//------------------------------//
// Struggles Of The Soul 
// Story: Tomorrow War 
// by Battwell 
//------------------------------//

 

Out from the beam of light, out stepped a golden boot, the concrete cracking in a web like fashion as The Mad Titan walked out of the light. Thanos tightened his grip around the handle of his double ended blade, yellow electricity crackling on the blade itself. 

Thanos had a chilling smile on his face that even made the likes of Celestia and Luna shiver with fear. In fact, everyone present felt the dread and despair Thanos had brought with him to Canterlot. Celestia and Luna maintained their looks of bravery, but it was nothing but a mask. 

They had faced down many threats before, Sombra, Chrysalis, Tirek, The Storm King. But whatever they felt when they faced down those threats was NOTHING compared to the utter terror they felt now. Fluttershy had looked like she was about to pass out, and surprisingly, so did Applejack. 

She was actually shaking. 

She looked down at her hoof and saw it shake violently, she had finally realized how terrified she was. 

Discord shielded Fluttershy away from harm, determined to not let any harm come to her. Although he didn't show it, but he was utterly terrified at what the Titan could do to Canterlot, to Equestria.... To Fluttershy. Cadance, surprisingly, felt some form of love in Thanos' heart. 

But it was an ugly love. An obsession. A will to do anything to get his desire. It made Cadance sick to her stomach, this wasn't love. It wasn't anything like love at all. Shining Armor held his wife close to himself, he and pretty much all of the guard were terrified, but he wouldn't give this monster the satisfaction of knowing that. 

Miles Morales was scared out of his mind. He could barely beat The Tinkerer, how could he stand a chance against THIS? Doc Ock maintained his composure, as did Mysterio and Scorpion. Captain Marvel wasn't afraid, but she was weary. She knew what Thanos was capable of, the destruction he could cause in his wake. 

She overestimated herself last time. 

She wouldn't make that mistake again. 

Rainbow Dash could have sworn that her soul had left her body. This was it, he was here. The being that was capable of so much death and destruction. She felt tiny compared to him. She was beginning to doubt herself, her ability to protect her friends and her home. 

She was shaking like a leaf, her eyes the size of pinpricks. Sweat pouring down her forehead. 

Rainbow Dash, the most awesome Pony in Equestria... Was scared. 

The beam of light returned to The Sanctuary II, Thanos stood before Canterlot's forces with a twisted smile on his face. Not a sound was made, not a word was spoken. The only hint of sound was the noise of the wind blowing through the air. There was no hiding it anymore, this was the moment they had all been preparing for. 

They had an army behind them. But what scared them all to their core was the fact that there was no army behind the Titan. No Outriders. No Black Order. 

Just him. 

And them. 

Thanos chuckled, his deep voice reverberating throughout Canterlot. It was the first sign of noise since he had arrived, they were scared. 

Good. 

(End song)

"I am Thanos," The Mad Titan had announced, his enemies hanging on every word he spoke, "I have arrived in your land of peace and prosperity to collect the Infinity Stone in your possession." He took a step forward, causing everyone to flinch involuntarily, "I doubt that your hubris knows the true capabilities of the Stone in your care. It's true purpose... To set the universe back to its natural state." Thanos then gestured around him with his arms outstretched, "Hand over the Stone and I shall spare your kingdom by not sending this kingdom crumbling down this mountain side. If you resist, then I shall make you suffer in ways that will make you BEG for the sweet release of death." 

The fact that he was saying this with a smile on his face was haunting. 

Thanos continued, "Your land is my ideal vision for the universe, thriving in peace and prosperity. Children's laughter echoing throughout the air, clear skies day in and day out. No more hunger, no more wars, complete peace." Thanos' face then turned deadly serious as he returned his gaze to the ones before him, specifically Celestia and Luna, "Please, do not throw away what you have here for a universe that is already dead." 

All was silent once more, how could they respond to that? What could be said? 

Rainbow, finally finding the courage to utter a single word, scoffed in utter disbelief and shook her head, "Y-You're freakin' crazy." 

"He's not crazy." Miles corrected from behind the prismatic mare, "He's MAD." 

That actually managed to get a small laugh from Thanos, "Mad, that's what my people called me when I proposed my crusade to The Elders of my world. But they were too stupid to see what was clearly in front of them. But they turned me away, they died out." Thanos' face turned into a horrifying scowl, "Good riddance." 

"H-HOW COULD YA SAY THAT ABOUT YA OWN HOME?!" Applejack screamed out, completely baffled at how someone could be this cold, especially towards his own home, "WHAT ABOUT YOUR FAMILY?! DON'T YA CARE ABOUT THEM?!" 

It wasn't noticeable, but Thanos flinched, "My family tried to have me killed when I was born, child." He revealed, shutting Applejack right up, "My mother tried to stab me because of how I looked, she cared not for me. I felt nothing when my home eventually came to ruin. My only regret was that I didn't do it myself." 

"B-But..." Cadance finally found her voice, gaining Thanos' attention, "I-I feel some form of love in your heart." 

This actually made Thanos a little curious, "How is it you know this?" 

Cadance gulped, "I-I am the Princess of Love. I-I can feel the love in anycreature's hearts. I feel love in yours." Cadance revealed, much to everyone's shock. 

Carol was beyond confused, "What does this monster have to love?!" She turned away from the Alicorn and set her sights on Thanos, "He loves no-one!" 

"Untrue, Kree." Thanos instantly shut her down, "I only feel love for two beings in this universe. My lady Death, and my favorite daughter, Gamora." This revelation shocked everyone present, they were silent as he continued, "I would do anything for Death's affection." 

"We are aware, Titan!" Luna revealed to Thanos, "Friend Tony Stark told us all about you. How you crave for Death's affection and are willing to kill anything to get it. Yet she does not give you any in return, she does not care for you! Can't you see? Why continue on this crusade when you gain nothing from it in return?!" 

"Because, dear sister," Celestia answered for the Mad Titan. Luna turned to the Solar Alicorn as she continued, "He doesn't only want Death's affection." If looks could kill, Thanos would be ashes by now, "He believes that mass genocide is the way to save the universe." 

"Save it from what, Sunbutt?" Discord piped up, confused as to what she meant.

"Itself." Thanos answered with no hesitation. "This universe is finite, its resources finite. If life is unchecked, life will cease to exist. It needs correcting." 

"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!!!" Fluttershy roared out in an uncharacteristic manner, shocking all of her friends. 

Thanos rolled his eyes before setting his sights on Fluttershy, "I'm the ONLY one who knows that. At least, I'm the only one with the will to act on it." Thanos then planted his double ended blade into the ground and sat down on the ground, getting comfortable and showing that he isn't threatened by them, "Do you want to know what has happened to the planets I have set foot on since I did what I needed to? The children born have known nothing but full bellies and clear skies. It's a paradise." 

Luna glared hatefully at the Titan, "Because you MURDERED half of the population!!!" She roared. 

Thanos kept his calm demeanor and replied, "A small price to pay for salvation." 

Otto rolled his eyes at the Titan's reasoning, "Congratulations, you're a prophet." He sneered sarcastically. 

Thanos wasn't expecting to get into a debate about this, but he was enjoying it nonetheless, "I'm a survivor, Human." 

"One who wants to murder TRILLIONS of people!" Mysterio countered. Although The Sinister Six were villains, they all agreed that killing trillions of people was TOO far. 

Rainbow nodded in agreement, "Maybe more since... You know... Our worlds smashed together and all." 

Thanos smiled and raised his left hand, "With all the six stones, I could simply snap my fingers," He proceeded to snap his fingers, the clank of his armored appendages sending chills down everybody's spines, "and they would all cease to exist. I call that... mercy." 

Discord scowled, the Ponies had never seen him scowl before, it was honestly unnerving, "And then what? Everyone's dead, no more 'chaos', right" He snarked as he used his paws and talons as quotation marks, "What will you do after that, you psycho?" 

"I finally rest," Thanos replied with no hesitation, "And watch the sunrise on a grateful universe. What you Equestrians need to learn is that the hardest choices require the strongest wills." He then gestured to them with his hand, "You all believe that the universe's problems can be solved with friendship. But world hunger, and war, cannot be solved with rainbow lasers, young ones. I don't blame you for not knowing that, after all, your naïve monarchs have kept that truth from you." 

Rainbow shook her head instantly, not agreeing with Thanos for a single moment, "No! They showed us a better way!" 

Thanos laughed at the proclamation before looking at Rainbow, "The universe is wide. Dimensions are even wider. Clearly your foolishness exceeds any known dimension." 

"BUT THERE IS A BETTER WAY!!!" Rainbow yelled, refusing to back down, "WHAT IF YOU GOT THE STONES AND USED THEM TO MAKE MORE RESOURCES FOR EVERYONE! WHAT IF YOU USED THEM TO MAKE AN INFINITE AMOUNT?! THERE ARE MULTIPLE WAYS TO SAVE THE UNIVERSE, YOU'RE JUST USING IT AS AN EXCUSE TO KILL PEOPLE!!!" 

Thanos' face became stern, never taking Rainbow out of his sights, "Let's say, hypothetically, that I use the Stones to make more resources. They would run out eventually. If I made an infinite amount, then people would become greedy and start wars over said resources. Thus, making my crusade pointless. The only way to ensure salvation is to wipe the slate clean. Start again." 

Rainbow didn't say another word and simply landed on the ground, her whole argument rendered useless by Thanos' calculative rebuttal. 

Thanos then got to his feet and removed his double ended blade from the ground, "As much as I have enjoyed this little debate of ours, it is time that I get what I came for." He then pointed his blade at the army before him, "Stand aside so that I may achieve my destiny, or your lives will come to an abrupt end." 

Celestia had grown tired of this and flared her wings open in an attempt to look intimidating, "Never! Your ideas of salvation are skewed and perverse! We will never let you get your hands on the Infinity Stones, you say that we are naïve, that we don't know how to truly help the universe. You're wrong! We know that in order to save the universe there must be sacrifice, so you either leave our kingdom peacefully..." Her horn shined as bright as the sun itself, "Or you will not leave at all." 

Thanos watched as all of them gathered enough courage to walk up and stand beside Celestia and Luna, standing side by side. 

Standing against him. 

The Mad Titan nodded slowly, knowing that it would come to this. They stood in his way after all, they stood between him and his destiny. That alone would not be tolerated, they had to be educated in how this was going to work. An example needed to be made. 

And who better than Thanos himself? 

"Admirable." Thanos acknowledged to the group with a nod. He held his blade by his side, the blade crackling with yellow electricity, "But mistaken." 

 

"OPEN FIRE!!!" Shining Armor commanded as Thanos started slowly walking towards them. The Royal Guard opened fire, firing blasts of magic to try and slow down the Titan. But Thanos thought of them as nothing but gnats, deflecting the various blasts of magic with his double ended blade, continuing to walk forward. 

One of the guards looked to Shining Armor nervously, "Um, sir? H-He's not slowing down..." 

Shining was about to reply, but his eyes widened in horror as Thanos quickened his pace, his stomps being heard by all. He was charging right towards them, the blade on both ends starting to glow and electrify with power. Armor took a hasty step back as he saw Thanos' face. 

It was cold. Unmoving. Stern. 

And that terrified the Unicorn. 

"F-Fall back." Shining stuttered before yelling, "FALL BACK! FALL BACK RIGHT NOW!!!" 

As the Royal Guard started to back away, Thanos suddenly leaped through the air, aiming one end of his blade downwards before stabbing the ground beneath his feet. A trail of yellow electricity tore through the concrete, splitting it apart as it drew closer to the Royal Guard. 

Cadance quickly flew over to her husband and enveloped him in her magic, teleporting them both away. 

The other Ponies tried to run, but it was for nothing as more than half of them were struck by the trail of electricity. The agonizing screams of her little Ponies was the most horrid thing Celestia had ever heard. She could only look on in horror as the electricity slowly climbed up their bodies, entering their eyes and burning them to nothingness. 

Thanos removed his blade from the ground, stopping the flow of electricity. 

More than half of the Royal Guard was dead, their eyes being burned out of their sockets as smoke left their eyeholes. The Unicorn guards had the bases of their horns charred, the skin surrounding their horns sizzling, bubbles of flesh popping on their foreheads. 

Everyone, including the villains, looked on in horror as Thanos paid no acknowledgement to the fallen, simply walking past them as if they were nothing. Celestia felt tears streaming down her face, her whole body shaking in absolute terror. Her sadness quickly turned to a burning rage as she saw Thanos smiling at her. 

She let out a scream that shook the heavens before darting forward towards the Mad Titan. 

"CELESTIA NO!!!!" Luna screamed, pleading for her not to go. 

But the Solar Alicorn didn't listen, all she saw was him, this monster. Murderer. Titan. She let out a scream of rage as she fired a massive laser from the tip of her horn. It was hot enough and powerful enough to destroy the sun if she wanted it to. But Thanos simply planted his blade in the ground in front of him and let the laser hit it.

The magic laser was split in two as soon as it came in contact with Thanos' blade. The beam split off into two separate directions, flying right off the edge of Canterlot. Celestia stopped firing and looked at the Titan with a dumbfounded expression. 

Thanos simply smiled as he removed the blade from the ground. 

Celestia just floated there. Her guard was down. 

"CELESTIA, LOOK OUT!!!" Miles shouted, but it was for naught. 

Celestia snapped out of her shocked state just in time to be blasted in the chest by a yellow beam of cosmic energy. The white Alicorn was sent soaring all the way across Canterlot and crashed right in front of The Palace. Everyone looked away from the crash sight towards Thanos, who lowered his hand, which was crackling with cosmic power. 

Luna snarled in raw anger, "MONSTER!!!!" She shouted in the Royal Canterlot Voice. The Alicorn darted forward, along with everyone else charging behind her. Luna was the first to attack, sending a midnight laser from her horn directly at Thanos. 

The Mad Titan swatted it away with his blade and seized Luna by the throat once she was close enough. The intergalactic villain tightened his grip around her throat and choke slammed her into the ground, creating a small crater beneath her. Not giving Luna the chance to recover, he stomped his boot right on top of her chest, the sheer impact causing the Alicorn to hack up blood. 

As her own blood splattered down onto her face, Luna saw Thanos turn his attention to his front. 

"GET AWAY FROM HER!!!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she zoomed forward at high speeds. She tried hitting Thanos in the chest, but the Titan sidestepped and grabbed her tail. Before she could do anything, Thanos slammed RD into the ground right on her back. 

Rainbow screamed, the impact made her back feel like it was on fire. 

Thanos wasn't done yet as he lifted her into the air and threw her right into Applejack, sending them both crashing on the ground. The evil Titan grinned, but it was wiped right off his face as Captain Marvel spear tackled him, taking them both into the air. 

Carol took him right out of Canterlot, right into the sky. As they flew across the sky around the mountain side Canterlot was built on, Danvers was laying right into the villain. Punch after punch, delivered right to Thanos' face, not holding back, no intention of stopping. 

She went for another punch, but she was suddenly blasted in the face by Thanos, who fired two beams of cosmic energy from his eyes. 

"INSECT!" He shouted before grabbing Carol by the throat and throwing her into the side of the mountain. 

Carol groaned as she tried to remove herself from the side of the mountain. But she never got the chance since Thanos hurled his double ended blade directly at her. It spun in the air like a propeller before slamming right into Carol, sending her crashing right through the mountain. 

Danvers crashed through the other side of the mountain and landed in the river below. 

Thanos' blade spun right back to its master, who caught it with one hand and dived down towards Canterlot. Thanos crashed down like a meteorite, his blade planted into the ground. He was about to remove the blade, but was suddenly blasted in the chest. 

Thanos rolled across the ground before planting his feet into the ground, digging trenches as he came to a stop. He looked forward and saw Cadance flying right towards him. Thanos pulled back his fist and threw a punch, but Cadance teleported away before she could get hit. 

Thanos looked confused for a moment before he heard a popping sound behind him. 

She teleported directly behind him. 

He smiled before he turned around and punched Cadance directly in her ribs, causing the Alicorn to cry out in pain as she flew into a house behind her. The house came crashing down right on top of her, smoke rising into the air from the rubble. Thanos felt a small smirk tug on his lips, but it turned to a frown when the rubble that was once a Pony's home exploded and Cadance came flying out, her horn lit up like a Christmas Tree. 

She screamed using the Royal Canterlot Voice as she fired a beam of magic from her horn. But it didn't do much since Thanos raised his hand and blocked the beam of magic with the palm of his hand. Cadance didn't let up as she added more magic to the laser, actually managing to push Thanos back slightly. 

Thanos grinned as he began to walk forward, still holding the beam in place with his hand. 

Cadance's eyes widened in fear, this shouldn't be happening! How was he doing this? She tried adding more magic to push the Mad Titan back, but no matter how hard she tried he just kept coming. Once he got close enough, Thanos used his other hand to seize Cadance by her horn, stopping the flow of magic and stopping the beam. 

Cadance looked fearful as she looked into the Titan's eyes, showing nothing but pure evil and death. The Princess of Love let out an agonizing cry of pain as Thanos tightened his grip around her horn, causing a trickle of blood to ooze out of the base of her horn. 

Thanos showed his teeth as he grinned madly. 

But he suddenly felt a slight pinch on his back, someone had struck him from behind. He loosened his grip slightly and turned to see Shining Armor and the rest of the Royal Guard galloping towards him. 

"LET MY WIFE GO, MONSTER!!!" Shining roared, fearful for what Thanos might do to his lover. 

Thanos responded by hurling Cadance directly at Shining, who caught her with his magic. He set her down onto the floor gently as the Royal Guard galloped past them. Thanos' hands lit up with raw, cosmic power. He then let loose said power directly at the Ponies before him. 

The Pegasi quickly took to the air, leaving the Unicorns to cast protective shields to keep them and the Earth Ponies from harm. But their shields instantly shattered once Thanos' cosmic beams came in contact with the shields, burning the Unicorns and the Earth Ponies to ash. 

The Pegasi looked on in horror as Thanos walked over and removed his blade from its placement in the ground. The Pegasi, deciding to avenge their fallen comrades, dove down towards their inevitable demise. Thanos let out a grunt as he hurled his double ended blade into the air. 

They didn't even have time to stop as the blade spun through the air and cut them all down. 

They were all separated from the lower halves of their bodies, their internal organs hanging from their torsos as their lower halves splattered on the ground, their upper halves soon following suit. Thanos recalled his blade as Scorpion and Miles leaped at him from behind. 

But Thanos quickly turned and not only blasted Miles away, but he also grabbed Gargan's face with his hand. 

The Mad Titan then lit up his hand and electrocuted Gargan's head, causing the villain to cry out in pain. Thanos then stopped the flow of cosmic power and sent Scorpion flying through the air, the villain crash landing into a nearby food stand. 

Thanos then suddenly felt four appendages wrap around his neck and torso. Doc Ock tightened his grip, but it didn't do much since Thanos simply engulfed his body in cosmic energy, sending an electrified current down Otto's tentacles which eventually made its way to Otto himself. 

Octavius let out a pained cry as he felt his body being electrocuted. Otto then fell to the ground as the current stopped, unconscious as his arms unwrapped themselves from Thanos. 

"BEHOLD, TITAN!!! WITNESS THE FULL WRATH OF MYSTERIO!!!" Thanos turned to see Mysterio send two giant Cobras slithering towards him. 

Thanos simply punched the ground, dispelling the illusions with his power. He then charged forward at high speeds and shoulder charged Mysterio, shattering his helmet as he tumbled across the ground. He then suddenly felt the ground beneath him shake violently. 

A sudden explosion behind him caught his attention, once he turned around, he saw Captain Marvel shoot up from the ground and hover over him, Photon Energy pulsing off of her body. 

"Ready for round two, asshat?!" Carol snarled before she fired a Photon Blast from her wrists. 

Thanos, thinking quickly, moved his blade in front of him and spun it around like a helicopter propeller. The Photon Blast collided with Thanos' blade, being blocked by the weapon. Carol let out a scream of rage as she increased her power, but Thanos kept spinning his blade. 

The ground beneath his feet shattered, small pieces of rubble slowly ascending into the air from the sheer power Carol was dishing out. The Mad Titan had grown bored of these games and quickly launched himself into the air. Carol stopped firing and looked up, only to be headbutted by Thanos as he shot downwards towards the ground. 

Danvers grunted in pain as she crashed down onto the ground, Thanos landing down in front of her and looming over her fallen form. Carol tried getting up, but Thanos planted his boot on her chest to prevent her from moving. 

"You've come a long way just to die." Thanos declared, "But it doesn't have to end like this. Join me, and not only shall I spare you, but you can join my ranks and help me save the universe. This is a one time offer, take it while you have the chance." 

Carol spat blood on the ground beside her head and turned to Thanos, "Fuck you." 

The Titan clicked his tongue as he shook his head, "Waste." He then raised his blade over his head and prepared to bring it down to kill Captain Marvel. 

He would've too, had a giant train from out of nowhere not rammed into him. 

To say that Carol was confused would be an understatement. 

The train poofed out of existence as Thanos rolled across the ground. He stopped himself from going any further by digging his blade into the ground, halting his movement. He growled as he looked straight and saw a weakened Discord panting heavily on one knee. 

"Soon come chaos." Discord said between pants. Thanos straightened himself and walked forward towards the Draconequus, his double ended blade crackling with energy. "Chaos soon comes." Discord let out a weak smile before he snapped his talons... Only for nothing to happen. He looked at his hand and snapped again. Nothing. Discord let out a hearty chuckle, "Heh, guess I've run out of juice." He stated as Thanos stopped before him. 

The Titan then kicked Discord in the chest, sending the Draconequus flying until he came rolling to a stop on the ground. Discord tried getting up, but he just couldn't muster the strength, The Convergence left him too weak to fight. He looked up to Thanos as his eyes pierced his own. 

"No more tricks." The Titan declared to the weakened Draconequus. He raised his blade, ready to end Discord's life, "No more chaos." 

"DON'T YOU DARE!!!" Thanos turned around to see Fluttershy zoom right up to his face, "YOU THINK THAT JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO HURT OTHERS!!! YOU THINK THAT IT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO KILL SO MANY INNOCENT CREATURES!!! WELL I WON'T LET YOU HURT ANYONE ELSE, MISTER!!! NOT NOW, NOT EVER!!!" Fluttershy then gazed right into Thanos' eyes, causing the Titan to stiffen. 

Everyone who knew Fluttershy knew what she was doing to Thanos. 

She was giving him The Stare. 

But to her despair, she was losing her hold on the Titan. He was breaking through?! Impossible! Fluttershy tried to compose herself, but it was too late as a gloved hand closed itself around her throat. 

Thanos broke through The Stare. 

"Demon!" He snarled as he slammed the shy Pegasus to the ground, the mare letting out a pained cry from the sheer impact. 

"FLUTTERSHY!!!" Rainbow cried out as tears fell from her eyes. She tried getting back up, but she just couldn't. 

Thanos removed his hand from her throat and raised his blade. He was going to kill her. Discord's eyes widened in horror as he mustered the strength to get up and dart over to his friend. 

Thanos looked down at the Pegasus with a solemn expression, "I apologize for what I have to do, little one. Know that your death shall aid to the end of the blasphemy called life." 

He then brought down his blade. 

It made contact. 

But not with her. 

(End song) 

Fluttershy, who had her eyes shut tight, opened her eyes. She let out a loud gasp as blood dripped onto her snout. But it wasn't hers. 

It was his. 

 

Discord stood over Fluttershy, Thanos' blade pierced through his torso. Fluttershy's eyes shrunk to pinpricks as blood trickled down Thanos' blade and onto her shaking form. All of the Ponies gasped at the sight before them. 

Discord had saved Fluttershy. 

The Draconequus gave Fluttershy a pained smile as blood trickled down from his mouth. Fluttershy had tears streaming down her cheeks, as did Discord. Thanos removed the blade and kicked Discord's body down to the ground. The Draconequus landed next to Fluttershy, blood spilling underneath his broken form. 

Fluttershy wasted no time in getting up and crawling over to her friend, cradling her dying friend and looking into his eyes. 

Discord smiled weakly at his friend before hacking up blood, "H-hey, Fluttershy..." He then winced at the pain, "So... This is what pain feels like? I m-must say that I... I'm not t-too fond of it." 

She was openly sobbing now, her vision blurred by her tears, "D-Discord... Why? Why w-w-would you d-d-d-do that?!" 

"Heh... A-Are you k-kidding?" He replied weakly, "I-I'd do ANYTHING to p-protect you, my dear. I-I couldn't just l-let you die." He coughed up some more blood as tears began streaming down his face, "I-I know that I h-h-haven't been the b-best kind of f-friend to you at ti-times... But... I h-hope this makes up f-f-for th-that." 

Fluttershy shook her head as she choked back a sob, "Oh, Discord... You n-n-ever needed to prove yourself to m-me! You were always m-my friend! One of m-m-my v-very best friends!" 

Discord let out a pained laugh, "I-It wasn't all bad, n-now was it?" 

Fluttershy gave him a sad smile, "No... I-It wasn't...." 

Discord smiled painfully as he held onto one of Fluttershy's hooves with his bloodstained paw, "T-That's all... I e-ever wanted to hear...." He then looked up to the sky with a smile on his face, "Huh.... F-For the f-f-f-first ti-ti-time in my life.... I DON'T want t-t-to cause ch-cha--chaos..." He looked into Fluttershy's eyes, the life dimming from his own, "I just want t-to enjoy the peace...." His grip loosened as his eyes started to close, "....And quiet...." 

His hand fell from her hoof. 

His eyes rolled into the back of his head as they shut. 

His chest stopped moving. 

His body fell limp. 

Fluttershy let out a scream of utter sorrow before she cried into the chest of her fallen friend. Behind her, Luna was crying silently, AJ had her Stenson covering her eyes in sadness, even Rainbow let a few tears fall. The loss hit them like a freight train. 

Discord. The Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. Their friend. Was dead. Giving his life for the one Pony he cared for most in the world. 

(End song) 

 

"I know what it's like to lose." Thanos stated suddenly, gaining everyone's attention, "To feel so desperately that you're right, yet to fail nonetheless." He looked around to see everyone glaring hatefully at him, "Frightening. Turns the legs to jelly. I ask you to what end? Dread it? Run from it? Destiny arrives all the same, and now it's here. Or should I say: I am." 

Rainbow let out a pained cry as she darted forward to try and land a hit on the Mad Titan. But he simply backhanded her away, not wasting time with her. He then turned his sights onto The Palace and marched towards it, not bothering with his adversaries any longer. 

Everyone tried getting back up, but found that they couldn't. They were too weak to stop him now. 

As the truth finally set in, Fluttershy's cries echoed throughout all of Canterlot. 



 

Thanos kicked down the doors to the hallway leading to the Throne Room of the castle, his shadow seen on the floor as he walked in. He walked past all of the stained glass windows, rolling his eyes at the displays of so called victories. He paid them no mind as he kicked down the Throne Room doors. 

What lied before him, much to his surprise, was a weakened Celestia, who tried crawling to the Soul Stone with all of her might. She was so close, but her hopes were crushed when Thanos' shadow loomed over her. She turned around and lit up her horn, ready to attack. 

But Thanos seized her throat and tossed her weakened form aside before ascending up the steps leading to Twilight's throne. 

Towards the Soul Stone. 

He grinned as he stood before his prize, it was time. 

He smashed the capsule containing the Stone and held out his empty Infinity Gauntlet. The Soul Stone floated towards the Gauntlet and hovered over one of the empty slots for a moment before zipping down into its place inside the Gauntlet. Thanos clenched his fist as the power of the Soul Stone flowed through his body. 

Thanos exhaled, pleasure written on his face as he flipped his hand over to gaze into the first Stone in his collection, "One down." He turned to face Celestia, who was struggling to get back up, "Five to go." The mare became fearful and started to crawl away from the Mad Titan, "You can run. You can try and stop me. But I will bring balance to the universe. Starting by ripping your souls from your bodies and enclosing them within my fist." 

He then looked up to the ceiling with a thoughtful expression. 

"But there will be time for that later." He then smiled darkly as he returned his sights to Celestia, "Make peace with your life, Alicorn, for you won't get another chance to." 

"Y-You won't win..." Celestia stuttered. 

Thanos chuckled as he shook his head, "Oh? But I already have." A beam of light shot through the ceiling and landed on Thanos. The Titan gave one last chilling grin before he was beamed back up to The Sanctuary II. Celestia looked down at the floor in sorrow. The Stone was gone.

They had failed. 

She had failed. 

A booming noise from up above caught her attention. It was a chilling sound that made her shiver involuntarily. She looked up just in time to see The Sanctuary II rain fire down on all of Canterlot. 

(End song)