//------------------------------// // Chapter 81 – The Art of Deceit // Story: Infinity Era // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// 81 Sanctuary II 2:39 p.m. Thanos hadn’t thought much of the art of deceit. All his life he had known that the only path to survival was to remain truthful, stick to your beliefs and fight the universe itself for them. Anyone who saw such beliefs and tried to deny them, tried to foolishly stand in the way of what was true… then they were a hindrance. A threat. Any and all threats that stood in the path to truth and destiny needn’t stand for long. Thanos did well to communicate to all his truth, the only path to salvation for the universe. And they denied him. So many planets denied him. But Thanos knew he could not hold the truth from them. He needed all life to understand what must be done to save the universe—no matter how horrible or genocidal it may be—because his home planet faced extinction. His home planet of Titan refused to understand the truth and look where it got them: a barren wasteland, the titan race extinguished, leaving just Thanos the sole survivor of his own apocalypse. If there was a chance, just a moment Thanos could go back and prevent his home world’s destruction, ignore the politics and the voices of his people and do what had to be done… He could. He could use the Time Stone right then and there and stop the inevitable. But he didn’t. Thanos knew he couldn’t, otherwise he would have never begun his journey to save the universe, his path to save numerous worlds from facing extinction. Though they cursed his name before, they would surely praise it now for the prosperity and health he brought upon their worlds. Billions dead to save trillions more. Trillions to die to save countless others. There was no arguing that logic. Thanos knew he was right with every shred and fiber of his very being. He would spread that truth through every planet, every galaxy, until all the universe knew it and believed it as he did. Yet the art of deceit intrigued him. Thanos hardly ever lied. The only times he ever did was to his children, ensuring that they never learned it yet experienced it all the same. Hide them from the horrors he committed when they were younger, only wanting them to follow him later in their lives. Be his successors in a way if he couldn’t achieve his destiny. It was what he did with Gamora, with Nebula, with the others. Only one truly rose amongst them to be his true successor, and there she stood. Against him. How fate truly was cruel. Other than that, Thanos hardly ever lied. He kept his word when it mattered, and when it mattered to him… he never broke it. He felt some common ground between him the titan serpent, actually saw a piece of himself in those hellish red eyes. A being who lost something precious, something they could never get back, but used it as a means to bring forth true salvation, true reclamation. When Thanos saw that in Typhon’s eyes, he knew he wasn’t alone in the universe. There were others who wanted to change fate, and Typhon was one of them, wrongfully persecuted for just wanting to give his children a home. Wrongfully taken from me. My world. My people. Thanos closed his eyes and breathed. His breath was nearly frozen, the fog exiting his nostrils and fading away in the darkness of Sanctuary II. When he opened his eyes, he saw those giant, leathery wings expand, take off towards the skies, and strike the Earth with enough force to shatter a continent. It didn’t, thankfully, and Typhon only proceeded to burn the nation of Wakanda to its core. Claim its riches… and slowly proceed to claim the greatest prize of all. It would not be long before Typhon discovered the location of the Soul Stone, claim it for himself, wrongfully turning his back against Thanos even after their deal. Their promises. Yet Thanos knew he somehow shattered that promise. The only reason for Typhon to try and claim the Soul Stone for himself and prevent Thanos from achieving his destiny would be if Thanos had turned against him prior. True, Thanos may have twisted his words against Typhon, who never picked up on it, but even then there was still a world for him to take, a species for him to rule. All Thanos tried to do was save it beforehand by cleansing half of it. The art of deceit truly worked wonders. But Thanos… All he could hear were those simple words… They were mine to kill. Thanos stared onto the mists of the Frozen North approaching. That’s what they called it, the ponies of Equestria. They called it the Frozen North and Thanos now knew why it was so. If you would take what’s mine… I shall take what’s yours. The princesses and the Pillars, numerous leaders of Equestria whom Thanos hadn’t known prior to his first steps in Equus. Or maybe he did. Maybe those dreams he had of Equus years ago told him more than he could remember. Maybe he truly did turn his word against Typhon… but only when it mattered. When he claimed the Mind Stone, there they stood in his way, the princesses and the Pillars of Equestria. They threatened him with death, threatened to stop him from achieving his destiny and actually attempted to remove the Infinity Gauntlet from his grasp. A mistake. One they learned. When his destiny was on the line, any promise made, any deal struck, any word given could be easily broken. Nothing else truly mattered other than fulfilling his destiny and saving the universe. When it came down to it, in the end, nothing else would matter other than gazing onto that sunrise and watch a grateful universe thank him for a job well done. A moment of rest that would remain too far from his grasp currently. Anyone who tried to prevent that wouldn’t for long. No princess. No Pillar. No Avenger. Not even Typhon. The snow impacted the hardened windshield of Sanctuary II, no other sound but Thanos’ own breathing keeping him company in the darkness, in the towering walls of black glaring down upon the Mad Titan. It was slightly below freezing, but Sanctuary II provided enough warmth through the storm. Even then, Thanos’ breaths froze in the air, but he didn’t care. He stopped the Chitauri invasion on Equus shortly after Typhon’s betrayal. Every last Command Center abandoned the attack and instead diverged their attention onto Earth by Thanos’ command. They circled the only nation that mattered, numbering in the dozens as they swarmed the lone nation of Wakanda. As it burned. As the storm covered nearly all of the continent of Africa and centered solely on Wakanda, where the beast hunted. Where the Soul Stone remained hidden. But not forever. The time would come when Thanos and his children took the fight to Wakanda. In the meantime, a certain thorn in his side had long overstayed its welcome. The Crystal Empire it was called, a shield with enough strength that Thanos had yet to see for himself still holding. Stronger than the shield over the Golden City. Stronger than the shield over Canterlot, his Chitauri told him. The magic within the shield was able to destroy numerous Command Centers with pure ease, stopping them before they could even reach the empire. That magic somehow even managed to destroy several more Command Centers throughout Equestria. It had persisted longer than it should have, murdered thousands of more Chitauri than it ever should have. No more. With just the Sanctuary II, Thanos personally led his army deeper into the Frozen North, where the Crystal Empire remained waiting. Where another threat would soon be dealt with. Which reminded him… For many days now and counting, Thanos had spent particular attention to the Outriders who returned to him to inform the Mad Titan of another threat, another of Equus. Intrigued, Thanos looked further into the so-called “threat”. To say he was impressed and interested was all he could give. There were no other words Thanos could use. No words to describe the growing army led by Queen Novo and Tempest Shadow. Of all the foes that stood in his path, Tempest was certainly one that caught his eye. He had watched her invade the Dragon Lands with an army of Hippogriffs, hold her own even against Chitauri Elite and numerous other foot soldiers. When he had heard word of the very same pony leading an army of dragons onto his Command Center and destroying it in one blast… Now that made Thanos smile. There were very few ponies on Equus who had earned his attention, earned that minimal semblance of respect that Thanos could offer. One of those ponies was Twilight Sparkle. The Princess of Friendship seemingly vanished from sight. Not even his Outriders could find her or her allies. And the other pony was her. Tempest Shadow. Her allies had managed to destroy several of his Command Centers, slaughter thousands of his Chitauri, prevent Equus from experiencing salvation. But for some reason… Thanos found no reason to be discouraged. They were nowhere to be found and Thanos was not worried in the slightest. With his promise shattered to Typhon, then what truly mattered? Only one thing… His destiny. Though he would have never shown it, Thanos eagerly awaited the moment he confronted the unicorn. Tempest Shadow would certainly be a worthy opponent. The others… they were fodder. All of them. The Crystal Empire was a nuisance that would be dealt with personally and swiftly. Tempest, however… she intrigued him. If he ever did confront her, he would wish for her to know of the respect she earned. It was all he could offer her before she, too, would fall. The skies cleared and Thanos saw it. The Crystal Empire and the bright shield that protected the mighty utopia. Thanos’ smile left him, a smile brought forth from thinking of that broken unicorn, and he returned to the mission. To his destiny. His gauntlet tightened into a fist and all five Infinity Stones shimmered upon it. It never felt so bare, especially the largest, darkest hole resting on the face of the Infinity Gauntlet.