185
The Battle of Earth
7:08 p.m.
It felt fitting to say the least. For Tony, in his perspective.
In that perspective, a man born of a genius and world-renowned inventor had only seen a world in shadow, cloaked by a father he once believed hardly cared for him. He fought most of his life by his own punches, using his mind to gain power, recognition, and the ability to do so much good with such good people. He was never a team player, never when Nick Fury broke into his home and told him about the secret initiative that changed his life. Never when he was dragged into an extraterrestrial conflict with the God of Thunder’s mischievous brother. Never when he mentally sparred with the legendary Captain America and the team of misfits brought to together to save the world. He was never a team player then.
Yet when the world needed them most, when it cried out for a savior to bring them out of the dark of the alien menace threatening their city, their home, and their very way of life, they answered the call. The Avengers answered it and stood as one against a greater tide not a single one of them could have fought alone. It took all of them to save the city, the people, and the world from Thanos’ invasion once before.
Now, in the face of utter annihilation, it felt fitting for Tony Stark to stand with the same people he did that fateful day. His eyes slowly washed back and forth, stared to Clint Barton on the far left, to Bruce Banner towering next to him, to Steve Rogers by his side forever and always, to Thor on his right, and finally to Natasha Romanoff, the secret agent who he had the pleasure of knowing longer than the others. It felt fitting to stand with her again, with them again, against the man responsible for bringing them together in the first place.
Maskless, Tony turned his hardened expression alongside his team, his friends, his family, and gazed to the Mad Titan stuck between them and the line of six familiar mares behind him. Caught up on nostalgic flashes of the past, Tony had almost completely disregarded the ponies that stood with them when no one else could.
Applejack, with her Element of Honesty shimmering softly around her neck. Fluttershy, with her wings outstretched and determined expression unwavering despite her timid demeanor, despite her pink mane trying to hide her strength. Pinkie Pie, the usually ecstatic mare holding a look of raw focus. When it mattered, the jokes and silliness ended. When her friends mattered, she was ready. Rarity, the unicorn Tony once blamed a lifetime ago for certain mistakes now proudly standing tall against her demon just as he was. Rainbow Dash, the Pegasus holding just as much of a deep and gashed history with Stark as he did with her, one that was mended and stronger than ever as they met glances. Met affirming eyes.
And Twilight.
He had so much he wanted to tell her, so much left he had to say. Like how proud he was of her, how thankful he could truly be to see her standing with friends, standing with them for one last crusade. As always, she led them onto the darker tides of unforeseen terror, to an unknown fate with only their friendship to guide them. They each bore the Elements of Harmony, signifying and cementing the idea that they were healed. They, as friends, were ready. And Twilight, meeting Tony’s eyes, offered him a short but assuring smile that they were with them.
Tony didn’t smile back. He couldn’t. All he could offer her was his nod, that silent declaration that the Avengers were with them. United once more, to stand against the greater threat together like they had so long ago. It felt fitting to say the least.
As for Thanos, he slowly acknowledged the tides of war turned against him, from the north to the south, to see the opposite forces rising to him and what he stood for. It was almost cathartic to see the original six of each world, the ones he had studied and observed for years prior, united together to bring their conjoined sword onto him. For the ones who destroyed his invasion force from New York, for the ones who bested every obstacle, faced every challenge, and rose together through the magic of friendship, for those who failed and succeeded and once more stood before him to deprive him of his destiny, to that end… Thanos knew it was fitting.
It felt fitting that they were the last ones to stand against him when no one else could.
Right hand crippled within the damaged Nano Gauntlet, left hand gripping his Double-Edged Sword, Thanos slowly turned from each tide, speaking from deep within, from his heart, from his blistered spirit. Speaking truly, holding nothing left, and telling them exactly how he felt for them when all the universe held its collective breath.
“You don’t understand… what this means to me. How could you?” Thanos began, his voice weak and wet. The Avengers said nothing. The Mane Six said nothing. Thanos said everything he had left. “Everything I’ve given… all I’ve sacrificed… it was all for the betterment of the universe. For its survival. You will only deprive that. You will only continue to stand against that. Against me. As long as you live… there can never be a grateful universe.”
The wind rustled around them and carried the ashes of the war, sweeping past their legs and clouding the battlegrounds. They all remained unmoved, breathing in every drop of Thanos’ words with as much as callous intention as there was steadfast determination.
“Is that how it always has to end?” Natasha finally asked, breaking the growing silence and earning various eyes. From the mares and Thanos alike, but from her fellow Avengers… not a head was turned. They all stared alongside her, to the Mad Titan with unshaken personas.
Natasha held out her hand, observed the world and what was left of it. She said, “All of this… just for more death.”
“There will be no more death,” Thanos snarled. He took a vicious step forward, glaring to her and the Avengers she stood with. “Yours will be the ends to this old universe.”
Natasha grimaced at that thought, but never showed it. Never let him get to her.
“You’re no messiah,” Steve growled. His bleeding left arm tightened against his shattered shield, the unwavering resolve in his eyes and beneath the dirt, blood, and pain from his facial expression showing Thanos exactly who he was. Who they were.
“And you’re no heroes,” Thanos retorted, washing his blade across the Avengers before him, to the mares behind him. He eyed every last one of them in his sweeping spin, lingering on every last soul. “Just failures believing themselves to be part of a greater purpose. There is no purpose to this resilience, just as there is no dishonor in surrender. You won’t feel a thing. They won’t feel a thing. All of this can end and yet you simply cannot understand what I can truly offer. You won’t stop… You won’t win…”
He swiped his sword low, down to his side, and faced the Avengers again. His glare held every last shred of pent-up rage and pain he had for the first Avengers to stand against him, now the last Avengers to hold their ground and silently proclaim their opposition. All of it, all of them, for one last time. His expression narrowed, glare intensified, as he spoke to them, tried to understand.
“So tell me… unruly wretches… why won’t you just give in?”
They could have given in. They could have laid down their arms and accepted the reality that they were no match for him. With the Infinity Stones under his will, Thanos was once again an unstoppable force of power and fury the likes of which none of them were a match for. Alone, they were nothing to him.
But together…
Together, they were so much more. Together, they were a team. And together, Tony found that strength to rise up for one last time, to boldly proclaim who they were and why they continued to fight even when all else couldn’t, when all else was lost and broken and couldn’t hope to win. Because as that team, as Avengers, it was who they were.
“Because we made a promise,” Tony shakily said, finding that courage, that strength, that vigor, and that purpose to declare it once more.
To the Mad Titan who didn’t seem to hear it the first time.
“If we can’t protect the universe… you can be damn sure we’ll avenge it!”
Iron Man’s mask closed over his eyes, his eyes igniting into a fiery blue.
Captain America shot his hand back and called forth Mjølnir.
The Incredible Hulk stomped fiercely onto the earth, fists at the ready, expression steadfast.
Hawkeye activated his bow and whipped out an arrow from his quiver, low and ready.
Black Widow pulled the batons from behind her, connecting them to form a large staff.
The ponies flinched into ready positions, each wielding their Elements of Harmony, each harmonizing their stances with one another. From Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle. Every last one of them stood together. Every last one of them faced the darkening fate ahead and didn’t back down. Not a single one of them.
Thor gripped Stormbreaker with both hands, both the flesh and the Uru, and felt the stream of lightning flow from his veins and fuse with the weapon. The thunder roared high above, the electricity coursing across his body and consuming every inch of his limbs, chest, heart, hair, beard, and eye. Before that power reached his eye, Thor halted briefly to breathe. To cautiously exhale. To stare only at Thanos with his team, his friends, and his family.
He muttered, “Whatever it takes.”
Thanos screamed.
The tides clashed and the Mad Titan was there to meet them.
In that last battle for the fate of the very universe, all hands were on deck and nothing was left that couldn’t be utilized. The six Avengers charged together, as one, and sprinted for Thanos with as much intention to kill as the Titan had for them. The six ponies charged all the same, both from the sky and upon the earth, galloping, soaring, and charging for Thanos’ blindside. For the gauntlet.
And Thanos knew they would come for the gauntlet, for the Stones specifically. He was unable to use them lest the Stones destroy the gauntlet and prevent him from snapping. From fulfilling his destiny. Instead, he wielded his sword and struck with it, ignoring every flicker of pain rippling across his body, from his torn muscles, cracked bones, and bleeding form. He ignored it all and screamed with both rage, fury, and agony as he swung, struck, punched, kicked, and used everything he had left to deter the Avengers.
All twelve of them.
In the collective assault, magic bolts broke forth and screamed across the air, striking Thanos alongside Tony’s repulsor blasts. Thanos ducked and dodged as much as he could, taking the hit when he couldn’t move in time and retaliating just as ferociously. Captain America ran forward with the hammer spinning in his grip, Steve launching the weapon into the Titan’s chest and knocking him back. The hammer flew back into his grasp, Thanos disoriented long enough for Applejack and Pinkie Pie to deliver swift and concurrent strikes from behind. The farm pony bucked low at the back of his knee while Pinkie swung high with a large mallet for his head.
Knocked forward, Thanos was unable to fully grasp the situation while his vision was blurred and his ears rang, which allowed Natasha, Steve, and Bruce to capitalize. Sprinting forward, Natasha twirled out her staff and swung its end across the Titan’s cheekbone, earning a grunt of pain from their adversary that only heightened with Steve’s following assault. He attacked with hammer and shield working tandem, driving Mjølnir into Thanos’ gut to hunch him low, allowing him to swing high with his shield and slam it against Thanos’ forehead. Banner sprinted forward with his forearm leading the swipe, striking Thanos across his face and continuously pelting the Mad Titan with reverberating and deafening punches. Even with his crippled right arm, Bruce persevered and fought through the pain, driving both fists across Thanos’ face again and again.
Fluttershy dove down and drove her back hoof into the Dark Lord’s temple. Rainbow Dash responded in kind on Thanos’ opposite side, flying by with her armor-plated hoof and enhanced speed giving her punch much more ferocity. Rarity tore herself from the earth, forming a nanoparticle mallet on her left hoof to which she slammed into the back of Thanos’ head. She rolled away, allowing the cackling thunder and lightning from above to rain down and strike alongside the King of Asgard. And Thor, with Stormbreaker in hand, brought down the heaven’s wrath and decimated the ground where Thanos stood. The Mad Titan was blown away from the strike, the pulse of lightning and fury flinging him backwards like he weighed nothing.
Their attacks were precise, accurate, calculated and executed every single second. Even in his broken and disoriented state, Thanos could at least recognize their enhanced teamwork tactics and work to respond to it. Looking up from where he lay, he saw the Avengers sprint, gallop, and fly his way. Thor led them. Snarling at that, Thanos rolled as he rose, swinging low with his sword and striking Thor directly into his armored chest. The speed and strength of the hit sent Thor careening backwards, crashing into Captain America with Stormbreaker nearly taking Fluttershy’s head off. The mare ducked and fell, Thanos’ actions ultimately taking the three Avengers momentarily out of the fight.
Feral and bloodshot eyes widened, Thanos was fully awake and fully enraged by the time the others reached him. He offered them nothing, retaliating in swift and deadly strikes from his blade, fists, and boots onto the oncoming wave. Natasha’s staff was blocked and broken in two from Thanos’ sword, the Titan smacking her away with a swing of his left forearm. He raised his blade and blocked the streams of magic and energy flowing from Twilight, Rarity, and Tony. The multicolored streams bounced off in multiple directions, singeing Applejack in the side and knocking her off course. He redirected the beams and struck Rarity in the chest, forcing both Tony and Twilight to jet forward and meet Thanos in closer combat. The others were right on them.
Thanos blocked Hulk’s downward slam with his right hand, ramming his knee into Banner’s gut and knocking every ounce of air from his lungs. He reached up and grabbed as much of Bruce’s head and hair as he could, tossing the Hulk out of the fight so he could focus on the others. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow zipped by him, swirling around the Mad Titan with intense speeds that he couldn’t even fathom. Swirls of pink and rainbow swarmed Thanos like a tornado, allowing Twilight to zero in and strike him dead in the chest with a resounding spell. Thanos was pushed backwards, cutting off the disorienting tornado and allowing him to see again. He drove his sword into the earth, slowing himself down just enough so he could lift his eyes to them, react to them, and push them back.
He spun his blade so rapidly and so quickly that each end struck a different mare, knocking both Pinkie and Rainbow to his right and left respectively. They hit the dirt and stopped moving momentarily, slowly rising while the others fought on. Twilight met Thanos head-on with Stark, both iron-plated Avengers flying across and slamming their fists, their blades, and themselves onto every available piece of Thanos they could see. Twilight dove quickly on Thanos’ right, energy blades erected from her hooves and intended for the Titan’s spine. He dodged, grabbing her wings and flinging her clear across the immediate valley they dueled within.
Leaving just Tony.
“On your right!”
Stark slammed his left forearm down, catching the blade’s edge and slicing it to the earth.
“Up high!”
Thanos’ right fist rose up and swung for Tony’s head. Stark responded by ducking to the right.
“He’s exposed! Repulsors up!”
On that, Tony’s feral expression beneath his HUD grunted as he planted both palm onto the Titan’s face, charging up his repulsors and firing two resounding blasts. Thanos howled as he was launched back, losing his footing and crashing painfully onto his spine. Falling low to his knee, Iron Man shot out his open palms and clenched each hand tighter and tighter, forming fists as the bright lights over his palms hissed and burned brighter by the second.
The Mark 45 mask rose up, and beneath it, Tony exhaled in a short huff. It felt good to have a familiar voice back in his head and watching his back. Even if the suit was a little past its prime, it still flowed like liquid. It felt just as well with Friday.
As Thanos rose to his feet, Tony charged once again, blasting forward with repulsors forward and primed. Once he rose to his knee, Thanos reared back and threw his sword at him. Tony easily dodged it, maintaining his flight pattern and returning on course.
"Boss, incoming behind!"
He heard the call-out but wasn’t able to react in time. The spinning blade struck Tony on his blindside, earning a yelp of shock and pain from the man beneath the suit. Returning to Thanos like a boomerang, the sword knocked Stark away, spinning appropriately before it reached Thanos’ awaiting left hand. The second he reacquired his blade was the same second an arrow nearly took his eye out.
Blocking the arrow, Thanos turned towards the direction of the shot and saw him several yards away, already firing a second arrow. Clint fired several more from the distance, Thanos blocking each with his blade and slowly moving closer towards the lone Hawk. Noticing the severed distance, Hawkeye rolled from the slam of Thanos’ sword into the ravaged earth he once stood against. He tried to rise, but only ducked once more to avoid the swing of the blade. Rolling up to his knee, Clint faced the wrath of the Titan and watched as he reared back once again with his sword high above. He spotted the bloody splotch in the cracked, golden armor. Barton fired his Wristbow into Thanos’ exposed side, a shriek of agony escaping the Titan’s ragged and bleeding throat as the arrow tore through and remained. Regardless, he persevered and swung down on the Hawk.
Stormbreaker swung faster and struck him across the chest.
Crashing and sliding on his side, Thanos planted his fist into the dirt and rose up to meet the next assailant, expecting Thor and being mildly surprised to see two instead. Joining the Allfather, the Widow strutted forth with batons in each hand, with ferocity in her eyes, alongside her fellow Avenger. They pushed past Clint, Natasha casting him a quick and assuring glance before she and Thor met eyes. They nodded to one another. Thor held out his Uru hand and retrieved Stormbreaker.
Thanos raged back to his feet and charged them. They charged back. Sliding forward, Natasha jammed out her fists and fired two Taser Disks from her Widow’s Bite. A pair of bright blue bolts shot forth and struck Thanos both times in his chest. He halted. To his shock, he convulsed as the electricity caught his nerves and kept him at a stationed standstill. He could only bare his teeth, grunt aloud, and watch as the God of Thunder capitalized on his frozen state.
Thor stopped directly behind Black Widow, roaring his thundering war cry as he called forth a volley of lightning from above to strike his axe. He stomped onward, pausing behind Natasha and ramming his axe forward. The bolt of lightning screamed from Stormbreaker as it tore apart the air that surrounded it, striking Thanos in every conceivable portion of his body. His lightning joined the electricity of the Widow’s Bite on the staggering Titan, ultimately launching Thanos even further back.
Thanos was slow to get back to his feet a second time, the lightning still licking at his limbs. Just as he arose, the tremoring stomps brought his attention to the charging Hulk on his right. However, instead of attacking Thanos head-on, Banner slammed his fists into the earth and sent a river of cracks towards the Mad Titan. The trembling earth disoriented Thanos just long enough for him to take his eyes off of Hulk, just long enough for Hawkeye to sprint forward, leap off Bruce’s back, and fire an arrow from mid-air directly into Thanos’ bleeding right shoulder. Clint intended between the eyes, but Thanos dodged from it in the nick of time. Not fast enough to dodge the arrow fully though.
Grunting and gripping the arrow embedded in his torn and tattered shoulder flesh, Thanos was unprepared for the collective assault from Tony and Steve. Iron Man and Captain America charged forth, Tony stopping high and firing his Unibeam onto the Titan while Steve skidded from below, slamming Mjølnir forward and firing a bolt of continuous lightning. Thanos raised his arms to block the attack, but only continued to be pushed further back.
While Steve and Tony kept up the fire, Pinkie Pie bounded in-between them with her party cannon in hoof. She waved playfully to the Mad Titan before pulling on the fuse and letting the cannon loose. Instead of party supplies or even cake batter, the only thing that Pinkie shot from her cannon was her best friend Twilight Sparkle. And Twilight, with armor-plated wings extended, increased her speed tenfold and drove her back hooves forward. The nanoparticles redirected and formed a large Hoof Thruster, the mare crashing against her foe and earning a pulse of resounding energy from the impact.
While Thanos staggered backwards, Twilight flipped and landed on all four hooves. She rose to her hind legs, joined shortly by Rainbow Dash as the two mares unloaded several Cluster Cannons from their suits. The ponies charged together, firing a consecutive blast of energy directed solely for the Titan. Thanos took every last drop of it in the chest, viciously thrown backwards and scrambling back to his feet, desperate to rise again and face them. Only when they cut off the energy beam, when they relented for just a second, another was there to meet him.
Fluttershy flew down with rapid speed, screaming as she drove her back hoof into Thanos’ forehead. He grunted and stumbled backwards. Applejack hopped and slid over and under several pieces of fragmented rubble and debris. She reached Thanos just quick enough for her lasso to unfurl, for the farm pony to fling it tightly around his neck, and for Applejack to yank down and bring him low for a resounding buck to the head. In the end though, it wasn’t those five mares to deliver the strongest blow onto Thanos. It was her.
Rarity leaped forth from the smoke and cinder, screaming as her hooves formed two large mallets to which she slammed onto Thanos multiple times. Blood and armor fragments flew constantly with each devastating blow, Rarity’s Iron Mare moving with fluid and deadly precision. Her mallets, empowered by her magic and repulsor energy, sped forth and rammed against the Mad Titan again and again. She finished by driving each mallet into his chest at the same time, launching Thanos back into a mound of rubble and crashing completely through it on the other side.
Thanos was taken out of the fight. The Avengers took advantage with every second they were given.
The moment he stood back up was another moment of waking agony. He trembled to his feet only to get knocked back down again, to be met with Pinkie Pie and Natasha each delivering a swift and rapid kick across his head. He was pushed back into the awaiting arms of the Hulk, Banner wrapping Thanos tightly within his arms and holding him just long enough for Fluttershy to swoop low. She planted a punch directly into his forehead, only hurting herself on the action. The Pegasus reeled back her hoof and clutched it in pain, Thanos headbutting her into the ground and forcing Banner to rear back with Thanos in tow. He slammed him into the ground.
Thanos kicked out Hulk’s legs, bringing the green behemoth to a thundering crash. He also kicked away the pink blur from landing on him with another hammer, Pinkie Pie screaming as she flew further back. As he rolled and stumbled back up again, he faced only unyielding carnage and unfathomable rage from Thor and Rarity. The two Avengers struck Thanos quickly and unforgivingly, both swinging for his neck and head with Stormbreaker and energy blades. Thanos dodged each strike, forcing Thor to rear forward and drive his Uru fist into his chest. The Titan was launched back with a trail of lightning following him.
Crashing back-first against a pillar of rock, the madman could feel the air enter his bleeding lungs after being momentarily ripped from him. That air brought back his vision, allowing him to catch Tony Stark mere moments before the Iron Man could come crashing down on him with an energy blade erected from his right fist. He caught Tony and flung him forward, directly into Thor’s chest and knocking both Avengers off into the dirt and rock. Thanos was even quicker to deflect Twilight’s rays of magic, slicing at her with his blade and knocking the Alicorn into Rarity. Leaving just four.
Rainbow and Steve were fast and powerful, hard-hitting and utterly devastating together. They attacked with ruthless aggression, speed and power, each holding almost as much as the other. When it became apparent they were overwhelming him, Thanos sliced his blade across the dirt in front of him, spewing dust into Steve’s face and temporarily blinding him. The Captain cried out as his eyes were forcefully shut from the dust, allowing Thanos to drive a brutal punch into Steve’s chest and send him flying backwards. Rainbow was not blinded by the same dust, her mask protecting her vision but unable to protect her concern for her friends. She shot her head back for Steve and tore her focus away from Thanos, from what mattered. He struck her down and sent the Pegasus crashing into a mound of debris.
All that were left were Clint and Applejack, the duo striking fast and striking hard with the others either too far or briefly out of the fight. Barton swung with his bow reforming into a short staff, the blows dealing little damage even as he struck the Titan across his cheek. Applejack’s punches and bucks were a little more impactful, but as Thanos rose, they fell. He sent a vicious kick into the Earth pony, Applejack yelping and grunting as she crashed into a rock and lay limp beside it.
Turning on Clint, Thanos smacked him across the head and watched as the Hawk spun in mid-air. He landed harshly several feet away, Barton groaning as he tried to rise again. Looking up, he saw the Titan twirl his blade and narrow his focus solely to him, gripping the sword with two hands and murder burning in his glare. He hunched forward, a wave of electricity consuming his right shoulder and forcing Thanos to a stop.
The following bullets impacting the back of his head earned Thanos’ full attention, his eyes landing on the sprinting Black Widow charging his backside. She ran with pistols jutted forth, unloading her last magazines onto the Titan with no remorse, no regret, and no chance or stopping. Once Thanos allowed her to get closer, he broke through the Taser Disk’s hold on him and swatted her aside with his right forearm. Natasha lost her breath as she fell backwards, rolling and lying on her chest.
Clint was all that was left. Turning from Natasha and onto Thanos, he watched as the Titan pulled the Taser Disk from his shoulder and threw it away. Barton quickly jammed his Wristbow for Thanos’ eyes, but the Great Titan was quick to react, catching his arm and crushing the weapon. Clint howled in agony as Thanos continued to crush his arm beneath, but before he could snap his limb in tow, he reared back and drove his left fist into Clint’s chest. Falling back, Hawkeye tried to breathe but couldn’t. Tried to stand but wasn’t able to. His vision was turning black and all he could focus on was opening his lungs and allowing that breath to seep inside. He gasped.
Coughing horrendously, Clint sat up and clutched his wounds, a stream of blood flowing from his nostril as his eyes rose. It was already too late. Thanos was already near him and approaching rapidly by the second, sword in hand, and no mercy left in his expression. Barton crawled away, pushed his wounded body to the limit only to gain a few extra inches of ground, a few extra seconds of living, and faced his end when Thanos reared back on his blade, no other intention other than driving it into the deepest portions of Clint’s heart. He raised his wounded left arm in a vain attempt to shield himself, to look away and not face the inevitable embrace of death driving low and stabbing fast.
When the blade came down, he felt the wind and flinched against it, eyes shut tight and muscles even tighter. There was, perhaps, another second where Clint hesitated to even acknowledge the world around him. Another second passed and he still waited. Until, finally, he made that leap of faith and breathed in. Breathed out. And lived.
He heard the breath. The gasp. Not his. Above him.
Clint instantly shot open his eyes, his heart practically stopping when he recognized that gasp.
His limbs trembled, his body quaking with fear and trepidation as he slowly, cautiously, horrifyingly lowered his quivering arm from his vision. He didn’t want to see it. He most definitely didn’t want to believe it, shun his senses and what he had heard. But he couldn’t look away. He stared onto the nightmarish image before him, wishing, begging, praying that it was just that: a nightmare.
Only, it wasn’t. Natasha Romanoff standing before him, facing him, with the blade jutting mere inches out of her chest, from her abdomen, was as much real as anything else around him.
Clint stared to that same blade as Natasha had, both seemingly in disbelief for what had happened, for what she had done, for what had become of her actions. Slowly, their eyes rose to meet one another, and from his expression, she could only see the distraught reality painting his face a pale and ghostly white. In his mind, he could hardly even fathom what had happened. She took the blade through her back, that sword that was meant for him, and succeeded in stopping it.
Succeeded in saving him.
From her expression, Clint could see the rose-red lips of his best friend tremble weakly. She coughed a spittle of red across those lips, onto her chin, but smiled anyway. It was a frail smile, a smile that told him everything he didn’t want to hear, everything he didn’t want to believe. It was a smile that told him everything was going to be okay. The tears in her eyes told it even more graphically, even more painfully, as she stared nowhere else but onto her best friend. Her family. Clint stared back in numb horror. He couldn’t even breathe as his lips trembled all the same.
As if they were ripped away from their own world, Thanos pulled back and tossed her aside, both he and Barton watching as Natasha was thrown away. Just like that. Just thrown away and discarded. Her body bounced and rolled several more feet, eventually coming to a rest on her back. Her head fell slack to her left side, resting there unmoving. Her bleeding chest didn’t rise. She didn’t blink. A small trail of blood slowly fell from her mouth. She stared blankly forward and only onto Clint with that frozen expression forever painted on her face.
That flashing imagery coated Natasha under a veil of death and failure, the vision that Tony Stark had experienced years ago in Sokovia finally coming to fruition. She lied in the same position, stared in the same direction, and died just as Tony’s vision had foretold. Only Tony saw that flashing vision. He saw her. Everyone saw her and no one could comprehend it.
And Clint, ripped away from his reality with Natasha and forced into the real world of pain, death, loss, and suffering, gazed to her body with growing disbelief. She couldn’t be dead. They fought through hell and fire together and always made it out. Always stepped out of it arm in arm. Always knew that if they were together, no matter what they faced, they would always have that assurance with the other. They would always survive.
She can’t be dead…
His thoughts betrayed him. His mind tormented him the longer he stared to the horrifying image of her body lying with no hope of ever rising again. Deep down, deeper than his thoughts and blacker than his twisted soul, something snapped. Something let loose and would not yield. Clint’s expression transformed from pain and disbelief to rage. Simple, unsatisfying, blistering rage.
He jammed out his staff, activated the short blade on its end, and rammed it with passionate fury into Thanos’ bleeding wound on his side. The Titan reacted about as well as he expected, the howls of pain reverberating in the air and assaulting Clint’s ears. He heard nothing but that ringing numbness, felt nothing as Thanos broke the staff and pushed him off. Saw nothing but red in his vision as he unsheathed his katana and charged again.
Rolling forward, Clint stabbed and sliced at Thanos with such speed and ferocity that the Mad Titan was almost helpless against his advances. He sliced at Thanos’ kneecap, cutting deep into every available portion of his skin he could see through the slips and cracks of armor. He swung and sliced high, a thin strip of violet painting across Thanos’ face and over his eye. He closed it just as the sword washed past, saving his eye at the last second. Catching the katana, Thanos cringed as the blade’s edge dug into his palm and fingers and drew blood, nearing his chest by the second. He quickly snapped the blade in half, ramming his forearm across Clint’s body and knocking him away. Clint crashed through a mound of rock and stone, passing out instantly and rolling to a stop on the other side.
On Thanos’ blindside, the Avengers retaliated with the loss of one of their own. The Hulk made his pain evident and clear when he tackled the Mad Titan into oblivion.
Yet lingering on the sidelines, as the war and rage unfolded in the epicenter, one innocent life limped and stumbled forth onto Natasha’s form. That pink body showed itself through the smoke and fire, revealing Pinkie Pie to the true horrors and nature of life and death. Her mouth fell open, unable to form anything else other than an expression of pure shock and confusion. Shock at the mere image of Natasha’s bleeding body laying before her, and confusion for it how could it even be possible.
Limping closer, Pinkie gazed down to the Widow, nudged her gingerly with her snout.
Weakly, hopefully, she uttered, “Nat…?”
Her expression was faced away from Pinkie. Probably for the best. The mare’s expression recoiled and shattered, tears welling largely into her bright blue eyes as her lips trembled. As her body trembled. As no amount of Pinkie Sense could have prevented what lay before her. She was left in the aftermath, coated in that falling ash and terrifying reality that… she was gone.
“N… N-Natasha…?”
Her friend was gone.
Pinkie Pie shut her eyes, fell to her haunches, and whimpered. Cried openly as her body gave in and settled with that horrifying reality.
The Hulk hadn’t tackled Thanos into oblivion like he would have wished. He had tackled him rather viciously, though, the two crashing through various mounds of rock and rubble until they couldn’t crash through anymore. With Thanos planted into the mound before him, Banner openly unleashed his rage and hatred and everything else he felt for the one who killed Natasha. It was still fresh on his mind, her bleeding body lying there with no one to help her, no one who was fast enough to save her before she gave herself to save Clint. That thought alone broke Banner’s mind, what was still kept together, what was still Bruce Banner slowly but surely shifting to the raging beast within.
The demon, the Incredible Hulk showed that rage with every resounding punch he delivered into Thanos’ face and body. Each punch drove him deeper inside the rubble, cracking more bones and drawing more blood. He was relentless and uncaged, the breaking mind of Banner paving way for the unbridled fury of the Hulk. Grasping Thanos with his stronger left hand, he choked the Mad Titan into submission, slowly raising his scorched and crippled right arm and forcefully fighting his way through the pain. Forcing his blackened hand to form a fist.
He drove it into the Titan’s face, only to roar in agony as Thanos reared up his sword and impaled it into the Hulk’s arm. That pain flooded his systems, the roars transforming back into Banner’s screams. Even then, with the blade impaled through his right arm, Banner didn’t give in. His mind wanted to darken but he forced himself to stay awake. Fought through every waking second as he released Thanos’ throat, grasped the blade, and screamed. Screamed as he tore at the Uru. Screamed as he felt it tearing deeper into his muscles and bones.
Screamed as he snapped the sword in half.
The Uru rained free and Banner was released, Thanos staring in disbelief to the shattered sword fragments falling over him. In that millisecond of shock and awe, he shot his eyes down to his sword and saw the other half, the other end still intact. Rearing forward, Thanos sliced across the Hulk’s chest and earned another bellowing cry from Banner. He rolled back to his feet, charging Bruce with another swinging slice. Banner dodged it, gripping his wounds and backing away slowly as Thanos only continued to advance. With each advance came the swing of his blade, the strike of his fist, all of which Banner was able to block, able to counter, and able…
Always able.
Maybe before, but right then—right then and there—he wasn’t able. Bruce Banner wasn’t able with a broken body, a contorted and convoluted mind in conflict with itself, the two halves of his personality battling for control. He wasn’t able to block every shot, counter every punch, and survive every hit. He wasn’t.
Thanos spun his sword forward, diving in and stabbing Banner in the abdomen.
He was only able to catch the blade after it had pierced him. By that time, he was already too late. Pulling back, Thanos ripped his blade free in a way that pulled Banner with him, Bruce falling to his knees and clutching his wound. Thanos walked around him, observing the Hulk like a prowling lion. He walked until he reached Banner’s back, watched as Bruce slowly raised his eyes and observed his final moments. Before him, Bruce saw no one but his team.
Robert Bruce Banner saw only his friends rushing to his aid, as fast as they could, but just being short. Thanos reared back and drove his sword into Banner’s back, that convulsing agony painting Bruce’s face. The blade tore through everything. Everything that mattered. The tortured mind remained, but the heart of the man, the heart of Bruce, was torn in half.
The Avengers attacked, throwing themselves into the Mad Titan at full speed, bloodcurdling and raging screams leaving them. The blade was pulled free, and Banner, in that moment of release, slowly exhaled. His eyes gazed forward once more, to nowhere, before they slowly fluttered to a close. In his mind, there was nothing. No more voices. No more pain. No more conflict. He was free.
That final exhale was the final word from Bruce Banner, the Hulk falling forward and crashing into silence.
From where she lay, Fluttershy shot out her hoof and cried, “Bruce!”
Cried out in despair. Cried out for Banner, for Natasha, for her friends as the horrifying reality of the world came like flooding waters, drowning her within its dark embrace. Her own body ached and burned, her mind reeling and tears flowing, unable to process what was happening before it was too late. Even then, she could do nothing. She tried to stand but only fell back down, crying softly and gazing to Banner’s body from the distance. Unable to stand. Unable to fight. Unable to believe. Simply unable.
The others advanced and fought their hearts out. Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, and Thor Odinson persevered when the others couldn’t, fought on when no one and nopony else could. They carried the flag, the torch, and raged with it. Thanos and Thor engaged one another with axe and sword swinging madly for each other in every possible opening they could find. Their weapons clashed, Captain America rushing forward and flinging Mjølnir onto the Titan’s right. The hammer struck its target, returning to Steve as Tony advanced.
Leaping high, Stark shot down his right hand and fired a repulsor blast onto the Mad Titan, his left hand unleashing an energy blade the size of a longsword. Already shaken by the hammer, Thanos only barely managed to block the repulsor blast, unable to block the swipe of the longsword as Tony sliced it across Thanos’ chest. Sparks and blood rained free as Thanos’ cracked armor gave way. Tony spun as he landed, diving forward and intending for the Titan’s chest the same way Thanos did for his friend.
Except Thanos dodged the stab. He used his own sword and sliced Tony’s weaker energy blade into pieces. He ripped the armor free from Tony’s left arm and exposed his human hand to the elements, small fragments remaining as he reared back and finished it. Except Tony raised both of his arms in an “X”. He blocked the Uru sword with just his suit, just his strength, just his mortal body as the Iron Man armor clashed against the blade and held still.
Thanos snarled, swiped away, broke the confrontation, and slammed the Nano Gauntlet across Tony’s mask. The blue eyes of the Mark 45 were ripped clean, the shattered helmet breaking off and unveiling Stark’s aghast expression beneath. Thanos ended their confrontation for good with a swift punch directly into the Arc Reactor, launching Stark back into the rubble and debris scattered across the earth. His broken suit joined it.
Leaving just two.
Thor and Steve attacked in tandem, calculating their movements and their strikes carefully and precisely so as to not lose ground, lose each other, and most of all, lose everything. Thor swung with Stormbreaker while Steve rammed Mjølnir onto the Mad Titan. Thanos responded by blocking their strikes with his sword, retaliating and sending a devastating kick into Captain America’s sternum. Steve was momentarily thrown back, momentarily out of the fight.
The Allfather and the Dark Lord turned to one another, neither hesitating as every drop of blood spilled from the other and rage each felt fueled them for what came next. They collided, each one swinging, cursing, trying to kill the other with the weapon they wielded. Thunder roared above and lightning cried in the storm clouds gathering, fueling Thor as he and Thanos clashed in the heart of the battlefield. The wind coiled around them, forming a tornado of madness and bloodshed.
From their clash, the elements raged and electrified the atmosphere, the very air they breathed, and the earth they battled upon. Thor ripped the sword from Thanos’ own hands, launching his Uru fist across the Titan’s temple and driving him across the earth. Thanos rolled backwards, back to his feet and back to a dead sprint for his blade and for the God of Thunder. Thor cut him off with a throw of his axe, Stormbreaker spinning wildly as it ripped the air and struck Thanos in his opposite shoulder.
He was once more thrown backwards, with the axe now embedded in his shoulder and his armor destroyed by it. Thanos seethed with rage and agony, breathing through wet and bleeding breaths as he lay on the tattered battleground, grasped the weapon, and stared hauntingly to it. Then, to the oncoming roar of thunder.
Raising his head, Thanos could see as the God of Thunder called down the might and fury of Asgard itself, from the previous Allfathers, and was consumed in a cluster strike of lightning bolts against him. His body devoured it, the lightning slithering across his limbs and chest and roaring alongside him. Facing forward, Thor narrowed his blistering blue eye and charged. Ran with fists swinging madly, lightning striking furiously, and the powers of the Allfather himself rushing towards Thanos.
And Thanos, desperate and broken, pried at the axe in his shoulder. He howled and cried as the weapon ripped and tore into his flesh and muscle, more blood flowing faster and the Mad Titan continuously losing his self, his mind, and his strength.
Thor leaped in the air.
With one last desperate pull, Thanos ripped Stormbreaker from his shoulder, rose quickly, and reared the bleeding weapon back. Thor descended upon him with electrified fists high above his head, a coat of lightning trailing him, and unbridled malice unleashed fully upon the Titan. Thanos, too, held nothing back. He and Thor collided once again, and that time, only one made it out.
The shock wave of lightning doused the area in light and power, the two flying free from each other and Thor crashing into a pile of rubble. Thanos crashed further off in the opposite direction. Gasping for air, Thor found it to be incredibly troublesome. He found the ability to breathe, to move, to feel himself simply impossible. To understand, his eye trailed downwards to his chest.
To his own axe embedded upon it.
Thor gasped out, a helping of crimson painting his lips and beard. Distressed, shaken, broken, and utterly doused in that wretched truth. He coughed again, groaned softly as he reached upwards and grasped his axe. He pulled, used his wavering strength to pry Stormbreaker from his chest. He nearly succeeded. He nearly did. His strength faded faster, his vision darkening as he watched his palms slowly weaken around the weapon. The darkening embrace neared. Thor’s palms fell. He let his head fall back as that shaking breath coughed past his lips.
The darkness backed away, loosened by the rising of the light and the mask of the Iron Mare retracting back to reveal Rarity’s horrified expression rest upon his. She gazed upon the axe in horror, gulped softly as she shakily rose her eyes to meet his lone gaze.
“You’re okay…” Rarity whispered to him, trying to wrap her magic around Stormbreaker to pull it free. Her efforts only earned grunts of agony from the God of Thunder, the axe not even budging an inch. Out of fear, out of cowardice, she released the weapon and gazed solely to it. She broke, tears already building as her expression shattered and rose back to meet Thor. “You’re okay. It’s not too bad… It’s not…”
He laid his soft, warm, mortal hand upon her cheek, smiling softly to her. To assure her. To comfort her. Rarity’s eyes glistened from the tears. His smile slowly evaporated.
“Thor?”
His palm fell slack from her cheek.
“T-T-Thor?” Rarity whimpered, whispered, lost it completely and cried softly over him. In the distance, Thanos was struck by the hammer, thrown across the battlefield as Captain America raged for the fallen, stood for his brothers and sisters, and fought the fight that no one else could. Rarity paid it no heed. Not even a glance.
Everything was given to him, every second, as she cried over him with her hooves clutching onto Thor’s limp body.
He was thrown so perfectly by his sword that he retrieved it the second he rose again. Just at the exact moment Captain America struck him with unrelenting fury and aggression. Mjølnir spun ferociously in his grip, the Sentinel of Liberty slamming its whirlwind across the Titan’s shattering armor and broken body. He yielded the spin, gripping the hammer in an iron hold and continuously ramming it across the Mad Titan in tandem with his shield. Again and again, Steve pressed on despite every odd against him, despite the dreaded thoughts of his friends lingering on the back of his mind, despite the entire weight of the universe now resting on his shoulders alone.
And he was alone.
Steve Rogers did not let that deter him. He had faced adversity his entire life and never knew what it meant to fall down. From thugs in an alleyway outside of a Brooklyn theater, to a genocidal alien warlord hellbent on wiping out the universe. Captain America didn’t back down. He didn’t surrender. Because he didn’t know how.
Tossing Mjølnir once more for the Titan, Steve was slightly unnerved to see Thanos finally reawaken from the Captain's assault, deflecting the hammer with a swipe of his blade and a quick dodge to the right. He instantly shot out his hand retrieved Mjølnir, rushing forth and sliding low, impacting the head of the hammer into Thanos’ armored kneecap. As the Titan crumbled, Steve reared back and slammed the broken shield across his face.
Thanos sliced high with his blade, cutting Steve up his right forearm. He elicited a cry of pain from the Captain, Thanos pressing on the assault as Steve faltered backwards. He swung down, Rogers failing to raise his shield in time to fully deflect the blade. The two bounced off each other, Thanos already rearing forward for a second strike. The blade, that time, knocked the hammer right out of Steve’s hand, Mjølnir tumbling to the dirt. Captain America tried to bring it back to him, tried to shoot out his hand to recall it, but could only focus on Thanos now.
With every deadly strike, Thanos only continued to knock Steve Rogers further and further to the earth. He continued the onslaught, the assault, the travesty of his actions and held nothing back. Steve only crumbled more and more, his unwavering determination and fighting spirit dwindling away with each swipe, punch, and strike. He slammed his blade down on Steve’s shield, swiping low and launching Captain America away from him.
Crashing onto his back, Steve rolled to a kneeling position and tried to stand. Tried to. Tried so desperately to rise up. Yet he faltered. He hesitated, taking in that breath of wet air and almost believing it to be his last. He was running on fumes, his strength and his heart giving their last and begging for nothing more than to rest.
In that state, he was kneeling before Thanos. In that state, Thanos stood before him as a bleeding, broken, husk of the Titan he once was. They both breathed with rapid exhaustion, both bled like the mortals they were, and both rested momentarily, in silence, and stared to one another. If anything, if there was one thing Thanos could have offered the First Avenger, it was his undying respect. None had lasted as long as he and his team had against him. No other warring faction had ever succeeded in stripping him of his army, of his power in the skies, and lived to continue to stand against him. There was no shame in surrender. There was no dishonor in defeat. For him alone, for Captain America, he would give him an honorable and painless death through his last and final snap.
Only, he didn’t surrender. Slowly, shockingly, he rose.
Thanos sighed, dropping his head, his eyes. He raised them slowly back to the man to see him still rising. “Stay down,” Thanos told him.
He got up.
It took almost everything he had left, but he got back up to two feet, standing tall and standing proud to Thanos and his tyranny. When all else fell, he rose. When nothing more could rise to darkness, the light and faith and strength within him pushed him back up. He alone was not enough, and Steve knew that. But it wasn’t him alone that mattered. It was the idea, the hope, the spirit of freedom and the undying strength of the human soul that rose with him. Even if it was all in one man, it rose to face evil. He lived with that ideal…
He would gladly die with it.
“As long as one man stands against you, Thanos… you’ll never be able to claim victory.”
He didn’t surrender. He would not die on his knees. Thanos had offered him all he could, and Steve Rogers chose death. Truly, a terrible pity. Upon that bold declaration, Thanos narrowed his eyes, growled with a sneer, “Noble sentiments from one who is about to die.”
Steve shook his head. His shield and his body were limp, but he stood anyway. He stood and he lived in freedom. “I’ve lived my entire life by those sentiments… they’re well worth dying for,” he retorted.
Thanos had nothing for that. No response. No action. Just nothing. It took Captain America to spur him into the moment, to react and raise his defenses once more. Because in that spirit of freedom, Steve Rogers gave everything he had left and turned it solely to Thanos, to the death that waged war against life, to the hatred that sought to destroy love. To the evil that dared to stand against good. His punches were ferocious, jabs and kicks and swing from his shield onto the Titan delivering every remaining ounce of strength left in Captain America’s body.
Yet with his attack, it was met with opposition. With retaliation. Thanos fought back with his own dwindling strength, pushing back harder and faster against the Captain. He struck him various times, sliced his blade across his arms, legs, chest, and anything Steve failed to block. Despite it all, he raged on. Despite everything, he never gave in and never surrendered.
Slamming his shield across Thanos’ face, Steve drove his left fist forward. Thanos caught it with his right hand, with the Nano Gauntlet. The two were momentarily locked, man and Titan gritting their teeth and slowly meeting the other’s eyes. Swiping his fist away, Thanos once more reared back with that arm, Steve shaken and only able to raise his shield. It was barely enough.
He blocked the gauntlet, Thanos’ superior strength, and the energy of the Infinity Stones. He blocked all of it and held it back. Not only by his shattered shield, but by the man behind it, by the spirit and strength he proudly donned. And it held. He held.
With Thanos stunned into silence, Steve moved in quick and wrapped his right arm around the blade. He glared down to it, to the unholy weapon and rammed his shield against it. The reverberating clang of vibranium against Uru sounded off with each clash, fragments of each flying off while all Thanos could do was stare in shock. Until, finally, the blade broke. The cracked Uru shattered, and Captain America rose from the fragments. He slammed his shield across Thanos’ face one more time, taking that moment and reaching for the gauntlet, reaching for the Stones, in that desperate effort to end it all.
But Thanos had enough. He had seen the valiant courage and action by the first and last Avenger and simply had enough. The Titan grabbed the man’s shoulder, ripping him away and tossing him to the dirt in front of him. Bending down, he retrieved a shard of the Uru blade, gripped it in his left palm, and pushed on. Just as Captain America rolled to his feet and rose again. Just as he held out his fists and breathed for the next round.
He reared back with his fist, only to lose that breath when Thanos drove the shard into him.
The opposite end emerged from his back, the shard perfectly impaled through Steve’s abdomen. Perfectly and accurately placed. Steve faltered forward, mouth agape and eyes bugged open. He was speechless, breathless, couldn’t fathom a thought as Thanos pushed him off, pushed him back, and stared into his eyes. In that stare they both shared, either side felt completely drained of any other form of war and death, rage and wrath, and only gazed in silence. In that silence, for that moment alone, as both warriors could finally find a shred of rest.
Thanos held nothing more for him. Respect, maybe, for his unyielding spirit. Honor, definitely, for the last Avenger.
He forgot about the others. They struck him with as much speed and ferocity and power and strength the likes of which he could hardly hold onto any longer. Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity tackled the Mad Titan and ripped him free from Captain America, from their friend.
But it was already too late.
Steve Rogers fell and lay on his back, the shard pulled free but the damage already done. The mark was laid and he was caught under its image, that wound that would never heal and the pain that only continued to fester, only to slowly fade away. Soon, it all started to fade away. The world, the never-ending war, the madness and the pains of life that Steve was burdened with.
But he lingered on. He held whatever breath he had left and turned to face the mare flapping down by his side.
And Rainbow Dash, in the moment of clarity and horror, let her mask retract so she could see it with her own eyes. So the mask could hide nothing any longer. She slowly stumbled near his face, met his broken expression with her equally shattered one. Neither looked away. Neither turned anywhere else except onto each other. The absolute last thing she wanted Steve to see was her teary, weakened face. And all Steve wanted was to see his friend’s face one last time.
She saw the wound, cringed and closed her eyes to it. Even then, she denied it. Even then, she gripped his shoulder and shook him gently. Begged him, “Come on, Cap. Come on, you can’t make me do this alone. You gotta… you gotta lead us out of this. Like you always have before. Come on, please, Steve… Please don’t…”
She tried to get him back to his feet, tried to deny everything that just transpired. From Natasha, Bruce, Thor… and him. But it was no use. Not anymore. Not when the world burned and the universe begged for its savior. Steve wasn’t there to answer its cries. The Avengers were not there.
His bleeding glove rose and met her armored hoof, Steve silently affirming to her that they were there. The Avengers were alive and he was staring at one. He knew all of them and he was proudly friends and each and every last one of them. Tears sprinkled from her eyes, flowed down her filthy cheeks in rivers of black as Steve struggled to breathe. His dust-ridden face, scratched and torn helmet, and bleeding lips were all there, but the man she had always known, the hero of Equestria and the leader of the Avengers was still alive. Still—as always—with her until the very end of the line.
With a shivering voice, Steve muttered, “I can’t stay here, Rainbow. Promise… You need to…”
Her breath stammered all the same, face contorting as she saw his fist shiver against the grip on her hoof. She held him with both hooves, holding him and assuring him that a friend was with him. No matter what, he wasn’t alone. Broken, beaten, and bloody together, they weren’t alone.
And in that brokenness, Rainbow nodded through the tears and told him, “I never break a promise.”
That was all he needed to hear. All that was left. Turning slowly from her eyes, from her pain, he released his and gazed to the clouds, watched as they broke apart, and the falling sunlight and approaching stars greeted him. Greeted him to an eternity evermore.
Steve Rogers closed his trembling lips and knew in his heart, in his spirit, that they would do it. He trusted his friends to finish what he couldn’t. He trusted them and let go. The stars beckoned him. The heavens beckoned him. She beckoned him.
He almost seemed to smile.
“Never did learn how to dance…”
The smile slowly left him.
“Steve?” Rainbow croaked. Her expression tightened, fell apart, slowly fell. “Steve…”
His hand fell limp in her hooves, but it never fell away. Rainbow Dash held on as all else fell away. She laid her head on his bloody hand and wept quietly, mourned when no one else could. For her friend. For her fallen Avenger.