//------------------------------// // Chapter 58 – Valley of Death // Story: Infinity Era // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// 58 Badlands, Equestria Northern Valley 8.5 Miles Away from Initial Eruption 10:45 a.m. As Thanos closed his left fist and began to power up the three Infinity Stones, Twilight Sparkle and Tony Stark found themselves lost. Lost in pain. Lost in torment. Lost in the fight. And lost in themselves. The agony they suffered was growing more and more numb the longer their fates had become realized. Stark’s stab wound pulsated with pain, the majority of it focused on the left side of his abdomen, the katar still embedded in it. His armor was a shredded mess, bits and pieces of the nanotechnology still clinging onto Tony’s chest, legs, and right arm. Tears on his skin leaked drying blood, pockmarked across his face and exposed skin. He did his best to hold in the emotion, to keep the pain in check. Blood fell from his parted lips and red burned in his eyes. As for Twilight, she hardly fared any better. The feathers on her wings were burnt and disheveled, similar fates befalling her mane and tail. Her coat held several burns and cuts, attributed to Thanos’ inflections on her and every single time she crashed on the rocks. Blood leaked from such cuts, the burns holding dried blood and exposed skin. Her face expressed every inch of torture she experienced, from the broken snout leaking blood, the crimson painted across her face and cheeks, the black bruises starting to appear, and the tears constantly falling from her wide and terrified eyes. Both of them experienced the same torment. They both faced the same reality, fully coming to terms with how they lost. Twilight’s plan to relieve the gauntlet from Thanos’ grasp only ended in failure, in the worst possible way. Mount Tartarus erupted and would cause unforeseeable damage across Equestria. And it was all her fault. Because she failed. Even when her friends tried to fight back, did everything in their power to resist and stand up against tyranny, they only failed. And Twilight shared their fate. Despite giving everything she could, she was still no match for Thanos. Who was he? And Stark fared no better. His most advanced suit he could create—the most advanced suit he would ever create—was nothing more than shreds of metal barely hanging onto his suit underneath. The Arc Reactor flickered on his chest, barely holding onto life. His best work… treated as mere fodder to Thanos. His mind treated as a plaything to Thanos’ will, used as a means to torture Stark for years. And used as a means to see the man behind the suit, to see Stark… as just that. Just a man… standing up to a god. There was no hope in that, and Stark knew it. Despite wanting to evade and reject that thought as much as he wanted to, the evidence was clear as the approaching day. Thanos beat him. He beat him hard. He had the power to kill him with a flick of his wrist, a clench of his fist, and yet he prolonged it… just to tell Stark he had his respect. What good was that respect if he was only intending to murder Stark right then and there? Absolutely nothing. But not only him. Tony’s tortured mind kept flicking back and forth to the dreaded thought that he not only failed himself, his team, and possibly Earth with that threat Thanos gave him, but he also failed to protect his closest friend on Equus. He failed to reach her in time, Thanos already putting a number on her, as evident by the broken body lying to his left. And now, despite pushing his suit to the limit, despite using everything in his arsenal, the Iron Man wasn’t enough to protect Twilight. Tony Stark wasn’t enough to keep Thanos from reaching his goal. He wasn’t enough to keep his friend safe. And now Thanos clenched his fist and the three Infinity Stones glowed bright, intending to vaporize the two souls lying in agony together. And he very nearly did. A portal appeared beneath Thanos. A bright, burning, orange portal. A portal they knew. It replaced the ground he stood upon, the Mad Titan falling down and vanishing as the portal did. A collective breath of relief escaped both Stark and Twilight, that relief quickly replaced with painful intakes of air, suffering whimpers from the Alicorn, and seething breath from the Iron Man. He barely even paid notice to the second portal appearing further to his left, only Twilight fully turning towards it to see four individuals falling through the portal hovering slightly above ground. Matt Murdock, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Danny Rand all landed painfully in the dirt and sand. None of them got up, hardly even moving as they groaned with conjoined agony shared among them. Twilight stared at them a moment longer, her struggling inhales of air due to her broken snout only further increasing alongside her rapid heartbeat. When she brought her eyes back forward again, she saw that same portal open again in the distance, several hundred yards away. Amongst the hovering hunks of earth floating in the distance. A boulder where the portal transported Thanos. To where her eyes lingered still, finally spotting the whipping red cloak and the sorcerer to go with it. As Thanos’ feet landed upon the hovering rock, he gazed skywards to see several more chunks of earth floating between him and the Sorcerer Supreme. Doctor Strange descended from the skies, volcanic rock hurtling behind and around him from the right. Trails of fire and smoke fell alongside the remains of Mount Tartarus, the air filled with smoke and ash, nearly blocking the rays of the morning sunlight. Yet nothing could block Thanos’ sight from Strange, the Titan slowly approaching the sorcerer with a frown in his gaze. He paused once he reached the edge of the boulder, merely waiting for what Strange would do. Stephen slapped his palms together, sliding his left up and right down as two bolts of Eldritch Magic burned in his fingertips. Upon the rock he stood on, Strange knelt down and jammed his fists into the rock, the Eldritch Lightning shooting out from his hands and descending towards the Mad Titan. The powerful bolts of fiery energy shot from boulder to boulder, ripping the stone apart and ultimately reaching where Thanos stood. The lightning impacted nothing but rock, Thanos leaping upwards and jamming the Infinity Gauntlet right for Strange. The Power Stone unleashed a beam of energy right for the Master of the Mystic Arts, but Strange was ready. Summoning the Mirror Dimension, the Power Stone’s energy was completely vaporized as it entered the false reality. Jamming out his palms, Strange shot the fragment of the Mirror Dimension right for Thanos, in hopes of trapping the Titan within it. Unfortunately, Stephen didn’t expect it to be that easy. It sadly wasn’t, Thanos merely punching the fragment and turning the Mirror Dimension into nothing but shards of shattered reality, almost resembling broken glass. Not yet finished, Thanos closed his fist and the Space Stone ignited, sucking the fragments of the Mirror Dimension within it. The Space Stone continued to absorb it until there was none of it left, and it just kept going. Just kept growing. Until a black orb of nothingness appeared on the Infinity Gauntlet. A miniature black hole, only growing stronger, sucking in reality faster, until nothing would remain. Thanos threw it at Doctor Strange. Threw the black hole. The black hole continued to grow larger as the seconds passed, as the distance between it and Strange narrowed. Practically ripping apart the boulders it flew by, tearing apart the very ground, sucking in air and even light itself, the black hole reached Stephen. The Sorcerer Supreme was already prepared for it, rubbing his palms together and shooting them outwards, a gust of Eldritch Magic bursting forth and impacting the black hole, transforming it into nothing but a swarm of emerald butterflies. They fluttered past Thanos, the Titan lifting his arms and flinching. An annoyed grunt left him, the bugs vanishing and allowing Thanos to turn his attention back to the wizard. He watched, little amusement in his eyes, as Doctor Strange hovered off the boulder. He waved his arms in a circular formation, several more limbs suddenly appearing on his person. As if he had transcended even reality itself. Thanos sneered. His sneer only grew as Strange shot out his arms and multiple, dozens, maybe even hundreds of copies of Strange appeared and quickly surrounded Thanos. A duplication spell. Just like the unicorn from earlier, but on a grander scale. The Mad Titan stumbled about, his eyes darting to each copy, watching as they all reared back and shot their Eldritch Whips onto Thanos. His arms were nearly encased in the Eldritch Magic, Thanos actually having trouble to move. The copies of Strange kept him at bay for the time being, but it was short-lived. It always was. His feeble attempts meant nothing when Thanos held three Infinity Stones in his power. He struggled to lift up his left hand, but when he finally closed his fist and the Power Stone ignited, it sent a pulse of energy through every Eldritch Whip, straight up the burning orange strands, and returning to their masters. The copies of Strange all evaporated into nothing, the pulse of energy hitting the original Stephen Strange and nearly knocking him back. Not even wasting a second, Thanos shot his gauntlet into the air and used the Space Stone to rip Strange out of it. To ensure the sorcerer had no control, Thanos literally pulled the earth itself, the very space that surrounded Strange, until the Sorcerer Supreme was pulled into Thanos’ awaiting left hand. The earth settled, finally stopped rolling forward once Strange’s throat was gripped by the Infinity Gauntlet. Struggling against the Titan’s grip, Strange grit his teeth, held his breath, and listened. “You’re full of tricks, wizard,” Thanos said, reaching forward and gracing the area where the Eye of Agamotto once was resting over Stephen’s heart. He felt nothing. Saw nothing. Thanos frowned, bringing his right hand back. “But you seem to have forgotten your greatest weapon. Yield the Time Stone before you regret everything.” “The Stone is safe, somewhere you’ll never find it,” Stephen growled, hands gripping the Gauntlet. “Is that so?” Thanos asked, smiling a pinch at the end. Strange felt a chill race in his heart just staring into that wicked smile. “Would you bet your life on that?” Strange affirmed his stance with a glare. “Without hesitation,” he spat. “Oh, that moment will come soon enough, but first…” Thanos muttered, pausing only to turn to his right. Nearly spinning his head and body fully around, Thanos saw in the distance the Mind Stone in Vision’s forehead, still glowing fiercely and the Vision still hunched over. He retreated his gaze back to Stephen, the sorcerer’s eyes returning as well. “Other sacrifices need to be made.” Tossing Strange away, Thanos watched as his body hit the ground rather roughly. He remained unmoving after that, the wizard finally bested. Finally meeting his match. With that dealt with, Thanos shot his head over to the wilting Vision, the android still struggling to find his footing. He was alone. Nothing more standing in Thanos’ way. It was just him and the Mind Stone. With an extra kick in Thanos movement, the Titan took that first step towards his destiny. And was once again disrupted. He felt it, the weak tug on his left forearm and hand. However, it only grew stronger, managing to yank back Thanos’ left arm so he couldn’t even move, nor could he move his fingers. Gritting his teeth, Thanos turned towards the source of the disruption and saw it. Saw her. Twilight Sparkle, once again, continuing to fight the unwinnable. Continued to stand against the unbeatable. Continued to resist the irresistible. Thanos could have smiled, but refused to. In fact, he snarled instead. Once more, another interruption keeping him away from his destiny. A mild interruption, surely, but one that he was certainly growing more and more irritated with. That irritation quickly changed into something else… “Stephen, get Vision somewhere safe!” Twilight screamed. Desperation. That, and anger. Pure, fiery, unfathomable anger. Thanos roared, pulling against Twilight’s grip around his arm, but he hardly moved. She wouldn’t budge, Twilight managing to hold him still by wrapping her remaining strength and magic tight around his gauntlet. His fingers were practically frozen stiff, preventing Thanos from closing his fist and using the Stones. Thanos pried at the violet force around his forearm with his right hand, doing little to nothing against it. He couldn’t fight a magical aura without the Infinity Stones. He couldn’t close his fist as the magic held his fingers with a vice-like grip. He could only pull and struggle, Twilight appearing to struggle even more than the Titan. Her hooves dug into the dirt and sand as Thanos pulled back. His desperation only grew when he saw Doctor Strange rise from the falling ashes. He stumbled at first, but slowly complied with Twilight’s request, holding out his hands and beginning to spin his right hand in a large circle. The battle between Thanos and Twilight, the battle of strength and will, quickly shifted to a much higher scale. Thanos pulled even harder, screamed even louder, did everything in his strength to reach the Vision. He could already see the orange sparks appearing behind the android, forming the vortex that would lead to Vision’s escape to an unknown sanctuary, one Thanos knew not of. That’s why he fought. That’s why he pulled, slowly, inch by inch, growing closer to the android. And Twilight only continued to fall. The last remnants of her strength and magic she used to keep Thanos from reaching her friend was all she had left. The very magic that had lifted an Ursa Minor, had bested the greatest of foes, had saved her life more times than she could count... was not enough. It was wavering, quickly depleting from her horn and body the longer she kept Thanos at bay. She could barely even watch, only managing to pray that Vision got back up and reached the portal in time. Her body screamed at her, only agonized grunts managing to escape the princess’ muzzle. But she held firm despite losing that ground. She held him back with everything she had left, and it was still barely enough. Thanos shot out his free right hand as he dug through the dirt, approaching the Vision slowly, reaching out to the android and growing closer with each footfall. Until he was mere yards away, Thanos anger shifting to rising hope, his jaw falling as he saw his fingers just feet away from the shimmering Stone. His upper lip twitched. His eyes narrowed. He cried out. Nothing compared to Twilight’s voice. “Vision!” The cry reached him, Vision’s eyes opening wide and the android shooting his head upwards. He could witness the travesty and horror for a mere moment, his eyes landing on Thanos reaching for him—for the Stone—then turning to Twilight. Her eyes were wide, tear-filled, distraught, shifting from Vision to something behind him. And he turned to it. Saw the empty hallway of Canterlot Castle within the vortex of orange sparks. And despite the pain flooding his circuits and mind, Vision kicked off the ground and flew towards it. Just as Thanos reached him. And just then, he slipped out of his grasp, Thanos’ eyes darting upwards to see the portal close… and leave nothing else. Thanos’ face completely fell, his eyes widening in disbelief. Thanos nearly abandoned the thought of the magical grip on his gauntlet. He nearly ignored the world burning around him. His only thought, his only sight was on the Mind Stone… and now it was gone. To somewhere he didn’t even know. So close… just as before… and taken from him… just as before. His mouth slowly closed, his teeth gritting together. He slowly, so very slowly, rose back up to full height. With his left arm still extended in Twilight’s direction, Thanos kept his gaze in the opposite, to where the portal once was. To where his destiny once lied… now just another step back in the grand endgame. The Alicorn—once filled with relief to see Vision escape to Canterlot—was soon filled with growing dread the longer she stared onto the back of Thanos’ head. He didn’t struggle anymore. He didn’t pull against her. He just stood there… staring in silence. It was so quiet between them Twilight could actually hear a drop of blood fall from her nose and impact the rock near her hoof. The sounds of the earth came back, the aftermath of the eruption of Mount Tartarus still filling the air with grinding rock and resounding explosions in the distance. Yet Thanos and Twilight ignored it. They only focused on one another, Thanos’ head slowly turning back to her. And when their eyes locked, Twilight’s heart dropped. Because at that moment, at that exact moment she stared into the twisted swirls of madness lost in his light blue irises, she saw only thing… Hate. She nearly crumbled under it, her ears slowly falling flat against her aching skull. And her heart stopped when he said it. “That was a mistake.” The rest came almost too fast for Twilight to comprehend, her mind still trapped in the darkness of fear she allowed to cloud her senses. She allowed Thanos to get inside of her, change her, twist her, bring her guard down and kill her fight. With little to no strength, it still didn’t matter when Thanos ripped his arm free from her magical aura. Twilight cried out, stumbling forward as she felt Thanos yank her by her own magic. It didn’t end there. Twilight barely managed to gaze upwards when her eyes met Thanos once more. And by then it was already too late to do anything. By then she had no power left to fight back. Thanos closed his fist—the Space, Power, and Reality Stones glowing bright against it. Brighter than ever before. Fueled by a new type of power Thanos gave it. Rearing back, the very essence of reality itself being shattered as he tightened his fist, Thanos drove the Infinity Gauntlet right into the mare. Right into Twilight’s chest. The power from all three Stones, from the full force of Thanos’ strength, sent Twilight backwards with such speed that when she hit the furthest rock erected from the earth, it nearly split. A heavy crack broke out through the air. Several large cracks appeared on the face of the rock, Twilight’s eyes slowly closing as her body landed in the dirt beneath the shattered stone. Motionless. Not a sound. Just like all the others. The three Infinity Stones died down, Thanos’ fist relaxing. Doctor Stephen Strange crumbled to one knee, his free hand resting on the other knee. He could only rest there and watch as Thanos gazed out into the madness. To what remained of the Badlands. To what remained of the world and the people he afflicted. He listened to the cries of the dying serpents, saw the remains of Mount Tartarus as nothing but a plume of ash and fire. The remains of once was came falling down as shreds of burning ash. Nothing more than that. Thanos gazed longer. Gazed for a thousand miles. And still he saw nothing. “Three to go.” His final words before he clenched the Gauntlet and stepped back into the blue portal. The power of the Space Stone faded away, leaving nothing but dust and air where Thanos once stood. Thunder shook the very earth and sky. Within the clouds of ash and fire resulting from the volcano’s eruption, the black smog continued to billow, continued to rise from within the darkness. Blood red lightning struck against the dark, lighting up the land beneath. The land torn by fire and rock. The land ripped, shredded, and filled with death and destruction. Volcanic rock plagued the earth, continued to fall from the skies and impact further away. The screams of the serpents cried out against the thunder, against the sounds of rock hurtling and burning. Hundreds of serpents lay dead against the burning rock that impacted the earth. The Badlands of Equestria were completely demolished. Torn asunder. Shown the very might of the universe. Dust storms began to arise once again, the smoke and ash clouds filling the air and nearly blocking out the rays of the sun. Only slivers remained, darkness filling the landscape and spreading a sickly brown across it. As the ash cloud from the eruption of Mount Tartarus rolled overhead, surrounding the sky that wasn’t consumed by the smog, a soft snowfall began to drop. Particles of white fell around the burning landscape, but it did not cool it by any means. The fragments of white were not snow by any means. It didn’t bring cheer or rest to the battle that once filled the Badlands. It brought sickness. It brought dread. It brought death itself to the valleys filled with it. The ash began to fall. And the heroes began to rise. Coming together at long last, nearly every last person limping their way towards Doctor Strange, the teams hardly looked to one another and merely cared for their own wounded. For their own sufferings. For their own failures. The Guardians of the Galaxy led by Peter Quill were a tattered mess. Quill limped forward with Gamora helping him walk, his arm draped across her shoulder. The two of them appeared visibly in pain, but they hid it well. Drax was helping Mantis as well, the limping woman leaning onto her friend for support. Groot and Rocket trailed from behind, Groot’s young eyes gazing to the falling ash particles, his wooden palm held out to them. It burned once a flake of ash landed on his palm, Groot grunting and holding his hand tight. Rocket’s brow rose at that, a sigh leaving him to see Groot trying to dodge the ash. Trying to dodge the pain. Nebula limped far behind them, gazing to her sister, trying to reach her. The Defenders all limped past Stephen Strange, casting him a lonesome, lost glance before settling themselves on the ground, sitting on shattered boulders. They checked their wounds, each of them bleeding, beaten, weary, and lost. The only one among them who stood was Daredevil, his senses off the charts and trying to catch every heartbeat of his team. Of everyone, trying to see if everyone was accounted for. Frank Castle came up behind him, holding his AA12 shotgun and gazing out into the falling ash, almost completely awestruck by the beauty of the madness. The God of Thunder stumbled forth, his breathing ragged and heavy, his only eye landing on Doctor Strange and looking nowhere else. Strange felt his gaze, turned to it, barely acknowledged it with a nod. He could tell from the look Thor gave him that they were short a team member, short an Avenger. Even without words, Strange’s nod seemed somewhat comforting, a mere flicker of hope amongst the hopelessness of the aftermath. They all heard a pain-filled cry, many ignoring it and many more turning in the direction of it. Tony Stark screamed as he pulled the blade from his abdomen. The sound of tearing flesh was only drowned away by Stark’s agony. After finally pulling the dagger free and letting the blood flow, Tony relinquished the katar and sealed up his wound. The medical suture spray exited what remained of the Mark 50 on Stark’s right hand, covering his stab wound and stopped the flow of blood, allowing Stark to breathe normally once again. The spray would finish the rest and further speed up the healing process. With that reassurance in mind, Tony turned to the approaching bodies on his right. Peter Parker limped forward alongside James Rhodes, his armor torn, both staring at Stark. Peter’s mask was gone, allowing Parker to express just from his facial features the horrors of what he experienced, and the horrors of what remained. The red Arc Reactor on the War Machine armor flickered every second or two, James looking back towards the remains of the volcano. He gazed back to Stark, watched as Peter helped him to his feet. The ponies recuperated shortly afterwards. Pinkie Pie returned to her normal pony self alongside Fluttershy, the effects of the Reality Stone fading away now that Thanos was gone. Applejack pulled her hat from the dirt, brushed it off, then sighed as she settled it back on her head. Rainbow Dash spread out her wings, cringing as they extended fully before finally settling back to fold against her body. She limped alongside Starlight and Sunset, the two unicorns surrounding Tony and Peter. They were joined shortly by Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and even Rarity. Some of the mares—mainly Rainbow Dash and Applejack—sent an infuriated glare towards the unicorn. And who could blame them? They still blamed her for ruining everything. Rarity didn’t even give them any attention. Her eyes, her gaze, all the horror in it stared only to the ground, as if she was lost in some strange world. Her eyes were transfixed, nearly glazed over. After finally breathing again, seeing no Mad Titan flash through her vision, Rarity blinked numerous times and looked about. She saw her friends, saw their desolate expressions, and counted only six of them. “Twilight…?” Rarity whispered. Several of her friends’ heads arose, seeing Rarity dart her head back and forth, searching. Desperately searching. “Twilight?” she called out, louder now. Seeing the ponies now looking about, all of them calling out the name of their friend, Tony Stark lifted his gaze and stared straight ahead. He and Parker both did, passed Thor and Stephen Strange limping their way, passed the Defenders sitting on the rocks and only Daredevil looking passed them—directly where Stark and Parker stared—and passed the Guardians of the Galaxy approaching Thor and the others. Passed all of that, and Stark saw her. Through the smoke and dust, there was Twilight lying on her side, her back to them. Not moving. “Twilight…” Tony muttered, beginning with a first step towards where the Alicorn lay. It was a limp, Peter trying to help him, only to watch as Stark ignored the pain, ignored everything, and tried to run. He failed, struggling with each step towards his friend. “Twilight!” No answer. No response. He received several looks as he pushed past the mares, Thor, Strange, Nebula, Quill and the others, all of which turned in his direction and his destination. They all followed. All of them taking their time, all slowly approaching the shattered stone where Stark was intending to go. As he limped past the Defenders, Stark could only hear Murdock mutter, “Oh, God…” He felt his heart freeze at that, his adrenaline rushing as he and Parker ran—finally ran—to where Twilight lay in the dirt. “Twilight!” Stark shouted, slipping and falling to his knees as he came to a rest by the pony’s side, Peter on the other. Dragging her outwards, Stark rolled Twilight on her back to check the damage. Her eyes were shut. The dried blood on her face and body was just that. Dry. Nothing fresh. Nothing flowing from her wounds. With a jaw slightly agape, Twilight’s head fell to the left, no other movement or sound escaping the Alicorn. Stark looked down to her chest to see the scorch marks. He stopped breathing. He bent down, pressed his ear to her heart, and stopped breathing. Because she wasn’t. Darting his head back, Stark shook it madly, ignoring his own pain and focusing all of his effort in bringing her back. He pressed his bloody palms right over her heart, continuously pumped against it, and continued to deny fate. “No, no, come on now, Twi. Come on. We… we need you to… Come on, get up.” She didn’t. Her eyes remained shut, her body unmoving to her will even as Stark pumped his hands into her chest, causing her to move slightly. But other than that… nothing. Stark continued to mutter failing hope, Peter Parker watching from above with utter hopelessness. His jaw was agape, eyes wide with worry just watching Stark work in bringing Twilight back. He wasn’t alone by any means. Soon enough, the Guardians stumbled forward with Thor, Strange, Rhodes, and the ponies trailing from behind. The Defenders got back up from where they sat, leaving just Jessica Jones by herself. She, Nebula, and the Punisher stood from afar, watching the crowd come together in the distance, just watching. Waiting. Doubting a miracle. As the crowd was formed and the eyes of the many landed on Tony Stark resuscitating Twilight Sparkle, they could only watch in silence. They could do nothing more but wait, hope, pray for something to happen. Stark’s efforts were plain and raw, desperate, as he pushed down again and again, praying to get Twilight’s heart pumping. But it didn’t. It wouldn’t. He never stopped. “Come on, Twi… Come on. Come on, come on, come on,” Stark continuously whispered, continuously pushed against her chest, continuously prayed to God even though he hadn’t in years. Her eyes remained closed. Her mouth was still agape, no air entering or leaving. Peter Quill stared on, dumbfounded, his brow furrowing but no words leaving him. No words could. He was frozen in shock, just waiting for what would happen. Gamora laid her hand slowly over her stomach as the seconds ticked away, feeling sick, feeling lost. The ponies pushed through the legs of the towering heroes, finally stumbling forward and gasping. Terror struck their eyes, their hearts, and their very souls the moment they saw Twilight laying there. Just laying there as Stark tried to bring her back to life. Fluttershy cried out, tears welling up in her eyes as her hooves rose to cover her mouth. Rarity nearly did the same, her lower lip twitching and whimpers escaping the unicorn. A flash of horror struck her, but she ignored it. She ignored the inevitable fate and prayed for a miracle. Pinkie, Rainbow, and Applejack all stood in disbelief, unwilling to fully understand or believe the circumstances of what just happened… or what was going to happen. Stark’s futile attempts to bring Twilight back from the dark only furthered their anxiety, tears staring to grow in their eyes when reality was dawning on them as was the rising sun. Starlight and Sunset shook their heads, refusing to believe it, refusing to accept what was lying in front of them. They cried all the same. After several more pumps and still nothing, Stark grit his teeth and lifted his wild eyes. The cuts from his forehead made blood leak down the side of his face, but he didn’t care. He looked to the many, saw a blur, and shouted, “God… dammit, does anyone know CPR?!” He never stopped pumping into her chest. He only did when Starlight Glimmer ran forward and pushed his hands aside with her magic. Nearly falling onto his back, Tony stopped himself and gazed onto the unicorn. He watched, everyone watched as Starlight analyzed Twilight’s form rather quickly, closing her eyes and charging her horn. Dropping the tip of her turquoise-embedded horn down to Twilight’s chest, a quick and sudden shock struck the Alicorn right over her heart. Her body jumped upwards, but quickly settled back down. Unmoving. Not breathing. Starlight breathed rapidly, charging up her horn and doing it again. Same result. “No, no, Twilight, please,” Glimmer whimpered, tears flowing from her eyes and hitting Twilight’s scorched chest. She shut her eyes tight and charged up her horn, but was surprised to feel a shove on her side. Turning to it, Starlight looked to see Sunset Shimmer charge up her horn even further, even brighter, even stronger than Starlight’s wounded one. She touched the tip of her horn to her chest, the red bolt of electricity shooting outwards and entering the Alicorn. Another flinch—heavier than before—but nothing came out of it. Sunset shook her head, lips quivering, tears falling as she dipped her head and did it again. And again. And again. Nothing but failure. “Please don’t…” Sunset cried, growing more desperate, charging up her horn again and failing again. She shook her head, hoof placed over Twilight’s own. “Please, Twilight!” Sunset screamed. No response. Sunset grit her teeth and charged up her horn to the fullest of her power. “Stop.” The voice’s response was met with a firm shake of the unicorn’s head. “No!” Sunset cried. “I said stop!” the voice shouted. Sunset suddenly felt herself and Starlight pushed back by a gust of wind, a gust of energy. They turned to the source, watching with hurt in their eyes as Stephen Strange approached the area where they once stood. He glared at them, offered them no sympathy. “Or you’ll kill her yourself.” They stared at him. Everyone and everypony did. They watched as he pulled at the tips of his cloak’s collar before bending down to one knee. Directly on Twilight’s side. They watched and listened as Strange slowly closed his eyes and exhaled through his nostrils. The dirt surrounding him settled. The wind died down. The very fabric of reality slowed to a halt… for him. Gazing to it all, the ponies and the heroes turned back to Strange. Peter and Tony watched with anticipation, fear still lacing the edges of their expressions. He slowly lifted his shaking hands, the scars of past pains still evident. His fingers moved in a wicked and ancient dance, his arms crossing one another, forming an “X”. With his fists shaking, Strange opened his eyes. The Eldritch Magic glowed bright in his irises, making them shimmer a soft orange. He slowly let his arms break away, his right fist falling slowly to Twilight’s chest. As it shivered just over her heart, his fingers shot out, and the Tao Mandalas appeared in a shower of harmless sparks over the Alicorn. The ponies watched with dread, hope, fear, and passion filling their eyes, dangerous mixtures of all. Passion for their friend. Passion for the hope of life. Fluttershy stopped crying, hooves still covering her mouth, as she and her friends watched Stephen work. None of them knew what he was doing. None of the Guardians, Defenders, Rhodes, or even Thor knew. But they waited and watched all the same. With his palm wide open over the Tao Mandalas, Strange pursed his lips and focused on what came next. His fingers shot downwards, impacting the disc just precisely to complete the spell. Strange was completely focused, sweat and blood pouring from his forehead as he worked. With his fingers done tracing the disc, Strange breathed again and… let the magic do the rest. He pressed down. The Tao Mandalas exploded, evaporating into swirls of orange dust as it entered safely through Twilight’s chest, nostrils, and body. It was only a couple seconds more—after the magic completely entered her—did Twilight breathe again. She gasped for air, eyes wide and alive as her heart was rejuvenated. Arching her chest upwards, Twilight took in the remaining moments of peace to breathe. To feel. To live again. Tony Stark remained where he sat, he and Parker feeling a wave of relief rush over them. It only remained with Peter, something else slowly overcoming Stark. That brief moment of peace and relief shared not only amongst Twilight and the surrounding heroes was gone. Twilight’s closest friends ambushed her, showering the Alicorn with hugs, tears, cries, and everything they could give. Strange allowed himself a soft pat on the back for that, his eyes darting over to see Applejack—amongst the chaos—smile his way, tears flooding her eyes. Memories of the people Stephen had saved and their families thanking him with hugs came back. But this was different. Just her smile felt more grateful than any hug he received in the past. And Strange managed a smile back, even if he didn't know it. As Twilight smiled and appreciated their hugs, she still was trying to recover, feeling the overarching pain come back with full force. She tried to tell her friends that, but through their cries and their hugs, Twilight just couldn’t. She cried with them. She hugged them back with whatever strength she had left. It wasn’t enough, and she nearly crumbled in Sunset’s crushing hug. Grunting at that, Twilight patted Sunset on the back, her other hoof rising to rest on Sunset’s shoulder when she heard it. “You died… y-you died…” Sunset whispered shakily, her body shivering against Twilight. She said it over and over again, the unicorn’s tears falling and rolling down Twilight’s back. That realization fell over Twilight like a dark shadow, her eyes slowly widening as she returned the hug. Her eyes fell over to Stark and saw the same thing. Tony heard her. He heard what Sunset whispered, let that thought sink in. He fell back and rested to a sitting position, his hands resting on his legs, his suit torn and the Arc Reactor flickering on and off. On and off. Living and dying. The remaining serpents screeched and sunk back into the earth, leaving several hundred lying dead amongst the volcanic rock burning throughout the Badlands. The sun’s light was shrouded in shadow, in smoke, in ash. And Tony Stark stared at that dark ash cloud above the destroyed volcano, lightning striking throughout the darkness and cackling throughout the air. Like laughter. Tony stared at it. Stared at a living world dying.