Chapter 52-The Gnashing of Teeth
The second the shield fell, so did hell upon the city of Canterlot.
Ultron’s army, the beasts of Tartarus, the entirety of it all came rushing down in a wave that couldn’t be stopped, in a force so unprecedented that Shining Armor was momentarily frozen where he stood. The dark clouds above blocked all oncoming sunlight, leaving only a foggy, unnatural, dark haze in his surroundings, but even then there was little light.
But when Ultron’s army came down the same time his shield did, every pinch of light, the small grasp of hope that remained instantly vanished, a forsaken shadow slowly crawling across Shining Armor’s coat and covering his body. The only remnants of light that remained were the constant barrage of cannon fire, magical blasts, and blue exhaust flames from the hundreds upon hundreds of Ultron’s sentries.
Even then, with the darkness overcoming the light, Canterlot was still alive. Shining Armor, who had allowed the fear of the oily blackness consume him, blinked several times, his hearing finally returning. In that moment of clarity, he could hear the bellows from his fellow soldiers, his Equestrian Army, and their retaliation against the attack on Canterlot.
Their horns jutted upwards, releasing several spells and magical attacks on the enemy raining down like a fierce storm. The cannons on the rooftops shot off every second or two, the power of the blast ringing in Shining’s ears. But they were all together, all as one unit. Fighting. Defending themselves and their city for the upcoming assault.
An assault that took away every shred of light, allowing the demons of the dark to charge headlong into the fray. It was horrible. The screams, the cries, the evil. It was as if the entire sky fell down upon them.
On the ground-level, the Equestrian Army held their own. Their magic held off the invaders from the skies, and if even if some managed to land, the combined strengths of the Royal, Lunar, and Crystal Guard conjoined as one easily defeated the weak sentries, countering their attacks with skillful precision and excellent swordsmanship.
The demons and monsters of Tartarus, however, were another challenge.
Several winged creatures landed in the streets of Canterlot, others crawling from the mountain’s edge and entering the city. Within minutes, all of Canterlot was in a scattered frenzy. Buildings shook, streets were filled with sentries and demons and Equestrians holding their own, and the skies were blotted out by the fires of the Underworld, insanity and wickedness stretching across the entire mountain.
Despite it clearly being only noon, the sky told a different tale, making it appear as if dusk had already settled in, but with the same dark, crimson blackness consuming the heavens. What little light remained either burned from the lampposts scattered across the city, the attacks from both Ultron’s forces and the Equestrian Army, or from the constant repulsor blasts lighting up the Canterlot Gardens.
Tony Stark was personally responsible for that. He jutted his palms outwards, the sound of his repulsors echoing and joining the several other sounds of conflict and war every other second. He blasted sentries out of the sky, their bodies tumbling and kicking up grass and dirt. A group of harpies centered on him, their screeches filling their air and their claws at the ready.
Stark’s chest lit up. He fired a Unibeam into the group, completely vaporizing them.
Grunting, Stark continued to fight, Friday’s voice breaking his concentration.
“Boss, we’ll run out of power faster than these things are coming down.”
Stark eyed Twilight and her friends enter the fight. Twilight, Rarity, and Starlight all fired numerous magical beams up above, lighting up the sky. Rainbow flew around, knocking sentries off of their flight path and bucking several others. The rest fought from the ground, though not many enemies made it that far alive.
“You got any suggestions?” Tony asked, blasting another sentry in the head.
“Conserve your energy, perhaps? My sensors are picking up plenty more demons crawling up the mountain. If we take the fight to the skies, it’ll aid our armies below. I highly suggest you use your remaining supply on the bigger ones, and we won’t—”
“We won’t find ‘em here,” Stark finished. He could imagine Friday nodding in agreement. “How much power we got left since our last juice?”
“We’re running on 48% power, Boss,” Friday responded.
“I only need 30, give or take,” Stark murmured, his forearm pointed straight forward. He fired off a miniature missile, the shell flying across the street and hitting a stumbling cyclops right in the eye. The beast’s head flinched back, covering his face and screaming in agony. The screaming was gone the same time his head was, orange blossoms lighting up the streets with the cyclops’ body tumbling down.
Lowering his forearm, admiring his handy work, Stark twisted his neck back and shouted, “Thor! Discord! On me!”
Thor grunted heavily, slamming his hammer on the head of an unfortunate sentry. He landed back on the grass, turning his attention over Stark. Discord did the same, albeit a bit slower with most of his attention centered on the group of sentries he just enchanted. Their metallic bodies turned to bubbles, each one popping until nothing existed.
Stark’s feet lit up a brilliant blue. He took off into the dark skies, his trail vanishing through the chaos that fell upon Canterlot. Thor swung his hammer around wildly, jamming his arm upwards and taking off right behind Tony. Discord clapped in amusement, wearing what appeared to be a golfer’s uniform.
“Impressive, I’d say,” Discord mused, snatching a sentry out of the air and twisting its body until it resembled a small ball. He placed the ball by his cloven hoof, a golf club appearing in his disfigured grip. He aligned himself, swinging back and knocking the ball straight into darkness.
A perfect slice. The ball impacted a group of seven more of Ultron’s drones flying overhead, consuming each of them in a black hole. They vanished as did the vortex, leaving a grinning Spirit of Chaos ditching his outfit from below.
“But nothing compared to little ol’ me!” he shouted, blasting off in a trail of untangled reality following him. He was soon to catch up with both Thor and Stark, leaving the gardens and taking the fight to the enemy.
All that was left, all that remained to defend Canterlot Castle were the remaining Avengers— Captain America, Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Pietro and Wanda Maximoff—Celestia and Luna, Shining Armor and his defensive forces, the seven mares, and Spike. They were all that remained in the cluttered battlefield. They were the only ones standing in the path of Ultron’s desolation.
They fought anyways.
And they held their ground for all that they were.
It never stopped. Sentry after sentry, demon after monster, continuous and never ending. Twilight, Rarity, Starlight, Celestia, and Luna may have brightened the area in their magical beams of light tearing apart the approaching enemies, but they could never hit every single one of them. Several made it to the ground safely, their arms replaced by blasters, eyes burning from blue to red, and back again, Ultron’s voice constantly taunting them.
“You think you can win this?”
“We’ll never stop.”
“This is how you end…dying separated.”
Each voice was horrible, each voice muffled through the insanity and darkness that Tartarus was known for. Still, despite the already overwhelming odds, the group fought on. They never stopped.
Captain America was the symbol of leadership, holding the defensive line by standing in the open, easily countering any attack drawn his way, ending every sentry and demon that tried to take him. He dodged repulsor blasts, blocked them with his shield, and tossed that same weapon to any foe that drew near, ending them before they could even react.
It was overwhelming, and not even the Captain himself could hold the line by himself. Soon enough, through the constant blur of the world slowing down, the enemies and allies around him doing just the same, Pietro tore through any foe he saw. He circled the gardens, the streets, and then went back around. He was constant. He didn’t slow down for a second. Even then, it wasn’t enough.
The team was swarmed from all sides. While the Captain was focused primarily ahead towards the street where more and more sentries rained and landed, backwards—closer to the castle and within the gardens—several sentries made their landing, repulsors at the ready.
Natasha was already on it. They fired madly at her, but the Widow was too fast, already upon them. She rolled forward, dodging the blue streams of light intended for her and appeared by the enemy, batons at the ready. Gripping her electrified weapons, she spun towards her first target, jamming the tip right where its heart would be, if it was alive, that is.
She knew they weren’t. They couldn’t. But they dropped dead as if they once were.
The odds were clearly against her, more and more of Ultron’s forces raining from the skies. She saw them coming, quickly snapping the neck of a sentry in her grasp. Help arrived in the form of a barrage of arrows, followed quickly by a stream of dark red magic tearing the oncoming sentries to shreds.
Clint was already by her side before she could react. “Gettin’ into trouble back here?” Barton grunted, yanking free an arrow from his back and jamming the sharpened tip into a sentry’s forehead, the body slumping in his grasp.
As he ripped out his arrow, Natasha whipped out her pistol, sending two bullets onto a charging demon, one in the heart and the other between the demented eyes. It hit the ground in a dull thud, joining the others.
Pistol in hand, baton in the other, Natasha observed the battleground, readying herself for the next wave. “You know it,” she breathed, frowning at the sight of twelve more sentries landing ahead. Just before they could take another step, a stream of red broke through the first sentry’s chest, branching off and impaling the others just the same.
As their eyes dimmed and they fell, Natasha and Clint turned to see the Maximoff twin standing with her palms outstretched, fingers in odd positions. The redness in her eyes slowly began to cool.
Natasha turned back to the witch’s handy work, and then nodded to her. “Nice work.”
Wanda slowly eyed the Widow, her eyes growing wide. “Look out!” she screamed. Both Clint and Natasha spun around, leaping out of the way on pure instinct. As for Wanda, she shielded herself with her magic, the sentry poised for the two Avengers ramming itself into her red haze.
Flinging the sentry aside with an agitated cry, Wanda saw as the machine tumbled in the dirt, coming to a rest with its palm clawing at the grass. It slowly looked up, eyeing its surroundings. It was already too late once the spear impaled its backside.
Princess Celestia let the fiendish machine desperately try and crawl away. It quickly slumped forward, dead. Yanking her spear free, she aimed it back towards the street, completely obliterating several foes in her path with the power of the sun fueling her weapon.
The two sisters stood their ground, one holding the line with her fellow Princess of Friendship and the other taking the fight near the streets. Luna didn’t hold back. She enchanted her enemies, brought forth spells she hadn’t used for over a thousand years to send her foes to oblivion. The Princess of the Night spread her wings and kicked up into the air. She jammed her longsword into the nearest sentry, swinging downwards and slamming the sentry into the dirt.
Her horn ignited as she faced the battleground ahead, eyes a bright whiteness. In one stream of dark energy, fueled by the power of the night, her magic tore the raging demons headed her way to ash. They simply vaporized before they could cross the street. Luna’s eyes cooled down to normal temperatures, each iris gazing upwards to the rooftops.
More and more flying demons overtook the buildings surrounding them, flinging off guards doing their best to handle the cannons. Some took flight, others didn’t. It pained Luna to see such travesty fall before her. More demons crawled down the building sides, eyeing the Princess of the Night with fierce craving.
Then they screamed. They screamed and screamed and screamed.
It was possibly the most horrific sound either Luna or Celestia had ever heard. It sounded like a dying animal crying out in its wounded state, its throat filling with blood but still having enough energy left to cry out one final time. Mixed with the hellish bellows that any creature of Tartarus was known for, and it became a war cry, something for every demon and monster to rally to and overcome the prey.
Did they ever.
As the fires raining down from the burning buildings lit up the streets, entire waves of demons and creatures beyond imagination rushed in a conjoined parade, all of their attention centered on the Canterlot Gardens. They rushed in a stampede, tumbling over one another and crushing the weaker ones underneath their feet. Captain America saw them coming. All of them.
“Fall back!”
He twisted around and ran back.
With everything that they were, Celestia and Luna stepped forward, blasting apart the approaching swarm, freezing at the horrible cries they heard, but fought anyway. Their weapons tore the enemy apart, longsword and spear united as one to hold off the overwhelming forces dawning on them. Shining Armor and his army held them back, but even they became overrun.
Even Shining Armor, watching helplessly from the gardens as his guards were overcome and ripped apart in the streets, stood his ground with his sword gripped tightly in his aura of magic. With every demon that pushed forward, Shining Armor took a step back, slicing them down, cutting off their heads and holding them back.
Even then, with their cries echoing across the buildings, hundreds of sentries falling from the sky, even more animals of Tartarus racing towards them, Shining Armor let an unknown fear grip him, hold him where he stood, and didn’t let him go.
He knew that fear the moment he saw the waves upon waves of demons racing down the streets. The fear of succumbing to the enemy. The fear of overwhelming odds.
The fear of the horde.
It took every shred of his willpower to not stand frozen in fear like the other guards he saw. They were overcome, swarmed and killed because they didn’t react in time. Their training abandoned them, made them lose sight of what was at stake if they failed.
They couldn’t fail. Not now.
Not with everything on the line.
He held them back. He didn’t know how, but Shining Armor held them back.
Help arrived in the form of a rainbow, followed quickly by beams of magic and confetti blasts. Shining Armor could have smiled, but he had hardly enough time to relax. Help certainly did arrive in the least likely of ways.
“Girls,” Twilight ordered, flying high above, “hold together now!”
She shot a magical beam straight from her horn into the approaching swarms, creating a shockwave from the spell she chose. A large group of demons were knocked down, many others turning their attention to the Alicorn. With the princess raining down spells upon them, they were never ready for the onslaught of new, colorful bodies.
Twilight and her friends. Starlight Glimmer aided in the fight, too. Okay, maybe Shining had held a tiny grin, immediately hiding it once his sword drove into the flesh of a shrieking harpy.
The only mare who wasn’t present was, predictably, Fluttershy. She and Spike stayed back, hidden behind one of the small barricades pockmarked across the gardens. As the Pegasus stared at her friends and the monsters they faced fearfully—her hooves barely rising over the protective wall she hid behind—Spike watched the same battle with fight burning in his reptilian eyes.
He saw as a harpy attached itself to Twilight, immediately getting blown apart by the Alicorn’s magical capabilities. More came after, more she couldn’t see because she was focused more on protecting her friends down below.
Spike bit his lip. He looked down at the rifle Discord had given him.
He wasn’t particularly familiar with firearms. They were more common in places like the Griffon Kingdom. But from what Twilight had read to him several times on their shelving of the castle library, firearms worked a little differently from the traditional sword and shield. Bringing up said weapon, causing Fluttershy to yelp in surprise, Spike aimed quickly down the sights, nearing harpies flying within his eyesight.
“Are you s-sure you know how to u-use that thing?” Fluttershy timidly asked, her shaking hoof pointed towards the HYDRA assault rifle.
Spike blew a raspberry. “Come on! How hard can it be? You just pull the trigger and—”
He pulled the trigger, and then got the surprise of his life when a blast of energy exited the gun, knocking the baby dragon several yards back. His shot, however, was right on target, completely vaporizing the harpy intended for Twilight’s blind side. The Alicorn responded with a look of astonishment, turning back to where the shot originated.
She saw Fluttershy turning back to Spike, seeing him weakly offer thumbs up.
She also saw Captain America run by them, bringing up his shield as a demon leapt forward and latched onto him. He tripped over the barricade, rolling on the grass with his shield held between him and the demon snapping at his face.
He rammed his forearm right into the creature’s chest, giving him enough space to deliver an even harder hit. The demon flew backwards from the force of the shield, the Captain barely getting up. Strangely enough, Steve watched as Fluttershy exited her only cover and entered the fray, prodding her muzzle under the man’s arm and using what little strength she had to get him back on his feet.
It worked only slightly, Captain America resting on just one knee. Still, small signs of aid deserved some gratitude, and Steve Rogers offered his the best way he could in the middle of a firefight.
“Thanks,” he said.
Fluttershy replied with a short, sweet smile.
Out of the corner of his eye, Captain America spotted Spike slowly rising to his feet, the HYDRA assault rifle held in his arms. Even farther, hidden behind several guards and weaving his way through the battlefield was Doctor Banner. He still hadn’t changed, despite everything.
“Banner!” the Captain called, urging Fluttershy to turn towards the direction he faced. There, she saw Bruce Banner quickly turn their way, sliding to the barricade she once hid behind with repulsor blasts trailing him. They didn’t stop, and Fluttershy yelped in fright as the blue energy beams were headed her way.
Luckily, a protective shield hovered over her head, the sound of the energy hitting it and causing her to flinch. She looked up to the arm holding the shield, then to the man who saved her. “Now might be a really good time for you to get angry!” he yelled. Fluttershy turned her head from Steve to Bruce.
Then to the Ultron Sentry landing right on the other side of the barricade. She screamed.
Startled, Banner spun around, and then flinched in surprise as a metallic hand gripped his throat, lifting him a few feet above ground.
“Banner!”
The sentry looked towards the Captain. Its right arm morphed into a blaster, prepped and aimed at the Captain’s chest before he had time to throw the shield. It fired, hitting Captain America right on the star covering his heart. It watched as the yellow Pegasus and baby dragon slowly began to crawl away, fear overcoming their eyes, blotting out whatever courage they thought they had.
It turned to the man in its grip, seeing him struggle but still manage a chuckle. “Shoot me; see what happens,” Banner grumbled, voice muffled by the hand in his throat.
The sentry stared at him. It lifted its blaster and placed the muzzle right between Banner’s eyes.
Then it reacted to the woman. Barely. The sentry fired off a few shots, but the woman was too fast, dodging with ease and kicking it right in the chest. With the force of the kick, the sentry dropped Banner on the other side of the barricade, taking several steps back.
Natasha Romanoff was already charging it. It brought up its blaster, got it knocked away then felt an electric current tear through its neck. She pressed the baton deep in the sentry’s neck, and got a dark, twisted surprise to see it smack her hand away and kick her in the chest. Natasha hit the barricade roughly, the air leaving her lungs. She looked up to see the sentry point its blaster right for her.
Then suddenly upwards.
Banner’s eyes grew a few inches wider. This was going to hurt.
“No!”
The shrill cry broke through the air the moment the sentry fired, but Banner had no time to see who it was. He could already recognize the voice, the timidity to it, and the pain ever so present. He felt a sudden push to his left, his right shoulder impacting the dirt. Then screaming. Crying.
So familiar.
So much in pain.
Banner spun around on the dirt. He could see the Captain’s eyes grow ten times wider from where he laid, Spike doing just the same. His gaze traveled downwards, seeing the pink mane first of all strewn across the grass, dotted in stains. Then the yellow coat, filthy with dirt and…
No…
Quickly, Bruce Banner crawled over to the mare lying on her side, placing his palm underneath her head and lifting her so very lightly. Her eyes opened weakly, a tiny gasp of air escaping her lips every so often, but nothing else. Banner looked onwards, back to her coat and…the wound.
The area where the sentry had shot her.
The fires that burned the city of Canterlot gave little light to the scene, but Banner could make it out. Blood coated the ridges of her skin, her coat fried and leaving a nasty burn where her ribcage would naturally be. With every breath she took, Fluttershy flinched in pain, small slivers of tears falling from her eyes and trailing to her ears.
It was a pointless sacrifice. Banner couldn’t get hurt, not like the way she could, but she didn’t care. Fluttershy didn’t care. She risked her life so her friend didn’t get hurt. He watched as her eyes slowly turned his way, more tears falling.
She opened her mouth to speak, Banner doing the same.
Instead, he shouted in pain as the sentry shot him in the back. Closing his eyes tight, Banner hunched forward and startled the mare. He could hear her gasp, whimpering, “Doctor B-Banner…a-are you oka—?”
He opened his eyes.
Green.
Nothing but green.
He gently placed her head in the grass, Spike rushing to her aid as Banner spun fiercely around. The sentry’s gaze shifted upwards as Banner approached it slowly. It fired another shot, burning away Banner’s shirt, but not stopping him. He ripped off what remained, stepping over the barricade.
Another shot resounded through the air.
Another step closer.
One more. The sentry only got off one more shot before Bruce jammed his palm into the machine’s throat, his own hand beginning to grow and change color. From a pale, humanly white to an infected, unnatural green, Bruce Banner’s palm covered the entire sentry’s neck, bringing the machine off the earth and into the air.
The tattered footwear Rarity had made for him posthaste ripped open. Only his pants remained, the same pants that grew in size and shape, fitting the monstrosity perfectly as his transformation neared its completion. And it was done.
The sentry could only watch now. Stare into the fearsome, green eyes.
Watch as it was completely torn to shreds.
The Hulk roared. It was a roar so powerful that it shook the foundation of Canterlot, being as powerful, if not more so than the army invading it. Hulk crushed the sentry within his grasp, using its remains and slamming it repeatedly into the ground again and again and again. Even when he lost the sentry, Hulk smashed the earth around him, ramming his fists into what very little remained of the sentry.
When he stopped, everything around him seemed to as well. Shining Armor, Twilight and her friends, and Starlight Glimmer all faced the army ahead, but their necks were twisted backwards, eyes wide and jaws agape. Hulk spun around only slightly, noticing Captain America at first. He stood silently, staring at him.
Then he looked down. So did Hulk.
They saw as Spike and Natasha kneeled over Fluttershy, the poor mare whimpering in pain as Natasha prodded the wound. She spun her neck around, hair bouncing to her actions, and caught Hulk’s stare halfway. He stood silent, unmoving, minus the subtle motions of his heavy breathing.
She only smiled. Well, half-smiled. It was still a smile.
And she said, “Go have some fun, Big Guy.”
Hulk smirked. Fluttershy watched, tears blotting her vision only slightly, as he leaned down and leapt away, flying headlong into the enemy. She thought she missed him, but saw him ram several sentries into the buildings scattered across Canterlot, leaping once more and disappearing into the madness.
She thought she missed him, but she didn’t. She thought she missed the burning blue dragon flying overhead, and prayed she did. The numerous gasps surrounding her said otherwise.
He disappeared in a vortex, appearing several feet ahead of Stark and waving goodbye. Another vortex, another vanishing act. Tony couldn’t read him. Not even the suit could read him.
So, he lost track of him. Like it mattered. He was on their side doing whatever he did, as long as it aided them, then let him have his fun. That could be a good moral code, something Stark could live on. Hell, he’s basically been doing just that his entire life.
No time on reminiscing, sadly. The squad of sentries trailing him said otherwise.
Thor was still ahead of him, leading the charge through the streets. Several targets appeared over Stark’s HUD, prompting him to act.
“Boss, I got at least a dozen hostiles trailing us,” Friday mentioned, bringing up several statistics on the enemy chasing him. Stark pushed them aside, keeping his focus onward.
“Good to know!” Tony said, aiming and blasting apart the demons crawling down the buildings’ walls, shooting down several sentries raining from above, and sending a few missiles into the streets to blow apart the masses of the demon horde. “Keep me posted!”
Thor shouted some kind of Asgardian battle cry—Stark didn’t really know—and aimed his hammer to the streets below. Tony followed him, and as Thor struck the street with Mjølnir, knocking back several demons and monsters, Tony spun around in mid-air, charged up his chest, and fired a Unibeam onto the sentries still chasing him.
The first sentry erupted into an explosion that spread across the others, in turn blowing apart the entire squadron and tossing their burning remains across the street. Stark hit the cement below him and skidded across the street, his palm jammed into the ground to slow his landing.
Even then they weren’t clear. Even with the sentries destroyed Stark never rested. He brought up his head, palms lit, and blew apart the swarming demons feet away from him.
“We’re running on 40% power, Boss. Another Unibeam would greatly decrease it.”
“Use the Unibeam sparingly, got it,” Stark muttered, gripping the throat of a demon clawing at his arm and wrist. He punched the creature right in the nose, knocking it back into several others.
Both Thor and Iron Man remained in the center of the road, the fires of the buildings giving them plenty of light. Sentries and demons raced from every free space of sky, from every alleyway and into the street, straight to the two Avengers. The remnants of the Equestrian Army, now scattered throughout the city, filled the street and fought Ultron’s forces in hoof-to-hoof combat.
Thor swung Mjølnir madly, slamming several sentries and demons aside. He eyed the battle around him, spotting a bat pony jam her gauntlets into the eye sockets of a sentry, bringing both of them down into the street. He could see several Royal Guards wielding spears and swords holding their own against the tremendous enemy army they fought against. The Crystal Guards were minimal, but he could see a few glistening in the fire’s light.
He could see their blood pooling in the gutters. Thor frowned, slamming the head of his hammer into the head of demon.
“They cannot hold this forever!” he shouted over the commotion.
Tony heard him, blew apart a few sentries with his repulsors, and then replied, “Yeah, well, neither can we! You got any bright ideas on how we can turn the tides?”
No answer.
Firing off a few explosive projectiles, thus clearing the street in front of him, Stark turned around to meet Thor’s gaze, only he wasn’t staring at him. Thor’s back faced Tony, his eyes wandering higher and higher. With the street clear for the short moment, the Equestrians turned their attention to the edge of Canterlot, to exactly where both Thor and Tony Stark stared.
Some held their ground. Some muttered words of disbelief. Others ran deeper into the city.
But most of them gripped their weapons tighter. Most of them glared at the massive fist rising over the edge of Canterlot.
Thor admired the ones who stayed, but only for so long. He gripped Mjølnir as tight as he could, the heated wind brushing his locks into his vision and blinding him. But he still stared on, watched as the hand opened up and slammed into the edge of the city, causing a massive tremor to spread throughout the mountain.
Something was coming…
Something big.
And Thor swung his hammer.
“Just one,” he muttered, finally answering Stark. And then he was gone, taking to the skies and approaching the massive beast.
Stark watched as he left, the sound of thunder reverberating across the dark skylines. “Right behind ya,” he said to himself, somewhat uncertain, and took that first step forward, nearly falling flat on his face when he got shot in the back.
Tony spun around and spotted about twenty more of Ultron’s sentries fly down from above, filling the street ahead of him. Their blasters primed and ready, pointed right at him, Stark readied himself for the upcoming battle, his fists clenched.
“Alright,” Tony murmured, palms jutted outwards. He was just about ready to fire into the group when he heard something. Something familiar flying above him.
So, he looked up.
And nearly shit himself.
The same dragon, the very same dragon covered from scaly head to scaly foot in blistering, blue flame impacted the street directly ahead of Stark, crushing every single sentry that was unfortunate enough to be underneath the beast’s shadow. Its serpent-like neck coiled and twisted, finally resting on the man standing awkwardly in the middle of the street.
Tony lowered his palms.
“Oh…um… Hey!”
The dragon’s eyes narrowed, a ferocious growl building at the back of its throat, a tiny flame doing just that.
Tony took a step back. “You seem to remember faces, huh? Yeah, I’m the guy that kinda blinded you a little back in that place with the…ponies and…”
Its wings impacted the building sides, lighting them ablaze and turning the orange and red to bright, deadly blue. Its claws dug into the concrete, pushing closer and closer to the lone survivor in the streets of Canterlot. The slits in its gaze hardened, the dragon releasing a terrible roar.
Tony waited until the dragon ceased its cry. He stood unmoving, watching as the dragon towered over him.
“Well…crap.”
He quickly took off, dodging the snapping jaws of the dragon and taking to the skies. The dragon roared once more, shaking the buildings around it and shattering several windows. It kicked off into the air, already closing in on the poor, poor billionaire’s trail of fire.
It was getting worse by the second.
As if the invasion was not horrible enough, the fighting in the streets and the threat of Ultron and the rest of his army constantly looming, then what Thor witnessed below him certainly spelt the worst of it. Mjølnir in hand, swinging wildly to keep him afloat, Thor watched as the beast emerged out of the madness.
He first noticed the hands.
The thousands of hands, leading to the thousands of arms, and finally to one, certainly one, head. It was as he imagined. Horrible. Massive. Beyond his imagination. The beast gripped onto the edges of Canterlot, a trail of destruction from the bottom of the mountainside all leading from Ponyville left in its wake.
He put the pieces together. It had to be the threat they encountered while still in Ponyville.
Thor’s recollection was interrupted as the beast, the Hecatonchires, gripped several other hundred hands onto the edge of the city, slowly but surely pulling itself upwards. He couldn’t allow it. It would crush the city in seconds.
Flinging himself downwards, Thor directed Mjølnir in his flight, reaching the first hundred hands tearing apart the buildings that stood in its path. A strike of lightning came down and hit the hammer, granting it the strength Thor needed when he rammed the first palm a speeds that even the God of Thunder was surprised with. He heard bones snapping, tendons ripping, the beast crying.
As he cleared the first hands, causing the beast to barely lose its grip, Thor looked onwards to see the monster’s reaction. He expected it. Its angry eyes centered on the god, teeth gritting in fuming pain. He expected it, but he didn’t expect the hit.
A hand emerged from the edge of the city, one that once held firm on the city’s ground, now released to hit the God of Thunder and break him off course. Thor tumbled in the air, eventually catching himself and hovering several thousand feet above actual ground. The Hecatonchires twisted its neck around, glared at the approaching god, and swung at him from the hundred other fists bursting from its back.
Thor saw them this time, though it was still difficult to keep track of them all. Eventually, he broke through, appearing by the beast’s face and smacking it right in the cheek. With the force of a hurricane. He could’ve sworn he saw teeth flying, each massive bone impacting the side of the mountain and tumbling down. He wasn’t done yet.
Thor was far from being done. He yelled, gripping his hammer with both hands as lightning struck down upon it. He impacted the edge of the Canterlot, right on the beast’s left fist still holding on for dear life.
The scream that followed…
Thor flipped as the creature’s hand lost its grip, the broken bones making sure of that. He landed safely on the tattered remains of the land that was once the edges of Canterlot, spinning around to see what remained of the beast. He was surprised to see it was still holding on, just one hand and several hundred others gripping the mountain next to the city.
It glared at him. Thor glared right on back, spinning Mjølnir, ready to continue the fight. The Hecatonchires was glad to comply, raising several hundred arms above its head and intending to bring it down on the miniscule god, threatening to bring down a chunk of Canterlot with him.
Instead, the Hecatonchires’ jaw fell, its broken hand reaching up to block out the bright flares blinding its vision. That same hand came down and blocked the burning blue flame intended for its eyes.
Thor watched as Stark’s trail of fire flew overhead one final time, eventually returning to the fight in Canterlot. He spun around to watch him vanish into the darkness consuming the city, the flames rising up to corrode the dark skies. A roar and a cry brought his attention back, his eyes landing on the two monsters of the Underworld.
The burning dragon roared, breathing a torrent of flames across the Hecatonchires’ arms and face. The Hecatonchires blocked very little of flame, glaring at the beast flying down for another strike. It cried out in pain, jamming its broken left hand at the flying monstrosity. The dragon was caught, losing its breath as the Hecatonchires brought it in closer.
It breathed in and released one final torrent of fire into the Hecatonchires’ face. The monster bellowed in mixtures of pain and wrath, crushing his left palm into a fist despite the horrific feeling it felt in its shattered bones and tendons.
The dragon lay dead in the monster’s grasp. Thor saw as the massive titan tossed what remained of the dragon aside, bringing up its palm to cover its burns, blinding it for the time being.
In that short moment, the Son of Odin looked over to the last hundred hands still gripping the sides of the mountain, refusing to let go. He turned to the Hecatonchires, watching as it constantly cried out in torment over its injuries. He looked down into his palm.
Onto his hammer.
Quickly thinking, Thor flew over until he hovered several hundred feet above the creature’s head. It didn’t see him, it couldn’t see him. Not where Thor was. Hammer still spinning, eyes gazing downwards, Thor shouted, “Foul creature!”
His voice, the strength of it carried like thunder. The Hecatonchires brought its left palm downwards, its head motioning up to see the god from before hovering above. The beast glared at him ferociously, its broken jaw gritting despite the pain flooding through its mind.
Its attention was finally on him. Finally.
He yelled, “Tell me…are you worthy?!”
The Hecatonchires screamed and lunged for him.
Thor stopped spinning his hammer. Releasing his grip, he let Mjølnir go and fall below him.
The monster’s eyes narrowed on the weapon, seeing it approach closer and closer. As it finally impacted its forehead, the Hecatonchires’ eyes widened in shock.
It happened so fast.
Hundreds of hands broke off the mountain, tearing apart chunks of rock and losing several fingernails in the process. The Hecatonchires screamed in protest, its eyes shifting from the god falling right for him to its last hand, its final grip. Its right hand held on for all that it was, every bit of the beast’s strength failing it.
And then it let go.
It happened so fast.
The Hecatonchires fell. It fell and screamed its final cry as it disappeared into the oily blackness below, impacting the earth with such ferocity that buildings toppled over from its strength. Thor jutted his forearm outwards as he too fell, seeing something emerge out of the dust and smoke.
It was his hammer. Mjølnir.
And it returned to him.
Performing a backflip from the velocity and speed of the hammer, Thor landed on his feet on the edge of Canterlot, slowly rising up to full height. He stared down into the dust, at the silence that remained where the beast plummeted.
“As I thought…”
A light emerged. Bringing his gaze forward, Thor’s eyes locked on the extended plains ahead, to the very land of Equestrian and beyond.
In the open fields, he saw a sea of black and red. Endless. Fire. Cries of anger, pain, hatred, agony, the worst that could ever be imagined. Thousands upon thousands of blue lights streaked across the heavens that burned with wickedness, each one of them intended to hit the city he stood on with enough power to bring down the mountain.
And it never ended. As far as he could see, Thor saw nothing else.
The armies of Tartarus, Ultron’s army, had arrived.
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Cry "Havoc!" and let slip the dogs of war!
Now I want to see Discord fight against an Infinity Gauntlet powered Thanos.
*looks at the hoards*
You think you know war? Let me prove you wrong....
*Entire Astartes Chapter appears*
FOR EVERY DEFEAT YOU GIVE US, WE JUST KEEP GETTING STRONGER!
7293118 And, sadly, the entire chapter was wiped out to the last Marine. If a typical Impy Guard lasgun has a 10.89% chance of taking out a Space Marine, and these daemons are in the hundreds of thousands, an entire chapter just isn't enough, sorry.
7293208 *smirks* You seem to forget that a chapter can call on everything in its armament, including air support and artillery, not to mention that they also have support from their Ships, so they stand a fair chance of surviving...
7293222 Nope. The sheer number of critters there that would count as Greater Daemons or Daemon Princes is tremendous, not to mention the Hecatoncheires and many others would be roughly Titan-class... even the full resources of a Chapter would barely make a dent here.
7293234 Eh, at least they'd take out most of the hordes....
7293242 True, but at this point, the Imperium would declare the world a lost cause, and just use the Exterminatus. Then again, the Imperium would do that to Equestria on any given day of the week. "FOUL XENO SCUM!"
Kill the Mother Fuckers Hulk
Alien robot scum.
Hurt Fluttershy, you gone DIE!
Such a brilliantly-thought-out chapter you gave us, JD. The war is still on for the Avengers and ponies. ;)
7292804
7292810 It'll be a fight for the ages.
7293118 Excellent choice of music.
7295618 They all gone die.
7296133 Thanks a ton for the support!
7298014 I do go for the best!
7298014 It would indeed. Though I doubt the universe or Thanos' sanity would survive the battle.
7298014 You're welcome.
Nice to see The princesses and Shining being useful in battle.
8805805 At least they're doing something for once!
Ohohoho man! Nopony hurts Fluttershy and gets away with it!
And really? They just fought off all of the armies of Tartarus. And there's still more? Goodness, why they all aren't dead yet at this point is beyond me.
Thor’s back faced Tony, his eyes wondering higher and higher
watching as constantly cried out in torment
1. Wandering.
2. Watching as it constantly cried out in torment.
No one does Fluttershy like that. No one...
Such a fierce battle as our heroes fight on, like fighting a mass of enemies in the final levels of a video game. But unlike a video game, you 'can' get hurt as we've seen when Fluttershy took quite a blow sacrificing herself for a friend. Hopefully she'll be okay but I definitely feel at this point the worst is yet to come. They know that Ultron's forces can hold on forever, but at the same time neither can their own group. They need to get to the leader in order to end this battle once and for all, but it's not going to be easy.
Oh yeah, great battle so far. The part where Fluttershy got hurt and The Hulk was unleashed in response really hit home. Nobody hurts Fluttershy!
That’s what I like to see from Discord!