Tomorrow War

by Battwell

Darkness Revealed (Part 1)

A swirl of darkness appeared in the sky above New York City, hovering above the city ominously until the body of Mephiles formed within the swirl of darkness. The dark Hedgehog's eyes snapped open as the swirl of darkness disappeared, only Mephiles remaining in the sky.

He turned his gaze downward and slowly looked left and right, studying his surroundings. This was the place, the place where his reign of darkness would begin. Mephiles folded his arms as he chuckled darkly to himself. But he then suddenly felt a presence, not just any presence, but the presence of another.

He was being watched.

He turned his body around and saw a transparent being floating before him.

Uatu, The Watcher of the Multiverse.

Mephiles was not intimidated, he was surprised, but not intimated. He simply folded his arms over his chest and chuckled, "Uatu. What a surprise. Unexpected, but I welcome it. Tell me, Watcher of the Multiverse, why have you appeared before me?" Mephiles unfolded his arms as he continued, "I believe that you are under oath to not interfere. So, why break your sacred oath to appear before me?"

Uatu's face showed no emotion, it remained stone cold as he spoke, "There are forces at play here beyond you, Solaris."

Mephiles closed his eyes as he laughed menacingly, placing his fingers to his forehead as he laughed, "I know it may seem vain, but," he reopened his eyes before continuing, "it does me well to hear that name again."

"You should not be here, Solaris, your time has passed. It is only by chance that you are here now." Uatu continued monotonously.

Mephiles frowned as he removed his fingers from his forehead, "No, it is by destiny that I am here now. It is my role in the grand scheme of things to purge this world into eternal darkness."

"Your time is done."

"I decide when my story ends, Watcher." Mephiles placed his hands behind his back, studying The Watcher with his reptilian eyes, "Why are you here?"

Uatu responded instantly, "In exactly 24 hours, the battle for the Infinity Stones shall begin. I have seen every possible outcome of the coming battle. The destruction Thanos leaves in his wake. The fate of three worlds lies in the balance. You, Solaris, are meddling with forces beyond your comprehension."

"You forget, Uatu, I am one half of a Time God. There is no force beyond me." Mephiles replied coldly.

"I am aware that I will not be able to break your conviction, but I come before you not to stop you, but to ask something of you." Mephiles arched an eyebrow, motioning Uatu to continue with his hand, "Spare Shadow the Hedgehog."

Much to The Watcher's confusion, Mephiles busted out laughing, and continued to do so for a time before calming down, "You must be joking."

The Watcher, was in fact, not joking, "The Ultimate Lifeform holds an important role in the coming conflict. He does not fall to you, he must witness the coming battle to turn the tides. I ask of you to spare his life."

"Well then, you have had a wasted trip, Watcher. Shadow's life belongs to me. I shall savor watching the life fade from his eyes." Mephiles the turned around, facing away from The Watcher, "After so long, I shall reclaim what is mine. After so long I will finally be victorious."

"You will not be victorious this day, Solaris."

Mephiles scoffed, "Such confidence. Look around you, Watcher, the heroes are away from one another, the tower is unguarded. The Stones are mine for the taking, the odds are in my favor."

"In the billions of futures I witnessed, you did not play a single role in the final conflict." Uatu stated in an monotone manner.

"Then you didn't look far enough. One thing is certain in the Multiverse. Time is eternal. I am time incarnate. Only I am eternal." Mephiles declared, so certain of his victory.

Uatu shook his head as his projection began to fade, "We shall see." With that, The Watcher faded away, leaving Mephiles with his thoughts.

The dark Hedgehog shook his head as he felt The Watcher's presence fade away. He felt excited for what was to come, he was finally going to fulfill his destiny. His thoughts then drifted to his most hated foe, Shadow the Hedgehog. How he hated him, how he hated how he and the other Hedgehogs had denied him his destiny.

Mephiles clenched his fists in anger, he couldn't wait to end that Hedgehog's life. Nothing was going to stop him now, "Shadow," Mephiles sneered the name of his most hated enemy, "My hatred for you burns as hot as a thousand suns. You robbed me of my victory once, never again. Even if I play no role in the coming battle, I promise you, Shadow the Hedgehog..."

Mephiles shot his arms out to his sides, summoning thousands upon thousands of clones that hovered in the air behind him.

"...You. Will. Die."

---

Welcome To

T̶̗̂h̴̡͎̆̆e̷͖̯̎ ̷̲́̏Ḭ̶̊̿n̷̖̽̓f̸̙͂̌i̷̜͛n̴͎̝̽i̸͖͊t̷͉̹̂̀y̴͖̿̆ ̴͍͗A̵͎͗̄r̷̖̳̈́̎c̵̟̹͐

A spark.

A single, orange spark.

That's all it took for the portal to whirl to life. The Mystic Arts truly are a sight to behold.

From within the portal, Shadow the Hedgehog skated through with a look of determination on his face. He was committed. He was full of conviction. He had to make sure those Stones were secure. If he failed, trillions would die. He would fail to keep his promise to Maria. That was something he could never allow to happen.

The sound of a motorcycle reeving sounded off behind Shadow. A haunting sound for those who have sinned. The Ghost Rider rode onto the street with his motorcycle, a burning trail of fire left behind in his wake. His eyes, though hollow, showed a look of vengeance. He would ensure the souls that have been put through endless suffering would find peace.

It was his duty as the Spirit of Vengeance.

The sound of wings flapping and hooves clopping against the ground filled the air.

The three Equestrians darted through the portal and found themselves in the middle of a street somewhere in New York.

Celestia had a look of worry on her face. This whole experience was starting to get to her, but she would not falter. She couldn't afford to. Her little Ponies were counting on her. The beings of this new world were counting on her. She would not fail.

Luna had a look of conviction on her face. She had failed her Ponies once as Nightmare Moon, this was her chance for repentance. Maybe saving three worlds would finally lift the weight on her shoulders. It was time to be the Alicorn the world needed her to be.

Rarity looked utterly terrified, and yet, she had a stern look on her face as well. In truth, Rarity has felt a little useless during times of crisis. Even when the Storm King invaded, she was willing to give up when things got tough. But this time was different. If she lost, trillions of people would perish. She would not allow her loved ones to suffer due to her cowardice. She was going to see this through to the end.

As Shadow skidded to a stop across the concrete road, the portal behind the group of heroes let out one final spark before shrinking down into nothingness.

Shadow clenched his fists as Mephiles plagued his thoughts. To think that a whole timeline was erased because of what Mephiles did. He wasn't going to allow the demon to get his claws on those Stones. If he got his hands on the Reality Stone, he could engulf the entire world in darkness. Lord knows what he would do if he got the Mind Stone.

"We need to get to Stark Tower." Shadow addressed his team without even turning to them.

Rarity trotted towards the black Hedgehog with a look of uncertainty on her face, "Do you think the others got your message?"

Shadow briefly glanced at the Unicorn before replying, "Whether they did or did not doesn't matter. What matters is getting those Stones away from Mephiles."

Celestia was about to speak her mind but her words got caught in her throat as she and Luna felt a dark presence around them.

"That... Darkness." Luna shivered as she flared her wings and lit her horn.

Ghost Rider got off of his bike and readied his chain, "The demon is near."

Shadow felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. Mephiles was already here. His hands crackled with Chaos Energy as he readied himself.

"Mephiles. He's already here."

"Of course I am. I'm right on time." The sound of Mephiles' voice boomed in their heads.

They all looked upwards and saw Mephiles floating downwards from the sky slowly with the Soul Stone floating in the palm of his hand. Each of their eyes widened when a massive shadow loomed over them. An army of Mephiles clones loomed over the city, hovering behind the original Mephiles.

Mephiles savored the look on Shadow's face, "And you are all too late."

Ghost Rider growled, his hatred flaring up as he gazed up towards the demonic Hedgehog, "You shall face judgement on this day, demon!" He then threw his chain towards Mephiles, but the dark being waved his hand dismissively, the chain being knocked away by a sudden burst of darkness.

Shadow took a step forward as Ghost Rider recalled his chain, "There's something I don't understand." Shadow started as he glared at his enemy, "You arrived before us. You know where the Stones are, you could've taken them for yourself. And yet, here you are. Why?"

"Hm hm hm hm hm. Oh Shadow, you poor, poor fool. Didn't I tell you that I wanted to make you suffer? I intend to do just that." Mephiles stated calmly as he glanced down at the Soul Stone in his hand, "Once I have done that, then I shall darken this wretched world!"

"That shall not come to pass, monster!" Luna shouted to the dark villain as she lit up her horn.

Mephiles turned his gaze to Luna and scoffed, "You truly believe you can stop me? I find that funny coming from you... Nightmare Moon."

Luna's eyes widened as her horn died out.

Celestia looked to her sister with concern, "Lulu?"

Mephiles chuckled before continuing, "Oh yes, I know allll about you, Luna. How you felt neglected, rejected, unwanted... Unloved." Mephiles laughed darkly at Luna's expense, "You truly were so easy to manipulate."

Luna looked confused for a moment before her eyes shrunk to pinpricks as realization dawned on her. The Alicorn shook her head as she took a shaky step back, "N....no." She whispered in fear.

Mephiles nodded, "Oh yes, who do you think planted those thoughts into your head? The Nightmare Forces? Those clouds are but mere extensions... Of me."

To further solidify this reveal, half of the Mephiles clones turned into clouds of darkness. These clouds were all too familiar to the three Equestrians.

Mephiles laughed as the Nightmare Forces morphed back into Mephiles clones, "You may be Nightmare Moon, Luna. But I am the one that created her!"

Tears streamed down Luna's face as it slowly morphed into an angry scowl, "Y...you turned me into a monster. Y...you planted lies into my head. You're the reason I was banished in the first place!" She spread out her wings as she stomped her hoof on the ground, causing the ground to shake slightly, "YOU RUINED MY LIFE!!!"

"Wrong, little girl. I gave your life purpose, you were just too weak to see it through." Mephiles replied coldly.

Luna began to hyperventilate as Celestia glared hatefully at Mephiles, "YOU DEMONIC CREATURE! I SHALL SEE TO IT THAT YOU NEVER HARM A SINGLE PERSON EVER AGAIN!" The solar Alicorn shouted in the Royal Canterlot Voice.

Shadow couldn't agree more as he dashed into the air to try and get a hit on Mephiles.

He would have, if Mephiles hadn't disappeared in a fog of black.

Shadow landed on the ground on both of his feet and turned around to see Mephiles reappear.

"Temper temper, Shadow." Mephiles taunted as he wagged his index finger in a disapproving manner. He then turned to his clones, "Keep them occupied." He commanded to his army as he gestured to the rest of the group. As the army of clones began to descend to the ground, Mephiles turned his gaze to Shadow before landing on the ground just across from him.

Mephiles closed his hand, shrouding the Soul Stone in a dark void only he can access.

"I'm going to kill you." Shadow promised in a sinister tone.

Mephiles readied himself, "No, Shadow the Hedgehog. The only one of us that will die this day..."

Shadow's hands glowed and crackled with Chaos Energy while Mephiles surrounded himself in a fiery, purple aura. The two Hedgehogs glared at one another, only focusing on each other.

Mephiles saw Shadow.

Shadow saw Mephiles.

A purple dagger appeared in Mephiles' hand before he screamed, "...IS YOU!!!"

They had both waited long enough, the time for talking was over. No more delays, no more waiting.

They both charged forward, their battle had finally begun.

Author's Note:

From this moment, nobody is safe

Comments

[Lucasnike123]

Let's recap:

When Mephiles arrives at Stark Tower to steal the Reality and Mind Stones, he is visited by Uatu (an omniscient being who watches over the Multiverse).

Uatu asks Mephiles to let Shadow live, because he will be important for the final battle against Thanos for the Infinity Stones. However, Mephiles ignores him and, using the power of the Soul Stone, he creates an army of clones of himself, with the goal of killing Shadow.

Then, when Team Shadow (Shadow, Ghost Rider, Celestia, and Luna) arrive to confront him, Mephiles confesses that he was the one who manipulated Luna into becoming Nightmare Moon, which he does angers the two Alicorn Princesses.

Finally, the final battle for the Soul Stone begins.

Have I forgotten something?

[SuperSaiyanGodzilla]

So in this timeline Mephiles was the one who created Nightmare Moon? Huh talk about a head canon twist.

[Lucasnike123]

11334265
And the Pony of Shadows too.

[SuperSaiyanGodzilla]

11334819
I already know that.

[Real Solaris]

Mephiles laughed as the Nightmare Forces morphed back into Mephiles clones, "You may be Nightmare Moon, Luna. But I am the one that created her!"

*ominous music starts playing*

Me, coming through a portal pissed off as hell and maxed out with the full force of the multiverse:

[Swordfighter125]

"Wrong, little girl. I gave your life purpose, you were just too weak to see it through." Mephiles replied coldly.

More like "Old mare"