84
The Crystal Empire
Near the Shield
7:51 p.m.
The Crystal Army stood in a battalion of over three hundred ponies strong. Earth ponies, unicorns, Pegasi, all standing or hovering in one conjoined force, lined up perfectly on the outskirts of the Crystal Empire. They stood or flew with armor gleaming in the fading sunlight, the darkness of the night soon to overcome the light. All of their faces hardened, their weapons brandished, eyes centered on the magical shield separating the healthy grasslands from the apocalyptic Frozen North just beyond the light.
And within that snow, Sanctuary II hung menacingly in the storm and fog.
It was a ship far different from any other that tried to invade the Crystal Empire. Though despite its larger size, none of the Crystal Ponies nor the army of the Crystal Empire felt too worried. Every other warship that tried to penetrate their shields had failed, the magic of the Crystal Heart being powerful enough to hold off any foreign threat that dared to enter their empire. Every last warship that tried to attack were instantly destroyed by the magic of the Crystal Heart. The Heart itself spread its magic and strength throughout the rest of Equestria, intent on protecting the nation from extraterrestrial invaders. The Heart succeeded in destroying several warships across Equestria. It looked to be an assured victory.
Especially when the aliens fled from the Crystal Empire. Shining Armor and Cadance nearly declared victory in name of the Crystal Empire, ponies celebrating in the streets. Far too early for that unfortunately. Shining knew it was never going to be that easy, and he was right. When his scouts spotted Sanctuary II approaching from the wasteland of the Frozen North, he was slightly surprised to hear the new warship not approaching from above like all the others.
No. It was meeting the empire face to face.
Shining Armor ordered his strongest battalions to meet them at the outskirts of the empire. The Crystal Army wasn’t the largest fighting force in Equestria by any means, but they proved to be one of the most effective and lethal armies three years ago during the Ultron Offensive. Cadance led them well. The Crystal Empire rose in victory back then, so there was no doubt they could hold them again.
The rulers of the Crystal Empire watched from the castle, Shining Armor staring through a massive spyglass to watch his forces engage the enemy. Behind him stood Princess Cadance holding her only child Flurry Heart. With them was the Royal Crystaller and magic adviser Sunburst, trailed by numerous Crystal Guard ordered to protect the royalty. They were all unnaturally silent, save for the soft, bubbly sounds escaping Flurry Heart, Cadance soothing her daughter and shushing her quietly.
All to give Shining Armor the quiet he needed.
With his eye dug deep in the spyglass, his left hoof keeping it as steady as possible, Shining Armor trailed across all three hundred of his best soldiers, seeing them lined up perfectly. Just as they practiced time and time again. Now to put all of that training to good use. Nothing would have made Shining prouder than to have fought by their side, lead them as any good ruler does. But his place resided with his castle, his family, his ponies. He stood in his bright purple armor and wore his blade all the same.
As for the rest of the Crystal Empire, the populace was directed to bundle together near the Crystal Heart and away from any form of conflict. They didn’t know what the newest warship wanted nor what it was capable of. Better to keep the Crystal Ponies safe in the heart of the empire than not at all. Crowds of Crystal Ponies still continued to pioneer towards the Crystal Heart, directly beneath the castle where the royalty waited in festering silence.
Just an unnatural silence.
Shining Armor directed his spyglass once more to the massive warship hanging within the snow. It was barely visible, just a shadow and an outline hanging menacingly and glaring right at him. The bright red lights upon its face were all Shining could truly make out, spreading across the hull of the ship like vivid veins, but not wicked in their direction. Accurate. Healthy. Alive and breathing. It was unlike the warships they encountered before. Shining was cautious in his approach, directing his troops to stand in the warship’s path.
The shield separated them now, Shining’s spyglass falling back down to his army.
Only to stop.
His spyglass centered on the snow and fog just on the outside of the shield. Stepping forth, a bipedal being approached the Crystal Empire on foot. Even from the great distance between them, Shining could still somewhat accurately describe his person. He was tall, well-built and hopelessly unprepared for the freezing temperatures of the Frozen North. All he really wore was a sleeveless ceremonial garb, pants, and boots. And a glove. He was already near-frozen, his skin a dark purple that most likely resulted from trying to traverse the Frozen North’s unforgivable wasteland.
But when he exited the fog, he didn’t look cold in the slightest. He didn’t appear affected by the storm in any way, shape, or form. He stepped out of the snow and fog and stopped just short of a hoofball field’s distant from the shield protecting the Crystal Empire. It was difficult to tell, but Shining Armor could almost see a hardened expression on his face, no sense of feeling or sympathy in his gaze. He just frowned upon the shield standing in his way.
He lifted his left arm high into the air, twisted his wrist, and unveiled the five gems.
Shining dropped his eye from the spyglass, his jaw falling. He tried to speak, tried to answer Cadance’s questions of concern, but it was too late.
Thanos clenched the Infinity Gauntlet into a tight fist, the Space Stone igniting and consuming the front portion of the magical shield standing before him. With the Space Stone’s light brighter than any other, Thanos proceeded forth and opened the shield slowly, deliberately. The Crystal Army reacted almost instantaneously, spears jutted outwards, shields up and out, blades unsheathed and ponies crowding together to form an impenetrable wall of pure pony and crystal, eyes hardened to the lone being standing before them.
Now free to enter the empire thanks to his magical stones.
But it wasn’t Thanos who wanted to be the first inside. Even he didn’t want to meet the full force of the Crystal Empire awaiting him on the grasslands. His desire for bloodshed and invasion had grown shockingly faint ever since he acquired the fifth of the six. Once he achieved all six Infinity Stones, his rest would finally come. There was no need to be the first in the fight any longer. That was his past, a time long gone. A time before the Infinity Stones and his destiny far from reach. Now it was closer than ever. No need in causing the first blood, dropping the first body, and leading his forces to total domination.
He let his Outriders do that for him.
With his gauntlet still high above his head, Thanos narrowed his eyes and watched, listened as the Outriders stampeded right past him. Their bodies were a blur of gold and black, snarling abominations of science and flesh that tore so easily through the storm and snow almost like it wasn’t there. He watched as they easily entered the two separate climates, exiting the snow and entering the warmth, the grasslands, charging ahead to meet the Crystal Army with the full force of the Mad Titan.
Although surely taken aback, the Crystal Army held their ground, gripped their spears tighter and stood closer together. Anything to ensure their wall held. Even against such insurmountable odds rushing towards them in a wave of screeches, claws, and teeth. Even without the aid of Shining Armor by their side, they knew his alliance lied with far more important matters. He was watching them, waiting to see if they were capable enough to protect their empire.
They did. They stood. They held.
The Outriders impacted them with the ferocity of a thousand freight trains.
Crystal-plated hooves dug against the grass, burly stallions pushed back foot after foot until even the line began to falter. Outriders were almost immediately impaled by the spears, thrashing about and only furthering their advance. Pegasi that tried to dive-bomb the waves of Outriders from above were snatched right out of the air, a blur of black and gold and they were gone, lost within the stampeding bodies and snarling jaws. The Crystal Army held and fought, rammed their shields into wave after wave of Outriders and proceeded to stab at them with their spears, their swords, their magic, anything they had. The body count began to rise, mainly for Thanos’ forces.
It never lasted.
Just as Thanos stepped foot onto healthy, living grass, the line crumbled. The army of Outriders was just too much, too many for the Crystal Ponies to handle. With all their might, they held. It just wasn’t enough. One simple flaw, one simple chink in the armor was all it took to pierce and destroy it. Once one pony fell to the might of the Outrider swarm, that was it. The line crumbled and it was a bloodbath from that point on.
Shining Armor growled, almost roaring in fury to see it with his own eye. He pushed the spyglass aside and stepped away from the podium’s edge, cursing under his breath to see the line break and all-out warfare consume the outskirts of the empire. In the blink of an eye, the streets would be infested with those alien hounds. Already, a small panic began to ensue amongst the populace, ponies scrambling to reach the Crystal Plaza beneath the castle.
He needed to act. He needed to turn and stop tuning out his wife. He did and listened to her cries. And she said, “Shining, the Crystal Ponies! We can’t afford a panic right now!”
It was already aggravating against his ears, the cries of the Crystal Ponies below rising every second. In less than a minute they would have a full-blown riot if they didn’t act to calm them. To lead them. With the approaching alien forces already storming past the grasslands and nearing the streets, there wasn’t much they could do. They couldn’t keep the ponies in the streets. They needed to evacuate, and fast, lest they have a massacre in their hooves. But that just created a whole slew of other problems. They needed somepony or several to hold them off so everypony could escape in time. Maybe…
Just maybe they could.
“You’re right. We can’t,” Shining Armor declared, withers falling and body nearly deflating. Cadance already didn’t like his posture, nor his tone any better. It only worsened when he lifted his head, hardened his hurting gaze and stared Cadance right in the eyes. Right in the soul. “So take them, all of them. Leave the Crystal Empire and take them to Equestria. Lead this exodus to the Everfree Forest, find Celestia, just like she told us. Just like we planned.”
Cadance didn’t yet pick up on it, but the gasp in her voice and the fall in her heart told Shining and herself… that it was time. To enact the plan… “Only if all else failed,” Cadance uttered so very softly.
Shining Armor didn’t say a word, the chilling winds from the Frozen North tugging at his mane and nearly blowing it in his face. Never hiding his eyes, though. Never hiding the pain of that revelation. Cadance didn’t want to accept it anymore than he, but after witnessing their lines fall so easily, so quickly, see the Frozen North already beginning to infect the Crystal Empire from the opening in the shield… she knew there was no other choice.
They wouldn’t be able to escape in time if somepony didn’t stay to keep the enemy busy.
Her eyelids shivered, not from the cold. Tears began to burn and boil near the edges of her vision, Cadance crying out and rushing forward. Shining met her halfway, the two clutching onto each other. For warmth even under the glare of the dark clouds high above the empire, the snow billowing inside and infecting the grasslands. For each other, husband and wife holding each other so close for their love, their life, their world.
For quite possibly the last time.
“By Celestia’s name, don’t be found,” Shining Armor whispered sharply through chattering teeth, eyes shut tight.
Cadance held him even tighter, her face buried into his mane and neck. “They’ll never see us.”
The two broke away only to signify their love with a binding kiss. One that lasted, one either could have hoped lasted forever. It unraveled shortly, the two knowing the circumstances, giving their final goodbyes in utter silence, their eyes locked in a loving entanglement that could never be broken.
Shining’s eyes fell. His heart ached, nearly broke, but he pressed forward. Remained strong.
For her.
“Hey, baby girl,” Shining whispered, bending his neck lower to the bundle of blankets resting in Cadance’s foreleg. He unveiled the blankets, the large, blinking eyes staring curiously above, the smile of the little filly big and bright to see a familiar face. Shining smiled, too, heavy tears in his eyes. She would never know what they meant. “Hey, Flurry Heart. Daddy’s gonna go away for a bit, okay? But don’t you worry… don’t you worry for a second, baby. Daddy’ll come back for you real soon. Real soon, I promise.”
Yet somehow, she did. So incredibly smart for a filly her age. Flurry Heart whimpered, held out her hooves and held onto her dad’s muzzle. When he forced himself to break away, Flurry cried out, hooves flailing to find that comfort of her father, eyes watering to see that blurry version of her dad grow further and further away. A select number of guards followed directly behind Princess Cadance, ensuring the Alicorn’s safety as she proceeded to the Crystal Plaza below. One final look shared between them, and she was gone.
But never alone. Turning abruptly to the pony on his right, Shining Armor held out his hoof, laid it on the pony’s shoulder, and told him, “You keep them safe, you hear me? No matter what. I’ll be back soon.”
Sunburst could only nod, knowing there wasn’t much else he could do. “I promise, Your Majesty.”
“Good. Then go.”
They did. They fled until it was only Shining Armor and his personal guards. They were all that stood on the podium of the Crystal Castle, gazing down onto the streets of the Crystal Empire, snow beginning to fall from the massive opening resting where the battle commenced. Stray alien hounds made it out of the conflict, striding down the streets and charging straight ahead towards the castle. But down below, the crowds of Crystal Ponies had already fled. They vanished under the leadership from Princess Cadance, disappearing from the plaza and escaping the empire. A mass exodus. Gone in mere minutes.
Leaving just them.
… And him.
The Outriders halted just near the plaza, refusing to take another inch of land and instead chose to snarl and snap their jaws at the very few ponies that stood in the way of the Crystal Heart, the source of their master’s affliction. Surprisingly, he didn’t let the Outriders proceed any further. The Mad Titan himself took the burden for them, stepping past the snarling alien hounds and approaching what remained of the Crystal Empire.
Guards numbering in the dozens, spears jutted forward, all forming protective barriers around the Crystal Heart. And in the center of them all, Shining Armor stood with his helmet pressed tight over his head, malice, hatred, and years of skill burning in his twin irises. That’s all there was. That’s all they needed to ensure the Heart’s safety.
Thanos sighed through his nostrils. Not a word.
His bones felt so very strained, his muscles weary, and his mind slowly being overcome. By what, he still didn’t know. There was always that will that burned brighter than any star in his heart, mind, and whatever remained of his damned soul. He always imagined—through every world he conquered and saved—that nothing would stand in the way of his destiny, and that will he had would allow him to press onward, keep up the fight that almost seemed impossible.
And yet when it was possible, when saving the universe from a fate his world had suffered was but a Stone away, he felt… tired. His will…
Thanos pressed on anyway. The war was almost over. His rest was near. Just a little bit more…
He stared into Shining Armor’s eyes, the snow falling past him and barely reaching the hooves of the Crystal Guards. He ignored all of them and only stared at Shining, seeing the warrior amongst the fodder. He had kept a close eye on him prior, studying him, his tactics, his army. His life…
Thanos looked about. The two armies stared down one another, but perhaps that was for the best. No more bloodshed. No more pain. Even if just for a respite. Then Shining slowly proceeded to unsheathe his blade with his magic. Then Thanos said, “You’re a fine soldier. You don’t deserve to fall like the others had. You need to lead your people for what’s to come. Don’t do this.”
For a time, Shining Armor actually loosened his nerves, slowly began to exhale, and try to pinpoint what exactly the Titan was getting at. His voice sounded surprisingly genuine, his eyes appearing even more so. The aura around Shining’s blade slowly dissipated, the Crystal Guards looking from one another, almost faltering like their ruler had. Almost. Unlike them, Shining Armor felt a genuine pang of woe in Thanos’ voice, a certain sadness and longing in his eyes. When he lifted them, both stared at one another, Thanos hoping to find that common ground and Shining still searching for it. Then he said it…
“Think of your family. Your daughter.”
That was it.
Shining’s eyes shrunk to pinpricks. Without warning, without hesitation, he ripped out his sword and shot it into the air, pointing the edge directly into Thanos’ chest. “Don’t you dare talk about my family!” he screamed, bellowed, roared. Every single one. “Take them!”
The Crystal Guards charged in a conjoined, heated battle cry, spears leading them as they met Thanos and his Outriders.
It wasn’t even a fight.
The blast wave was so corrosive and powerful it knocked every guard off their hooves. Weapons and armor went flying, ponies too, but they didn’t make it far. Nothing made it far once the violet wave washed over them. In just one blast, the Crystal Guard were incinerated by that violet wave of energy, dozens of bodies turning into flaming cinders as the wave washed over them. The resulting shock wave blew what littler survivors there were clear across the plaza, Shining Armor being one of them. He skidded and rolled clear across the bottom of the castle, eventually finding his rest near one of the castle’s legs.
There, Thanos stood amongst the ashes, forcing every shred of his will not to look onto them. Slowly, he dropped his gauntlet and let it rest by his side, the Power Stone’s energy slowly fading away as he unclenched his fist. Not a single Outrider harmed. They all backed away as Thanos proceeded on his own, waiting on their master’s word. But other than that, silence on their end.
Passing the shattered armor and burnt corpses, Thanos slowly lifted his gaze to the grand prize, the reason he had arrived to the Crystal Empire in the first place. The reason for the continued bloodshed. Just a little bit more. There sat the Crystal Heart, spinning rapidly and ensuring the empire was protected alongside Equestria. Perhaps all of Equus if he let it fester.
Enough of that. Thanos reached for the heart.
“No!” Shining Armor screamed, using his own speed and body to ram Thanos right in his gut. Surprisingly, Thanos was pushed back a few feet, the Mad Titan nearly losing his breath from such a hit. Nevertheless, he recovered quickly, raising his gaze to the fuming unicorn.
There he stood between him and the Heart once again, sword encased in his magic, the pony breathing like a feral mutt. The Outriders screeched at that, but didn’t move from their spot. They waited on their master’s word, to give the order and they would rip the equine limb from limb.
But he never gave the word. He slowly rose up to full height and faced the pony.
Alone.
His fight.
He never clenched his fist the entire time.
Roaring, Shining Armor made the first move and charged the Mad Titan, meeting him with a swipe of his sword. The metal forged by the greatest blacksmiths in all of Canterlot, made from the strongest metal deep from within Canterlot Mountain merely bounced against Thanos’ gauntlet. Shining slid back upon that impact, eyes wide and jaws agape in utter shock. Thanos just stood his ground, frowned, and waited for what Shining would do next.
As stubborn as he was, Shining was no idiot. He wanted to go all out and let his rage fuel him, let the death toll be his motivator and avenge every life the Titan had taken from him that day. When it was only Shining Armor alone that stood between him and the very foundations of the Crystal Empire—his home—he would have allowed such anger to fuel him. He should have done that and let that strength motivate him. But he didn’t. He wasn’t stupid. He charged ahead and let his training, his mind, and his heart lead him with every jab, every strike, and every slash at the Mad Titan. The blade bounced off and sparked against the Infinity Gauntlet, Shining somehow, someway making headway and pushing the Titan back and away from the Crystal Heart.
He didn’t let his rage control him despite it desperately wanting to. He kept in control and he dominated the battle. It didn’t last.
It never would have.
When Thanos somehow found an opening, he instantly capitalized on it. The blade struck and Thanos pushed against it, gauntlet and sword locked in a deep stalemate. Thanos and Shining Armor both stared into each other’s glare, the magic of the unicorn somehow pushing back against the strength of the Dark Lord. It didn’t matter. Thanos found an opening and he took it.
He rammed the gauntlet into Shining's skull, his helmet clanging against it and the unicorn staggering back. Thanos capitalized and—
Shining ducked on instinct, swiping low with his sword and slicing neatly against Thanos’ abdomen. The Titan gasped, froze in place. Shining faced forward once again, slowly backing aside to see the damage for himself. He never lowered his sword, nor dropped his guard. He just watched as Thanos slowly dropped his right hand and caressed his abdomen.
There was no armor to protect him there. When he lifted his palm, it was painted just slightly.
Just slightly violet.
Thanos breathed again, found his comfort, his mortality, and smiled at it. Shining swung at him again, but Thanos caught the blade in his right palm, staring down to the unicorn and smirking his way. He snapped the sword with just a flick of his wrist, shocking Shining Armor just long enough for the fight to end.
Adding three precise and deliberate strikes was all it took to knock Shining down for the count. The first punch went directly into his neck, the fingertips hitting so precise that Shining lost his voice, his breath, and couldn’t breathe. The second punch struck Shining in his chest, shattering his armor and making him buckle, destroying any sense of his strength and guard that remained. The third and final punch was the strongest and the most devastating by far. A single fist struck Shining in the side of his head, the unicorn rolling in the distance and his broken helmet rolling even farther than that.
And it was finished. Shining Armor lay in his growing pool of dark red, barely breathing. Barely alive. Thanos breathed again and stomped forward, no more distractions, nothing keeping him from the light. Other than that slight pain in his abdomen, Thanos prodded it lightly before centering on his mission once again. If anything, it furthered his purpose, actually gave him incentive to not be so careless in actions. That loss of will to continue the fight kept him open for the strike. Had it been higher, the neck perhaps, than his destiny could have been severed. Severed like his head from his body.
He had been careless the past couple of days. No more. The blood on his palm and the pain in his gut pushed him harder, led him to the Crystal Heart and allowed him to reach for it. Allowed him to focus on his journey and ensure his destiny would be achieved. Nothing would change that.
“Stop…”
For some reason, he did.
Thanos paused just inches from the rotating Heart and turned to the voice, his eyes slightly widening to see Shining Armor pull himself, drag himself, force himself into an unwinnable fight once again. When he was but a foot away, Thanos watched the pitiful sight before him, his expression unchanged. Shining laid his hoof onto Thanos’ foot. His breathing was so ragged, so wet and broken that the Titan nearly held pity for him.
Nearly. The rest was filled with something else.
As Shining lifted his head to defiantly remain in the Titan’s path, at least know he stared his foe in the eye and glared with as much hatred as he could muster before he was surely finished, Shining saw something else in the Titan’s eyes. That smile was barely visible, but it was his gaze that held the most light. They held a certain contempt, but more than that. Consideration. Processing. Acknowledgement.
Respect.
With blood in his eyes and his ears still ringing, Shining still saw the Titan smile at him. He still heard him say, “You’re not like the others. You don’t fall so easily.”
It didn’t sound like a compliment, but it was one Thanos rarely gave to others. Bending down, Thanos caressed Shining’s tattered mane with his left hand, the unicorn growling at him, hardly seeing a thing through his blood-covered vision. But the intent wasn’t to calm him by any means. When Thanos clenched that fist and the bright yellow Stone ignited, Shining found himself gazing right into it. Unable to stare anywhere else despite his wavering strength.
His wounded heart.
His tattered soul.
And even his mind… as it too was taken from him.
Thanos nodded, staring down and smiling to the unicorn when he gazed into the Mind Stone’s power. “Good. Then stand… for me.”
He did. Despite the pain flooding his systems, crying out in his body, it was his mind that ignored it. It was his mind that was no longer controlled by Shining Armor. The pony who once proudly ruled the Crystal Empire now stood at attention by Thanos’ left side, his irises a bright, alien blue.
Deep outside into the dragging winds of the Frozen North, Princess Cadance held her child close to her heart. The young Flurry Heart was wrapped up tight in the warmest blankets in all the Crystal Empire, the little filly’s eyes shut tight as the snow and wind blew into her face. Into her mother’s face. Into the faces of every guard, every Crystal Pony, and everyone who followed her through the storm. They were many. They were one. They followed their princess through the madness and trusted her to lead them into paradise once again.
Sunburst dug through the snow, pushing alongside Princess Cadance, aiding her when needed. Never leaving her side because he kept that promise. Then he heard it. They all heard it. The crack. The shatter. It was so profound that it nearly silenced the cries of the Frozen North’s winds. Every head twisted completely around, every eye watching, every breath holding, every heart falling…
The shields crumbled, the Crystal Empire consumed by the snow and fog.
And they just kept marching. Headed south and away from the freeze.