And then the murders began...

So was reading stuff on facebook, and a link to this turned up. The basic premise, that "adding 'And Then The Murders Began' As The Second Sentence Of Any Book Makes It Instantly Better". Though in some cases, people add it after the third or fourth sentence. But it does make one wonder: Does it hold true for FimFic stories? Well, let's find out. Just part of the (non-mature) feature box, plus a couple I thought might be interesting, to start with, but if people want to dig through some of their favorites...

"As anypony who’s ever met Pinkie Pie can tell you, the line between absolute genius and absolute idiocy is exceedingly thin. And then the murders began." - Evil is Easy, Governing is Harder
Not the most compelling, though I guess it does sort of fit the title.

"Twilight’s eyes widened as she stepped into the great hall of her castle. And then the murders began." - A Thousand Roses.
This one really works. I want to know what she saw, who is murdering whom, and why. My money is on Twilight doing the murdering because someone messed up her library after she spent all weekend re-organizing it. I could easily see a decently written story with this as the description and the opening lines getting featured.

"Life was pretty good for Jetta. And then the murders began." - Mistakes Were Made
Well, it fits. Life was good, and obviously the murders made it not good.

"The air was warm, the sun was shining, and everypony in Ponyville was having a glorious day. And then the murders began." - Cupcakes
Well, actually, I think the murders had been going on for a while before this. But it is true that within the confines of the story, murders do happen.

"Celestia awoke to what at first looked exactly like any other day in her life--that is, until the moment she realized she had been overthrown while she wasn’t looking, And then the murders began." - An Apple a Day Keeps Autocracy Away
Damn straight. Don't mess with Celestia's rule. That or she was really upset about that comma that should have been a period/full-stop.

"I live my life, one day at a time. A good portion of those days are uneventful, always falling in the same routine: I wake up, walk to work, work, walk home, then bum around until I go to bed. And then the murders began." - My Little Dashie
Went with two sentences here before adding it, but I think it makes a positive change. The story isn't just about a sad loser who finds a pony in a box anymore. Now there's murder. That's what you get when you cut her off from almost all contact with others.

And one last one, because this is one of those things that quickly gets old:
"“Are you gonna eat that?” Lyra looked expectantly at the cake that was still on Bon-Bon’s plate. And then the murders began." - Anthropology.
I guess she was going to eat that, Lyra. Must be very good cake.

Also had this thought: this sort of thing could be an interesting way to hold a contest. "The second sentence must be: <insert sentence here>". And then seeing what people come up with.

Comments

[Telaros]

"Filthy Rich reached out a hoof to retrieve the ornament on his daughter's head. And then, the murders began." - Best Laid Plans

"Diamond was snapped out of her internal debate, now was the time to finish this game once and for all. And then the murders began." - Po-Neigh-Oh! G4

"Diamond Tiara set the coffee on the table next to the chocolate coated strawberry shortcake. And then the murders began." - Short Caked

"Books never lie. And then the murders began." - DiNyx

Granted the ones below Best Laid Plans aren't the opening two sentences, I couldn't help but try and pick out where such flufff fics could be twisted into something dark.

[Titanium Dragon]

So that's where all the dead bodies came from!

[Admiral Biscuit]

Alright, I'm gonna join in, because why not?

Derpy eagerly trotted down the snow-covered streets. And then the murders began.

Dinky's First Hearth's Warming

“Are you sure?” Shining Armor looked at the little bottle floating in his aura dubiously. And then the murders began.

Shining Armor Has an Erection Lasting More than Four Hours (Warning, clopfic [sort of])

Gerard Parkes rubbed his eyes as a mulberry head popped up above the bar. And then the murders began.

Berry Punch Celebrates St. Patrick's Day

"What's on your mind?"
"Huh?" I glanced over at the red farm stallion. And then the murders began.

Silk Pajamas (Warning, clopfic)

“Okay, that wasn't so bad.” Adagio walked down the school halls, followed by her two co-conspirators. And then the murders began.

Sonata Grabs Twilight's Peaches

Spitfire rubbed her eyes, a gesture that produced no useful results whatsoever. And then the murders began.

Hell is a Happy Place

Sweetie Belle looked down at her sap-covered hooves and stomach distastefully. And then the murders began

Shipping

Golden Harvest—Carrot Top to her friends—was miserable, upset, annoyed, displeased, and probably a bunch of other synonyms. And then the murders began.

36: So It Begins

Ooh, that was a lot of fun!

[Cryosite]

So was reading stuff on facebook, and a link to this turned up. And then the murders began.