. There wasn’t much coffee left, so he just placed the dirty mugs into his backpack and left the coffee maker. He shoved the cookies into his backpack, zipped it up, and whipped it to his backside. He met Frank’s humored look, his smile growing wider. Frank actually laughed. “Must be thinking of someone else.” Both men chuckled at that, turning towards the exit and making their approach. When Frank came to his side, Curtis dropped his gaze. He said, “I wasn’t intending to make the meeting last so long, so sorry about that.” “Hey, don’t worry about it,” Frank said, slapping his shoulder. “Time gets away from ya.” “You ready to head out?” “You already locked up the place?” “Just about to do that. Go on, I’ll meet you outside,” Curtis said to Frank, who nodded and zipped up his jacket, heading for the building’s exit. Curtis reached into his coat pocket, fumbled with his keys, and turned off the lights to the room. He closed the door and locked both. Checking them just for safety reasons, neither budged, and Curtis held onto his keys as he approached the exit. As he did, something came quickly, causing Curtis to furrow his brow. It sounded quiet at first, but quickly rose the closer he got to the exit. It sounded like the blaring of car horns, which was normal, but then it transformed into something horrific, something a veteran like Curtis Hoyle hated hearing. Screams. He ran out the doors, seeing Frank gazing up to the night sky. “Hey, Frank, what’s all that—?” Curtis couldn’t even finish that thought. He stopped dead next to Castle, eyes in complete and utter disbelief at what he saw. Resting on the horizon, appearing so large that the very skyscrapers of New York City appeared like blades of grass to it, an alien planet hovered dangerously close. Too close. The sounds of terror erupted further into the city, news choppers quickly filling up the night sky and approaching the horizon. As for Frank Castle and Curtis Hoyle, they just stood there. Curtis turned to his left, noticing absolutely no change in Frank’s expression or appearance. He held that same scowl he had most of his waking life, and he glared at the planet that filled a strong portion of the night sky. “Frank…?” Curtis gasped. Frank turned his way, noticing the worry and confusion grip Curtis’ features. He only sighed, turning back towards the alien world. “Ah, shit.” Equus Mount Aris Hippogriffia 10:03 p.m. The horns sounded off slightly past midnight. At least, that’s what all the clocks in Hippogriffia read. After that, the city of Hippogriffia awakened from the night. Hippogriffs big and small, young and old, royalty and commoners, arose from their rebuilt homes and stumbled through the reconstruction efforts of their city. They passed the gates, stood on the edge of their mountain, and stared at the alien planet directly over their heads. It covered nearly all of the night sky, small lights blinking upon its continents. The moon’s light was even brighter and larger than before, considering a second moon had impacted Luna’s own. Chunks of the two moons slowly drifted closer and closer to both worlds. Not only that, but large waves crashed against their mountain, nearly reaching the summit but stopping just close enough for the mist of the sea to reach near the city’s entrance. The Hippogriffs turned to one another, whispering words of worry, some of the young ones crying. Queen Novo and her daughter, Princess Skystar, the highest authority amongst their people, approached the edge of the mountain, several Hippogriffs backing away to let them through. Queen Novo, clear-minded and calculated, glared at the alien planet hanging so dangerously close to their own. She glared at the irregularly-massive waves impacting her mountain. She glared at the fact that the homes that laid at the base of the mountain were gone, consumed by the ocean. Princess Skystar, more free-spirited and bubbly, gasped loudly, gripping the edge of the cliff with her claws. Her eyes grew ten times as wide, an excited scream escaping the young princess. “Oh… my… goodness!” Skystar cried, the tips of her wings flapping up and down, causing her to rise slightly on the tips of her claws and hooves. She clutched onto her mother’s neck, who hardly looked amused by her behavior. “Mom, look! A new world! And you know what that means… New people! Can we offer a warm welcome? Huh?! Can we, can we, can we?!” She pressed firmly on Novo’s side with her claws. The Queen just shook her head, bending her head down to the nearest guard to her right. “Send a letter to Princess Celestia right away. Inform her of this anomaly,” she whispered. The guard saluted, spread his wings, and took off back for the castle deeper within the mountain. General Seaspray and the remaining guards stood by their queen, gazing onto the world above. Sky Beak stood by his children, Silverstream and Terramar. They rubbed the sleepiness from their eyes, standing by their cousin Skystar’s side. Their beaks fell in awe. Skystar, on the other hand, hopped up and down in clear excitement, not a hint of weariness in her form. Seaponies arose from the ocean waves, shocked to see the peak of Mount Aris at such a close proximity. They were even more shocked, however, to see the alien world above their heads and glinting on the ocean surface. Ocean Flow swam towards her husband Sky Beak and her children, hugging them, turning in fear to the world above their heads. With that, Queen Novo and her subjects stood in continued silence as the new world sat quietly above them. Like a sleeping giant. Hippogriffs questioned their queen, but she could offer no answer. No true explanation. Princess Skystar clapped her claws together, grinning as wide as her beak could manage. “I got a really good feeling about this one!” Earth Edinburgh, Scotland 5:09 a.m. It was everywhere. On the early-morning news stations, on every station, throughout the country, and even the entire world. Everyone either heard of it or saw it with their own eyes. Those who hadn’t would soon, because that morning the entire world would change forever. The Vision knew this and turned off the television. He stared for a moment at his pale, tannish palm, looking over his hand with a certain dullness. A soft mumble from behind caught his attention, and he turned around. To the bed. Where she lay. He stood up, slowly making his way over to the mattress and tangled sheets. Lying there, alone, with her dark hair just as a tangled mess, was the most beautiful sight he ever laid his eyes on. There she lay, Wanda Maximoff, her clothing discarded and only the sheet covering her nakedness. She lay with a soft smile, dreaming of elsewhere, anything other than the madness of the real world. The Vision gently caressed her forehead, earning a sigh and a soft smile from her. And then he turned. He pushed the drapes away, staring out into the cloudy morning sky. And above, through the clouds, as clear as could be, was the planet. It was alien, surely, as was the moon that had impacted Earth’s own natural satellite. Heavy chunks of space rock were drifting away from the impact zone. Slowly. So very slowly. There was nothing of interest found in the destruction of the two moons, so Vision looked towards the alien world. The soft, morning light made it difficult, but he could certainly notice several lights illuminating from the surface of the planet, indicating some form of possible life. It was a stretch, but it’s what he could formulate at the moment. There appeared to be several white splotches scattered across the surface, possibly being clouds, indicating an atmosphere, one with moisture. Water. Which most certainly pointed to life. Alien life. Already, the circumstances and fallout from this event that morning played through Vision’s growing mind. After the last alien attack, humanity would most certainly discover that there was life on the alien world, and respond with ill intentions. They would either be confused, scared, or angry. That didn’t even count how much destruction the new world would cause to Earth just from its gravitational pull, and Earth to the new world. Why or how it appeared near Earth was still a mystery he would need to solve. But at that moment, at that very moment he saw something. It was a flicker, but one that caught his interests. He swore he saw two other lights from the planet’s surface, one purple and one blue. He flinched as his forehead—as the Mind Stone—began to pulsate. Equus Canterlot, Equestria Celestia’s Quarters 10:12 p.m. Celestia stepped onto her balcony after hearing the cries from Canterlot below. She ignored the cool, summer wind and the cries that came with it. She focused on the more important cries, the ones from her subjects. Her little ponies. She didn’t even need to look to Canterlot to know what had disturbed them. More than half of the night sky was gone, replaced by a dark orb with shimmering lights upon its surface. At first, Celestia thought it was a ship, but then noticed its distance, where it lied, its shape, and what it appeared to be. It was a planet. A new world. One that somehow appeared. Just appeared. Celestia gripped the edge of her balcony, the screams from the ponies below creating a symphony of terror the longer she stared at the new world and the remains of… Of her sister’s moon. Luna’s moon remained nothing but a smoldering cluster of space rock slowly drifting away from the second moon it impacted. They shone a ghostly, pale white, resting, drifting, moving closer and closer towards her world and the new one. Celestia gasped, her jaw falling but no other breaths escaping her. A pair of hooves impacting marble brought Celestia out of her petrified state. It was followed shortly by a painful cry that tried to remain concealed, but was unable to do so. Celestia turned around, gazing and nearly breaking down herself to see the tear-stained face of Princess Luna. Her little sister. Nearly broken. Her eyes were bloodshot, chest heaving in and out as tears streaked down her cheeks. She wore a frown, a furious one. One that held unbridled rage and boiling intensity she had never seen. But it was held together, somehow held together by whatever strength and determination that Luna had crafted over the years since her return. But still… Celestia hadn’t seen her cry so terribly since the rise of Nightmare Moon. “Sister…” Luna breathed, her voice shaking, all with pain, fury, and confusion. “Get Discord and stop the moons from getting any closer,” Celestia ordered. She didn't even hesitate. “But—” “Now!” Luna flinched back. Her expression of confusion was replaced instantly with one of forced strength and rising determination. She nodded, disappearing in a flash. The cries came back, even more horrible than before. Somehow, Celestia couldn’t just hear the cries from Canterlot. She heard the ones from Ponyville, from Manehattan, from Fillydelphia, from everywhere. They all combined into a mixture of pain, horror, confusion, and so much more. So many terrible things that Celestia had to close her eyes and clench her jaw just to be able to face it all. The longer she did so, the longer she tried to block out the cries, the more powerful they came. Like a blistering fire that couldn’t be stopped. Celestia opened her eyes. Canterlot was beginning to awaken from the commotion. The second world and the second moon remained where they were. And she didn’t know why. “What does this mean?” she asked no one. No one replied. As she stared at the new world dangerously close to her own, the wind picked up, screaming past her ears. It sounded like seven screams, the kind she knew. And Celestia shivered. She shivered despite the blazing fire ringing in her ears.