//------------------------------// // The Night Falls // Story: The Strongest There Is // by Onomonopia //------------------------------// Hulk thought back on his time in Equestria as he began his solitary march through the Canterlot castle, ignoring the bodies of the fallen while he stomped through the empty halls. Hulk had hated the ponies at first; believed them to be weak and worthless creatures that would only seek to hurt Hulk, to try and capture Hulk just like the puny humans. That was why he kept himself away, so that they couldn't hurt him. But as more and more time went on, Hulk had come to realize that the ponies weren't all bad, even if he'd never admit it. Once he had realized that, Hulk had decided to stay away from the ponies so that he wouldn't hurt them. They hadn't deserved his wrath; they had done nothing to him. The pink one even thought of him as a friend and saw him as one...not a monster. None of them did. 'All except for me,' Banner's voice said in Hulk's head. Hulk stayed silent while Banner continued, having nothing left to say. 'I thought that by staying away from the ponies that I could protect them from you and your wrath. But in reality, I was running away; I was the one who was afraid...afraid of what they'd think of me if they saw you; afraid that they'd think the same thing that all the others think: Monster.' "But Hulk no monster," Hulk said, pushing open a golden gate and marching through. 'No, you are no longer the monster that you once were...the one that I thought you were,' Banner said in agreement. 'I am sorry for thinking of you as such a monster and trying to always keep you trapped in my mind....I always hated you.' "A lot of puny humans hate Hulk," Hulk responded. 'No, not like that. I always hated you because...you were almost always better than me...stronger, faster...greater. I would always give up and run from my problems instead of facing them head on, whereas you would charge right into them and force them back yourself, never giving an inch. And then there were the times where the world was in danger or a life was on the line--like when Deadpool and the others attacked that small town we were in. I wanted to run and keep us safe, but you went back for the people, getting caught in the crossfire. You always risk yourself for humanity even when you know that they will never accept you, whereas I am already accepted, but never truly believed it.' "Banner afraid before, but now Banner strong," Hulk said as they passed through what looked to be a library. "Banner chose to come save ponies. Banner chose to come back." 'Heh, maybe I picked up something on strength from being around you so much,' Banner said with a chuckle. 'So, think we'll manage to get out of this one alive?' "Hulk always survive. Hulk will survive this one as well," Hulk said with a smile as he finally reached the throne room. The inside looked very different from how he, or rather Banner, had read about it. Now it was covered with a dark black and blue marble instead of the white marble that he had expected. But none of this concerned the Hulk, who glared at the one sitting on the throne with rage in his eyes. Nightmare Moon sat upon the throne, casting her gaze upon him with a sneer. "You are such a magnificant creature, did you know that? What makes it even better is how similar we are," she said as she stood up and activated her magic, showing Hulk how she was created. "I was born of rage and jealousy to Celestia, the perfect pony that all the others loved--just like you. You were an accident created by that foal Banner, who was also loved and respected. And you too are an instrument of rage...of destruction. There is only one difference between us: You want to be alone despite the fact that you have the power to rule over all those who oppose you; I chose to rule over those who wished to leave me alone." "What ugly pony want?" Hulk asked her, so they could get right to the point. She sighed and walked back to her throne. "I want to make you an offer," she said as she sat back down. "I'm willing to give you something you've always longed for, the chance to be alone forever with nopony to hurt you." "And what Hulk have to do?" "Nothing," she said with a wicked smile. "You just have to sit back and let me take my revenge. So what do you say?" 'Don't do it, Hulk!' Banner roared in his mind, but Hulk ignored him and thought about it for a brief second--But only a second. "Well, Hulk, how about my offer?" Nightmare Moon asked Hulk again. "Will you try to stop me?" "No," Hulk muttered, causing Banner to gasp. "Hulk no stop you. HULK SMASH YOU!" he roared as he charged her. "Uh-oh," was all Nightmare Moon had time to say before Hulk tackled her and drove the both of them off the top of the castle, pounding on her all the way down. The two of them slammed into the ground and kicked up a massive cloud of dust. Then, Nightmare Moon was kicked into and through a building. Hulk leapt into the air and tried to drive his fist into her, but she fired a blast of magic into his chest and knocked him back. Hulk rolled with the momentum and sprinted back towards her the moment he was on his feet. Moon ducked under a massive fist and rolled away from his attempt to knee her in the gut. She unloaded a massive spell into his side which, being fueled by the Hulk's own blood, was enough to launch him across the plaza in which they had landed, right next to a startled Pinkie. He skidded through the ground while kicking up a lot of debris as he skidded to a halt. Hulk growled and picked himself up before being assaulted with a barrage of magic bolts. Nightmare Moon laughed maniacally as Hulk vanished from her sight by a storm of spells. Her laugh died in her throat as the Hulk leapt through her magic and tackled her out of the air, dragging the both of them down to the ground. Before she could get up, Hulk placed a foot on her body and began to slam his fists into her repeatedly, as blood began to pour from her body. She blasted him off and struggled back to her hooves. "Do you really think that you can beat me? I am the Night!" she roared in rage. "You no pointy-ear-man!" Hulk roared in retaliation as he began to throw more and more rocks at her, forcing her to duck and weave in between the hits. She fired more and more magical attacks towards the Hulk, hoping that she could at least weaken him a bit. But none of her attacks proved to be effective against his rage. So with her magic out, she decided to go with her 'back up' plan. "Alright Hulk, you may be a little stronger than me, but you can't stop what I'm about to do next," she said as she fired a bolt into the sky. As the magic rained down on the ponies and all of Canterlot, creatures began to emerge from the darkness, creatures that sought only to destroy. Hulk looked into the streets to find thousands of them, nearly outnumbering the ponies. "So here's my offer. You let me kill you and I won't hurt any of the ponies." Hulk took a step forward, but a scream cried out across the city and stopped him cold. "Ah hah! I know for a fact that you are nowhere near fast enough to save all the ponies before my minions of the night crush them," she said with a grin. Hulk looked around at all the ponies, his hands shaking in rage at the thought of her being right. He couldn't get to all of them fast enough. 'Hulk, change back into me,' Banner said in his mind. 'You know that it's the right thing to do.' Hulk growled in frustration, but sighed in defeat and slowly changed back into Banner. Nightmare Moon smiled at the puny human and aimed her horn at his chest. "How ironic, that the strongest creature in the land would die weak and beaten," she said with a grin just as she prepared to fire. But right before she could, a blast hit her in the back of the head. She spun around in a rage to see...a metal man floating behind her with both arms pointed at her. "Okay, crazy lady, this ends now," he said with an unseen smile. "Who are you?!" she screamed at Iron Man. He answered her with a blast to the face. "Tony, what are you doing here?" Banner asked him in disbelief as Nightmare Moon went skidding by him. Iron Man landed in front of Banner and opened his face plate. "Your pink friend called me with the device I gave Hulk," he said with a smile, watching as Pinkie ran over to them. "She said something about wanting to make sure that Hulk was alright and that you stayed safe. The other Avengers are dealing with another threat, but I figured that they could handle it without me, because I won't let them live it down if they don't." He looked behind Banner to notice Nightmare Moon getting back up and closed his face plate. "You can handle this I take it. I'm going to go help the others." Banner smiled as Tony took off to engage the changelings, thinking that maybe he and Hulk had been wrong about the number of friends they had. Hulk took control as Nightmare got back to her hooves, her body glowing with power. "This ends now Hulk," she said with a quiet growl. "I will kill you, then I will kill your friends. And then finally will I have my revenge." "Please, you can't beat the Hulk," Pinkie said with a smile. "Ugly pony no threat to Hulk," Hulk agreed. "Pony weak." Nightmare screamed and charged at him, vanishing into the shadows and re-appearing behind him to drive her magic-infused horn into her back. Hulk growled in annoyance as he reached behind him and yanked her off his back, growling at her before winding up like a baseball pitcher and letting her fly. Nightmare Moon managed to save her life by changing into darkness right before she impacted the ground, allowing her to pass right through the wall with which she almost collided. She had changed back into normal just as Hulk grabbed her by the face and tossed her into a wall, but this time she wasn't fast enough to pass through it. She shattered the wall as she went crashing through and rolled on the ground, barely able to get to her hooves. "You might be stronger than me, but I still have one last trick up my sleeve," she said with a sneer as she let loose her magic one last time, firing two spells at once--one at Hulk and the other at Pinkie. While Hulk had to throw up his arms to defend himself, Banner watched the spell while it flew at Pinkie--it seemed to be moving in slow-motion. If he guessed what Nightmare Moon was planning, she was trying to kill Pinkie to make the Hulk go completely insane. And if he lost another friend, Hulk would probably 'go world-breaker'. But all he could do was watch helplessly as the spell flew right up to Pinkie and...ran into a barrier made of silver. Nightmare Moon looked at the barrier in confusion since there was no pony around to cast it, giving Hulk the chance he needed to jump into the air and drive both feet onto her back. She threw Hulk off with her magic and began to cough green blood, while she staggered to her hooves. "I can't believe that something this strong exists," Nightmare Moon said while coughing up more blood. "But you will not-" Her head snapped back as Hulk tossed a chunk of rock into her face to shut her up. She staggered back just as Hulk started to barrel towards her, grabbing her with both arms and tossing her into the air. He leapt up and grabbed her rear hooves as he swung her forward into the ground. Nightmare Moon barely had time to look up as Hulk slammed his fingers into the ground beneath them, and then with all his might, toss it up as he yelled- "GGGAAAMMMAAA TTTSSSUUUNNNAAAAMMMIIII!" Nightmare Moon was devastated as tons of rock and debris came crashing down on her while the sea of rubble nearly drowned her. She would have been killed if Hulk had not reached through the rubble and lifted her by the throat. "Hulk beat ugly pony. Now pony keep promise and make it bright," Hulk said, tightening his grip just a bit so that she began to cough again, while Pinkie walked up beside him. Hulk heard hoof steps and turned to see two ponies running over to him, looking from him to her in amazement. "Wow, you already beat her?" Luna asked with amazement. "That was fast." "Now then, Nightmare, remove the moon from the skies," Celestia said in a threatening tone. "Do not force me to 'persuade you.' "Very well...I will do as you ask," she said with a grin as she pointed her magic upwards. The ponies began to cheer as the moon began to move...only to realize with horror that it was getting larger. "And just to be safe," she muttered before blasting Celestia and Luna in both their horns, causing them to scream and back away in pain. Hulk roared and smashed her into the ground, crushing her in his hands. Despite being completely crushed, Nightmare Moon began to laugh as Hulk looked up at the moon heading towards the planet. "Pony lied to Hulk! Pony said that-!" "I...said that...I would remove the moon from the sky," she said with a chuckle. "And...I have done exactly that. Now the...moon falls towards the planet. And I no longer have the power to stop it, and your princesses are to weak to try. If...I can't have...Equestria...nopony can." She laughed weakly before passing out. Hulk looked up at the approaching moon with a frown, seeing that she was right. The Elements of Harmony chose that moment to arrive on the scene. "Princesses!" Twilight called out as she and the others rushed over to the downed princesses. Pinkie rushed over to the Hulk's side along with Iron Man, who was looking up at the moon with a grim face. "Are you alright Hulk?" Pinkie asked him with worry, looking over his wounds with sad eyes. "Iron Man, what should we do about the moon?" Twilight asked Iron Man, who was using all of the tech at his diposal to try and think of a plan. "I don't know. Even the combinded strength of Hulk and the ponies wouldn't be able to throw it back into its orbit," Iron Man explained. "If I could get back to my tower I would have the resources to figure something out, but there isn't enough time." "Wait a minute." The ponies and the Hulk looked towards Celestia, who managed to stagger to her hooves thanks to the help of her sister. "I...am not entirely powerless as of yet. If...given some time to recover, I believe that the two of us can place the moon back in it's original orbit." "How much time are we looking at here?" Iron Man asked her. "Ten minutes tops," she panted in response. "That won't do. It will hit in at least seven minutes and once it does, I doubt any of the ponies will survive," Iron Man told her as he looked around at all the ponies. "The best we can hope for is to take as many of you back to our world as possible and find you a new planet where you can start over." "We will not abandon our home," Luna said defiantly. She and Iron Man began to argue over why the other's choice was a bad one, but Hulk continued to look up at the approaching moon with cold eyes. "Hulk stop it," Hulk said. Everypony stopped arguing, and all looked at him, confusion written into their faces. "Hulk, you can't stop the moon. Not even you are that strong," Iron Man said. "Hulk strongest there is. Hulk buy you time you need." "Okay Hulk, let me put it to you this way. I scanned your current powers and you aren't firing on all cylinders. This could be the task that finally puts you down for good. And all to save some...ponies?" Iron Man didn't have time to register Hulk's hand as it shot out and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him up. "Not puny ponies. They Hulk friends," he said in a whisper. Iron Man nodded and Hulk dropped him. "Can pony move moon to area with less ponies?" he asked the princesses. Celestia and Luna looked at each other with unsure glances. "Maybe, but moving it to a new location would not help," Luna told him. "Once it reaches the planet, it's only a matter of time." "Then Hulk buy you time," he replied. "Get Hulk to place where moon land. Then Hulk stop moon." The princesses weren't sure whether or not to go through with the plan, but Hulk's face told them that they didn't have much of a choice. "Very well Hulk, we will do as you request." Twilight took over here and began to charge the massive teleportation spell, having to draw on the power of her Element to do so. While the spell charged up, Pinkie walked over to Hulk, who was staring at the sky. "Do you really have to do this?" Pinkie asked him. "If Hulk don't do this, ponies die," Hulk responded gently, looking down at her. "Iron Man says that you could die," she said softly as she sat down beside him and watched the moon get closer. "Could you really?" "Hulk never die. Hulk too strong," Hulk replied, but Pinkie didn't hear any of his usual arrogance in his voice. "Hulk, I'm ready," Twilight said as she walked over to him, her horn crackling with power. Hulk nodded and started to walk over to her, but a pink hoof grabbed his hand to stop him. "Do you really have to go?" she asked him in a whisper, tears falling down her face. Hulk knelt down and gently placed his hand on her face to wipe away the tear. "If Hulk can't save pink pony friend, what point in being strongest?" Hulk asked her with a small smile. Pinkie didn't answer, but gave him a reassuring smile as he got up and walked over to Twilight. "Hulk ready." Twilight nodded and started to let her magic encompass him. "Hulk, when you get back, I'm throwing a massive party for you," Pinkie said with a smile. "Hulk smash pinata," Hulk said with a smile, closing his eyes as Twilight's teleportation spell took full effect and teleported him away.