74
Ponyville, Equestria
Town Square
8:05 a.m.
The teleportation spell, with the added power of an Alicorn and two highly-trained unicorns, would have been more than strong enough to get the group of ten to their desired destination. From the streets of Canterlot to the cave that held the Tree of Harmony within the Everfree Forest, such a spell would have been no trouble whatsoever for the likes of Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, and Starlight Glimmer.
The group of ten reappeared in a flash near the Town Square of Ponyville. And Starlight screamed. She screamed and collapsed in the dirt, clutching her head. Her horn.
Nearly collapsing in exhaustion, Twilight and Sunset wobbled a tad on their hooves, their narrowed eyes eventually falling down to the prone mare lying in their dirt. Their eyes shot open, already bending forward to bring Starlight back to her hooves. As for the remaining seven, they all looked about, already knowing they weren’t meant to be in Ponyville. Pinkie and Fluttershy gazed around them, noting the rest of Ponyville’s populace taking interest to the sudden ten individuals who teleported in a bright flash in the center of town. Rarity and Capper turned to the skies, already seeing the dark ash clouds heavy over Ponyville, already dreading it. Rarity especially, noticing the color of the clouds. The dark gray mixed with the light.
As for Stygian, he saw something even more. Something within those falling ash particles. He felt more than just the sweltering wind battering him relentlessly. He smelled more than just the smell of sulfur in the atmosphere. He knew there was more because he remembered every wicked and forbidden detail from so long ago. He stepped forth, away from the group and facing only to the south, his eyes wide with horror.
Rainbow Dash and Applejack shook their heads to regain some form of consciousness, the act of teleportation still not sitting well with them. After blinking a few times, the two finally opened their eyes, finally taking in their surroundings and gasping when they saw it all.
Ponyville. Home sweet home.
They weren’t supposed to be there.
They were supposed to be…
“Hey, what gives?!” Rainbow exclaimed, spreading her wings and shooting back and forth in mid-air, gazing off deeper down the streets of Ponyville. “We’re nowhere near the Everfree Forest, or the Tree of Harmony for that matter!”
Bringing Starlight back to her hooves, Twilight asked, “Starlight, what happened?”
Just bringing her eyes up a few inches more gave her an answer. The base of Starlight’s horn was bleeding. Bad. Small cracks that had once been concealed due to the work of Canterlot’s medical staff had reappeared, even larger than before. From within the cracks, sparks of turquoise magic leaked through, even spurting at the tip of her horn, uncontrolled and unbalanced. Small veins bulged around Starlight’s forehead, surrounding her horn, slowly but surely dimming down as the seconds ticked away.
Already knowing the answer to their plight, Twilight and the rest of her friends remained silent. Starlight shook her head, finally breathing, “I’m sorry… I must’ve… must’ve cut the spell short. I tried to hold it… I’m sorry, Twilight. I’m sorry, girls.”
“You have nothing to be ashamed of,” Sunset assured her, patting Starlight’s back rapidly, almost shivering herself in a sense. Even her voice quivered when she noticed the ash clouds blocking all forms of sunlight.
Except it wasn’t the ash clouds that time.
The sky darkened.
The world trembled.
“Uh… girls?” Capper muttered. Then gasped in one single direction.
Everypony followed. Even Stygian, forced to turn away from the south to witness what couldn’t be real. Forced to witness fate’s cruel hoof befall upon the city of Canterlot. Twilight released Starlight from her grasp, taking a few cautious steps forward, closer, wondering if what she was seeing was real. Pinkie Pie shivered, her mane deflating. Fluttershy whimpered, cowering behind Rainbow Dash. Applejack pulled her hat back, allowing her massive eyes to take in every second of reality before her. Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened, her jaw falling as the light burned in her twin irises. Sunset and Starlight slowly lifted their eyes skyward, both of them holding their breath at the mere sight of it.
And Rarity…
Rarity cowered once more. Taking several slow steps back so she was behind the group when it happened.
Ponyville's populace crowded together around the center of town, mares and stallions young and old, rich and poor, awake and alive all staring in the same direction. To the north. To the mighty mountain peak resting several miles away, and the city of Canterlot burning on the side of it. But that’s not what they all stared at. Nopony stared at Canterlot.
Every living creature, everypony stared onto the burning ball of fire streak down from the shattered moons, break through the atmosphere, completely shatter the mountaintop, and drive its unrelenting force into the Chitauri Command Center.
As well as the city beneath it.
Canterlot lit up the darkness.
Not in any way they had previously known. Not when Cadance and Shining Armor expressed their love for one another and expelled the Changeling Invasion. Not when the Storm King was defeated and the magic of the princesses was returned to them. Not when every single time the ponies won. No. Canterlot lit up the darkness because it was on fire. Because it exploded.
Because the mountain crumbled instantaneously.
Following the initial impact, the shock wave shot so far and spread to a length so profound that it deafened the small town of Ponyville only momentarily. Once the shock wave passed over them, once sound had returned, all that could be heard was the shattering of rock and screaming. A massive plume of fire and darkness erupted from Canterlot Mountain, the remnants of the city crumbling down alongside massive pillars and chunks of rock straight from the mountainside. Ponyville reacted almost immediately, ponies frantically running about and screaming their heads off, returning to their homes to conceal themselves and their doormats.
As for the ten heroes, they stood in absolute shock and awe.
Absolute. Unadulterated. Complete and utter shock and awe.
Their eyes lit up like the lunar rock that had impacted the city of Canterlot. Their jaws fell and their bodies quivered in place, unable to fully process the face of reality glaring down at them from the mountain miles and miles away. It impacted so much closer, the mares feeling the fire actually eat away at their hearts as they saw what remained of Canterlot burn away into dust and rock down the mountain. Almost instantaneously, memories flushed throughout each of the mares’ minds, memories of every best moment they’ve had in the capital city. The Royal Wedding, Twilight’s crowning ceremony, the celebration following Ultron’s defeat, and every single time they had to visit the princesses. The princesses…
All of it… just gone. In an instant. In a flash of light.
Many ponies saw that, but it was Twilight who saw deeper, knew deeper, felt even worse than anypony could have ever felt. Because despite everything against them, all the odds, all the deterrents, every single doubt pushed against where Twilight stood, she still firmly believed in the princesses to keep Canterlot safe. She still believed in that mindset, but crumbled right then and there. She fell apart inside and out, not because that hope had shattered…
… but because her parents also believed in it.
Her eyes watered, tears falling relentlessly from the Alicorn’s face as she witnessed Canterlot’s remains burning and crumbling to the very bottom of the mountain. The earth trembled following the impact, ponies falling to the dirt, tripping over themselves, and shaking Twilight Sparkle to her very core. Deep into her broken heart and battered soul. And deep within, nothing could stop that tremble in her spirit. She felt it constantly consume her, never releasing the Alicorn princess despite her greatest cries.
She breathed again, the tears blotting her vision when she realized… that she was shaking. Not only from within… but from the earth.
All the earth trembled and only continued to do so for minutes on end.
“By the powers of the world…” Stygian whispered, trembled under the glare of the fires within the Badlands. And everypony followed him. Everypony turned to the south to see the earth open.
Thanos ignored the face of destruction he was swarmed in. The smoke rose from the fires of Canterlot’s remains, trying to blot his vision but never succeeding. The heated wind ripped at his clothing but never once turned him away. Every sound, every portion of agony and suffering felt during the destruction of Equestria’s central power remained. It was all that remained and continued to infect Thanos’ twisted, darkened soul.
But even then, he ignored it. Tried to, as he lifted his left arm and directed it forwards in one single direction. Towards one intention. His left fist clenched even tighter, Thanos twisting his wrist until only the Time Stone was the brightest Infinity Stone resting upon his gauntlet.
He saw that light in the corner of his vision, but all he stared at was the burning remnants of the lands scorched in war and death. He slowly smiled. Tried to. It was almost as forceful as the words that left his very being.
“Never say I don’t keep my word.”
He opened his palm. The disk of green energy formed between his large fingers. Then, once again, he slowly began to rotate his wrist, his palm moving in a painfully slow clockwise direction.
All of reality and time bent to his will almost instantly.
The clouds surrounding the Badlands were the first to change according to the power of the universe, the swirls of ash and storm forming a whirlpool of fire and chaos. The lands torn from his past battle—from previous wars fought on its soil—began to react, the stone and rock splitting and trembling while under the bright green glare miles and miles away. The tremor filled all the Badlands, from the tallest and mightiest of mountains quaking to the smallest and feeblest of pebbles dancing across the sand. The storm resting over the heart of the Badlands grew even more massive, time itself increasing at an exponential rate and only furthering the power of nature itself within the twisted realm of the Badlands. And as any storm, it began to thunder. Then lightning. Then rain.
The thunder growled like a feral beast. The lightning was blood red. The rain was that of acid and venom.
Then the earth ripped open, unveiling the one born of fire once again to the world of Equus.
And Thanos only twisted his wrist, the Time Stone glowing a fierce and demented green.
“It’s time,” the Mad Titan said, his eyes meeting the blood red glare of the serpent titan. Of all seven of them. “… to be born again.”