//------------------------------// // War For A Better Tomorrow (Part 3) // Story: Tomorrow War // by Battwell //------------------------------// Sunset Shimmer was outnumbered, surrounded by hundreds of Outriders and Chitauri. When she was approached by Dr. Strange, she was baffled about who he was and why he wanted her specifically, but when he said that Twilight needed her help she was on board instantly. The Princess of Friendship saved her once and put her on a better path, so it was time to return the favor. Unfortunately she didn't think helping Twilight involved fighting an entire alien army hellbent on destroying the entire universe. She was panting hard, sweat falling from her brow as she backed away from the Chitauri slowly. She was cornered, trapped, what was she to do? She looked up to see Ebony Maw hovering above her and his forces with a smile on his face. Sunset snarled while the alien telepath simply laughed, pointing his hand forward to signal the Outriders and the Chitauri to finish her off. The Unicorn closed her eyes as the screeches of the Outriders filled the air. She braced herself for the final blow. But it never came. Instead she felt hot. Really hot. She opened her eyes and gasped as she saw all of the Outriders and Chitauri burnt to a crisp, all dead. Sunset looked up and saw Ebony Maw with a horn protruding from his chest. She let a smile form on her face when she saw Celestia remove her horn from Maw's chest. The alien telepath let out one last gurgled cry before he fell to the ground. The solar Alicorn let out a breath as she landed in front of Sunset. The two simply stared at one another for a moment and before they knew it, they were both galloping towards one another. The two embraced, Celestia's wings folded around her former student's body as the Unicorn nuzzled into her chest. The two departed from the hug, not wanting to be caught off guard by the enemy forces. Celestia gave Sunset a kind and gentle smile, "I've missed you, Sunset." She said warmly before looking around at their surroundings, "Although I wish it weren't because of... This..." Celestia gestured towards the corpses around them with her massive wings. Sunset giggled before flicking her mane out of her eyes, "You and me both. But to be fair this doesn't seem to be too far out of the ordinary." "Eh, you're not wrong." Celestia agreed with a small shrug of her shoulders. Their conversation was interrupted as the head of Black Dwarf landed right between the two, blood gushing out of the bottom of the decapitated alien head. Sunset placed a hoof to her mouth, her face turning green from nausea. She then proceeded to turn around and barf up her guts. Celestia simply looked at the vile sight before turning her head to face the one who tossed the head in the first place. Doctor Doom threw Dwarf's blood stained axe into the ground and marched over to the two Equestrians as Sunset stopped vomiting. Doom walked in between the two and said, "If you two are done socializing, we have a war to win." He bumped into Celestia as he walked past. Sunset wiped the bile from her mouth with her foreleg before she turned to her former mentor, "Um... Who was that?" "One who deserves a fate worse than Tartarus." Celestia replied coldly, showing no signs of hesitation in her answer. She turned to her former student and placed a hoof on her shoulder, "Come, my former student, this war shall not win itself." And with that, Celestia took off into the sky with a mighty flap of her wings. Sunset, not wasting any time, galloped right after her with her horn lit up like a Hearths Warming tree. The Babylon Rouges all groaned in pain, their Extreme Gear crushed with little to no effort. Jet tried to get back up, but Thanos kicked the Hawk back down to the ground. The Mad Titan simply rolled his eyes before continuing on towards the remains of the Castle of Friendship. He swatted away anyone who was in his path, Asgardians, Equestrians, Mobians, Earthlings, it didn't matter who they were to Thanos. All that mattered was that they were in his way, and he wouldn't allow anyone to stand in his way. Thanos stopped when Proxima Midnight was hurled in front of his path, her spear broken and her arm severely injured. She looked up to her adoptive father and reached out for him to help her. Thanos knelt down and cupped the back of her head with his hand, staring into her eyes. Proxima looked hopeful for a moment before Thanos tightened his grip on her head, causing her eyes to widen in terror. Thanos' glare was as cold as ice, showing no signs of love or pity for his adoptive daughter. He moved his hand from the back of her head and got a firm grip around her throat, the action alone already crushing her windpipe. Thanos leaned in towards her face, his eyes piercing Proxima's. He let out a frustrated exhale from his nose before finally speaking. "She was always better than you." Thanos sneered coldly before breaking Proxima's neck with his hand. Her body went limp instantly, no signs of life in her whatsoever. Thanos tossed her body aside and stood upright, looking at the one who defeated Midnight with nothing but pride in his eyes. With nothing but love for her. His favorite daughter. Gamora glared hatefully at her adoptive father, her grip around the handle of her sword tightening as she grit her teeth in anger and hatred. Thanos smiled, but it wasn't a sick and twisted smile, it was a proud smile. A smile only a father could give to his daughter. In some twisted way, he did truly love Gamora, almost as much as he loved Death. He loved her so much that he would actually struggle to choose between Gamora and Lady Death. "Hello, daughter." He greeted softly with a smile, "I'm glad you're safe." Gamora let out a bitter laugh, "Why do I have a hard time believing that?" "Despite what you think of me, despite everything I've done, my love for you was pure, Little one." "Cut the shit." Gamora sneered venomously, pointing her blade towards her constant tormentor, "The only thing you love is your Lady Death! You don't even love her! It's an infatuation! An obsession! Well that all ends here!" She lowered her blade and looked down to the ground in sorrow, "I've spent my whole life running from you, escaping you." She lifted her head and gave Thanos a cold and determined look, "Well I'm done running!" Thanos shook his head in disappointment, "When you left me all those years ago, I allowed it. You haven't been under the impression that you escaped? Daughter, I raised you so much smarter than that." Gamora hated it when he called her Daughter. It disgusted her. It made her feel ugly and vile whenever he called her that. So when he said that word to her, she snapped. "I am not your daughter! You didn't raise me, you kidnapped me, orphaned me, and imprisoned me! Everything I hate about myself comes from you." She shouted as tears fell from her eyes, all the years of pain and suffering finally opening up inside of her. "It's because of you that my sister is dead!" Thanos quirked an eyebrow at that, "Do you truly believe that, daughter?" He asked in a curious tone. Gamora was about to retort but stopped when no words came to her. As much as she hated to admit it, Thanos did have a point. Despite the many sufferings he has caused, this wasn't one of them. The Mad Titan approached his adoptive daughter slowly as tears fell from her eyes. "You're strong. Me." He began as he drew closer to Gamora. "You're generous. Me." He planted his blade into the ground and stood before his crying child, wrapping his arms around her as she cried. She dropped her sword to the ground and cried into Thanos' chest, slowly reaching for her sidearm. She had him right where she wanted him. Gamora caught him hook, line, and sinker. She grabbed her sidearm and pushed away. But her finger wouldn't pull the trigger. Try as she might, she just couldn't do it. Gamora then noticed the blue aura around her trigger finger. She gasped before looking at Thanos in shocked realization. He knew. He knew her plan and let her try it anyway. Thanos gave Gamora a disappointed look, the Space Stone glowing with power, "But I never taught you to lie. That's why you're so bad at it." He then moved her out of his way with the Stone, but not with much force as to not hurt her. Despite what a monster Thanos is, he only ever had one rule. He would never harm Gamora in any way, lest the situation called for it. Thanos truly does love his daughter. The Titan continued on his path towards the destroyed castle, but he was suddenly pummeled into a wall of debris by a golden force. He fell to one knee and looked up at his assailant. A very pissed off Sonic the Hedgehog. "Shadow was one of my best friends." He spoke in a deadly tone. Thanos tried getting back up, but Sonic zoomed over and seized his neck, holding him against the wall, "AND YOU JUST KILLED HIM!!!" Sonic yelled as he prepared to punch the monster in his grasp. But Thanos snarled and closed his golden fist, all five Stones in his possession lighting up. Sonic let out a frustrated scream as he was thrown backwards from the resulting shockwave. The Hedgehog recovered in the air and glared down at Thanos as the Titan called his double sided blade to him. Sonic let out a primal roar before he zoomed downwards towards Thanos, the Titan letting out a roar of his own as he thrusted his left arm forward, firing a massive laser with the five Infinity Stone in his Gauntlet. Sonic curled into a ball and met the laser head on, but it didn't amount to much as he was sent flying through the air due to their sheer power. The yellow Hedgehog spun through the air before he crashed down onto the ground with a sickening Crunch! He was in the process of getting back up when Thanos suddenly appeared before him and kneed him in the face, sending the Hedgehog back and crashing against the remains of Twilight's old castle. Sonic shook his head and got back to his feet. He stared Thanos down before he boosted toward his foe, sending out laser blasts from the palm of his right hand. Thanos marched forward, swatting the blasts away with his blade as the Hedgehog approached. Thanos then clenched his fist, activating the Time Stone. Sonic froze in place, he couldn't move at all. No matter how hard he tried, his body wouldn't budge. Thanos then fired another laser with the Infinity Gauntlet, striking Sonic right in the chest and crashing into the remains of a Chitauri Leviathan. Sonic got up again, but Thanos appeared beside him and backhanded him away. Sonic rolled across the ground and got to his feet, only to be knocked down by Thanos, who used the Space Stone to teleport once again. The Super formed Hedgehog tried getting up, but a hand made out of dirt suddenly sprouted from the ground behind him and grabbed him. He tried breaking free but it was no use, Thanos wasn't planning on letting him go. The Titan then deactivated the Reality Stone and used all five Stones in his possession to power up his fist. Sonic was then punched in the face by Thanos, sending him flying across the battlefield. Sonic tumbled across the charred ground and rolled to a stop. He planted his hands on the ground and pushed himself up, spitting out blood as he rose to one knee. He caught a glimpse of Tails and Twilight fighting off a horde of outriders a few feet ahead of him. They both turned and saw that Sonic needed help. With a burst of magic from her horn, Twilight gave her and Tails some breathing room so they could rush over to help their friend. But before they could reach him, they were suddenly pushed back by a wave of blue energy. As the two landed on their backs, Sonic rose to his feet and was about to zoom over to see if they were okay. (End song) Until.... A hot feeling found its way into Sonic's chest, a tearing sensation that pushed him ever so slightly. He didn't know what was happening... Until the pain set in. He looked down to see a golden blade protruding from his torso, it felt hot, but it also felt cold at the same time. He began to feel a wetness dripping down from his stomach onto his shoe, he could feel a tearing sensation and hear a sickening noise in his ears. He felt his skin being pulled as Thanos removed the blade from his torso. Sonic felt the power of the Emeralds leave his body as his fur turned back into its usual blue color. His eyes changed from red to emerald, but there was no life in them, they looked exhausted and tired. Twilight and Tails could only watch on in horror as the Hedgehog fell to his knees, and then finally fall onto his stomach. Tails, with tears streaming down his cheeks and a stinging in his eyes scurried to his feet and rushed over towards his big brother. Twilight didn't move an inch. She was just sitting there, eyes wide and tears falling, her pupils the size of pinpricks. Tails slid down next to Sonic and turned him over onto his back, placing his hand behind Sonic's head and lifting it up. "SONIC!!! SONIC WAKE UP, PLEASE!!! PLEASE, YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP!!!" Tails pleaded as he sobbed. He got no reply from the limp Hedgehog. The young Fox shook his head frantically, "Nononononononononono, not you, anybody but you! I-I can't lose you too! I ju-just can't! SONIC! SONIC WAKE UP!!!" He shook the Hedgehog's body, but it was no use. "PLEASE, BIG BROTHER, YOU'RE STRONG ENOUGH! FIGHT! FIGHT GODDAMN YOU, FIGHT!!! SONIC!!! SOOOOOONNNNIIIICCCC!!!" Tails sobbed heavily as he held his brother close and cried into his blood stained chest. Not that Tails noticed, but the battle around him actually seemed to stop, everyone was looking at the Fox and the lifeless Hedgehog. The Mobians all looked on in horror, Amy fell to her knees as tears began to fall from her eyes. Knuckles clenched his fists and looked away as he cried over his fallen friend. Pinkie's mane deflated as she slowly landed on the ground, Fluttershy was already bawling her eyes out. Applejack lowered her Stetson to cover her face, she was crying too. Rarity could only look on at the scene before her with tears fogging up her eyes. Rainbow landed on the ground and sat down, tears brimming her eyes as she tried to process what had just happened. The Avengers could only look on in sadness, they were experienced in loss, but even they were shook by this. Peter removed his helmet and fell to his knees, holding back tears as he slammed his fist into the ground. Tony actually let a single tear fall, but no one saw it due to his helmet. Eggman was absolutely livid. Furious. Enraged. "No no no NO NO!!! He was mine!" Eggman exclaimed as he slammed his fists onto his console, "Mine!!!" He slammed his fists again, "MIIIINE!" His screams of rage went unnoticed. The only sound that was heard by anyone was the sounds of Tails' sobs. Who could blame him? His brother, Sonic the Hedgehog, hero of Mobius... Was dead... Thanos merely looked down at the young Fox with sympathy in his eyes, but it was only for a moment. Now wasn't the time to mourn. Now he had a job to do. "...ill you..." Thanos turned his head to see Twilight Sparkle, who had finally said something, physically shaking. Her eyes were covered by her mane, but her tears were clearly seen. She finally looked up and glared at Thanos with murderous intent. Finally she spoke again. And it horrified everyone who knew Twilight Sparkle. "I am going to Kill you." She declared as her voice changed into a low, distorted echo. (End song) A dark aura erupted around Twilight's body as she stood up onto her hooves, the ground breaking beneath her as she flared out her wings. Dark tendrils began to wrap around her wings as they grew in size, expanding outwards. Her legs began to grow in length, as did her muzzle. She began to ascend into the air as she let out a scream of pure agony. Her fur darkened slightly as her neck grew as well. Her eyes gained an aqua blue color, an aqua blue flame surrounding her eyes to accompany them. Her teeth sharpened as her horn shifted and changed. Twilight was then engulfed in an orb of aqua blue fire as her transformation completed itself. The orb then exploded outwards, revealing the transformed Princess of Friendship for all to see. All of Twilight's friends could only watch in horror at their friend's shocking transformation. Twilight then cackled like a mad Pony into the air, her horn shooting out a ray of Dark Magic into the sky. She then looked down at Thanos, who didn't look threatened in the slightest. The Alicorn glared down at the Mad Titan before flaring out her magic once more. "You took the one I loved away from me!" Twilight shouted at the Titan spitefully. She then let out a laugh that sent shivers down Celestia and Luna's spines, "NOW THE MIDNIGHT SHALL BE THE LAST THING YOU WILL EVER SEE!!!"