Rainbow Dash released a fireball from her hands, sending the crimson orbs at the Shadow Man. Eric dodged and retaliated with a spear of shadow. With a twist of her body, the pegasus barely evaded the spears, escaping with only a cut on her shirt. Kicking her leg, Rainbow sent a monsoon of fire at Eric, who formed a pair of giant wings and snuffed the flames out with a powerful flap.

The two combatants grinned, and lowered themselves to the ground.

“You’re getting better at controlling the Flame-Flame Fruit,” Eric praised, tossing a towel to the mare.

“Thanks Eric,” she replied.

“However, you're still having trouble controlling your precision attacks,” Eric added, wiping his face with his own towel. “You try to go all out, you’ll only tire yourself out in the middle of a fight.”

Rainbow grimaced. “Trust me, I’ve been trying.” She looked down. “I’m not like you; I don’t know everything about all the Devil Fruits.”

“You’ll get the hang of it,” Eric encouraged with a grin. “All it takes is time, patience and a lot of practice.”

Rainbow nodded, but before she could reply…

"I call upon the Reaper of the Crystal Empire!"

Eric paused. ‘Thanos?’

“What is it, Eric?” Rainbow asked.

Eric moved away. “Nothing,” he said over his shoulder. “Continue training for a bit.”

“But… where are you going?” Rainbow asked.

“Remember that purple skinned Shade?” Eric asked. Rainbow nodded. “Well he needs me, so I can’t exactly leave him hanging. Right?”

Understanding dawned on Rainbow Dash’s face, and she nodded. With the cyan mare sated, Eric entered his shadow, where a fiery shadow portal was located. Ducking through the portal, Eric found himself in the world of the Mad Titan.

He had emerged behind Thanos, who stared at Eric’s token as if waiting for it to do backflips. Grinning, Eric formed a scythe of shadow, putting the blade to the titan’s neck.

"You require the aid of the Reaper?" Eric asked, resisting the urge to laugh as Thanos jumped, spinning around to greet him.

Thanos groaned, rubbing his eyebrows. “Pull that again, so help me…” He stopped, as both men heard the sound of tiny footsteps.

“Daddy?” A young feminine voice spoke.

Thanos gasped. Seizing Eric with all his strength, the Titan shoved Eric into an armor stand, before whirling around to greet a small minotaur girl with all the passion of a father greeting his daughter.

“Shieldy!” Thanos cried in glee, embracing the young calf. “What are you doing out here?”

“Looking for you,” the calf – Shield? – responded.

Eric chuckled, climbing out of the armor stand. “Cute. She your Gamora? or did you lay a minotaur?” He tapped a fist to his chest. “Either way, respect on being a father.”

Thanos chuckled. “Celestia is the only one for me! But yeah, you could say she’s my Gamora. There was this King named Golden Hoof: a descendent from the Golden family, and the ruler of Minos. After I wrecked him and took the throne, his daughter became mine.” He pet his child. “I gotta say, I think she likes me more.” Despite his words, Shield stared up at Eric with curiosity.

“Daddy, who is that… Emo guy?” Golden Shield asked, pointing at Eric.

Eric grimaced. “Emo guy?”

Thanos cracked up, booming with laughter and slapping his knee. After calming down, he turned back to his daughter. “Well, Shieldy, this ‘emo guy’ is my friend. Eric Von Shadow, the Reaper of the Crystal Empire! He has a thing for serving rulers. But don’t worry, I’m not gay.” Thanos laughed again as he rose to his full height; eight feet and three inches. Eric didn’t even blink, dispelling his scythe into shadow.

“So, what do you need from me?” Eric asked.

Thanos’ gaze turned serious. “Yeah, follow me.”

With Golden Shield following, Thanos led Eric through a door and into a room packed with the Mad Titan’s ‘crew.’

Eric recognized Grievous, the Dragon Slayer of the East, as well as Entity_303, a blocky fellow who hailed from the world of Minecraft. Rob Lucci, the Leopard Assassin, lounged in a corner sharpening his claws like the leopard he was. Three minotaurs stood with them; a muscular bull of a minotaur with green armor, a more lithe, female minotaur with aqua colored armor, sharpening a sword made of sapphire, and a second female minotaur that resembled the first female perfectly, save for her armor being red, her sword being a spear, and her snout having more scars.

“Eric Von Shadow, meet The Boys! Also, called the Infinity Warriors but we aren’t completely assembled yet…” Thanos said with a sigh. “You already know Grievous, Entity and Lucci.”

Eric nodded. “And the minotaurs?”

“Emerald Gauntlet,” Thanos introduced, as the green armored minotaur flexed. “Sapphire Sword…” the blue-armored minotaur nodded. “And Ruby.”

“Hey,” Ruby replied.

Eric turned to the door, sensing a shadow approaching. “Someone’s coming,” he warned.

“ENTITY!!!!” a woman roared, before the door burst open, falling on Eric.

“Sally?” Entity stammered, as the woman – Sally – stormed in, glaring him down.

“You have the NERVE to skip our date?!”

“IT’S A DAMN WAR!” Entity shrieked in both fear and disbelief.

“I don’t fucking care, a date is a date!” Sally snarled, storming off the door and turning it to ash.

Eric’s head poked out of the ash, grimacing in frustration. “Thanks,” he muttered, standing and dusting the ash off. “So, where should my scythe be pointed, Thanos?”

“We’re currently going to go on a mission,” Thanos replied with a grin. “A mission that’s… barely possible.”

From out of nowhere, Grievous pulled out a drum seat, and played a rim shot.

“Thank you Grievous,” the mad titan praised.

“You’re welcome fam.” The Dragon Slayer replied, “It’s what I do.”

“Anyway,” Thanos continued. “This is a mission that will most likely put you guys in danger. I am going with you guys to make sure you guys don’t do something stupid, which, let’s be honest, you guys would.”

The others shrugged, while Eric merely narrowed his eyes.

“Now,” Thanos continued. “We’re going to sneak into Canterlot and steal the Power Stone. The residents of Canterlot may be in the possession of the Mind Stone too, but I want to give them a chance in the oncoming war. Giving them hope so that I can CRUSH it.” Thanos clenched his fist for emphasis.

“So, you need me to steal a couple of Infinity Stones?” Eric summarized. He shrugged. “Should be pretty easy.”

“Did you not hear the man?” Grievous growled. “He said ‘one.’”

“And no, it won’t be easy,” Thanos added. “The Power Stone is most likely being held in the Vault of Heroes, deep inside Canterlot. Completely surrounded by Sea Prism Stone, and capped off with Anti-Teleportation Magic.”

Eric hummed. “So, no teleportation, and no Devil Fruit.”

“Exactly,” Thanos agreed. “And that’s not even mentioning they have Creatures of the Dark; one of Oblivion the Shadow’s creations, lightning up the fucking brim!”

“I assume you have a plan?”

“Have some faith, Von Shadow,” Thanos teased before turning to the others. “We’re splitting up into teams. Grievous? Lucci? Sally? Eric? You’re with me on Team Snake.”

“Team Snake?” Eric chuckled. “Are we going to wear Cardboard boxes?”

“If it comes to that, yes, we would.” He turned to Entity and the Minotaurs. “The second team, Team Watchdog, will scope around the area and look for guards. I know we have Observation Haki to sense our surroundings, but from what my Agent told me-”

“My Observation isn’t that good,” Eric cut off. “But I can sense any pony's shadow within a three-hundred-mile radius. I’m more effective with armament and somewhat on my conquerors.''

“But did you know that the Royal Guards have Sea Prism Armor and Golden Armor that has the effect of Shine?” Lucci asked.

Eric tilted his head. “Shine?”

“It gives them no shadow. Allows them to conceal themselves when doing stealth ops, and gives them an advantage over Shadow Demons. Yes,” Lucci added at Eric’s raised eyebrows. “We have those.”

“How?”

“There was a Unicorn named Oblivion; a student of our world’s Umbra the Dark. Oblivion was Umbra’s successor and his goal was to vanquish the forces of light and leave the world in shadow. To please Umbra the Dark, so he created Shadow Demons. Shadow Demons come out of REALLY dark places, which is why our ponies never visit the ocean. Oblivion was sealed in a Ring but legend says he’s still making Shadow Demons even inside his prison.”

“I wouldn't mind seeing if I could use something like Oblivion,” Eric muttered to himself. “Shadow Demons could work in tandem with my Devil Fruit.”

“I’m not even going into detail of how wrong that idea is.” Sally said. Sighing, she turned back to Thanos. “Continue.”

“Team Watchdog will scout out any danger and message the others with this,” Thanos pulled out a black spherical object. “A communication device made by…” Thanos’ lifted his gauntlet, and a familiar gem shined. “The Reality Stone! Ta-Da!”

Briefly, Eric felt gravity fade around him. Before he could be left to float in the air like an idiot, Eric melted into the shadows, emerging with his feet bound to the floor.

“Anything else?” Eric asked.

“Yeah,” Thanos replied, turning to the minotaurs again. “Emerald, Sapphire and Ruby; you three are Team Salvation. Emerald and Ruby will get us to Sapphire’s Armanda of Airships when we have the stone, and we’ll use those to fly out of Canterlot. And once I get the Power Stone, I will be a step closer to becoming whole again.”

Thanos clenched his Gauntlet wearing fist and the gauntlet holes lit up with the power of the Infinity stones. Infinity Stones colors.

Eric nodded as the colors faded. “Alright. When do we start?”

“Midnight. When the shadows are aplenty.” Thanos turned back to his crew. “ So get some rest, everyone, for tonight will shake the balance of the world.”

Eric crossed his arms. “And tell me… do you have a backup plan, in case – no, when – something goes wrong?”

“Mission Barely Possible has multiple plans,” Thanos boasted. “Right Sally?”

“Uh…” Sally grimaced and whispered in his ear. Thanos balked.

“W-We don’t?” he asked.

She whispered some more.

“Of course, I’m not gonna tell him, it would be funnier that way.” Thanos looked to Eric with a grin. “Eric, we have ten backup plans, do not worry.”

Eric just raised an eyebrow. “That’s comforting.” He sighed, noticing Grievous eyeing him. “What? You see something you like?”

“Nope, just edge sharper than my blades…” Grievous replied with a shake of his head.

Lucci chuckled. “He’s like that goth kid in class who wore black all the time. What was his name… Jeremy?”

“Oh, don’t remind me,” Entity said. “Whenever I got a whiff of him, I cut my nose.”

“I can hear all of you!” Eric noted.

“We know, we’re not idiots!” Entity shot back. “I mean we were called the Three Idiots at a time but-”

Lucci slapped the back of Entity’s head. “You’re not helping our case!”

Eric rolled his eyes. “Thanos, I’m going to rest.” Eric walked out of earshot from the others, but waited until Thanos followed him. “Your crew has no discipline,” the Shadow Man noted. “This plan of yours will fail.”

“You haven’t seen them when they respect someone,” Thanos replied. “Or when they’re in battle. They have much more discipline then.”

Eric didn’t reply, following Thanos out of the war room and into a library. For a moment, they were silent. Eric’s thoughts turned to his own world. And the user of the Time-Time Fruit.

“Hey Thanos,” Eric said. “Can I ask you something?”

"What is it, Little One?"

“If you had the ability to go back in time to save someone, would you do it?”

Thanos shook his head. "No, the past is in the past. There is nothing you can do about it. You can only smile and move on.” Thanos moved deeper into the library. “Come, I want to show you something."

Eric followed Thanos deeper and deeper into the library. As the shadows grew, Eric noticed several statues of warriors. Most of the warriors were minotaurs, but at the very back, Eric found himself staring at a statue of Thanos.

"Welcome to Mino's Archives!" Thanos said, "Also the Realm of Warriors." Thanos stood in front of his statue with a grin. “Pretty cool don't you think?"

“It is,” Eric admitted, gazing up at the Titan’s likeness. “Did they do this or did you command this to be put here?”

"They did,” Thanos gazed at the other statues. “I was a War Hero way back when. Not to mention the student of Cloven Diamond, the strongest being on the planet." Thanos nodded at a statue that looked made of diamonds.

“Cloven Diamond…” Eric put a hand to his chin. “I’ve heard that name before.”

Reaching into his shadows, Eric pulled the book he had used to research King Umbra. Flipping through the pages, he found an image of a minotaur with diamond-colored fur and a beard fit for a Viking.

“Cloven Diamond,”Eric read. “The ruler of Minos; a proud but fair warrior who ruled Minos with compassion and strength. Created one of the first alliances with Equestria’s King Sol until the War with Lord Tirek.” Eric’s eyes narrowed as Thanos listened in solemn thought. “Having felt the king failed to protect his father, Cloven Diamond’s son, the successor to the throne, terminated the alliance and cursed Equestria with a destruction of death, fire, and steel.”

"He was a King here too,” Thanos admitted. “But he gave the crown to his nephew." He ran a hand along the bottom of the statue, where Eric made out a small inscription:

"He taught me everything he knew about the Six Powers,” Thanos said with a wistful smile. “Martial Arts. Haki."

Eric nodded in understanding. “We must always honor our masters by the way we fight. King Jasper and Captain Raven Wind trained me before their retirement.”

"The Captain of the Equestrian Royal Guard name was Black Shield,” Thanos noted with a shrug. “I guess the colors are connected."

The titan walked towards a shelf and picked up a book from it. It was a black book with red letters.

"You might need this,” Thanos said, offering it to Eric. “To search for Oblivion the Shadow. After all, he might be in your Equestria as well."

Eric took the book with a nod.

"Go read it in your room which is…" Thanos activated the reality stone, and the two were transported to a shadow themed room. "Here. I had my maids make the room just for you, should you need shelter here."

“Thanks,” Eric said, settling in a chair and cracking open the book. “For all I know, he may as well be dead in my world, but it’s never a bad thing to learn how to counter a powerful foe.”

Thanos nodded. "Sweet dreams, short stack,” he added with a grin, before moon-walking out of the room. Eric watched him go with a grin.

“See you tonight… Lard Ass” Eric noted with a laugh.

Behind the door, Thanos couldn’t help but stifle a laugh. "I love that guy…"

With the titan gone, Eric focused on his book.

Eric sighed, closing the book and looking up at the ceiling. “He better be dead in my Equestria” Setting the book down Eric shut his eyes to rest.

Unknown to him, the shadows rippled with an angry aura.

"ON YOUR FEET SOLDIER,” Grievous’ voice boomed in Eric’s ear. “WE ARE LEAVING!!!!"

Instantly, numerous spears of shadow surrounded the cyborg’s body. Eric opened an irritated red and black eye, and rose with a growl.

“Don’t ever do that again!”

Grievous just rolled his eyes. “Then hurry your ass up!” He glared at the spears. “And let me down from this!”

Eric glowered at the General, but reluctantly dispelled the spears. Swinging his cape, Grievous opened the door and headed down the corridor to the Docking Area, Eric not far behind. As they marched through the docking area, they passed three Zeppelins with red, blue, and green on each. But there was one in front of them, which was jet black on the sides. Thanos and the Boys stood before the black zeppelin.

"This,” Thanos declared. “Is the Nigga Mobile!" Thanos glanced at Eric. "Those who are white say the Wigga Mobile."

Eric rolled his eyes and moved past the Boys, boarding the vessel. “Let’s get this party started.”

But he barely stepped one foot onto the ship before a giant claw of light snagged him.

"GET YOUR SORRY ASS BACK HERE!!!" Thanos roared, depositing Eric next to The Boys. "I forgot to cover something with our briefing. We need to put the Power Stone in this," He pulled out a box of Crystal. "Or you'll be obliterated."

“Understood,” Eric said with a nod.

"Now, that is all, who knows how to not die?" Thanos said, looking at the group. “Anyone?” No one replied. “Okay. Now Eric…” Thanos gave him a serious look. “Do you know who Candice is…?”

Eric laughed, but shook his head. “Nice try. I fell for that before I was displaced.”

“Damnit,” Thanos barked to the heavens. “Ah well. All aboard the A.S.S!” He strode on board. “The Awesome Super Ship!”

“This will be fun.” Grievous noted, following Thanos.

“I’m surprised you didn’t call the A.S.S. M’dick,” Eric added as he followed Grievous.

“That’s the ship over there.” Sally pointed to the smallest ship in the dock yard.

“Has he ever asked how it feels riding it?” Eric asked.

Sally blushed. “Yes… And I unfortunately said it feels good.” Sally rubbed her eyebrows.

Eric lifted his hand. “You have my condolences.” He began rubbing his pointer finger and his thumb together. “Let me play you a song on the world's smallest violin.”

“Fuck you!” Sally replied, but she couldn’t stop herself from laughing as they boarded the ship.

“I’m serious,” Eric noted as he sat in a strapped down chair. “This is the world’s smallest violin.” He revealed a tiny black violin in his hand. “See?”

“Bro you play that too?!” Sally and Grievous said, before showing off their own small violins.

“Of course,” Eric said, putting the violin back in his shadows. “It’s one of my prized possessions.”

Grievous bowed. “You’ve gained my respect. That simple thing… You’ve gained my respect. No one respects the most BEAUTIFUL instrument ever.”

“Unfortunately,” Eric added with slight disgust. “I can play more than just the violin. Piano, harp, cello...” He glowered. “Every instrument dealing with nobility.”

Grievous hummed. “I can tell you’re troubled… Have you ever been to Alcatraz on Earth? It’s a… pretty weird place. Oh, and I got a Harmonica there!” He pulled out said harmonic. It read, ‘where music was a privilege.’

“I think I would have preferred that when I was still on Earth,” Eric replied.

“Alrighty Boys and girls, we're taking lift off!” Entity spoke over the intercom, taking his place at the pilot’s seat. The engines revved up and the aircraft began to ascend. “If you’re scared of heights, too bad. If you want to leave, the door is on the right of Thanos.”

Thanos pointed at a door with the word ‘EXIT’ right next to him.

Sally thought for a moment, before turning to Eric. “Want to hear a story of old, when me and the others weren’t in a war with good ol’ Tia?”

Eric crossed his arms and closed his eyes. “If it involves a dragon, zombies, or Prince Blueblood, then I’ll pass.”

Sally scoffed. “Dragons? Zombies? We have too much to tell about them! Let me tell you about the time Supergirl and Thanos raced around the world to settle who was superior at certain things.”

Sally smiled as Eric opened one eye in intrigue.

“So, about a thousand years ago, I woke up to Thanos and Supergirl arguing about who was faster. Supergirl argued that she could fly, making her faster. Thanos argued that he can use Soru and Geppo, making her point invalid. So, they decided to race around the world.”

“Cloven Diamond approved,” Grievous added. “And they met up at the outside of the eastern border to the Everfree Forest. The rules were that they had to pass Griffonstone, the Dragon Lands, Zebrafrica, then the continent of Asia and Europe then finally swim from Neighpan to Equestria.”

Eric raised an eyebrow; from the way Grievous talked, he made it sound like such a journey was just a few laps through a pool for the Krypton and Titan. “Sounds like it was fun,” Eric mused, turning to Grievous. “How long did the race last?”

“Five hours.” Grievous replied, “It was exciting.”

Eric hummed, pondering to himself. ‘I don’t think my reaper form could make that distance in that time. I’d probably have to give or take two or three extra hours.’

“The race was so exciting that even the Rulers from other Countries gathered to watch,” Sally continued. “Supergirl flew high, but Thanos used Kamisori - a mixture of Geppo and Soru. Or if you want, Moonwalk and Shave. The two were both going fast before they began the swimming part of the challenge. That’s right,” she added at Eric’s raised eyebrows. “They swam across entire bodies of water. From Equestria to Griffonstone. Thanos had more physical strength than Supergirl, so Thanos got out of the water first. Supergirl caught up to him around the Dragon Lands, where they had to leap over volcanoes. But the real interesting part was at the end, there was a huge distance from Neighpan and Equestria. Over 6,000 miles!” Sally’s eyes sparkled.

“Hear that man?” Grievous asked. “They swam it too, and they did it in under an hour. Swimming is the most grueling task on the human body.”

“Must have been one Hell of a workout,” Eric replied with a smile. “Speaking of Hell…” Eric turned to Thanos. “How’s the Heat-Heat Fruit treating you, Thanos?”

“I can expel fire now if I condense heat into a ball.” Thanos clenched his fist, then opened it. A ball of fire revealed itself. “Catch.” Thanos threw it at Eric.

Eric reached and shadow poured from his hand, swallowing the fire whole. Eric grinned as the shadow receded back into his body.

“Oh, and I can do stuff with steam!” Thanos added, standing up from his seat. Steam hissed from his boots, propelling him into the air like Iron Man. With a grimace, Thanos began to vanish, mimicking Gear Second.

“It’s like you’re a Steam Man” Eric noted with a grin.

Thanos laughed, appearing above Eric in an upside-down position. Steam hissed out of his head like a tea kettle. “That’s exactly what it’s called.”

“Good to know.”

“Yeah...” Thanos flipped back to his seat. “Anyway, my race with Supergirl ended in a draw. Which I must add was BULLSHIT!” Thanos briefly burst into red flames at his curse.

“But you had fun, right?” Eric noted.

Thanos chuckled. “Yeah… Cloven Diamond was proud of us. He said a draw is better than winning. He told us that we could do it again and push ourselves to our limits trying to overcome one another. Basically Oogway.”

Eric smiled fondly. “Captain Raven once told me something about one’s limits. He said, ‘Limits are not a blockade. They aren’t made to be broken, they are meant to be shattered!”

“How did you think I got here?” Thanos replied.

“It was under my guidance that made you live this far.” A voice spoke in Thanos’ head.

“Shut it Thanos,” the Titan barked at the voice in his head. Sighing, he turned back to Eric. “Anyways what were you saying?”

“Well, it makes me feel better knowing I’m not the only one who hears voices,” Eric glanced down. “Though mine take the form of my shadow.”

The others peered at Eric’s shadow before he shook himself off.

“And to answer your question,” Eric continued. “You got here, not by shattering your limits but by destroying them. As I have.”

“Do you think we can meet your gang?” Lucci asked. “I’m curious on how we differentiate from them.”

“Possibly.” Eric shrugged. “I still have them thinking I’m a Shade made from Umbra’s magic. Not sure how I’ll explain you guys.”

Lucci pondered it. “What if we said we were warriors from a distant land? Worked for us before.” Thanos just nodded in agreement.

“It’s plausible,” Eric admitted, “But I finally got the princesses' trust.” He put a hand to his chin. “I’d rather not lose it now”

“Do we really look untrustworthy?” Thanos asked. “I just helped Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie learn from their mistakes! Hell, you could say you and I are friends.” He paused, before bowing his head. “But I understand, princesses are a fickle lot. I should know…”

The Aircraft stopped, the drawbridge landing on a snowy platform. Entity crossed his arms, Lucci standing right by his side.

“This is your stop,” Lucci declared. “Welcome to the top of Mount Canter. Below you is Canterlot. Try not to waste your oxygen until you get down there alright?”

Eric walked out, the cold doing nothing for his shadowy body. “Feels like home up here,” he noted, as Lucci, Thanos, Sally and Grievous joined him.

“Huh?” Thanos did a double take at Lucci. “Why are you joining us?”

“I was a part of the CP9, I’ll be more useful here.” Lucci shrugged. “I’m not called the Leopard Assassin for nothing.”

“Well, does anyone want to go with Entity?” Thanos looked at the others, but was greeted with silence. Entity huffed.

“Well fuck you too!” Entity pouted with a cross of his arms.

“Sorry sweetie.” Sally said, walking up and kissing Entity on the cheeks. She gave him a soft smile and walked back down. “Stay safe!”

Entity chuckled. “You know me, he replied, returning to the controls. “I’m never safe!”

With his final words, the bridge went up, and the aircraft took off again. As the aircraft left them, Eric pulled out a telescope and peered down at Canterlot. “Are you sure that Celestia won’t notice this?”

“Don’t worry,” Thanos replied. “She’s crying her heart out. Look.”

Shifting his scope, Eric spotted the Solar Princess. Indeed, she didn’t seem to be in the most stable position. Shivering in her room, with her hair in ruffles. The mare looked on the verge of a mental breakdown.

Eric hissed, handing the looking glass to Thanos. “What did you do to her?”

“Destroyed her cake stash,” Thanos replied with a grin. He sneered at Celestia’s turmoil. “Fat bitch. Anyway…” He shifted his gaze to the rest of the castle. “We need to enter through the roof of that building.” He pointed at one of the rounder buildings in the center of the castle. “Silently, we’ll make our way from the roof to the underground vault. Remember Eric, you can’t go sneaking into shadows, the guards have armor that detects shadow demons.”

“Right,” Eric grumbled, taking his telescope back. “Puts me at a bit of a disadvantage.”

“Now, don’t jump off just yet,” Thanos warned. “We should do it silently.” Thanos walked to the edge. “Follow my lead.” Thanos jumped. Using his weapon, he cast a silence spell over the blade and sunk it into the side of the mountain. Thanos slid down the peak without a sound.

Placing his hand on the ground, Eric created a large black falcon. Jumping on the back of the bird, Eric rode the beast down to the castle grounds.

At the same time, Lucci turned into his Hybrid Form. With his paws allowing for absolute silence, Lucci jumped and used Geppo, slowly and silently prowling into the castle grounds.

Grievous got out his Wind Sword and slashed, making wings of pure air. Taking a running start, the general jumped off the mountain and glided down to the castle grounds.

Thanos then jumped off the mountain at the right time, using Geppo to jump on air before silently rolling to his feet on the building. Grievous gently flew down after him, his wings of Wind fluttering as he gracefully landed next to Thanos. Lucci’s Geppo allowed him to gently set down next to Thanos as well. And Eric jumped from his bird, dispelling it back into shadow as he joined the Boys.

“Where’s Sally?” Grievous whispered.

A bird call sounded behind Grievous. The Boys turned to find the girl already next tot them. Eric blinked.

“Are you sure you’re not Himiko Toga?” Eric asked.

“If I was,” Sally replied. “I would’ve already tied Entity up, put him in the basement then made him love me.”

Grievous, Thanos, and Lucci stared at her wide-eyed. “Someone better keep an eye on Entity…” Grievous noted, his robotic spine shivering, before he shook it off. “Either way, we should really get going.”

“Both are good ideas,” Thanos replied. “Follow me.” Crouching, Thanos infiltrated the building, sneaking down onto a balcony.

Just as the others moved to join him…

“Get down!” Thanos hissed.

They jumped back, while Thanos hid his bulk against the wall. A guard passed by the doorway, before pausing. Stepping onto the balcony, the guard’s horn lit up, shining like a flashlight and coming eerily close to exposing Thanos.

Luckily, Eric was fast. Jumping into the shadows, Eric emerged behind the guard. And just as the guard’s armor warned him of Eric’s presence, the Shadow Man struck; seizing the guard’s sheathed sword and slamming it into his neck. Thanos caught the guard before he hit the ground, sighing in relief. The guard was unconscious, and no noise had been made.

As the Boys concealed the body, Eric made sure no other guards were coming. He motioned into the room. “Shall we?”

“Shall we what?” Thanos whispered. “Suck some dick? Finish your sentences!”

Eric rolled his eyes. “Move on with the mission!” he hissed.

Thanos ignored him, moving past Eric with Grievous in tow.

They soon encountered another guard, his confused expression hinting he was looking for the one they had just knocked out. Moving like liquid, Grievous slid behind the guard and chopped his neck. Thanos caught the guard and set him on the bed with a blanket and pillow. As Grievous, Lucci, Eric and Sally headed inside, Thanos proceeded to tuck in the first guard as well.

“Come on!” Lucci whispered.

“I’m kissing the homies goodnight,” Thanos protested. “Go on ahead!”

But Sally walked up and kissed both of them. “There,” she said. “Now let’s go.” She dragged Thanos through the door.

Down the stairs they went, Grievous using his claws to crawl on the ceiling, Eric moving through the shadows and Thanos changing into various vases and decorations with the reality stone. Lucci and Sally grimaced at their friends’ methods, but stuck to normal sneaking.

As they passed by a door, they heard guards inside.

“You remember that time when Grievous poured ink on Princess Celestia’s tits?” one asked.

“Yeah, that was hysterical,” another one spoke.

Eric poked his head out of the shadows. “You all have some bad luck around the Princesses.”

“You have no fucking idea.” Grievous replied softly.

Thanos just sighed. Unfortunately for the Boys…

“What was that?”

The guards came out, one a unicorn, the other an earth pony.

“I… Don’t know.” The earth pony put his hand on his sword.

Acting fast, Sally used Soru and rushed right past them. The guards dissolved into ash. Unfortunately, their armor remained. And as it clattered to the ground, the noise echoed down the halls.

“Shit,” Sally hissed, opening a door that led into a library. “In here!”

The Boys followed her in, Lucci swearing, Thanos wincing, Grievous growling and Eric slinking.

They had barely shut the door when another voice sounded. “Who’s down there?”

“Scatter!” Thanos ordered.

The group obeyed. Eric fired a tendril to the roof and pulled himself to the ceiling. Keeping his eyes trained below, Eric saw the owner of the voice enter the room. His eyes widened.

“Luna?” Eric muttered softly.

The Princess of the Moon walked up next to a vase. From his vantage point, Eric saw Grievous, huddled deep inside. Luna’s eyes narrowed at the General’s hiding spot, and she moved to touch it.

Thinking fast, Eric threw a small black orb towards the doors she came through. The sound alerted her, and she spun back around, re-opening the doors to the Hall.

“Is some pony there?” Luna demanded, walking outside. For a moment, everyone held their breath as Luna stood just outside the opened doors. Finally, after a tense moment, Luna turned around and shut the door. Carefully, everyone walked back to the center of the library.

“Thank Faust” Eric whispered as he descended.

“Sally,” Lucci growled. “What. Was. That?”

“I don’t know, I panicked!” Sally hissed. “And Thanos, you were supposed to cover us. Couldn’t you have made the plates of armor muffins or something?”

“I didn’t know you would do that,” Thanos protested. “I was thinking about Celestia. Also, Lucci, why are you here?! You’re supposed to be with Entity.”

“I am an assassin, this is what I fucking do!” Lucci crossed his arms with a glower.

“And it looks like we’re at the third step,” Eric murmured.

The others stared at Eric in confusion. “The fuck do you mean?” Grievous demanded.

“We’re in the third step of any plan,” Eric explained. “Four steps: 1) make the plan. 2) execute the plan. 3) expect the plan to go off the rail, then 4) throw away the plan.”

“No,” Thanos growled. “I worked really hard on the plan and I will not-”

Thanos paused as they heard faint whimpering. The group turned to find a familiar young unicorn. Moon Dancer; shivering with fear.

“I am done with this shit, fuck you,” Thanos growled, forging a bat. However, Sally jumped between him and the foal, a disapproving frown plastered on her face.

“That’s a fucking child.” Sally protested.

“Fuck that child.” Thanos growled back.

Before Sally could argue, they both heard the sound of a body hitting the ground. Turning around, they found Eric standing over an unconscious but otherwise unharmed Moon Dancer.

“Problem solved,” Eric said, moving the pony to sit against the wall with a book on her lap. “Now she’ll think she fell asleep reading.”

Thanos nodded. “Alright, good. Let’s continue.” Walking to the door, he opened and peered out cautiously. “We’re clear.”

The group snuck out, approaching another flight of stairs.

“Come on.” Thanos said, sneaking down the stairs.

Eric found it surprising how an 8’3 goliath who weighs about 700 pounds was able to be so sneaky, but the mad titan found a way. Grievous just crawled on the roof, while Lucci became a full Leopard and snuck down the stairs. Sally followed in Thanos’ giant footsteps, and Eric merged with the dark stairs and rushed ahead. At the bottom of the stairs, Eric found a pair of guards. Being in a dark area Eric didn’t need their shadows to pull them into his, and before either could let out a scream, Eric sucked them into the darkness, rising out with a grin.

“You’re gonna put them back… Right?” Sally asked with a raised eyebrow.

“So long as I don’t forget” Eric replied.

“I’ll be sure to remind you then.” Sally noted. She turned to the corridor on the left and found another flight of stairs. “After this flight, we have one more left before we go into the most guarded place in the castle.”

Making sure no one was watching, Sally made a run for it, her footsteps as silent as a mouse. Reaching the flight of stairs, Sally motioned for the others to come. Thanos turned to Eric, signaling him to go first.

Moving ahead of the pack, Eric traveled through the shadows of the stairs. Arriving at the bottom, Eric found a sealed door, bolted with several locks. Using his powers he pulled the others to the bottom via their shadow.

“You need to unlock the door to go down the stairs but…” Thanos paused, hearing voices. But they didn’t sound like guards. Turning, the Boys saw multiple Nobles talking to the Princess of the Night.

“What is wrong with you?” One of the nobles was declaring, “Here I am giving you a second chance after that whole Nightmare Moon debacle, and you repay me by insulting my attire?”

“I-I didn’t mean to,” Luna protested. “I meant to say that they’re awfully good…”

“Inexcusable!” the noble barked, causing Luna to shrink down. “You make a mockery of the Royal Family!”

Eric clenched his teeth, unsheathing his blade. However, Thanos grabbed him.

“The mission,” Thanos reminded him. “We need to complete it.”

Eric hesitated, knowing he should sheathe his sword. Thanos was right. This Luna wasn’t even his Luna. And yet… that Noble’s infuriating tone continued to assault Eric’s ears. And he knew Luna’s body language; he could tell she was on the verge of tears.

“You could never be a princess! Always in Celestia’s shadow! Hmph! You should go back to the moon where you belong!”

“She’s a princess,” one of the nobles, Fancy Pants, declared. “Respect her.”
“Princess?” the other noble huffed. “More like a mistake! Making her a princess was the worst decision ever made. Everything was fine until she came along!” He spat at Luna’s face.

Eric’s eyes turned red. His knuckles turned white as he crushed the grip on his sword. Thanos turned Eric around, a wave of Conqueror’s Haki rolling over the Shadow Man.

“Follow. The damn. Mission,” Thanos hissed.

With Eric frozen by the Haki, Thanos used his reality stone, and silently unlocked the door. Yet, as the group slunk inside, none of them felt any victory.

“One should not be reminded of their darkest past” Eric whispered, looking down to find his grip had turned his hand red.

Thanos ignored him at first, finding a spiral staircase leading down. Motioning for the others, Thanos led the way down. At first, everyone was silent. But then Eric spoke up.

“Thanos,” Eric said through his clenched teeth. His eyes turned black and red as Thanos glanced his way. “Once this mission is over, I want to kill that vile man.”

Thanos nodded. “Understood. But after the mission.”

Eric nodded as well, and the group reached the bottom. Another corridor stretched out before them. At the end was a door covered in Sea Prism Stone; the entrance to the vault. And just like a spy or heist movie, lasers blocked the way forward.

“Move aside” Eric growled, drawing his sword. Sally blocked his path.

“Or…” she noted. “Let me hack into the system and make the lasers go away real quick, so as to not cause any sound or suspicion.”

Eric grumbled, but sheathed his weapon. Sally walked up to a High Tech device that had words on it. With a few minutes of keystrokes, the lasers faded away.

“We need to go fast,” Sally warned. “It’s only got one minute before it’s back up again!”

Nodding, the group sprinted down the corridor. But the corridor was long, and the door stood tall. Even if they made it, there was no tell how they’d open it.

However, Eric had no patience left. Drawing his blade, Eric jumped for the door.

“Shadow Sword Art: Devil’s cross!”

An upside down cross formed on the door, and the sea prism crumbled into rubble. Golden light filled the corridor, chasing away the shadows.

But Thanos didn’t care. His expression blank as a drone, he walked into the room, and up a mountain of gold. The Power Stone stood right before him on a pedestal of silver.

“At last…” Thanos whispered, holding his hand out to the Power Stone with a smile. “You’re coming back to your rightful owner…”

Lucci and the others watched Thanos with worry.

“Does Thanos seem kind… Off?” Sally asked, leaning to Eric.

Eric paused, trying to calm himself down. “Something is off,” he admitted. “But it isn’t Thanos.”

Sally tilted her head, confused. Meanwhile, Thanos opened his cube and placed the Power Stone inside. He turned to his friends and raised the box high.

“Mission success,” he said with a wide smile… then the shockwave hit.

The next thing Eric knew, he, Sally, Lucci, Grievous and Thanos had been flung against the walls, collapsing in a heap of disoriented bodies.

“Ugh… What was that?” Grievous moaned weakly

“Did anyone catch the license plate on that car?” Eric groaned, trying to look ahead.

“Nope…” Thanos coughed as he got up.

As their vision cleared, they saw a man before them. Bandages covered a robotic, steampunk-esque body, like some kind of robot mummy. The Power Stone box was clutched in one of his hands.

“Looks like someone got too greedy.” The Man taunted, wagging a finger at them with a chuckle.

“Give that back!” Thanos boomed, rushing the man with an Armament Haki punch.

The man matched it with his own Armament Haki punch, sending Thanos right back into the wall. Thanos groaned in agony, his wrist broken and clutched in his free hand. Eric blinked in stunned disbelief before jumping to his feet and summoning his scythe. At the same time, Lucci stood and took a stance, while Grievous unsheathed all his blades, and Sally coated her feet and fists in Armament Haki.

“Who the Hell are you?” Eric boomed.

The man regarded Eric with striking blue eyes. “My children called my daddy. My wife called me Milien. But you can call me… Nox.”

Eric paused. “Wait… from Wakfu?” he asked. “The time wizard?”

Nox gave a bow. “It’s Xelor, thank you very much,” he replied. “Now, why don’t you guys calm down and negotiate?”

“Negotiate this!” Lucci boomed, using Kamisori to kick at Nox’s head.

Unfortunately, Nox raised an arm up and blocked the attack effortlessly with his forearm. “Hm, it would seem that you’re not ready to talk yet.” Nox did a palm strike to Lucci’s chest, sending him flying into Eric

Eric rolled with the Leopard man until they both landed back on their feet. “Don’t suppose you know how to beat him, eh?” Lucci asked.

“I only saw a single episode,” Eric protested before coughing. He felt at his chest, sensing five broken ribs. And when he looked up, Nox had appeared right in front of the Shadow Man.

Bringing his knee up, Nox sent Eric into the ceiling, embedding his head in the Sea Prism stone.

“Damn it!” Thanos clenched his gauntlet and used the Reality Stone to separate Eric from the roof. “We’re stuck with him.”

“Not just him.” A familiar voice spoke.

Thanos turned around just in time to receive a kick to the face. He was sent spinning into a pile of gold.

“Us.” Princess Celestia declared, standing tall at the entrance with Princess Luna by her side.

“ATA!” Sally covered her foot in Armament Haki and kicked at Celestia, but the alicorn’s horn lit up and she teleported behind the Corpse Queen. Celestia then fired a beam of pure light into Sally’s arm, making her shriek.

Eric slashed at Celestia, but she easily dodged out of the way, noticing his shadows.

“Ah, another devil fruit user?” Celestia mused. “Well, your shadows won’t work on me. I ate the Glint-Glint fruit, making me a Light Pony.”

Eric growled, trying to summon his shadows. But the darkness was seized by Luna, who yanked him backwards to her.

“And I have the Dark-Dark Fruit,” Luna noted, slamming Eric into the ground. “And I need to vent!”

“Trust me,” Eric choked out. “I know.” Pulling his gun from his coat, Eric shot the alicorn in the leg.

Luna roared in agony, allowing Eric to headbutt and kick her off him. Spinning back to his feet, he unsheathed his sword Obsidian Blood.

“The Dark-Dark Fruit may be a Logia Type,” Eric explained as Luna reeled. “But you still have a physical body and you feel twice the pain inflicted.”

Before Eric could say more, pain flared across his body, as Xelor kneed Eric in the kidney.

“Have you lost your mind?” Nox demanded. “That is a lady!” He paused. “Then again, I’m a man of true Gender Equality, so I suppose I respect it.” Nox then grabbed Eric by the back of the head and slammed him into the ground, grinding him across the stone before throwing him into the wall of storage.

“Well, I’m an equal opportunity ass-whooper!” Eric argued. Spinning in the air, he sent a shadow fist from his back, catching the Xelor in the stomach. Nox stumbled, clutching his chest, and allowing Lucci to catch him with a kick to the side of the head. Nox stumbled to the side before firing a wave of Wakfu into an approaching Eric and kneeing Lucci in the chin.

Meanwhile, Thanos and Celestia battled like gods, Thanos’ Inifinity Blade clashing against Celestia’s sword of light. Despite Thanos’ overwhelming power, Celestia was equally nimble and strong. Knocking Thanos off guard with a kick, Celestia used an overhead strike that impacted Thanos like a Lightsaber through Younglings.

“GWAGH!” Thanos wheezed, powering through the pain to knee Celestia in the chin and slam his head into hers. “Double Bladed Sword Style: Windmill!” Thanos spun and caught Celestia with a cut of his own. Celestia stumbed backwards, groaning in pain.

“Sister!” Luna cried. Knocking Grievous aside when he tried to attack her, Luna pulled Thanos in with her Devil Fruit, slamming him to the ground. Growling, Thanos heated up his fist and punched at Luna. Unfortunately, Luna turned her head into darkness, rendering Thanos’ strike moot.

“Damn Dark-Dark…” Thanos grumbled.

But before Luna could attack again, another gunshot rang out. The Lunar Princess screamed as her shoulder was pierced. Briefly, Eric stood tall, his smoking gun aimed at her, before a wave of Wakfu knocked him across the room again.

“THOU SCURVY COMPANION! THOU FAT GUTTED, HOBBY HORSE HOPPING RUMP-FED, BOLTING-HUTCH FUCKING DICK!!” Luna roared. “THOU SHOT US TWICE!!!”

“DODGE!!!” Nox roared, slamming an Armament Haki, Iron Body “Strong/Tekkai Go covered foot into Eric’s groin.

“Oh!” every male lamented, covering their groins. However, to their surpise… Eric laughed.

Granted, his voice was cracked like an Xbox Live kid and his expression was pained, but he laughed all the same.

“Already been kicked there,” he squeaked. “I was prepared for this in the future.”

Nox hummed, pointing his fingers at Eric’s nipples. “Were you prepared for this?” he asked, firing two Wakfu beams right into Eric’s chest.

Eric hissed in pain, but grinned all the same. Powering through, Eric seized Nox’s head, as Lucci put his fists together against the Xelor’s back.

“Do it, Lucci!” Eric called out, holding the Xelor in place.

Lucci went into his Hybrid form. “You done goofed. Sai Dai Rin… ROKUOGAN!!!!”

A huge shockwave pierced through Nox and he wheezed in pain. Nox held his chest, feeling his broken ribs. “Okay…” he moaned. “Y-You got me that time, but…”

Eric was then gripped firmly by Nox and drained of his Wakfu. Eric screamed in pain as he was electrocuted and drained. Eric barely managed to stand, but glared up at his foe.

“Hey Nox,” Eric said weakly

“What?

“You should’ve check the shadows.”

Nox’s head tilted in confusion, but then a black sword pierced the Xelor’s chest. The Xelor turned in shock. A dark figure shaped like Eric with burning red eyes grinned at him. Kicking the Xelor away, Eric’s shadow pulled Eric back up and handed him his sword.

Nox recovered and rolled to his feet. Nox then brought out his own sword; a blade shaped like a clock pin. “It seems like you need to get serious…” Nox growled, adopting a blue aura that clashed against Eric’s black aura. “Show me your power!” Nox’s now adopted a blue aura that radiated power while Eric’s black aura radiated darkness and death.

“Shadow Sword Art…” Eric growled, gripping his weapon as the blade turned to gold.

“Clockwork Sword Style...” Nox replied, clenching his weapon and covering it in Ryou Haki.

“…Gold Rush.” Eric rushed the Xelor as the blade took on a slight blue glow.

“…Time Swipe.” Nox rushed at the Shadow Man, Nox’s sword taking on a dark blue glow.

The two clashed. Gold covered Nox’s sword and his arm and shoulder, but Eric was hit in turn by a wound that cut deep into his body, covering his body in his own blood. Eric winced as his internal organs ruptured, like a Six King Gun had fired off into him.

“If I know anything about Samurai Movies, it’s that I’m gonna die,” Nox noted. “But before I do... Our sponsor for today’s Crossover Chapter is honey!” Nox turned to the Readers. “Do you ever get a feeling that your money gets robbed when you buy something online? Then try honey, it saves you a lot of money. But for right now, I’mma fucking die.” Nox fell face first on the ground. Dead.

Despite the pain, Eric pulled himself up, limping over to Xelor and lifting his sword. “I’ve made this mistake once before,” Eric said, before relieving the Time Wizard of his head. “Rule #2: Double tap.” The Shadow Man gripped his blade as it gained a clock image around it and began to reverse the damage Eric had taken.

Right as his organs and cuts repaired themselves, the glow faded. Eric grimaced at his blade. “Guess I could only use it once,” the Shadow Man mused. He rolled his shoulder; he still felt rather weak, but he’d survive.

Then seven beams of light pierced him.

“YOU MURDERER!!!” Celestia roared in anger, storming away from Thanos, who was buried in gold.

“I’m a Pirate,” Eric argued, forcing himself up. “It’s what I do.”

Celestia seethed with anger all the same. But before she could retort…

“I FOUND IT!”

Thanos jumped from the gold, Thanos’ gauntlet glowing with the Power Stone. At the same time, Grievous kicked Luna into Celestia.

Celestia and Eric winced at how badly Luna was wounded.

“Now,” Thanos boomed, his reality stone glowing in sync with the power stone. “Let’s blow this joint!” The ceiling separated, revealing the night sky far up above them.

With Eric’s body still injured, he formed a set of spider-like limbs which lifted him into the hole leading out. Once out, the legs were replaced with two sets of wings, which carried him into the sky.

At the same time, Thanos punched the ground with the Power Stone, rocketing him up into the sky. Grievous seized Sally – who was covered in wounds from her fight with the alicorn – and used his wind sword to fly out. Lucci reverted to his leopard form, and ran up the walls, following the others out. Once everyone was out Thanos shot a wave of the Power Stone’s energy to the sky: a signal that the time was nigh.

“Now, we need to wait until Entity and the others arrive.” Thanos said, “Follow me!”

Thanos jumped from the roof of the palace and ran down the streets at light speed. Grievous carried Sally as he followed, and Lucci used Kamisori and bounced off the air and buildings. As Eric tried to follow them, darkness seized hold of him, and he was dragged back down towards Luna. Blood dripped from Luna’s head, covering her right eye. Her wings were damaged, and she only managed to pull herself out of the palace before falling. Using her momentum, however, she forced Eric to the ground as well, making a crater from the impact. Eric wheezed from the pain, unable to stop Luna from flinging him into a fountain of water.

“Dark-Dark… Frozen Darkness!” Luna coughed out. Infusing magic with her Devil Fruit, she unleashed dozens of ice cold orbs of darkness that combined to form a massive black hole, which tried to suck Eric in.

However, a series of tendrils flooded from Eric’s body, locking him in place and keeping the orb from following him.

“Do you want me to tell you your first mistake? Or your second?” Eric asked the Princess.

Luna tilted her head, nervousness shining on her face as the black hole neared Eric. “Um… both please.”

“Your first mistake was fighting me alone,” Eric said with a growing grin. “Your second mistake was to fight me in the city at night.”

Luna’s eyes widened, before a black skeletal hand seized her. On instinct, she flared her power, and an explosion went off as the black hole hit Eric. Parts of him froze completely. Yet his smile didn’t fade. The princess groaned in unsettled horror.

“I’m… Going to get my ass kicked, aren’t I?” Luna said.

Before Eric could respond, a blur of light went past her. Celestia kicked Eric and sent him into a storage unit. Yet, even as Eric vanished into the rubble, Luna still felt the cold skeletal hand around her leg. Shrieking, Luna’s struggles were for naught as she was pulled into the floor.

“You should really watch where you step.” Eric’s voice echoed from the rubble. “Enjoy the Shadow Zone!”

“Luna!” Celestia screamed, but Luna vanished into his shadow. “You demon!” Celestia spat. She threw a bolt of light, only for a wall of shadow to deflect the attack.

At the same, Thanos appeared, booting Celestia back and taking a stance next to Eric.

“I didn’t forget you man,” Thanos assured him. “I made sure my boys escaped.”

“Trust me I know,” Eric replied. “Family first” The two stood tall as Celestia paced around them.

“Are you fucking Dom?” Thanos asked with a laugh. Celestia tried to take advantage, but Thanos had Future Sight Observation Haki, and blocked her attack easily. “Too slow.”

Celestia frowned at Thanos’ taunt.

“We need to end this,” Eric said to the titan. “I can feel myself losing consciousness”

“Oh?” Celestia said, “You should really not say certain things out… LOUD!” Celestia kicked Eric in his chest, sending him flying into the castle.

Eric struggled to move as Celestia appeared above him with light around her hands. Yet he still managed to keep his smug grin.

“Kill me…” he warned. “And you’ll kill Luna as well.”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t harm you …” Celestia replied, shooting a beam of light into his kneecaps, making him writhe. “So how about you release my dear sister…?”

Eric screamed in pain, but he still held his grin. “Or I could stop supplying oxygen to my shadow zone.”

“I dare you!” Celestia fired two more into Eric’s elbows, “Release her!” Thanos then appeared next to Celestia.

“Get away from… MY BOY!!!!” Thanos slammed his gauntlet fist into Celestia’s face, covering it in 1000 degree celsius heat, Armament Haki, Tekkai Go, and the Power Stone furthering the attack’s power. “HEAT CRASH!!!!” Celestia was sent flying through the town, crashing into buildings after building. Soon enough ponies began to walk out of the houses and Royal Guards and Night Guards poured out of the castle.

“Thanos…” Eric said as his body began to ripple. “Pull her out...quickly”

“Don’t worry, my pull-out game is unbeatable.” Thanos said, before pulling Luna out. “Oh, and those two guards.” Thanos pulled the guards Eric had captured and set them down. He frowned at their still forms. “Are they asleep?”

“Just unconscious from lack of oxygen” Eric explained

“Science! Now let’s go!” Thanos moved to leave, only to find Eric wasn’t moving. “Get the fuck up, man!”

“I... can’t…” Eric muttered, before his last grip on consciousness left him.

Thanos chuckled. “Aww, he’s all tuckered out.” Thanos picked and put him on his back. “Don’t worry; Uncle Thanos will bring you home safely.”

Running as fast as he could. Thanos left behind the Royal Guard, who shot bolts of magic at him in a futile attempt to stop him. Thanos soon caught sight of Grievous, who was currently fighting off some guards patrolling the streets.

“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go! MOVE!” Thanos ordered.

Obeying, Grievous joined Thanos, and the two raced to the Zeppelins that just arrived. Lucci had Sally in his hands. Entity walked out of the ship and saw Sally.

“What happened to her?” Entity yelled, grabbing Sally. He stared up at Lucci, who jumped for the controls. “HEY!”

“She was hit by that bitch Celestia alright?” Lucci replied. “She had the Glint-Glint Fruit, and she was too fast to catch!”

Entity’s red eyes glowed. “That… Bitch.” Entity turned his gaze to Canterlot, only to find Thanos and Grievous had been caught by Celestia. The alicorn fought the two like a demon, Thanos hindered by trying to keep Eric’s unconscious body out of harm’s way.

“Entity…” Sally muttered, blinking dazed up at him. “They’ll be okay… I’ll be okay, we should… Go while we have the chance…” Sally said, looking up at Entity.

“Grievous and Thanos are fighting for their lives,” Entity objected. “And Eric’s!”

Sally just smiled, delirious. “We’ll live to fight another day…” Sally’s eyes closed.

“Sal!” Entity glanced back with a grimace. “I… I’m sorry Thanos.” Entity went up the bridge and inside the Nigga Mobile. “Let’s go!” Entity ordered Lucci, who was piloting. Lucci walked out of the cockpit and saw Entity’s face.

“But-”

“They’ll be alright,” Entity insisted, even as his teeth clenched and his eyes closed. “If we get captured what would Golden Shield think?”

Lucci looked at Entity, he looked like he was hurting.

“F-fine!” Lucci looked outside and saw Thanos looking over at the Zeppelin. “I’m sorry, my old friend...”

The bridge pulled up. Grievous noticed and looked back to the ship.

“Wait, why are they closing the door?!” Grievous demanded. “YOU BASTARDS!!!”

But Thanos sighed and pat Grievous’ back, knowing what Entity and the others had done.

“Looks like… This is the end of us,” Thanos said with a chuckle. He looked down at Eric’s body. “I’m sorry Eric, I’m sorry Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and the others… I couldn’t keep your friend safe.”

Grievous looked at Thanos, Grievous saw Thanos shed a tear and the Cybernetic Samurai sighed.

“Remember what our master told us…” Grievous got into a stance, his weapons began to glow with the corresponding element. Thanos grinned and took out his Infinity Blade and lit it on fire.

“DYING IS THE DAY WORTH LIVING FOR!!!!” Thanos and Grievous say with a grin, with a battle cry they rushed Celestia and her army. Celestia frowned and shot a beam of light at Thanos who sleekly evaded the attack without Observation Haki.

“HAAA!” Thanos and Grievous raised their weapons… Only for a magic bolt to hit the enemy army.

Thanos spun, and smiled with delight. Sapphire Sword’s ships had come. As well as the other Generals.

“Don’t worry my King,” Sapphire Sword announced. “We’ve got your backs!”

Emerald Gauntlet jumped down from his ship, forming a huge green shield of emeralds. “I have you, now go! Go!” Thanos and Grievous ran away, Thanos handed Eric to Grievous while Emerald blocked the magic bolts form the ponies.

“Go,” Thanos declared. “There’s something I must take care of.”

Grievous nodded. “Stay safe, brother.” Pouring on the speed, Grievous ran to a red Zeppelin where Ruby was waiting. The bridge dropped open, unleashing a swarm of manticores. Leaping over the beasts, Grievous raced into the Zeppelin, handing Eric to Ruby.

“Give him medical attention stat!” Grievous ordered. Ruby blinked at Eric in shock before saluting.

“Yes, sir!” Ruby carried Eric away, while Grievous readied his blades. For a moment, he prepared to jump back into battle, before remembering Thanos’ words.

“He must do this alone…”

Back at the battlefield, Thanos faced off against Celestia, fire and light clashing against each other. Thanos growled, trying to push Celestia back, but Celestia matched him blow for blow.

“You won’t get away with this, Thanos,” Celestia vowed, her hair erupting in flames. “I will have that man’s head on a pike!”

“I won’t let you hurt my… HOMEBOY!!!” Thanos roared, using steam to push Celestia back. “But there is something I’ll let you do…” Thanos clenched his fist and using the Reality Stone he made all of the Manticores float into the air, floating towards Canterlot. “Get wrecked.” Thanos clenched his fist and the Power Stone glowed.

Celestia froze. “NO! DON’T!”

But the mad titan didn’t listen and slammed his fist into the ground.

Eric opened his eyes. He found himself in a white room, with bandages covering his body. Sitting up Eric felt pain in his legs and his chest causing him to hiss.

“Shit...” Eric hissed, struggling to pull himself from the bed. As he lifted his head, he found Thanos, laying on another bed, just as banged up as Eric was.

“Hey you,” Thanos greeted. “You’re finally awake.”

Eric stared at Thanos in disbelief. “You look like shit, man” Eric noted with a grin.

“You don’t look like a basket of fruit yourself,” Thanos noted with a grin of his own.

The two laughed, before Eric raised his arm. “Thanks for having my back.”

“That’s what homies do,” Thanos replied, lifting his own hand. “They watch their boys' backs.”

The two friends high fived… and promptly regretted it, as pain shot down their arms.

“Son of a bitch ass motherfucker who eats donkeys!” Thanos cursed.

“Yeah. not gonna lie that was stupid” Eric muttered, gripping his arm.

“Aww fuck,” Thanos muttered. I can’t believe we’ve done this…” He sighed. “Well… It’ll take a while to heal and we can’t exactly move yet so… Wanna talk about cheese? My favorite cheese is Pepper Jack!”

“Not really,” Eric said, moving back to his bed. “ Never really was a fan of Cheese,” Eric said moving back on the bed.

“Pepper Jack is the only exception I’ll make,” Thanos replied. “Any cheese on food except for pizza is fucking trash.”

Over the course of the next couple of weeks, Eric and Thanos spent time healing and enjoying each other's company… and cheese. Despite being annoyed by one another every now and then. By the time they had healed, the others had planned a party to celebrate the success of Mission Barely Possible.

“It was a stupid name, not going to lie.” Sally noted, crossing her arms.

“Absolutely idiotic” Eric agreed with the stitched-up girl.

Thanos scoffed. “Well, your name isn’t any better, Eric.” he countered, “And besides, I don’t want to call it Mission Impossible. You need to be both stupid and comedic. What else do you want me to call it? Mission Power Sap? Because you know, we’re getting the Power Stone?” He paused. “Oh, my god that was way better than the name I came up with… But it was funny!” Thanos insisted, both to Eric and himself.

“Alright-alright,” Eric decided with a grin. “Let’s quit messing with the purple Mr. Clean and get this party started.”

“Do you know how to play the violin?” Thanos asked. “A normal violin?”

“I can,” Eric replied, pulling his Ebony Violin from his body. “Only question is what to play?”

“Binks- No, play from your heart.” Thanos said with a smile.

With a grin, Eric put the instrument against his chin and put the bow to the strings. Closing his eyes Eric began to play.

As the song ended, Eric remembered…

The Crystal Empire. All those centuries ago.

"Come on," Amber encouraged him. "Play something."

The instrument shop was filled with beautiful pieces for playing music. But the black violin he had found topped all of them. It looked like it had been carved from pure ebony, with strings that seemed to hum even without touching them.

"Come on, Amber," Eric had said. "I don't really know how to play..."

She smirked. "Humble much?" she asked. "I saw the way you were looking at the piano.”

He glanced at one of the ivory keyed instruments. "It just looks nice," he protested.

"And the cello?" she teased. "Or the harps? Novices don't look at them the way you do, my love." Her smile became less coy. "Come on, my mother tells me that the stronger a man is, the more beautiful his art.”

Eric huffed. "Well, your grandparents clearly never forced your mother to perform at noble galas or parties."

"We're all blessed in our own ways," she replied, giving him that smile that he could never say no to.

Rolling his eyes, but unable to hide his own smile, Eric picked up the bow for the instrument and placed the violin against his chin.

With the smile of his angel encouraging him, Eric began to play.

As Eric lost himself to the music, he didn't notice the crowd that began to form. All he needed to focus on was her. The light of awe in her beautiful eyes. The way the wind swept her mane to the side. The way her wings twitched and longed to spread when she was excited.

He played for her. He let his love flow through the instrument. And all too soon, he had to stop.

Applause broke the lovers out of the trance they had been stuck in. The crowd was cheering; stamping their feet as they brushed tears from their eyes.

"Huh," Eric noted, turning to Amber. "Why didn't you tell me you brought an audience?"

She giggled. "Oh, my beautiful, humble musician," she teased, gazing into his eyes. "You get so lost when you play."

"That's fine," he replied as they drew closer together. "I've got you to guide me back."

She kissed his cheek as they nuzzled into each other.

“As long as you play for me,” she promised. “I’ll always be there to guide you back.”

"You know, this won't be the last time I call you,” Thanos noted. “The next time I call you, you should be prepared to battle."

Eric said nothing, continuing to play his music. The others looked on in awe. Even Sally couldn't help but be enchanted by the shadow man's musical prowess.

After an hour of everyone talking and being themselves, Eric walked out of the room, which didn’t go unnoticed by the Mad Titan. Thanos followed Eric outside, finding him leaning on a railing that overlooked the kingdom.

“Beautiful, is it not?” Thanos noted, joining Eric at the railing. “This is all mine. My country, Minos. The capital, Minocow.” Thanos looked over the city, a cold breeze brushing past them.

“It’s very beautiful,” Eric said, observing the city, “Especially during the night.”

For a moment, the two just enjoyed the city.

“I’m going to visit this place in my world,” Eric noted, putting his back against the railing. “I made a promise to a certain ice dragon.”

“Eh?” Thanos raised an eyebrow.

"He used the power of his Shadow-Shadow Fruit and reanimated my wife,” Eric explained. “She almost killed the Cutie Mark Crusaders and most of the palace guards. I was forced to kill her." Eric grit his teeth, holding back tears as the shadows on his body became more pronounced. "Could you seriously not be infuriated by having to re-kill your own wife?"

Thanos’ eyes were sympathetic. He put a hand on the Shadow Man’s shoulder.

"I remember when I had to...” Thanos cleared his throat. “When I had to kill a friend. Due to a misunderstanding.” He looked over the city. “Platinum Dusk. The only outsider of our group. There was a changeling mind-controlling her sister and... I killed her sister because she was going to kill Sally. We kept it a secret but when she found out... I had to force my hand and blast her to smithereens. I cannot sympathize with you, you lost your wife once then had to kill her... I just had to kill my friend... But…" Thanos took his hand off of Eric's shoulder and shook his head.

"We're all fucked up, aren't we?" the Shadow Man noted.

"Physically and Mentally," Thanos agreed, “If you need me, just call me. And as thanks, I’ll give you the Infinity Broadsword. It’s made out of a mix between Netherite and Shadow Stone.” Thanos brought out a blade that looked like the Infinity Blade but just the size of a regular broadsword.

“Thanks, Thanos,” Eric said, creating a sheath for the sword from his shadow. “And the same applies to me: if you need me, you know where I’ll be.”

With a final nod, a black portal appeared behind the Shadow Man. Eric turned and returned to his Equestria.

The portal deposited Eric in front of the palace. He smiled and moved to step forward… and got clobbered by a flaming pegasus.

“Where in Faust’s name have you been?!” Rainbow boomed, seizing the Shadow Man’s collar.

“Helping a friend,” Eric replied, pushing the mare off of him and standing “I owed him for helping me train you and Pinkie.”

“But you’ve been gone for almost two months!” Rainbow protested.

Eric’s heart dropped. “So... we’re in the month of Hearths Warming?” Eric asked in sadness. When Rainbow Dash nodded, Eric took in the snow around them. “Well, shit."

Crossover 2 with Against All Odds

if you want your Oc in this fanfic just put this in the comments or message me
Name:
Race:
Description:
Devil Fruit:(optional)
Backstory:(Their backstory will determine whether or not if I can use them)

And Currently there are Six available spots in Eric's Pirate Crew Remaining.

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Oh and I'm wont be uploaded any chapters until Christmas. Sorry

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