War on Infinity: After the Snapby EquestrianTwistChaptersTwilight SparkleRainbow DashRarityTwilight SparkleIt shouldn’t have ended like this... We thought we could win... pull out victory from the narrow jaws of defeat like we had done so many times before. But we didn’t… Now I’m lying here, holding him in my hooves as I watch him slowly flake away into nothing. This isn’t fair. He had nothing to do with this! He wasn’t even supposed to be involved! His breathing is starting to grow more heavy. Oh dear Celestia my eyes are feeling dry, I know I need to blink but I can’t bear to look away from him for an instant. This precious little creature who I had grown up beside, who I had personally taken part in bring into this world, was turning to dust in my grasp… and I could do nothing to stop it. His lower lip quivers as he moves his gaze to catch mine. He whimpers at me, “Twilight… I don’t feel so good.” My heart almost shattered completely in that quarter of a second. I hear heavy footsteps coming towards me, but I still can’t bring myself to look away from Spike. “Spike…” I whimper, but I’m not certain he can hear me. I hear a forlorned sign, one I recognized as someone I now hated with every fiber of my being. He spoke to me, his voice sounding deep and melancholy. From what he had told us when he had first arrived in Equestria, he had done this same thing to countless other races in numerous other realities. From the sound of it, one could assume the weight of these accomplishments were beginning to weigh on him, but assumptions aside, it wasn’t nearly enough for me to want to show him any sort of pity. “I am sorry…” I heard him say. “...for what it’s worth, let me tell you that I understand. I know the type of loss you are feeling… better than almost anyone else. You can at least take comfort in the fact that his sacrifice, as well as the sacrifice of all the others, will finally bring about perfect balance to your universe... perfect harmony, if you are feeling more poetic.” I feel so angry I could spit. I wanted nothing more then to antomize him with the strongest spell I could muster. Let him know what it felt like to be erased from existence! But I couldn’t leave Spike, not now, not when he needed me most. “YOU SON OF A-” I hear Rainbow’s voice blast out of the heavens before being silenced by a slap. The two began saying more words to each other, but I wasn’t paying attention. If I were in a better state of mind, I might have told Rainbow Dash to run away, to not fight him because our powers where no match for his. But Rainbow has always been a fighter to the very end, she wouldn’t give up even if everything she cared about was destroyed, instead of just half… maybe even less than that. Somehow even despite all that was going on, all that had happened, my mind went back to this morning where this when it all started. It started like any other day, Celestia raised the sun without issue, Spike was cooking breakfast, and the map wasn’t showing any friendship problems needing to be dealt with. It seemed like the perfect day to hang out with the girls, or lounge about the castle library and read. But then Spike came to me with an urgent letter from the princess, and from there everything changed. The letter told me about an alien visitor appearing in the fields shadowed by Canterlot Mountain. It said he had arrived through a portal with amagical signature so great, that even Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were hesitant to approach him. He called himself Thanos, the Mad Titan, and told the princesses that he had fused our universe with his own and another. He explained that he had done this to multiple universes before ours, and offered to them an ultimatum… meet him at sunrise tomorrow morning or he would kill half of all living things within our universe. At first, the princesses thought he was insane, no one could of had that much power. But then he clenched his golden fist, and the sun began to move on its own. It sped by faster then what was usually expected for an average day, but still slow enough for appeal time to be given to his opponents to come up with a strategy in order to fight him. He clearly didn’t want to have his time wasted. It was from there that Celestia and Luna assembled the most abled-bodied defenders they could find. Myself, my friends, Princess Cadence, the Pillars of Harmony, even Discord and ex-Dragonlord Torch were called upon to discuss ways of dealing with this Mad Titan. Our only advantages were that he seemly didn’t know a thing about our capabilities. His ability to move the sun didn’t tell him that Celestia could do the same, so if we could manage to surprise him with the Powers of Harmony or Discord’s near limitless abilities, we might have a chance of defeating him. Unfortunately for us, we were also much in the same boat. We knew next to nothing about Thanos’s abilities as he had walked back through the portal after issuing his challenge. We could only assume they were incredible based on the feat he had already accomplished with such a meager gesture. Eventually the hour of our duel came about. We wished to have as few casualties as possible, so it was decided that me and the girls would use the Powers of Harmony first to blast Thanos before he could launch any major offensives. When we arrived at the location as where the Princesses met Thanos, he was quick to take note of numbers. He wasn’t at all surprised by the amount of us, and in fact complimented us on how wise we were to bring so many. That fact that he felt the need to say this did not help to put any of us at ease. Princess Celestia requested that we relocate the battle to a different barren location away from any inhabited civilizations, she nor the rest of us wanted any onlookers getting hurt during the heat of our fight. Thanos agreed, to which Torch offered an uninhabited craigy mesa in the center of the Dragon Lands to act as the battleground. Again Thanos agreed. For the next few moments he only stared at Torch, almost as if staring through his body and into the depths of his very soul. Within an instant he lifted his hand and clenched his fist, enveloping us and the surrounding area within a dome of black almost-cosmic energy. Once we could see again, we found ourselves standing in the craigy mesa that Torch had described. Torch, as well as the rest of us, blinked in disbelief. It was almost like he had plucked the location clean out of Torch’s memory and used it as a map to teleport us, the grass, and the few surrounding trees straight to the area. What little confidence we had left was slowly beginning to die. Thanos offered to use the first move, which we greedily accepted. In an instant the girls and I transformed in a bright flash of rainbow light. Colors swirled around us as we rose into the air, our manes began to grow longer, and our hooves and bodies started to become covered in ornate designs. Thanos looked more confused than he did afraid upon seeing our changed appearances. Before he could make a move, we fired every ounce of our power straight at the Mad Titan. We couldn’t spare any amount against this threat, if we did we would be risking the fate of not only half of all the creatures in Equestria, but half of all the lifeforms in our universe. The amount of energy we fired kicked up a large cloud of dust that completely blocked Thanos from our sight. We expected to see him frozen in stone, beaten and broken, or in chains and on the way to his Tartarus when the smoke finally cleared. We weren’t expecting to see Thanos absorbing all the energy we fired into his gauntlet before firing it back at us with an equal if not even greater amount of force. The attack didn’t hurt us, it was our own magic after all, but it did knock us back and revert us to normal. We fell to the ground in a daze, much to the surprise of the princesses and the other fighters on our side. Thanos examined his gauntlet and grumbled in displeasure, in fact he looked down right disappointed. He motioned for someone to attack him again. Nobody moved, they were all to preoccupied checking on those of us who had been knock to the ground. After checking on Fluttershy, it wasn’t too long before Discord stepped up. With anger in his eyes, he snapped his fingers and the entirety of a mountain fell atop the Mad Titan’s head. For a moment we were all relieved, thinking we had won, only to see the mountain change into a gigantic swarm of stone-colored butterflies that flew into the sky and out of sight. Thanos was standing in the middle of it looking none to impressed. Discord blinked and started to growl. He snapped his fingers and sent the Mad Titan away. He said he sent him to the bottom of the ocean, only to see the Mad Titan walk out of a portal seconds later completely dry. Discord snapped his fingers again, and said he had sent him to the sun, but he reappeared again completely unburned and still breathing. Finally Discord had had enough, he disappeared and reappeared behind Thanos and scratched open a portal with his eagle claw. He intended to toss the Titan out of their universe interily, only to miss grabbing him as he suddenly vanished with imperceptible speed. Before Discord could realize what was going on, he was picked up by the neck and tossed through the portal, to which Thanos closed his fist, shutting the portal himself. Thanos took in a long inhale before turning back towards us. He asked us how long he should expect until Discord came back to challenge him. None of us could give him an answer. Now looking annoyed, he began to stride towards us. We could all feel he intended on ending this. Torch launched his fist towards Thanos, intent on crushing him before he could get any closer. Thanos merely caught the ex-Dragon Lords fist and flipped him over his head and slammed him into the ground with enough force to cause a tremor that felt like an earthquake. Flash Magnus and Rockhoof growled, they could not stand seeing their friends and allies treated like this any longer. They charged the Mad Titan, Flash brandishing a spear and Rockhoof his shovel, both aiming for vital areas on Thanos’s body that would lead to a quick death. They were both stopped however, when Thanos grabbed the stafts of both their weapons before they could connect, broke them, then proceeded to punch both stallions a good mile away with both of his closed fists. Starswirl, Luna, Celestia, Cadence, and Mistmane were the next to attack. They fired a concentrated blast of pure magical energy out of their horns that completely engulfed the Titan where he stood. His silhouette could still be seen within the concentrated beam, at first casually walking then bursting forwards into an all out sprint. He grabbed onto Celestia’s horn upon reaching her, from there lifting her up and using her like a billie club to swat the others away. He then slammed her on the ground, knocking her out. He turned to see only Luna and Cadence rising to stand after the blow he dealt them. He was quick to kick Cadence sending her to the ground. He then caught Luna by the neck before she had a chance to stab him with her horn. He squeezed her neck within his grasp, finding no enjoyment in the pained gasps and tears flowing from the Lunar monarch. He felt a tap against the back of his head. He turned to see Somnambula and Meadowbrook standing before him with rocks held firmly in their hooves. He asked them what they intended to do. They gave no answer but never-the-less stood defiant before this seemingly unstoppable opponent. He grimaced, before dropping Luna and stepping on her head, knocking her out. He turned and stared at the two mares, as if contemplating the most appropriate move. Then he clenched his fist. Somnambula and Meadowbrook immediately fell to the ground, fast asleep. It was about this time that me and my friends were able to reorient ourselves, the devastation we saw took our breath away. Thanos nodded to himself as he looked over us and the other defeated heroes of Equestria. He told us, that a winner had been decided. Without a second thought, he lifted his golden hand and snapped his fingers. That was how it happened and this is now the result. At first, I only noticed the few ponies around me disappearing before seeing the broader scope. Flash Magnus, Starswirl, even Princess Luna and Torch turned to dust before my very eyes. It hurt to watch, but only hurt more when I heard somepony fall out of a nearby tree because their legs had disappeared. I don’t know why Spike was taking so long to vanish completely, when the others only took a few seconds. But in a way I was sort of relieved, this way I could comfort him one last time instead of finding him as pile of ash in the middle of the castle’s clean crystal floor. I heard a sonic rainboom occur in the sky, and saw a brief stint of color out of the corner of my eye. Rainbow must have left, Thanos must have said something that caught her attention. I hope she finds what she’s looking for and that if she does find it, it hasn’t become a pile of ash like so many others we cared about. I could feel Thanos was looking at me again. “As I had told her, this will all make sense in time.” He commented. “You will rebuild, and you will move on.” The fact he was saying this so casually made me grind my teeth. “And who knows…” Spike’s weight finally vanished from my hooves as his body disintegrated completely. “...you might find you enjoy the future much more than you did the past.” I felt something snap within my brain, and I actually lunged at the Mad Titan with all the fury of a wild animal. To my credit, he genuinely seemed surprised that I attacked him. I kicked off his stomach with my back legs while he was still caught off guard, and took to the air with a spell already charging within my horn. With every ounce of pain I had stored within my heart I fired at the monster that took my friend away from me. My beam struck him in the stomach, sending him flying into the distance before skidding across the dirt. The moment he landed on his feet, he stood and glared at me as I dove towards him like a falcon chasing mouse. I roared like a animal, firing burst after burst of my most powerful spells with the intent of wiping the purple stain of the face of the planet. But he just kept moving, only slightly, but always within my vision and just outside the radiance of my attacks. I couldn’t tell if he was toying with me, or simple just didn’t feel the need to expel the energy. He had already won. He knew that, I knew that, and after Celestia explained it to the remaining populous of Equestria and its neighboring kingdoms, the whole world would know that. He was trying to tire me out, so he could make his leave unimpeded. It worked. I fell to the ground, not because of exhaustion, but because I just couldn’t find a reason to fight anymore. I felt the tears pour down my face as I clawed at the dirt. I so desperately wanted to kick something. I wanted to kick him! Repeatedly! Until he stopped moving all together! But… I couldn’t. I looked up at him one last time. A portal had formed in front of him, it more than likely being his gateway back to the damnable hellhole he called home. I growled and shouted at him. “YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME!” I was beginning to feel stomach hurting, the pure rage I was feeling was starting to get to me. “THE PONIES OF THIS WORLD DID NOTHING TO YOU! WHY?! WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS?! WHAT REASON WOULD MAKE YOU DO ANY OF THIS?! WHY DID YOU NEED TO KILL MY FRIEND?!” For a moment, Thanos only looked at me. His blank expression didn’t change, but I could tell he was contemplating my question. He looked back at me before stepping towards the portal. “Unattainable goals.” He said. “Love… the affections of another. The powers of infinity make these things more attainable, and I will burn down as many universes as need be to achieve my desires. Death herself will one day fall at my feet, and grovel in my presence. I will finally stand above all things and claim all that has ever, will, and hasn’t been as my reward.” He stepped into the portal, before turning back to face me. “It is unfortunate, but I had no reason for coming to this universe. It just so happened to be the next one on my list.” The portal closed, removing Thanos from Equestria entirely. I sat there and whimpered. I couldn’t think of anything else to do. It was true that he hadn’t taken everything from Equestria, but it felt like he had taken everything from me. I heard hoofsteps falling behind me. I turned to see Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy just standing there, presumably having been sent to fetch me. Their eyes were watering, I could tell this travesty was affecting them just as much as it was me. Their lips were quivering, I could tell they wanted to ask me a question, but didn’t have the strength to say it at the moment. It didn’t matter anyways, I knew what they wanted to ask. They wanted to ask their ‘fearless’ and ‘brilliant’ leader what we were going to do next, even though it was her stupid plan that made them lose in the first place! Truthfully, I didn’t know what we were going to do. In my current depressed and frazzled state I doubted I would be able to given them an answer any time soon. But even despite the addled mind, I could tell one thing… a cheesy smile and a wave from the princess wasn’t going to please anyone this time. Author's Note A few more chapters focusing on other ponies points of view will be added at a later time. But for now, I hope your enjoy the story. Rainbow DashIt took me a moment to stop my head from spinning after the blast, breathing through my teeth as the aches finally started to leave my body. “Ugh… Dammit, Who does this guy think he is?” I groaned. “Nopony cheap-shots me or my friends like that! Oh, he’s gonna be sucking on his own teeth when I get through with-” Why’s everypony lying on the ground? Where’d Discord go?! Dammit! I can’t believe he split on us! What am I saying, that guy’s as flighty as a buzzed pegasus, of course he’d leave us when we needed him. Wait? Where the hell is Torch?! I know for a fact that guy wouldn’t run from a fight! And you can’t exactly hide him… I heard heavy footfalls coming from my right, and upon turning I could see Twilight hunkered down and clutching something. Thanos was standing over her, and that was when everything clicked for me. He did this to everyone! He’s the reason my friends are missing! It had to be him! I just can’t wrap my head around how... He must have cheated. Nopony has ever beaten the Powers of Harmony before, nopony! Stolen and hidden away sure, but never beaten. He had to have cheated, used some kind of reflection spell or thing in his glove. There was no way he could have stood up to something like that. No possible way! I heard Twilight whisper something. I couldn’t make it out, but it sounded like she was talking to somebody. I don’t think it was Thanos? I got to my hooves and began to creep towards her. There was no sense in letting this jerk know I was up and kicking. A surprise attack would be the best thing to do right now. A quick kick to the back of the head… yeah, that will knock him out then we can use the Powers again and- HOLY HORSESHIT! THAT’S SPIKE! SHE’S HOLDING SPIKE! WHEN DID HE GET HERE?! WHY IS HE HERE?! WHERE ARE HIS- OH MY CELESTIA, HIS LEGS ARE GONE! This couldn’t be happening. This isn’t happening! I’m still knocked out, that’s got to be it! I’m just having a horrible comma induced nightmare, like all those other times I’ve hit my head against the ground. Spike wasn’t flaking away into nothing, he wasn’t- I heard a forlorned sigh, something that sounded familiar, but unlike before, full of pity. Thanos was saying something to Twilight, but I couldn’t make it out from here. I felt my teeth clench together, as if both jaws were trying to break the other. This was his fault... It didn’t matter anymore if he cheated or not, I knew for a fact the reason my friends were gone was because the same thing that was happening to Spike had happened to them. They were gone, and it was All. His. FAULT! I shot into the sky before I even realized what I was doing, aiming my nose straight at the purple bastard’s head. I dove, feeling the wind blow past me like I was trying to do the sonic rainboom for the first time again. I intended to knock his head clean off with this, the others be damned at the moment, grieving could be done later. This guy needed to pay. Right here! Right now! “YOU SON OF A-” I felt myself get slapped out of the air before crashing painfully into the ground. “I know you don't yet understand. Nobody ever does in the beginning. But in time, when your remaining people have rebuilt, when your resources are properly distributed, once you've reached the proper balance...It will all make sense.” To anyone else he probably sounded like he was trying reassure me, but to me it sounded like he was just gloating in my face. I spat some blood out onto the craig below me. “Yeah? Well when I'm done, your head will be balanced on a spike outside Canterlot!” I tried to get back up and lunge at him again, but then I heard the sound of his glove clenching, and it felt like a thousand pound weight had been placed on my back. I looked over my shoulder to see what he had done, only for my eyes to widen in horror at what I saw. He had turned my wings into granite, and was using them as some ironic means of keeping me earthbound. I thrashed and kicked, but couldn’t manage to get myself out of the dirt. "Forgive me.” I heard him say. “But this is a necessary precaution to keep you from making any more... fatal mistakes.” I saw him starting to walk back towards Twilight. "My ambitions for this universe have been achieved. There is no need for any more excessive bloodshed." Unable to get up from the ground, I did the only thing I could do... I screamed at him. "GET BACK HERE! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL BUCKING-" Looking back towards me with an annoyed glance, he stared at me like I was some bratty kid ruining his night at the movies. Like he had any Celestia-damned right to stare at me like that! My face was growing heated, but what he said next chilled me straight to the bone. "I would search for your loved ones now pegasus, rather than waste time bothering me with idle threats. I'm certain they require your attention far more than I do at this moment." He clenched his fist again, this time reversing the spell he had cast on me. I got to my hooves and glared at him. I wanted to attack. Oh how I wanted to beat his giant bald prune face into an unrecognizable puddle of mushy red pulp! But… I couldn’t get his words to stop echoing in my head. I was beginning to wonder if he actually knew something that I didn’t or was just saying shit to get me to leave. I immediately threw those thoughts out. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he had gotten to me. I shot into sky and immediately swerved in the opposite direction. I hated leaving my friends behind, but there was something I had to check. Besides, they be fine without me for a little while… I mean, I bailed on them when we were first fighting Discord and they ended up figuring out how to beat him without even needing me. They’ll figure this out, and when they do I’ll be right there to help them. But right now, I need to get to Ponyville. What would normally been a couple hour flight for an average pegasus, took only ten minutes for me. I could finally see it, the outskirts of Ponyville. It looked pretty much the same, save for the large cloud of dust blowing out of it. That probably wasn’t a good sign. I hastened my speed and flew downwards into the center of town. As I got up, I saw ponies scrambling around me. Some were crying, others were running and screaming, and all the while more dust was blowing past my face and into my sinuses. I chose not to think about where the dust was coming from. A brief image of Spike appeared in my mind, but I quickly shook my head before it could become anything more then a fuzzy memory. I shot my gaze down several streets as I tried to regain my bearings. If anypony asked me, I would gladly say I knew Ponyville better the back of my hoof. But with the cloud of dust masking everything, and with my mind currently as frazzled as it was, I could barely even remember my own name. I shot down some random street, flying around the town in hopes that I could find her. Ponies were trying to call out to me and ask me questions, but I couldn’t hear them. Grunting, I slapped my hooves against my head. “Dammit! Where is she?!” I muttered. “She said she was feeling sick today. So she’s got to be at her house. But I can barely see through this crud as it is! Buck! It’s like bucking pea soup!” I shook my head again, more wildly this time. I tried to reassure myself. She’s fine. She is fine. “She! Is! Fine!” I declared to myself. Before I even saw it, I crashed into the sidewall of a rather unassuming cottage. As I peeled myself off the wall and fell to street below, I landed on something that immediately jabbed me in the back. “Ow!” Jumping up, I landed on my hooves before turning around to see what I had landed on. It was a blue scooter, with red racing stripes, and a filly-sized helmet laying next to it that must have fell off the handle bars. I turned around to look at the house. This had to be the place. Scootaloo’s aunt’s house. If a sick little filly was going to be anywhere, she was definitely going to be here. Ignoring all sense of manners I had, I burst through the front door and began combing the house for my number one fan. “Scootaloo?!” I shouted, shooting into the living room. “Scootaloo?!” I shouted shooting into the kitchen. “Where are you, Squirt?!” I shouted, stopping at the base of the stairs. I turned to look up them, and nearly slapped myself for being so dense. “Duh, Dash. She’s sick. Where else is she going to be but her room?” Flying up the stairs like they weren’t even there, I glided down the hallway where I knew her room being located. I knocked on the door before slowing starting to open it. “Scootaloo? Are you in here?” I got no answer, but instead found a large pile of dust sitting at the base of the window. My eyes widened as I immediately shot towards it. “SCOOTALOO!” I began to sift through her ashes like she could actually be hiding in the pile. “NO! NO! NO NO NO!” I slammed my hooves into the pile. “YOU CAN’T BE- YOU CAN’T BUCKING BE-” “Rainbow Dash..?” I heard a familiar voice, the exact voice I wanted to hear right now, and turned on my hooves towards the bed in the corner of the room. I nearly felt tears start to fall from my eyes. “Rainbow Dash… what’s going on?” She sounded scared, but also somewhat more weak then usual. Maybe she had something worse then the flu? “It’s okay, kid. I’m here. Tell me what happened and I’ll try to fill in the blanks as we go.” Scootaloo’s eyes began to water as she squeezed her blanket. “Aunt Lofty was coming in to open the window for me. But before she could grab the sile, she melted into the floor like she was made of sand.” Her eyes squinted and she began to weep openly. “I don’t know what’s going on, Rainbow!” She shouted. “Am I dreaming?! Am I so sick I’m seeing things?!” “Calm down, Scoots.” I said, trying to calmly breathe. I didn’t want to admit it to Scootaloo, but this whole thing was freaking me out just as much as it was her. But I had put on a brave face. She was already bordering hysterical, and it wasn’t going to help anypony if she started freaking out. “Listen to me. Everything is going to be okay. Twilight’s going to fix this, and once I get back to my friends, we’re going to kick the butt of the guy who did this so hard that you won’t be able to tell the difference between his face and his butt!” I was hoping my usual cocky attitude would make her feel better, but she only continued to frown at me. I felt my heart tug. For some reason, I really wasn’t looking forward to the answer of my next question. “You feeling any better, Squirt?” She shook her head. “I’m feeling worse.” More tears started to cascade down her cheeks as she removed her covers. My eyes widened to the size of saucers and my mouth hung open a little. Her leg was missing! Like Spike, her right hind leg was missing! She began to rub her eyes as she started to cry harder. “Rainbow Dash, what’s going to happen to me?” “Scootaloo your going to be fine.” I tried to assure her, but even to me it sounded like a lie. “Do you think you’ll remember me?” I felt a gentle breeze beginning to blow through her open bedroom door. It only now occured to me that I left the front door open and the wind was traveling upstairs. “Scootaloo don’t say that! You are going to be alright!” I was beginning to cry now. I saw little flicks of her body starting to float off her body in the breeze. My wings began to twitch. I couldn’t just stand here! I shot off the floor and straight towards Scootaloo’s bed. “SCOOTALOO!” I shouted, colliding with the bed and body, only to feel her evaporate as I brought my legs around her. As I picked myself up, I looked around for any trace of Scootaloo. I couldn’t see her. But I could see flicks of her, orange and purple pieces of sand floating in the air like feathers after a pillow fight. I looked at my chest. Flicks of her were covering my body. I couldn’t hold it back anymore, my eyes began to burst as the floodgates broke loose. I clawed at the mattress, hoping I could somehow find some physical sign of her, even though I knew she was gone. I scrunched up the blanket in my hooves, my tears soon turning into blind fury as I remembered how I felt when I saw Spike disappearing in Twilight’s grasp. I remembered who had done that to him… to my friends… TO MY SISTER! I shot off of Scootaloo’s bed and flew down the stairs without even touching the ground. I bolted outside and immediately started climbing into the sky. Once I was high enough, I pointed myself in the exact direction I remembered the fight taking place. Then I dove… Within seconds I felt air rushing past me, like I was a meteor gaining momentum and about to crash land into Ponyville. I heard the sonic boom, and saw the bright ring of colors flying outwards behind me. I straightened, pointing myself parallel to the ground and using my wings to keep me aloft. I flew faster than I ever thought I could in that very moment. I’d probably run into Twilight and the others in a matter of seconds rather than minutes. I regained my focus, and remembered why I was flying this fast. I remembered who’s head I was going to rip off and impale on a blunt stick. I shouted his name, hopeful that he might hear it and know what he had just unleashed. “THANOS!” Author's Note This took alot longer then it should have... A special thanks to Boltstrike58 who came up with the original concept for this part of the story on my Infinity War Crossover Challenge thread. You did awesome work with dude, hope your proud of it! Anyways, there will be three more parts to this story coming out at later dates. I can't specify how soon that will be, but I hope to have them out sooner then this one was at least. Hope you guys enjoy, and have an awesome rest of your day!~ RarityHave I ever mentioned to anypony that I hate grand adventures? With how often Equestria seems to fall into peril, you’d think I’d be used to it by now, but yet again some new barbarous cretin arises, and I risk yet another chance to mess up my mane... ...little did I know the actual consequences of our failure should this Thanos have won. Spike, my poor little Spikey-Wikey… to think I’ll never see his adorable little face again, that I’ll never again know the joy of having him to assist me around my boutique. I had woken up from the blow Thanos had dealt us some time after the rest of my friends, and as a result was forced to listen to others in painstaking detail the outcome of our inability to stop Thanos. From what I understood, that monster had made good on his claim and the few of us who were no longer present--save for Rainbow Dash--had been… taken from us. Forgive me, I just can’t bring myself to say the word. We assumed that outside the craggy landscape we found ourselves in, that the casualties were even more monumentous. I will not lie and say that the thought of losing so many living creatures did not bring a tear to my eye… many really. It was a very ugly moment for me. After I had cleaned my ruined makeup and Fluttershy was able to calm me down, we decided to take a walk back towards Canterlot. We knew we could not walk the entire way back to Equestria, especially with the shape some of us were in. We needed to spend some time in silence. We needed some time to think, to mourn, to contemplate whatever our next move would be… I don’t know what our reason was, perhaps a combination of all three, or maybe we just had nothing left to say given the events that have occurred. I found myself dragging behind the others, but they seemed to be unaware of my disappearance. Not that I could blame them. We all had some extremely heavy things on our minds, and I didn’t blame them for being more focused on their own issues rather than mine. I would have ran to catch up with them, but a voice I wasn’t expecting to hear hit my ears before I could perform the action. "Rarity..?" I turned around to see a small filly with a coat as white as my own timidly walking across that war-torn battlefield that Twilight and Thanos's previous bout had dredged up. "Sweetie Belle?!” I was aghast, how did my little sister get here. I assumed that she must have been hiding in the same tree as Spike in order to see the battle. “What are you doing here?!” I scolded. “I told you to stay home! Honestly, of all the battles you could decided to follow me too, it had to be-" I was struck silent when I noticed that Sweetie Belle was crying like a fashionista who had just heard a deal for eighty percent off fabrics had just ended. "Sweetie..?" "Your.... your hoof." Sweetie whimpered, her own hoof pointing at my own right foreleg. Confused and somewhat dreading the outcome of her statement, I turned my gaze to look down at the leg she pointed at. What I saw made my breathing stop, parts of my hoof was starting to blow away like grains of sand on a poorly constructed sand castle. Tears began to fill my eyes as I looked back towards her sister. "Rarity!" Sweetie Belle rushed towards me, knocking me back onto my haunches with the force of her tackle. Her resolve had been broken and now an endless stream of tears were staining the young filly's cheeks. I brought up my hooves and deeply hugged my sister. "It's going to be okay, Sweetie Belle." I was lying, but I forced a smile even despite the absolute terror I was feeling. "I'm going to be just..." Mascara was staining my cheeks, and I knew I couldn't continue leading my sister on as my own flood gates suddenly broke. "Sweetie Belle... I love you so very much." I wheezed, and felt the filly nuzzle deep into my chest as I spoke. "I am going to be going away for a little while..." I swallowed my fear as more and more of my body began to blow away. I could feel her touch beginning to feel less apparent. "...But I am certain that Twilight and the Princess will be able to bring me back." I brought my near paper thin hoof under Sweetie Belle's chin and moved it upwards so she could look me in the eyes. "I-I want you to be a good girl for the others while I am gone, okay? They will need an intelligent, beautiful, and refined young lady, such as yourself, to point them in the right direction after all that's happened." Sweetie Belle shook her head. "No... NO! You can't go! I don't want you to!" I felt myself completely beginning to fade, so as a final gesture I placed a small kiss on Sweetie's forehead right above her horn. The gesture caused the filly to look up and back into my eyes. "I am so proud of you Sweetie Belle. I know you will make it through this, like the strong filly I know you to be." Before Sweetie could voice a response, I completely vanished in her forelegs, causing her to hug herself and fall forward. I don’t know how I was seeing this, but I watched as Sweetie Belle looked to the sky and watched my white and violet ashes fly upwards. I could see darkness starting to form around me, I think I was finally starting to go. I wondered if I would see Spike and the others where I’m going... that would be lovely. I looked back down at Sweetie and could tell she couldn't hold it in anymore. She shouted to the heavens every ounce of pain she was feeling in this moment. "RARITY! COME BACK! RARITY!" I was certain the others would be able to hear her with how loud she was shouting. They would come and find her soon and take her someplace safe. If I could still speak that’s the only thing I would ask of them. My vision was finally starting to go, but before it went completely I was gifted with the sight of the sun rising over the horizon as it illuminated the landscape. It was breathtaking to say the least, and kind of reminded me of those views I had when Twilight created those wings for me. Whenever I made it back, I would need to remember the colors present in this image. They would be perfect for a dress idea I had in mind. I wonder... if the the girls would like to model it for me? Author's Note Something to go with the chapter I just added to Equestria Girls: Digimon Destiny to hold all you guys over while I'm gone on my trip. Have a great rest of your week everybody, and I hope to talk to all of you when I get back.
Twilight SparkleIt shouldn’t have ended like this... We thought we could win... pull out victory from the narrow jaws of defeat like we had done so many times before. But we didn’t… Now I’m lying here, holding him in my hooves as I watch him slowly flake away into nothing. This isn’t fair. He had nothing to do with this! He wasn’t even supposed to be involved! His breathing is starting to grow more heavy. Oh dear Celestia my eyes are feeling dry, I know I need to blink but I can’t bear to look away from him for an instant. This precious little creature who I had grown up beside, who I had personally taken part in bring into this world, was turning to dust in my grasp… and I could do nothing to stop it. His lower lip quivers as he moves his gaze to catch mine. He whimpers at me, “Twilight… I don’t feel so good.” My heart almost shattered completely in that quarter of a second. I hear heavy footsteps coming towards me, but I still can’t bring myself to look away from Spike. “Spike…” I whimper, but I’m not certain he can hear me. I hear a forlorned sign, one I recognized as someone I now hated with every fiber of my being. He spoke to me, his voice sounding deep and melancholy. From what he had told us when he had first arrived in Equestria, he had done this same thing to countless other races in numerous other realities. From the sound of it, one could assume the weight of these accomplishments were beginning to weigh on him, but assumptions aside, it wasn’t nearly enough for me to want to show him any sort of pity. “I am sorry…” I heard him say. “...for what it’s worth, let me tell you that I understand. I know the type of loss you are feeling… better than almost anyone else. You can at least take comfort in the fact that his sacrifice, as well as the sacrifice of all the others, will finally bring about perfect balance to your universe... perfect harmony, if you are feeling more poetic.” I feel so angry I could spit. I wanted nothing more then to antomize him with the strongest spell I could muster. Let him know what it felt like to be erased from existence! But I couldn’t leave Spike, not now, not when he needed me most. “YOU SON OF A-” I hear Rainbow’s voice blast out of the heavens before being silenced by a slap. The two began saying more words to each other, but I wasn’t paying attention. If I were in a better state of mind, I might have told Rainbow Dash to run away, to not fight him because our powers where no match for his. But Rainbow has always been a fighter to the very end, she wouldn’t give up even if everything she cared about was destroyed, instead of just half… maybe even less than that. Somehow even despite all that was going on, all that had happened, my mind went back to this morning where this when it all started. It started like any other day, Celestia raised the sun without issue, Spike was cooking breakfast, and the map wasn’t showing any friendship problems needing to be dealt with. It seemed like the perfect day to hang out with the girls, or lounge about the castle library and read. But then Spike came to me with an urgent letter from the princess, and from there everything changed. The letter told me about an alien visitor appearing in the fields shadowed by Canterlot Mountain. It said he had arrived through a portal with amagical signature so great, that even Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were hesitant to approach him. He called himself Thanos, the Mad Titan, and told the princesses that he had fused our universe with his own and another. He explained that he had done this to multiple universes before ours, and offered to them an ultimatum… meet him at sunrise tomorrow morning or he would kill half of all living things within our universe. At first, the princesses thought he was insane, no one could of had that much power. But then he clenched his golden fist, and the sun began to move on its own. It sped by faster then what was usually expected for an average day, but still slow enough for appeal time to be given to his opponents to come up with a strategy in order to fight him. He clearly didn’t want to have his time wasted. It was from there that Celestia and Luna assembled the most abled-bodied defenders they could find. Myself, my friends, Princess Cadence, the Pillars of Harmony, even Discord and ex-Dragonlord Torch were called upon to discuss ways of dealing with this Mad Titan. Our only advantages were that he seemly didn’t know a thing about our capabilities. His ability to move the sun didn’t tell him that Celestia could do the same, so if we could manage to surprise him with the Powers of Harmony or Discord’s near limitless abilities, we might have a chance of defeating him. Unfortunately for us, we were also much in the same boat. We knew next to nothing about Thanos’s abilities as he had walked back through the portal after issuing his challenge. We could only assume they were incredible based on the feat he had already accomplished with such a meager gesture. Eventually the hour of our duel came about. We wished to have as few casualties as possible, so it was decided that me and the girls would use the Powers of Harmony first to blast Thanos before he could launch any major offensives. When we arrived at the location as where the Princesses met Thanos, he was quick to take note of numbers. He wasn’t at all surprised by the amount of us, and in fact complimented us on how wise we were to bring so many. That fact that he felt the need to say this did not help to put any of us at ease. Princess Celestia requested that we relocate the battle to a different barren location away from any inhabited civilizations, she nor the rest of us wanted any onlookers getting hurt during the heat of our fight. Thanos agreed, to which Torch offered an uninhabited craigy mesa in the center of the Dragon Lands to act as the battleground. Again Thanos agreed. For the next few moments he only stared at Torch, almost as if staring through his body and into the depths of his very soul. Within an instant he lifted his hand and clenched his fist, enveloping us and the surrounding area within a dome of black almost-cosmic energy. Once we could see again, we found ourselves standing in the craigy mesa that Torch had described. Torch, as well as the rest of us, blinked in disbelief. It was almost like he had plucked the location clean out of Torch’s memory and used it as a map to teleport us, the grass, and the few surrounding trees straight to the area. What little confidence we had left was slowly beginning to die. Thanos offered to use the first move, which we greedily accepted. In an instant the girls and I transformed in a bright flash of rainbow light. Colors swirled around us as we rose into the air, our manes began to grow longer, and our hooves and bodies started to become covered in ornate designs. Thanos looked more confused than he did afraid upon seeing our changed appearances. Before he could make a move, we fired every ounce of our power straight at the Mad Titan. We couldn’t spare any amount against this threat, if we did we would be risking the fate of not only half of all the creatures in Equestria, but half of all the lifeforms in our universe. The amount of energy we fired kicked up a large cloud of dust that completely blocked Thanos from our sight. We expected to see him frozen in stone, beaten and broken, or in chains and on the way to his Tartarus when the smoke finally cleared. We weren’t expecting to see Thanos absorbing all the energy we fired into his gauntlet before firing it back at us with an equal if not even greater amount of force. The attack didn’t hurt us, it was our own magic after all, but it did knock us back and revert us to normal. We fell to the ground in a daze, much to the surprise of the princesses and the other fighters on our side. Thanos examined his gauntlet and grumbled in displeasure, in fact he looked down right disappointed. He motioned for someone to attack him again. Nobody moved, they were all to preoccupied checking on those of us who had been knock to the ground. After checking on Fluttershy, it wasn’t too long before Discord stepped up. With anger in his eyes, he snapped his fingers and the entirety of a mountain fell atop the Mad Titan’s head. For a moment we were all relieved, thinking we had won, only to see the mountain change into a gigantic swarm of stone-colored butterflies that flew into the sky and out of sight. Thanos was standing in the middle of it looking none to impressed. Discord blinked and started to growl. He snapped his fingers and sent the Mad Titan away. He said he sent him to the bottom of the ocean, only to see the Mad Titan walk out of a portal seconds later completely dry. Discord snapped his fingers again, and said he had sent him to the sun, but he reappeared again completely unburned and still breathing. Finally Discord had had enough, he disappeared and reappeared behind Thanos and scratched open a portal with his eagle claw. He intended to toss the Titan out of their universe interily, only to miss grabbing him as he suddenly vanished with imperceptible speed. Before Discord could realize what was going on, he was picked up by the neck and tossed through the portal, to which Thanos closed his fist, shutting the portal himself. Thanos took in a long inhale before turning back towards us. He asked us how long he should expect until Discord came back to challenge him. None of us could give him an answer. Now looking annoyed, he began to stride towards us. We could all feel he intended on ending this. Torch launched his fist towards Thanos, intent on crushing him before he could get any closer. Thanos merely caught the ex-Dragon Lords fist and flipped him over his head and slammed him into the ground with enough force to cause a tremor that felt like an earthquake. Flash Magnus and Rockhoof growled, they could not stand seeing their friends and allies treated like this any longer. They charged the Mad Titan, Flash brandishing a spear and Rockhoof his shovel, both aiming for vital areas on Thanos’s body that would lead to a quick death. They were both stopped however, when Thanos grabbed the stafts of both their weapons before they could connect, broke them, then proceeded to punch both stallions a good mile away with both of his closed fists. Starswirl, Luna, Celestia, Cadence, and Mistmane were the next to attack. They fired a concentrated blast of pure magical energy out of their horns that completely engulfed the Titan where he stood. His silhouette could still be seen within the concentrated beam, at first casually walking then bursting forwards into an all out sprint. He grabbed onto Celestia’s horn upon reaching her, from there lifting her up and using her like a billie club to swat the others away. He then slammed her on the ground, knocking her out. He turned to see only Luna and Cadence rising to stand after the blow he dealt them. He was quick to kick Cadence sending her to the ground. He then caught Luna by the neck before she had a chance to stab him with her horn. He squeezed her neck within his grasp, finding no enjoyment in the pained gasps and tears flowing from the Lunar monarch. He felt a tap against the back of his head. He turned to see Somnambula and Meadowbrook standing before him with rocks held firmly in their hooves. He asked them what they intended to do. They gave no answer but never-the-less stood defiant before this seemingly unstoppable opponent. He grimaced, before dropping Luna and stepping on her head, knocking her out. He turned and stared at the two mares, as if contemplating the most appropriate move. Then he clenched his fist. Somnambula and Meadowbrook immediately fell to the ground, fast asleep. It was about this time that me and my friends were able to reorient ourselves, the devastation we saw took our breath away. Thanos nodded to himself as he looked over us and the other defeated heroes of Equestria. He told us, that a winner had been decided. Without a second thought, he lifted his golden hand and snapped his fingers. That was how it happened and this is now the result. At first, I only noticed the few ponies around me disappearing before seeing the broader scope. Flash Magnus, Starswirl, even Princess Luna and Torch turned to dust before my very eyes. It hurt to watch, but only hurt more when I heard somepony fall out of a nearby tree because their legs had disappeared. I don’t know why Spike was taking so long to vanish completely, when the others only took a few seconds. But in a way I was sort of relieved, this way I could comfort him one last time instead of finding him as pile of ash in the middle of the castle’s clean crystal floor. I heard a sonic rainboom occur in the sky, and saw a brief stint of color out of the corner of my eye. Rainbow must have left, Thanos must have said something that caught her attention. I hope she finds what she’s looking for and that if she does find it, it hasn’t become a pile of ash like so many others we cared about. I could feel Thanos was looking at me again. “As I had told her, this will all make sense in time.” He commented. “You will rebuild, and you will move on.” The fact he was saying this so casually made me grind my teeth. “And who knows…” Spike’s weight finally vanished from my hooves as his body disintegrated completely. “...you might find you enjoy the future much more than you did the past.” I felt something snap within my brain, and I actually lunged at the Mad Titan with all the fury of a wild animal. To my credit, he genuinely seemed surprised that I attacked him. I kicked off his stomach with my back legs while he was still caught off guard, and took to the air with a spell already charging within my horn. With every ounce of pain I had stored within my heart I fired at the monster that took my friend away from me. My beam struck him in the stomach, sending him flying into the distance before skidding across the dirt. The moment he landed on his feet, he stood and glared at me as I dove towards him like a falcon chasing mouse. I roared like a animal, firing burst after burst of my most powerful spells with the intent of wiping the purple stain of the face of the planet. But he just kept moving, only slightly, but always within my vision and just outside the radiance of my attacks. I couldn’t tell if he was toying with me, or simple just didn’t feel the need to expel the energy. He had already won. He knew that, I knew that, and after Celestia explained it to the remaining populous of Equestria and its neighboring kingdoms, the whole world would know that. He was trying to tire me out, so he could make his leave unimpeded. It worked. I fell to the ground, not because of exhaustion, but because I just couldn’t find a reason to fight anymore. I felt the tears pour down my face as I clawed at the dirt. I so desperately wanted to kick something. I wanted to kick him! Repeatedly! Until he stopped moving all together! But… I couldn’t. I looked up at him one last time. A portal had formed in front of him, it more than likely being his gateway back to the damnable hellhole he called home. I growled and shouted at him. “YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME!” I was beginning to feel stomach hurting, the pure rage I was feeling was starting to get to me. “THE PONIES OF THIS WORLD DID NOTHING TO YOU! WHY?! WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS?! WHAT REASON WOULD MAKE YOU DO ANY OF THIS?! WHY DID YOU NEED TO KILL MY FRIEND?!” For a moment, Thanos only looked at me. His blank expression didn’t change, but I could tell he was contemplating my question. He looked back at me before stepping towards the portal. “Unattainable goals.” He said. “Love… the affections of another. The powers of infinity make these things more attainable, and I will burn down as many universes as need be to achieve my desires. Death herself will one day fall at my feet, and grovel in my presence. I will finally stand above all things and claim all that has ever, will, and hasn’t been as my reward.” He stepped into the portal, before turning back to face me. “It is unfortunate, but I had no reason for coming to this universe. It just so happened to be the next one on my list.” The portal closed, removing Thanos from Equestria entirely. I sat there and whimpered. I couldn’t think of anything else to do. It was true that he hadn’t taken everything from Equestria, but it felt like he had taken everything from me. I heard hoofsteps falling behind me. I turned to see Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy just standing there, presumably having been sent to fetch me. Their eyes were watering, I could tell this travesty was affecting them just as much as it was me. Their lips were quivering, I could tell they wanted to ask me a question, but didn’t have the strength to say it at the moment. It didn’t matter anyways, I knew what they wanted to ask. They wanted to ask their ‘fearless’ and ‘brilliant’ leader what we were going to do next, even though it was her stupid plan that made them lose in the first place! Truthfully, I didn’t know what we were going to do. In my current depressed and frazzled state I doubted I would be able to given them an answer any time soon. But even despite the addled mind, I could tell one thing… a cheesy smile and a wave from the princess wasn’t going to please anyone this time. Author's Note A few more chapters focusing on other ponies points of view will be added at a later time. But for now, I hope your enjoy the story.
Rainbow DashIt took me a moment to stop my head from spinning after the blast, breathing through my teeth as the aches finally started to leave my body. “Ugh… Dammit, Who does this guy think he is?” I groaned. “Nopony cheap-shots me or my friends like that! Oh, he’s gonna be sucking on his own teeth when I get through with-” Why’s everypony lying on the ground? Where’d Discord go?! Dammit! I can’t believe he split on us! What am I saying, that guy’s as flighty as a buzzed pegasus, of course he’d leave us when we needed him. Wait? Where the hell is Torch?! I know for a fact that guy wouldn’t run from a fight! And you can’t exactly hide him… I heard heavy footfalls coming from my right, and upon turning I could see Twilight hunkered down and clutching something. Thanos was standing over her, and that was when everything clicked for me. He did this to everyone! He’s the reason my friends are missing! It had to be him! I just can’t wrap my head around how... He must have cheated. Nopony has ever beaten the Powers of Harmony before, nopony! Stolen and hidden away sure, but never beaten. He had to have cheated, used some kind of reflection spell or thing in his glove. There was no way he could have stood up to something like that. No possible way! I heard Twilight whisper something. I couldn’t make it out, but it sounded like she was talking to somebody. I don’t think it was Thanos? I got to my hooves and began to creep towards her. There was no sense in letting this jerk know I was up and kicking. A surprise attack would be the best thing to do right now. A quick kick to the back of the head… yeah, that will knock him out then we can use the Powers again and- HOLY HORSESHIT! THAT’S SPIKE! SHE’S HOLDING SPIKE! WHEN DID HE GET HERE?! WHY IS HE HERE?! WHERE ARE HIS- OH MY CELESTIA, HIS LEGS ARE GONE! This couldn’t be happening. This isn’t happening! I’m still knocked out, that’s got to be it! I’m just having a horrible comma induced nightmare, like all those other times I’ve hit my head against the ground. Spike wasn’t flaking away into nothing, he wasn’t- I heard a forlorned sigh, something that sounded familiar, but unlike before, full of pity. Thanos was saying something to Twilight, but I couldn’t make it out from here. I felt my teeth clench together, as if both jaws were trying to break the other. This was his fault... It didn’t matter anymore if he cheated or not, I knew for a fact the reason my friends were gone was because the same thing that was happening to Spike had happened to them. They were gone, and it was All. His. FAULT! I shot into the sky before I even realized what I was doing, aiming my nose straight at the purple bastard’s head. I dove, feeling the wind blow past me like I was trying to do the sonic rainboom for the first time again. I intended to knock his head clean off with this, the others be damned at the moment, grieving could be done later. This guy needed to pay. Right here! Right now! “YOU SON OF A-” I felt myself get slapped out of the air before crashing painfully into the ground. “I know you don't yet understand. Nobody ever does in the beginning. But in time, when your remaining people have rebuilt, when your resources are properly distributed, once you've reached the proper balance...It will all make sense.” To anyone else he probably sounded like he was trying reassure me, but to me it sounded like he was just gloating in my face. I spat some blood out onto the craig below me. “Yeah? Well when I'm done, your head will be balanced on a spike outside Canterlot!” I tried to get back up and lunge at him again, but then I heard the sound of his glove clenching, and it felt like a thousand pound weight had been placed on my back. I looked over my shoulder to see what he had done, only for my eyes to widen in horror at what I saw. He had turned my wings into granite, and was using them as some ironic means of keeping me earthbound. I thrashed and kicked, but couldn’t manage to get myself out of the dirt. "Forgive me.” I heard him say. “But this is a necessary precaution to keep you from making any more... fatal mistakes.” I saw him starting to walk back towards Twilight. "My ambitions for this universe have been achieved. There is no need for any more excessive bloodshed." Unable to get up from the ground, I did the only thing I could do... I screamed at him. "GET BACK HERE! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL BUCKING-" Looking back towards me with an annoyed glance, he stared at me like I was some bratty kid ruining his night at the movies. Like he had any Celestia-damned right to stare at me like that! My face was growing heated, but what he said next chilled me straight to the bone. "I would search for your loved ones now pegasus, rather than waste time bothering me with idle threats. I'm certain they require your attention far more than I do at this moment." He clenched his fist again, this time reversing the spell he had cast on me. I got to my hooves and glared at him. I wanted to attack. Oh how I wanted to beat his giant bald prune face into an unrecognizable puddle of mushy red pulp! But… I couldn’t get his words to stop echoing in my head. I was beginning to wonder if he actually knew something that I didn’t or was just saying shit to get me to leave. I immediately threw those thoughts out. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he had gotten to me. I shot into sky and immediately swerved in the opposite direction. I hated leaving my friends behind, but there was something I had to check. Besides, they be fine without me for a little while… I mean, I bailed on them when we were first fighting Discord and they ended up figuring out how to beat him without even needing me. They’ll figure this out, and when they do I’ll be right there to help them. But right now, I need to get to Ponyville. What would normally been a couple hour flight for an average pegasus, took only ten minutes for me. I could finally see it, the outskirts of Ponyville. It looked pretty much the same, save for the large cloud of dust blowing out of it. That probably wasn’t a good sign. I hastened my speed and flew downwards into the center of town. As I got up, I saw ponies scrambling around me. Some were crying, others were running and screaming, and all the while more dust was blowing past my face and into my sinuses. I chose not to think about where the dust was coming from. A brief image of Spike appeared in my mind, but I quickly shook my head before it could become anything more then a fuzzy memory. I shot my gaze down several streets as I tried to regain my bearings. If anypony asked me, I would gladly say I knew Ponyville better the back of my hoof. But with the cloud of dust masking everything, and with my mind currently as frazzled as it was, I could barely even remember my own name. I shot down some random street, flying around the town in hopes that I could find her. Ponies were trying to call out to me and ask me questions, but I couldn’t hear them. Grunting, I slapped my hooves against my head. “Dammit! Where is she?!” I muttered. “She said she was feeling sick today. So she’s got to be at her house. But I can barely see through this crud as it is! Buck! It’s like bucking pea soup!” I shook my head again, more wildly this time. I tried to reassure myself. She’s fine. She is fine. “She! Is! Fine!” I declared to myself. Before I even saw it, I crashed into the sidewall of a rather unassuming cottage. As I peeled myself off the wall and fell to street below, I landed on something that immediately jabbed me in the back. “Ow!” Jumping up, I landed on my hooves before turning around to see what I had landed on. It was a blue scooter, with red racing stripes, and a filly-sized helmet laying next to it that must have fell off the handle bars. I turned around to look at the house. This had to be the place. Scootaloo’s aunt’s house. If a sick little filly was going to be anywhere, she was definitely going to be here. Ignoring all sense of manners I had, I burst through the front door and began combing the house for my number one fan. “Scootaloo?!” I shouted, shooting into the living room. “Scootaloo?!” I shouted shooting into the kitchen. “Where are you, Squirt?!” I shouted, stopping at the base of the stairs. I turned to look up them, and nearly slapped myself for being so dense. “Duh, Dash. She’s sick. Where else is she going to be but her room?” Flying up the stairs like they weren’t even there, I glided down the hallway where I knew her room being located. I knocked on the door before slowing starting to open it. “Scootaloo? Are you in here?” I got no answer, but instead found a large pile of dust sitting at the base of the window. My eyes widened as I immediately shot towards it. “SCOOTALOO!” I began to sift through her ashes like she could actually be hiding in the pile. “NO! NO! NO NO NO!” I slammed my hooves into the pile. “YOU CAN’T BE- YOU CAN’T BUCKING BE-” “Rainbow Dash..?” I heard a familiar voice, the exact voice I wanted to hear right now, and turned on my hooves towards the bed in the corner of the room. I nearly felt tears start to fall from my eyes. “Rainbow Dash… what’s going on?” She sounded scared, but also somewhat more weak then usual. Maybe she had something worse then the flu? “It’s okay, kid. I’m here. Tell me what happened and I’ll try to fill in the blanks as we go.” Scootaloo’s eyes began to water as she squeezed her blanket. “Aunt Lofty was coming in to open the window for me. But before she could grab the sile, she melted into the floor like she was made of sand.” Her eyes squinted and she began to weep openly. “I don’t know what’s going on, Rainbow!” She shouted. “Am I dreaming?! Am I so sick I’m seeing things?!” “Calm down, Scoots.” I said, trying to calmly breathe. I didn’t want to admit it to Scootaloo, but this whole thing was freaking me out just as much as it was her. But I had put on a brave face. She was already bordering hysterical, and it wasn’t going to help anypony if she started freaking out. “Listen to me. Everything is going to be okay. Twilight’s going to fix this, and once I get back to my friends, we’re going to kick the butt of the guy who did this so hard that you won’t be able to tell the difference between his face and his butt!” I was hoping my usual cocky attitude would make her feel better, but she only continued to frown at me. I felt my heart tug. For some reason, I really wasn’t looking forward to the answer of my next question. “You feeling any better, Squirt?” She shook her head. “I’m feeling worse.” More tears started to cascade down her cheeks as she removed her covers. My eyes widened to the size of saucers and my mouth hung open a little. Her leg was missing! Like Spike, her right hind leg was missing! She began to rub her eyes as she started to cry harder. “Rainbow Dash, what’s going to happen to me?” “Scootaloo your going to be fine.” I tried to assure her, but even to me it sounded like a lie. “Do you think you’ll remember me?” I felt a gentle breeze beginning to blow through her open bedroom door. It only now occured to me that I left the front door open and the wind was traveling upstairs. “Scootaloo don’t say that! You are going to be alright!” I was beginning to cry now. I saw little flicks of her body starting to float off her body in the breeze. My wings began to twitch. I couldn’t just stand here! I shot off the floor and straight towards Scootaloo’s bed. “SCOOTALOO!” I shouted, colliding with the bed and body, only to feel her evaporate as I brought my legs around her. As I picked myself up, I looked around for any trace of Scootaloo. I couldn’t see her. But I could see flicks of her, orange and purple pieces of sand floating in the air like feathers after a pillow fight. I looked at my chest. Flicks of her were covering my body. I couldn’t hold it back anymore, my eyes began to burst as the floodgates broke loose. I clawed at the mattress, hoping I could somehow find some physical sign of her, even though I knew she was gone. I scrunched up the blanket in my hooves, my tears soon turning into blind fury as I remembered how I felt when I saw Spike disappearing in Twilight’s grasp. I remembered who had done that to him… to my friends… TO MY SISTER! I shot off of Scootaloo’s bed and flew down the stairs without even touching the ground. I bolted outside and immediately started climbing into the sky. Once I was high enough, I pointed myself in the exact direction I remembered the fight taking place. Then I dove… Within seconds I felt air rushing past me, like I was a meteor gaining momentum and about to crash land into Ponyville. I heard the sonic boom, and saw the bright ring of colors flying outwards behind me. I straightened, pointing myself parallel to the ground and using my wings to keep me aloft. I flew faster than I ever thought I could in that very moment. I’d probably run into Twilight and the others in a matter of seconds rather than minutes. I regained my focus, and remembered why I was flying this fast. I remembered who’s head I was going to rip off and impale on a blunt stick. I shouted his name, hopeful that he might hear it and know what he had just unleashed. “THANOS!” Author's Note This took alot longer then it should have... A special thanks to Boltstrike58 who came up with the original concept for this part of the story on my Infinity War Crossover Challenge thread. You did awesome work with dude, hope your proud of it! Anyways, there will be three more parts to this story coming out at later dates. I can't specify how soon that will be, but I hope to have them out sooner then this one was at least. Hope you guys enjoy, and have an awesome rest of your day!~
RarityHave I ever mentioned to anypony that I hate grand adventures? With how often Equestria seems to fall into peril, you’d think I’d be used to it by now, but yet again some new barbarous cretin arises, and I risk yet another chance to mess up my mane... ...little did I know the actual consequences of our failure should this Thanos have won. Spike, my poor little Spikey-Wikey… to think I’ll never see his adorable little face again, that I’ll never again know the joy of having him to assist me around my boutique. I had woken up from the blow Thanos had dealt us some time after the rest of my friends, and as a result was forced to listen to others in painstaking detail the outcome of our inability to stop Thanos. From what I understood, that monster had made good on his claim and the few of us who were no longer present--save for Rainbow Dash--had been… taken from us. Forgive me, I just can’t bring myself to say the word. We assumed that outside the craggy landscape we found ourselves in, that the casualties were even more monumentous. I will not lie and say that the thought of losing so many living creatures did not bring a tear to my eye… many really. It was a very ugly moment for me. After I had cleaned my ruined makeup and Fluttershy was able to calm me down, we decided to take a walk back towards Canterlot. We knew we could not walk the entire way back to Equestria, especially with the shape some of us were in. We needed to spend some time in silence. We needed some time to think, to mourn, to contemplate whatever our next move would be… I don’t know what our reason was, perhaps a combination of all three, or maybe we just had nothing left to say given the events that have occurred. I found myself dragging behind the others, but they seemed to be unaware of my disappearance. Not that I could blame them. We all had some extremely heavy things on our minds, and I didn’t blame them for being more focused on their own issues rather than mine. I would have ran to catch up with them, but a voice I wasn’t expecting to hear hit my ears before I could perform the action. "Rarity..?" I turned around to see a small filly with a coat as white as my own timidly walking across that war-torn battlefield that Twilight and Thanos's previous bout had dredged up. "Sweetie Belle?!” I was aghast, how did my little sister get here. I assumed that she must have been hiding in the same tree as Spike in order to see the battle. “What are you doing here?!” I scolded. “I told you to stay home! Honestly, of all the battles you could decided to follow me too, it had to be-" I was struck silent when I noticed that Sweetie Belle was crying like a fashionista who had just heard a deal for eighty percent off fabrics had just ended. "Sweetie..?" "Your.... your hoof." Sweetie whimpered, her own hoof pointing at my own right foreleg. Confused and somewhat dreading the outcome of her statement, I turned my gaze to look down at the leg she pointed at. What I saw made my breathing stop, parts of my hoof was starting to blow away like grains of sand on a poorly constructed sand castle. Tears began to fill my eyes as I looked back towards her sister. "Rarity!" Sweetie Belle rushed towards me, knocking me back onto my haunches with the force of her tackle. Her resolve had been broken and now an endless stream of tears were staining the young filly's cheeks. I brought up my hooves and deeply hugged my sister. "It's going to be okay, Sweetie Belle." I was lying, but I forced a smile even despite the absolute terror I was feeling. "I'm going to be just..." Mascara was staining my cheeks, and I knew I couldn't continue leading my sister on as my own flood gates suddenly broke. "Sweetie Belle... I love you so very much." I wheezed, and felt the filly nuzzle deep into my chest as I spoke. "I am going to be going away for a little while..." I swallowed my fear as more and more of my body began to blow away. I could feel her touch beginning to feel less apparent. "...But I am certain that Twilight and the Princess will be able to bring me back." I brought my near paper thin hoof under Sweetie Belle's chin and moved it upwards so she could look me in the eyes. "I-I want you to be a good girl for the others while I am gone, okay? They will need an intelligent, beautiful, and refined young lady, such as yourself, to point them in the right direction after all that's happened." Sweetie Belle shook her head. "No... NO! You can't go! I don't want you to!" I felt myself completely beginning to fade, so as a final gesture I placed a small kiss on Sweetie's forehead right above her horn. The gesture caused the filly to look up and back into my eyes. "I am so proud of you Sweetie Belle. I know you will make it through this, like the strong filly I know you to be." Before Sweetie could voice a response, I completely vanished in her forelegs, causing her to hug herself and fall forward. I don’t know how I was seeing this, but I watched as Sweetie Belle looked to the sky and watched my white and violet ashes fly upwards. I could see darkness starting to form around me, I think I was finally starting to go. I wondered if I would see Spike and the others where I’m going... that would be lovely. I looked back down at Sweetie and could tell she couldn't hold it in anymore. She shouted to the heavens every ounce of pain she was feeling in this moment. "RARITY! COME BACK! RARITY!" I was certain the others would be able to hear her with how loud she was shouting. They would come and find her soon and take her someplace safe. If I could still speak that’s the only thing I would ask of them. My vision was finally starting to go, but before it went completely I was gifted with the sight of the sun rising over the horizon as it illuminated the landscape. It was breathtaking to say the least, and kind of reminded me of those views I had when Twilight created those wings for me. Whenever I made it back, I would need to remember the colors present in this image. They would be perfect for a dress idea I had in mind. I wonder... if the the girls would like to model it for me? Author's Note Something to go with the chapter I just added to Equestria Girls: Digimon Destiny to hold all you guys over while I'm gone on my trip. Have a great rest of your week everybody, and I hope to talk to all of you when I get back.
