"THANOS!"

Twilight's roar, magically magnified a thousand times, echoed across the battlefield. Her wings rang out like thunder; a single flap carried her from the mirror to the center of the field, where most of those left had gathered. She tried her hardest not to think about those she didn't see.

Steve sighed. "He's gone, Twilight."

She clenched her teeth. "Like Tartarus he is." Then she stomped on the ground, hard.

With a loud thud, a startled Thanos fell from the sky. He looked around in confusion, and Twilight held up her Gauntlet to show him. The gems glittered in the light.

He snorted. "You think that trinket can stand up to me?" Clenching his fist, he emitted a wave of sheer power. It didn't stem from any particular stone, but from all of them, and the light was pure white.

Twilight held her Gauntlet up in front of her, bracing against the tremendous impact. When the light faded, she was still there. "I know it can."

The people who'd gathered were slowly backing away from the field. They could see this would be a battle of immense power, and they were only going to get themselves hurt.

"That's not possible."

Twilight snorted. "You have no idea what's possible." She swung the Gauntlet, and a huge ball of light launched from it. It swirled with colors--pink, orange, yellow, white, blue, purple. The same familiar rainbow. Thanos brought his own Gauntlet in front of him, and it took the hit easily. Twilight's horn flashed and she teleported right next to him, swinging out with a Harmony-powered punch, but he dodged, and she teleported back out again before he could retaliate with another close-range attack. He fired another vague beam, and she launched herself into the air as it whistled harmlessly underneath her.

From the air, she dove at him. The Time Stone flashed, and suddenly he, and everyone else, seemed to be moving at incredible speeds. As she passed over his head, he dodged out of the way, grabbed her tail, and used it to fling her across the land. She fell to the ground, rolled, and stomped her hoof. The spell shattered, and she was moving at the same speed as everyone else again.

One of his portals opened up in front of her, glowing blue at the edges. Thanos was coming in closer. Rather than wait for him to come to her, she fired a beam of magic through the portal. He blocked it with the Gauntlet, but at the same time, the portal closed.

And that was how it went. Twilight made full use of the mobility her wings offered, but also teleported around the battlefield. Her strategy was to get in close, fire off a powerful hit, and then back away again rapidly. Thanos, on the other hand, used a much greater variety of attacks, harnessing the unique abilities of each Infinity Stone as well as using them all together. But it didn't really matter what they did. Whatever one of them could dish out, the other could take.

It was starting to remind Twilight of her fight with Tirek. They were both fighting with incredible levels of power, but it was still an impasse, until one of them could pull out something completely different and unexpected. Twilight wanted that to be her this time.

As she dodged around one attack and fired off another, she thought hard. Infinity was supposed to be about preservation. Things lasting forever. But Thanos was using the Infinity Stones for destruction. Surely there had to be some resistance in the Stones. So he should be less powerful, right? The Infinity Stones were never meant to destroy.

And the Elements of Harmony were never meant to be used alone.

She landed. A quick wave of her hoof magnified her voice, loud enough for everyone in Wakanda to hear--the Wakandan army, the Avengers, the evacuated civilians. "I didn't understand before, but I do now. The Elements are powerful on their own, but their real strength is their ability to harness friendship and teamwork." She casually deflected a blast of energy. She wouldn't let Thanos interrupt this. "On their own, the Elements aren't strong enough to defeat the Infinity Stones. But they can be, if all of you join together... in Harmony."

"In Harmony," a few scattered voices repeated, then paused awkwardly. She could practically hear them wondering, Were we supposed to do that?

Then more repeated it again. "In Harmony."

"In Harmony."

"In Harmony."

The Elements were glowing gently, and Twilight couldn't help wondering if they were exerting some small influence, encouraging people to keep going. The Wakandans slammed their spears against the ground rhythmically, turning the cry into a war chant. "In Harmony! In Harmony! In Harmony!" The Elements glowed brighter, and Twilight felt the power growing, but it wasn't quite enough.

But maybe it was enough to do something else? Twilight raised the Gauntlet high above her head, where it gleamed in the sun, then slammed it back down in the ground with all her might. The earth shook.

And she saw the universe.

Author's Note

I know what all of you are thinking. "Boy, I sure wish I had a poorly edited picture of what Twilight looks like right now!" Well, say no more.

Gauntlet not included.