187
All of reality turned white, the sound of the snap heard around the universe lingering as did that piercing whiteness. It lingered on until the darkness faded away.
Forever.
Once the world returned and the light dissipated, the war resumed without a second to spare. The Chitauri Leviathan swam across the skies, the weakened blaster bolts impacting its armored hide as it dove downwards. Jaws open, jagged teeth extended, the Leviathan roared as it descended upon the minuscule Avenger firing helplessly upon it. And Rocket, unable to move in time, released his fingers from the triggers of his duel pistols. He collapsed as the darkness crashed upon him, as the jaws of the Leviathan came down and consumed him in an ethereal world of pure, oily blackness.
Yet as the light returned, Rocket could still feel his heart beating. He could still hear his own breathing. He survived and stood amongst the tattered battlefield with a swarm of ashes disappearing around him. Rocket lowered his pistols. He gazed about and watched as those ashes washed across the earth before the wind took them away. Leaving nothing.
Breathless and awestruck, Rocket kept turning, kept trying to find an explanation to what had just happened. Shockingly, what he had experienced was not a single event. He was not the only one to face that uncertainty, that indescribable event. It spread. It filled the battlefield.
It was everywhere.
Pockmarked across the tattered battlegrounds, consumed with life and death and destruction in almost every single inch of the scorched wastelands, that single event filled the darkness that remained and devoured it with that light, with that hope, with that final act that took away the evil from the world forevermore. The war had ceased for good. Battles had ended and the opposing sides froze in place, witnessed what they couldn’t believe nor could understand right away. The armies of the Avengers, Equus, New Asgard, the Ravagers, and the countless others who chose to stand for life witnessed that death plague the lands one final time.
Death swept through it all, consuming and taking only those who stood for death. It was Thanos’ army that felt that sting first of all. Chitauri stumbled in place, the weapons they held faltering in their hands and clattering to the dirt and gravel. They joined the dirt, their bodies melting into pure sprinkles of ash and ruin. Sakaarans fell all the same, their final breaths given as they relinquished their arms, held their bodies in a desperate final act to remain whole, and held their heads to the blistered skies once their forms disintegrated. Outriders felt that stabbing wound all the same, the alien hounds moaning and whimpering as they crawled across the earth, as they desperately reached for something to grab, for something to save them, and falling all the same. Their dust filled the wastelands alongside the Sakaarans, alongside the Chitauri.
Alongside everything Thanos had built.
Leviathans instantly dropped out of the sky, their descent met with their bodies shattering into dust and joining the many corpses of the Leviathans resting on the battlefield. They all faded away, even the corpses of the Chitauri Titans, their mountain-like forms cracking and vanishing into nothing but powder. Remnants of the dropships, Chitauri Command Centers, and even the burning skeleton of Sanctuary II all disappeared as well, the mortal lives not being the only things taken. Everything that stood for evil, for death, for destruction and desolation faced the same end. The Command Centers that remained airborne simply dropped, disintegrated into ash before their colossal husks could impact the earth. The Equestrian Grand Fleet hovered in silence, in disbelief to what they were witnessing around them. Chitauri chariots, starships, Command Centers, and Sakaaran Necrocrafts all vanished in mid-flight, dropped out the sky and broke apart into pure ash. Captain Spitfire was stunned, face frozen in that perpetual state of shock and awe, much like the many ponies who stood with her. Much like the many Equestrian airships that remained untouched in the desolation.
Of all the things that remained untouched, Ultron’s army was not one of them. Just as the AI abomination stood for evil and annihilation, he and his forces met a similar fate, a swift and terrible blade that struck them down quickly, one by one, until the golden power filling the battlefield was vanquished forever. The Fortress’ remains burned and rested on the shattered earth, eventually cracking apart and disappearing alongside the thousands of Ultron Sentinels. Almost as if they had never existed to begin with. Every last indication of Ultron’s arrival, power, and influence had faded away, turned to dust and became the dust of the earth. The golden army fell from the sky, stumbled upon the ground, and exploded into fading dirt. One by one. Until none were left.
The armies of the Avengers watched it all with incredulous expressions. Star-Lord and Black Panther stood together, eyes gazing to the skies and witnessing the armies of evil fall. Princess Celestia and Nick Fury came together, watching as the Chitauri surrounding their people, their agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., their Royal Guard, were all vanquished in a single instant. Trixie, Starlight, Sunburst, Derpy, and Maud all stared in different directions, but all stood together, all watched as Thanos and Ultron’s forces of darkness were simply washed away. Daredevil and the Defenders all gazed about almost aimlessly, weakened and broken, but standing and living amongst the victors. Jessica Jones was able to breathe in peace once again. Danny Rand could finally release that pent-up rage and aggression that clouded his spirit at long last. Luke Cage closed his eyes and exhaled softly. Elektra Natchios turned to Matthew and weakly smiled. He smiled back. Captain Marvel stumbled about upon the gravel, eyes dancing across every fading body, every crumbling machine of war, and every warring creature in the Mad Titan’s arsenal. Every last remnant of Ultron’s power and might. It all simply washed away.
And Carol, finally feeling that weight flee from her shoulders, sighed. Sighed and smiled. It was over. It was all finally over. The nightmares. The endless war. It had finally come to an end.
Amongst the slew of Sentinels stumbling about and fading, only one fell to its knees. Only one tried to fly away and instead crumbled to the dirt, crashing in a torn and shattered body of gold and twisted machination. Though it just looked to be another mindless drone, another golden body amongst the thousands of others, within the mind of the Sentinel was the first and the last Ultron.
With his conscious reverted to a broken body, a chrysalis with no hope of repair or escape, Ultron kneeled with his palms pressed heavily to the dirt. When he rose, he saw only the destruction of his empire before his very eyes. He watched his Sentinels shatter and turn to ash, leaving an empire of dirt in its wake. Until only Ultron was left. Until only his golden body kneeled to the masses and the rising light of the universe, kneeled in that silent declaration of defeat for those who had bested him at his greatest and grandest peak. Ultron, in that state of mind, could not understand it. He could not fathom the idea of loss, especially his.
Until the last Sentinel faded away, until he was all that remained of his empire, Ultron slowly gazed about to the world that had overcome, to the lives that had pushed back, and the Avengers that resisted long enough to see him fall. In that fall, Ultron was silent. Utterly speechless. The idea of loss struck him so hard that he could not speak. Not at first. Not to those who had bested him. His eyes washed back and forth, saw nothing of him any longer. He sighed.
“This is how you end…” Ultron muttered in a weakened, broken tone, to no one but himself. His voice cracked and crumbled in that body that could hold no more. His red eyes fell to the ground, to his knees, and remained in that state of utter dismay. “This is your…”
He gazed at his fading golden hand, raised it to see each finger crack and vanish into the wind. Ultron did nothing more but stare. He did nothing more as that darkness devoured his arm.
“… legacy.”
With that, his eyes darkened. His mind faded into nothing and his last body joined it.
As one tide fell, another remained standing. Another was able to hold his ground just long enough to witness everything he had built fall apart. Thanos, the Dark Lord, the Great Titan, the one who was meant to save it all and start anew watched as the old universe conquered his greatest and mightiest fleet. Everything he had, everything he could have achieved, his army and his throne all disappeared before his very eyes. He had thrown absolutely everything at them, and they threw it back, struck him dead in the heart just to witness his achievements turn to ash. Fell to the dirt. Faded in the wind. Like it never existed. Like it never even mattered to the mightier forces of the Avengers.
So, he gazed about, lingered little and washed his glazed expression to his armies, to his Chitauri, his Sakaarans, his Outriders, and his fleet in one grand arc across the wilted and torn battlegrounds. Chitauri Elite reached for him, their lord, their savior, in dying hopes that he would free them one last time. Thanos just stared at them. Watched as their hands reaching for the Titan turned into dust and their bodies with it. He had spun around completely, moved so slow and gazed forevermore onto the affliction of the Avengers, of the warring armies that did not fall to him. The ones who overcame and defeated him.
They defeated him. Thanos was still trying to breathe that in. He had lost. It was over.
There was nothing left.
He stared at Twilight Sparkle and the Elements of Harmony. Her best friends. The seven mares watched as the world around them rose up and Thanos’ world fell down, as all the evils on the plains of desolation were wiped clean. Twilight, for a moment, almost smiled, then brought her eyes forward and met the Titan’s gaze. They all stared back. The Princess of Friendship, the Element of Magic, Twilight Sparkle stared at him and kept her lips parted, her expression solid, as if she was prepared for what he would do next. As if she was expecting him to tell her one last resilient remark.
Thanos had nothing more to say. His eyes lingered with hers a moment longer before he turned away, before he stepped forward and reached down with his last arm. He found a suitable stump of rock amongst the destruction, found his place upon it, and sat down.
In that moment of rest, Thanos breathed with as much ragged pain as there was exhaustion. His armor was cracked and shredded, only a single layer of golden plates remaining on his person with various, bloodied openings and wounds plastered on his body. His right shoulder was painted in his own violet blood, seemingly infecting the right side of his chest and the charred stump that used to be his right arm. His face, by far, was the worst. Not only was it bruised, not only was it bleeding, not only was it weary and worn, but it held that expression of utter loss. He gazed ahead but saw nothing. No future. No destiny. Just nothing. His eyes gazed a million light years and there was nothing more for him. It had all been taken away.
Knowing that, understanding that, Thanos let his final moments be that of relative peace. He breathed in and out so very softly, each inhale long, each exhale longer, as that unforeseeable end came to him. It almost seemed unforeseeable. Yet in those final moments, a light was opened to him and Thanos flicked his pupils up to meet it. It was if she had stepped free from a higher plane of existence, entered only to the physical realm for his eyes only. The light opened, unveiling her only to the Titan, only to her love, only to Thanos for that final beckoning.
In his final moments, Mistress Death beckoned to him. She reached for him one last time.
That time, Thanos did not turn away. He welcomed her.
And with that, he gave his last breath and closed his eyes. His head fell slightly as the slivers of dust and ash consumed his shoulders, his body, and eventually swarmed his expression, taking him into the winds of eternal rest. Even in that rest, he accepted it.
He accepted all that came and died in her arms.
As the evils were washed away, so too did the plagues that infected the battlefield. The destruction remained, but the polluting atmosphere was slowly evaporating, giving the dusk its dominion back and unveiling planet Equus once more to the lives below. Curiously enough, it remained. The planet, the chaos, and the unnatural placement stayed.
Twilight saw it, too. As did her friends. Coming together, comforting one another, the seven Elements of Harmony found their sense of rest once more. They could truly take that in, accept it after all they had experienced and witnessed. After seeing Thanos’ defeat, seeing all the madness and chaos be stripped of the battlefields of Earth, they could finally take in that breath of ease.
Applejack draped her foreleg across Rainbow Dash’s withers, the two mares chuckling softly to one another and dropping their eyes to the ground, to their hooves, as smiles filled their lips. Rarity fell into Fluttershy’s embrace, feeling the Pegasus shudder slightly. Tears started to flow, but not tears of fear or pain. It was happiness. It was joy. Rarity hugged her back and cried all the same. Pinkie Pie leaped into Sunset Shimmer’s forelegs and drove her face into the unicorn’s chest, onto her heart, and rested there with a joyous and victorious grin on her lips. Sunset couldn’t help but hug her back, lifting her teary eyes to Twilight and smiling just as bright.
Twilight smiled back, that wearied but accomplished victory filling her features for just a second.
“Twily!”
Just a second before the shock overwhelmed the rest. Turning to the voice, Twilight could see Shining Armor waving and calling to her, rushing down the mound of rock with Cadance and Flurry Heart close behind him. Holding nothing back any longer, with fresh tears flying free, Twilight flew forth and impacted her older brother in a heartwarming display of sibling love. She reunited with her sister, Cadance holding the pony she used to foalsit and admiring the strong, courageous, and powerful leader she had become. Flurry Heart hugged her aunt, Twilight returning the love with just as much passion and tears and smiles as she could offer. Spike joined them, crashing into Twilight with a tackling hug and joining the group with welcoming smiles to go around.
After five years, they were back. After five years, Twilight finally believed again, and would never lose that hope like she had once before. After five long, dreaded, torturous years, her family was returned to her.
Family…
Her smile disappeared when that word filled her mind. When Shining Armor, Cadance, Flurry Heart, and Spike broke away, they were mildly taken aback to see that torn expression fill Twilight’s face. Her head darted back and forth, the Alicorn stepping out of their embrace and searching the wasteland. Others were reunited, families and lovers and friends all around, but in it all her parents were nowhere to be found.
And Tony was gone.
“Tony!” Twilight called, armor-plated wings flapping and pulling her from the ground, that overwhelming exhaustion quickly bringing her back to the earth. She stumbled forth with her family behind her, reaching for her, but unable to stop that cry escaping her terrified voice.
“T-Tony!”
The panic was growing more intense by the second, and soon all her friends joined her in that search. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Sunset Shimmer, Spike, and so many more came together and searched the ruins to find the man who had saved the universe. The man who had saved them all. At last, with breaths of relief filling the masses—Twilight included—she found him.
She saw him rise amongst the ashes.
She watched him fall down.