Chapter 72 – Mind
72
Canterlot, Equestria
7:47 a.m.
The Royal Guard stormed the streets of Canterlot as the face of Tartarus opened up in the skies and unleashed the flying demons down upon the capital city. The demons, the aliens, were locked in fierce combat in the skies with the ponies plastered in a golden armor, wielding weapons with renounced vigor, strength, and bravery in every strike. The Lunar Guard dominated the skies, their brutal and vicious tactics and weaponry proving their worth in the battle against the Chitauri. They numbered in the dozens, close to the hundreds, doing everything in their power to keep their city safe.
They all turned their blades to the ground, to the street, where the invader walking towards the castle would face his doom. Together, the Royal and Lunar Guard charged the streets, roaring their war cry, attacking in a wave of Pegasi and bat ponies so immense that it darkened the city, the little light there was no longer visible. And they all charged in one massive unit, together to one goal, to one being lifting his eyes to the shadow washing over him.
Thanos froze them all in that moment.
Just like that, every Pegasi, every unicorn, every Earth and bat pony alike were trapped, stuck, frozen in mid-air or upon the ground like statues. Despite their bodies being restrained by a force they couldn’t comprehend, their minds, their eyes could still witness and experience the horror they faced. Their faces were frozen in expressions forged by warfare, but they experienced worse, felt worse, saw so much worse as the Mad Titan strode past them all. Not even a wavering glance.
He kept his left fist clenched tight. The Time Stone continuously shimmered a bright green.
As he slipped past the crowd of ponies in armor without harming a single one of them—finding no need when the threat they held was gone the moment they were frozen by the Time Stone—Thanos proceeded forward down the empty road, his eyes set on only one target, one his Outriders made certain was present in the city under the dome.
Canterlot Castle rested just ahead. Clenching his fist further, the Infinity Gauntlet reacted and unleashed the energy of the Power Stone in a single stream of violet power. It struck the outside of the castle, decimating the outer structure in a violent explosion.
Instantly, rushing out of the castle’s walls and galloping with spears and swords alike, the Royal Guard charged Thanos and screamed. No intent of stopping.
Thanos smiled, glad he wasn’t alone in that regard.
Canterlot Castle, Hallways
7:49 a.m.
The very foundations of Canterlot trembled. Those who remained in the castle grounds ran about wildly, like chickens with their heads cut off, no intention of heading somewhere safe, only trying to escape the madness and get as far away as possible. The hallways roared and crumbled as numerous explosions rang from outside, chunks of marble and concrete raining from the ceilings and impacting the castle’s floors. Canterlot Castle’s nobles, Royal Guard, and servants galloped about madly, trying to find the nearest exit, trying to make sense out of the chaos.
And within that chaos, they ran.
The two beings who couldn’t have been more different holding onto each other with their very lives. One after the other, they each tried to pick the other up, every tremor and every explosion shifting the balance of the massive city and sending either one to their knees. But they would be there for each other. Their only interest was keeping the other safe.
The Vision could only hope for that, his body crumbling as the Mind Stone burned in his head.
Wanda Maximoff nearly fell thanks to the added weight Vision applied to them, the Scarlet Witch pushing through the pain and picking up the android. With his arm slung over her shoulder, her eyes wild and adrenaline-fueled, she turned to her right to notice a room gated off from the rest of the hallway. With a blast from her psionic energy, the gates were ripped open, Wanda practically dragging Vision inside. She flung the gates closed and locked them as they were before, the near-pitch dark archives being the most welcoming sight for Wanda.
Carefully, she settled Vision by the base of the massive hourglass in the heart of the archives, asking steadily, “Vis, are you all right? What is it?”
The Vision gazed up slowly to her, saw the swirls of chaos in her eyes from the adrenaline, making her all the more beautiful. How he wished they could have more time. How he wished there was a still a future for them. Dreams and wishes that were just that. Destiny settled in and struck Vision where it hurt the most. He hunched to the side, growling in agony as the Mind Stone shimmered a bright yellow in his skull.
“Vision,” Wanda stuttered, fearing for him, grasping him and doing all she could to hold him.
And when she brought him back from the world of pain, his eyes opened and saw only the horror, trapped in another world of agony. He whispered, cautiously, shakily, his voice so small she almost saw a different person.
What he said was: “He’s here.”
Wanda furrowed her brow, her chest shivering. “Who—?”
“There he is! Stop him!”
Wanda spun her head around, quivering as her eyes latched to the gated doorway and saw the empty hallway on the outside. The voices cried out from it, the following screams and eruptions short to come. Screams and cries echoed from deep in the hallways of Canterlot Castle, only growing louder and louder with each passing second. Time ticking away. Reaching an impending doom.
“Wanda,” Vision breathed, Maximoff managing to turn away from the horrific sounds and face him once again. Only this time there was no dread in his expression, no pain in his voice. Just exhaustion, desperation, and worst of all… acceptance. Especially when he said, “It’s time.”
She knew exactly what he meant. The moment she stared into his eyes and listened to his voice. She shook her head violently, practically seething, “No!”
“They can’t stop him, Wanda. None of Celestia’s guards, not even the princesses can. But we can,” Vision explained, having to grab her wrist when she tried to stand up and flee, fight the inevitable and unwinnable battle. Almost forcing her to her knees, Vision met Wanda’s expression and saw every shred of torment flushing in and out of her eyes, trembling down her lips and beating in her broken heart.
And Vision held her still. “Please, Wanda, you have the power to destroy the Stone.”
Wanda still shook her head, tears in her eyes. “I already lost someone I loved in this city! I won’t lose you, too!” she cried.
More screams and more explosions followed shortly, the hallways of Canterlot Castle burning a bright violet, orange, blistering fires showcasing horrific shadows upon the walls, indicating a larger presence nearing them. Looming ever so closer. The Vision saw it all, the Mind Stone practically screeching in his head, warning of the inevitable. Slowing dropping his gaze, Vision graced Wanda’s hand for several seconds more, kissing it softly and gazing back up to her.
“We are out of time.”
He directed her palm just over his forehead.
“I-I can’t,” Wanda whispered, her voice shivering. More tears escaped. “I can’t kill you.”
Vision shook his head. “You must,” he whispered back, every ounce of exhaustion and agony in his tone clearly evident, making Wanda want to crumble right then and there. The Mind Stone continued to shimmer brightly, Wanda gazing into its soft, yellow glow between her fingers. But most of all, she saw Vision. She saw him accept every bit of it.
She saw him release her hand. “If you don’t, half the universe dies.”
Her body moved on its own, ignoring the cries from her heart, the pain in her body, the screaming in her nerves and only obeyed her mind, knowing that there was no other way. She slowly backed away from him, palm still outstretched, fingers shaking and lip quivering. She stared only into his eyes as she and him parted, making the distance each saw feel like miles and miles and miles.
And through those thousand miles… they still weren’t—
“It’s all right… you could never hurt me.”
Wanda gasped, her breath shaking as a single tear slipped down her cheek.
Vision’s brow rose lightly, hopefully, staring into her beauty and seeing it all. Knowing her all.
“I just feel you.”
They were together. Through a thousand miles and even further than that, Wanda knew they were as one, closer than ever before. That alone gave her the final ounce of strength needed to clench her jaw, narrow her eyes, force a frown, and drive her fingers forward. And she did. She unleashed every bit of strength within her, the psionic energy expelling from her palm in a stream of red. It impacted Vision’s forehead, right in the center of the Mind Stone.
The resulting gust of energy blew books off their shelves, sent scrolls flying off and rolling onto the carpet. Vision’s own cape flapped madly behind him from the continuous gust of energy blowing into him, pushing against only him and impacting only the Mind Stone. Yet there was no force to push either of them away from each other, look nowhere else except the other’s eyes. In Wanda, Vision saw only pain, tears rolling down her cheeks faster and faster as she held her power to the Mind Stone, stared nowhere else but on the android—no, the man she had fallen in love with. In Vision, Wanda only witnessed unhinged agony beyond comprehension, the android gasping and expression locked in a continuous state of torture. But deep within it, deep within that pain and suffering there was still that twinkle of acceptance, of the life fate chose to bestow upon him.
As if his pain had subsided. As if the agony was gone and he had found his calling. His peace.
The doors exploded and Wanda turned around.
Stepping forth into the Canterlot Archives, Thanos stared onto a sight that made his very body stand still, his blood freeze, and mind quickly beginning to comprehend the situation laid before him. There was the Vision, the Mind Stone glowing brighter than normal, due to the Scarlet Witch unleashing her powers upon it.
Trying to overcome the Stone’s power.
Trying to destroy it.
Gritting his teeth, Thanos took a step forward and nearly fell back. Jamming out the Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos absorbed as much of the oncoming onslaught as he could, taking a quick moment to realize what had happened. Wanda Maximoff broke her free hand away and shot it right at the Mad Titan, a second stream of psionic energy striking Thanos square in the chest. The continuous stream of energy wasn’t meant to kill him. It wasn’t meant to hurt him. It only acted as a means of holding him back. Thanos knew it was so and pressed his palm against the psionic wave, the Space Stone creating a shield that pushed back, fought back, allowed Thanos to continue forward.
One step at a time.
Closer to the two every single time.
Wanda turned back, faced the eyes of the one she couldn’t any longer, because every time she did, she only felt her heart being further torn to shreds. Because with every pulsating ounce of power she unleashed from her hand, all she knew was that its purpose was to see to the destruction of the Mind Stone, of the one she could have ever grown close enough to truly love again. To truly feel again. To truly and utterly feel like a human again, instead of a monster.
And him with her. Wanda Maximoff had ultimately changed Vision’s life in the most wonderful of ways. From being birthed into conflict, live a life in continuous war with enemies, allies, and even family, the Vision never once thought he could ever be more than just what he was created as: a machine. A weapon, maybe. Something not… human. But with Wanda, Vision had found that respite with her. He had found that missing piece of himself he had always longed but never knew of it until he met her. Wanda had changed his life, made him to be… human.
And together they finally became just that.
He blinked. Wanda knew it was impossible, but she swore she tears.
“I love you.”
Her face shattered, red hot tears boiling and falling from her face at an uncontrollable rate. Several different emotions flooded her already wounded heart and continued to further drive that stake deeper and deeper into it. Into her. Her magic continued to flow from her fingertips, drive into the Mind Stone as Wanda clenched her eyes shut and screamed. Screamed with every bit of pain she endured. Screamed with all the strength left in her heart and soul.
Just as the Vision’s face began to crack.
Thanos looked up, turned away from Wanda, and saw the Mind Stone. He saw the several jagged cracks grow larger and brighter on the android’s face. She screamed, unleashing everything she had on the Mind Stone, fully intending to destroy it.
Thanos caught his breath. The Mind Stone shimmered brighter than ever before.
Thanos raised the Infinity Gauntlet and clenched it. A second light emerged, brighter than the Mind Stone, being so powerful it caused all of reality to falter to it, to yield to it. Especially Wanda, frozen in her actions, frozen in place as the haunting, green light showered behind her.
The power stopped. All else faded away.
Vision opened his eyes and still felt completely alive.
Forced to watch as the Mad Titan rose up behind Wanda.
His body was completely numb, every sense of feeling and strength within him just gone as the Mind Stone shimmered and shivered from within his forehead. His face held several jagged cracks, each radiating a bright yellow that slowly began to dim from within his skull. The Vision gasped, breathed steadily and was forced to watch the events before him unfold, actually trying to convince himself that it wasn’t real, that he had died, that he wasn’t alive to see it…
Frozen in time, Wanda Maximoff could do nothing as her energy had faded. As she was lifted from the ground by an unknown force, spun around to meet the horrific glare straight from the Mad Titan. Thanos held up his gauntlet, the Space Stone bright and blue as it wrapped its energy tight around the Scarlet Witch’s throat. Steadily, he moved her aside, allowed himself to be able to witness his prize firsthand.
The Mind Stone. Almost destroyed, but still intact. Still as powerful as ever. He could mend that just as easily.
The Time Stone’s energy faded, leaving just a gasping, struggling Wanda Maximoff in Thanos’ grasp. Turning to her, Thanos watched the young woman thrash, or tried to, within the power of the Space Stone. Meaningless, fruitless struggles to resist the inevitable outcome. She had nearly destroyed the Mind Stone, taken away his chances to reach his destiny. Frowning at that, Thanos sent a horrific glare towards Wanda and affirmed his stance, made his decision with the life in his hand.
The Space Stone glowed and tightened around Wanda’s throat. She gasped. Vision gasped. Thanos stared, said nothing. His breathing, so very softly, began to shake as he tightened his fist… just a bit more. Wanda’s bloodshot eyes widened, her hands wrapped around her own throat to fight the unknown force, only to ultimately fail as she felt the hard, wet snap.
Then felt nothing else.
Her eyes slowly fluttered to a close. Her hands draped to her sides. Her body fell limp, a single stream of blood flowing down her nose. Nothing compared to the streams of tears painted on her face.
Vision remained there, on his knees, wishing to die right then. Begging for it.
But not by him.
Not by his hand.
Thanos exhaled softly, his heart slowly releasing the tension building up inside of him. That lingering pain remained, however, seeing the broken, bloody, cold, and lifeless face of Wanda Maximoff stare straight into him. He wondered how long he would face that death time and time again. He didn’t stare any longer and released his grip, the Space Stone darkening and her body crumbling to the floor. There Thanos shakily stood, slowly looking to his gauntlet and staring at it for moments on end. Through the blur, there she lay, her hair tangled and concealing her face, concealing the horror that Thanos couldn’t force himself to look upon again.
Thanos breathed and closed his eyes. Waited only for a second and finally returned to his destiny. Turning accordingly, Thanos gazed onto the lone android on his knees, still frozen, still unmoving. The Time Stone’s powers had faded long ago, but even then, he was still trapped. Too wounded to fight, too wounded to move, too completely broken to live without her.
He gasped as he felt the metallic palm wrap around his throat, slowly lifting him up right off the floor. Breathing in nothing but intakes of agony, the Vision could do nothing but stare onto the one who took everything from him, took his very world and his only love. Thanos didn’t even look into his eyes, seeing not the man but only the machine that held his Stone, a simple barrier that stood in the way of his ultimate goal. And like a barrier, he tore it down, and finally saw the light.
Thanos pressed his fingers around the Mind Stone, pushing inwards deeper and deeper.
Vision gasped and cringed, the pain unlike anything he had ever felt. And then…
It was gone.
Thanos pierced his skull, his fingers wrapped tightly around the gem. The color instantly drained from Vision’s body, leaving him a cold, lifeless machine. Thanos tossed the machine away, its body laying near the woman’s and remaining there.
As the silence of the battle had settled in, Thanos took no other precious time to observe the Stone. He wasted nothing more. Every reluctance had faded when he gazed into the light and saw the Mind Stone. The fifth of the six, resting just within his fingertips. The universe… resting within his fingertips. Lifting his gauntlet, Thanos tilted it just slightly so the thumb was positioned directly beneath the Mind Stone. Releasing his fingers from it, the stream of energy building between the Stone and the Gauntlet was relinquished.
A flushing wave of serenity entered within Thanos, striking the deepest, darkest, most conflicted parts of him and bringing him back to the light, bringing him back to his purpose for all the bloodshed, for all the pain, the suffering, the loss. For… everything. Clenching his fists and tightening his muscles, Thanos finally settled to a single state of bliss as he finally, finally… stared at his gauntlet.
The Mind Stone rested just on the thumb, shimmering a soft, serene yellow amongst the others.
Then Thanos breathed again. Breathed and muttered, “One to go.”
Just one more.
Then he would finally—
“Stop!”
Stampeding hooves and that powerful bark prompted Thanos’ attention backwards, to where his eyes met a legion of heavily-armed Royal Guard standing at the entrance of the Canterlot Archives. Thanos fully faced them, his arms resting by his sides, his expression hardening but no further action other than that taken.
“By order of Princess Celestia and Luna, you are hereby ordered to surrender at once!”
Celestia and Luna, controllers of the sun and the moon. Thanos had heard stories, knew of the legends, had delved into the history of Equus and especially its rulers. The ones who had taken everything from Typhon. And there they stood, the two princesses among their guards and staring onto the face of depravity itself.
Thanos slowly met their eyes. Met the eyes of the princesses. No smile graced his lips. There was just nothing. Instead, they turned to see the two bodies lying on the floor of the archives, the two indistinguishable bodies of both Vision and Wanda Maximoff. Celestia gasped. Luna’s face twitched and twisted into a horrific glare, unbridled hatred and power boiling in her twin irises. Her older sister was soon to join her, the power of the sun and the moon centered dead ahead.
They didn’t hesitate and charged him, using their combined magic to blast Thanos right through the castle.
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Celestia and Luna have the powers of the Sun and the Moon, but against the Stones...
Only one more to go... RIP Vision and Wanda.
REALLY?! YOU HAD TO KILL WANDA TOO?!
Damn It dude you had to just let Thanos kill Wanda like that, why couldn’t you let the Snap take her peacefully
I did not see that coming!
I dread seeing the despair on the ponies’ faces when they see both Wanda and Vision dead. Especially Pinkie Pie, because she had been so happy when she found out those two were finally together.
......
Five down, only one to go...
Well... this is it. The endgame draws near now. Thanos now has five Infinity Stones in his grasp and only needs the Soul Stone last to complete the set. Once he gets it, then it's game over for half the universe. At this point, the inevitable cannot be avoided.
I don't know what to think anymore. Wanda is dead,
along with Vision
and Thanos now has 5 stones.
I only hope the mane 6, pillars, and the reunited Avengers are truly ready now!
9480301
Who knows now. WHO KNOWS.
Celestia and Luna should know their place in the pecking order, knowing that the inevitable draws near.
And damn did Wanda got Loki'd.
Grrrgh! You're going to die, for that!
You should know your place, Your Highnesses, knowing you cannot curb the inevitable...
What the.....
I know Wanda dies from the snap but what is this?
9479428
Don’t say that! Now I’m even more scurred!
9480662
You have made it clear you hope for Thanos not to do the "snap", several chapters ago.
Gotta say not overly impressed this chapter. Not sure where you're going especially after killing Wanda like that. Definitely going a different direction than I would've thought, but oh well guess we'll see what's next.
Also kinda wondering where there big alliance of Griffins, Hippogriffs and dragons is. Can't really see where their place will be now since all that's left is the soul stone then Thanos will do his snap. Very curious...
Goodbye, Vision and Scarlet Witch. You died as heroes.
Oh Pinkie is gonna be so sad but on the bright side, we're one step closer to a perfectly balanced universe.
You know, I'm actually surprised Wanda didn't die from Thanos's backhand in the film proper so I have no issue with her dying here. It actually makes more sense.
9481417
I was simply feeling the same way u do.
This had nothing to do with that at all.
Damn!
Did not expect Thanos to kill Wanda like that! I hope the other ponies are out of that time field because Celestia and Luna won't stand a chance!
9480301 Yeeeeaaahhhh....
9480329 We need a couple F's in the chat for Wanda and Vis.
9480349
9480391 Make it a even more heartbreaking this time around.
9480475 IF they even get to see them again...
9480550 Stop killing my friends! LOL love it!
9480655 They better be. The universe needs them now more than ever.
9480813 Loki'd better be an official term after this.
9480987 Something different.
9481170 Oh, I'm not stopping anytime soon.
9481718 quickmeme.com/img/46/46161a72a202acd6468b1b02c2d9ad0f07db49bf4d5c72db635595e6efaa61e3.jpg
But yeah, we'll see Tempest's army come again later in the story, so they won't be forgotten. As for Wanda's death, I just wanted to differentiate from the film, make things even darker and more hopeless for what's to come.
9481801 RIP
9481900 A backhand like that could snap someone's neck.
Yeah, too soon.
9482025 Next chapter...
9482166
I guess I can understand that
Just a shame because now she really can't return because she won't be in the soul world. Which seems to be the prevailing theory for all those that "died" from the snap.
9482166
You son of a bitch.
You’ve killed Valkyrie, Korg, Meek, Discord, all those people from Defenders, Torch, Grandpa Gruff, and now you’ve killed Scarlet Witch like this?
Who’s next? Thorax? Star Swirl? John Cena? Chuck Norris? Bruce Campbell? Pauley Shore? (That one probably is ok)
(I’m joking and being serious at the same time)
9482180 Then again, Loki died without the snap in Infinity War, and there are rumors that he'll return after Endgame. Same for Vision, what with that Scarlet Witch show he's gonna be in. Don't lose hope for these characters just yet! We'll have to see what happens in Endgame!
9482432 The body count's only rising from here on out.
9482617
Fair enough
Dammit, why couldn't the snap have taken Wanda instead?!
9482432
Or worse. Heath Ledger?
Dang what’s worse Wanda killing vision to save the universe from someone only for that someone to just reverse everything killing Vision again meaning she had to experience it twice in a row proving t to be pointless in the end?
Or vision having to see Wanda die in such a brutal way and not being able to do anything about it? Probably going to have to go with the first one honestly.
Though that does make me wonder what Thanos would have done if Wanda killed Vision and he didn’t have the Time Stone. Would he just hunt Strange down until he gets the Time Stone and reverse time to before the Stone was destroyed, would be go back to the original plan and kill half the population of every planet in the universe, or would be find another way?
9480475
And rarity because it’s part of her vision 😕
Oh boy 😧
Wanda no 😱
Vision 😱 thanos you bastard 😠
You 2 are too late 🙁
My god, that was absolutely brutal! Instead of reversing time to undo Vision's death and the Stone's destruction he simply kills Wanda before she can destroy the Stone. Neck snapping is always a horrible way to go, but doing it via the Space Stone sounds even more horrible somehow.
I guess this might show another way that Thanos has not yet been "humbled". Since in the movie he tried to comfort Wanda over the death of her significant other since he knew the pain himself. But since he has not sacrificed his favorite daughter here yet, he is the same ruthless tyrant, and killed Wanda for getting in his way.
Now only one Stone is left, the Soul Stone. Celestia and Luna might be powerful, but against five Infinity Stones it is a losing battle. Perhaps similar to Discord, they should have tried fighting Thanos before he had too many Stones.