Sunset Shimmer screamed.
The former unicorn and her group of friends were spending a relaxing day at the park, happily listening to the sounds of Flash Sentry's band. Pinkie was working the lights, Rainbow and Applejack were having another overly-competitive dance off, and Twilight was texting Timber.
That was when Sunset felt the wave.
If asked to describe what it was, Sunset wouldn't have been able to do so. It wasn't Equestrian magic, or magic that had been altered by exposure to the human world. It felt...older. Like some sort of energy from the birth of the universe. Like all of the life force of every living thing had been packed together into one blast of pure force. The troubling part was that she didn't feel it on her body (which probably would've killed her), but in her mind, burning like a forest fire.
She tasted it in her mouth, and its taste was death. The forces behind sought death with a cold detachment, and in her mind, she saw a grimacing purple face. A deep voice, phrasing the thoughts of another, resonated through her head, saying that the task was complete. That balance was restored.
It was overwhelming for Sunset, and she pitched forward, onto the grass. The sensation passed, and she managed to place both hands in front of her, preventing her face from slamming into the ground. Startled, Rarity reached over to her.
"Sunset, my goodness! Are you alri—" She didn't manage to finish her sentence, as she dropped her drink, her hands flying to the sides of her head, clutching her skull as she screamed in agony.
From her position on the ground, Sunset looked around. Twilight was in a similar state, having dropped her phone at the sudden stab of pain, Spike frantically asking what was wrong. Rainbow and Applejack were trying to support each other in the throes of the torment, with little success. Fluttershy seemed to have completely collapsed, barely remaining conscious. Pinkie had actually stumbled out from behind the stage, hands on her own head, groaning. The cheerful festivities ceased as everyone else in the vicinity rushed to help the seven girls. It was then that Sunset understood: Nobody without magic had felt the effects.
"Wh-what the hell was that?" asked Rainbow Dash, getting to her feet, looking around.
"I...don't know," whispered Twilight, trembling in shock. "It felt like it came from...all around us..."
Flash Sentry came rushing down from the stage, clearly concerned.
"You girls okay? What—"
His words died in his throat. Sunset froze as her eyes moved to him. Dozens of other eyes snapped onto the teenage boy, their owners left breathless at the state of the teenager.
Flash Sentry was disintegrating.
His left hand was dissolving piece by piece, reduced to specks of dust, floating away in the wind. Flash could only stare in shock at the sight, as the effect continued up his arm, onto his body. The disintegration spread, claiming Flash's arms, legs, and body, before even his head joined the dust in the wind. Not even his clothes were left behind, as though the boy had never existed.
Nobody spoke a word as they stared at the spot Flash Sentry had once occupied. There was no reason for it. No magical attack, no evil villain. Just the vanishing.
In a departure from tradition, Fluttershy was the one who finally broke the silence.
"The wave," she whispered, holding her hands close to her chest and shivering, as though a bitter cold had pervaded the park they stood in. "It was...the end. It—" She suddenly gave a sharp, hissing inhale, sucking the air through her teeth, as though she'd been stabbed.
Sunset and the others could only stare in horror as Fluttershy succumbed to the same fate as Flash Sentry. Her body began to flake away, beginning at her back and completely erasing the girl's body with cold and heartless efficiency. Unlike Flash, Fluttershy had clearly felt it coming, which almost made it worse, as there was no visible source of attack. Pinkie rushed up, throwing her arms around Fluttershy, just as the girl faded completely. Pinkie's eyes began to drip with fresh tears, as she futilely tried to gather the ashes that had once been Fluttershy, only to watch as they drifted away.
"Oh, God," Rarity breathed. Nobody responded. What would be a worthy response for a moment like this?
It only got worse. More and more people began to erode and disappear, with no rhyme or reason. Nobody without magic could see it coming, or feel it coming. One moment, they were safe and secure, and the next, they'd vanished. Wallflower Blush was among those, taken, barely able to manage a panicked squeak as she dissolved. Sunset and those who remained from her group stood close together, as if their magic combined might be able to save those who remained. It didn't spare them.
"Oh, damn," Rainbow muttered, with a kind of detached resentment, as she noticed her own arm begin to dissolve. Twilight, in a panic, reached out with her telekinesis, as if trying to mentally force the molecules that composed her friend to stay together. Her efforts were futile, only managing to suspend the dust in midair. Rainbow looked down, closing her eyes in resignation, before the deterioration consumed her head.
"No...no...no..." Twilight muttered over and over, hyperventilating as she did so. She clutched Spike close to her chest, and through her back, the dog could feel her heart kicking into overdrive. Not that he blamed her.
"Everybody calm down!" Applejack shouted, the desperation was audible in her voice, though the farm girl was clearly doing her best to sound confidant. She grabbed Twilight by the shoulders. "Twi, take a deep breath! We can figure this out!"
"Applejack..." Pinkie managed to squeak out, pointing at the farm girl's back, where pieces of her were already beginning to detach. Applejack was so focused on trying to reassure the others, she hadn't felt it. But it was too late. By the time the farm girl turned around, the effect had already spread to her face. Applejack's eyes didn't even manage to catch the end of her body vanishing before they joined the rest.
Sunset's hands clenched her hair in panic. She had to keep reminding her body to breathe, as though the sheer insanity was pushing her body to shut down on its own. Applejack had tried to bring some sense of order, and the wave had claimed her. If Sunset tried to do the same, would she fade as well? Would anyone-
"Girls, I don't feel so good..."
Sunset's already horrified face shifted its gaze to Twilight in less than a second. Twilight's legs were beginning to disintegrate from the feet up, causing her to fall backwards, Spike flying out of her embrace.
"No, NO!" Sunset screamed, pitching forward and throwing her arms around Twilight's remaining body. Rarity caught Spike in midair.
Sunset sat up on her knees, holding Twilight Sparkle in her last seconds of life. Rarity and Pinkie stood beside her, both sporting tear-filled eyes, unable to speak from sheer grief. Spike squirmed out of Rarity's grip, rushing down to stand beside his caretaker's head.
"Twilight, please..." he begged, as though the girl had any control over it.
Twilight couldn't even breath, merely looking up, with nothing left but despair.
"I don't want to go..." she whispered, as the deterioration spread up her chest.
"Twilight, listen. I'm not gonna let you..." Sunset started, but she couldn't finish it. A single tear dripped from the Equestrian's eye, landing flat on Twilight's head, before the disintegration erased the girl completely. Not even her glasses were left behind.
Sunset, Rarity, Pinkie, and Spike were left, staring at the space where their friend had once sat. And their hearts died inside them.