Prologue
Rarity lay dead before the monsters body.
Her white coat was stained red, her neck having more joints than it should have. Her piercing scream still rang in Twilight’s ears, and the unicorn knew she would never forget that horrible sound. A strangled, wet gurgling screech that had been ended abruptly with a sickening crack and crunch.
Her eyes focused on the thing before her, the impossible creature. It’s very form defied physics and reality. A monstrosity such as what stood before her could not be permitted to exist. The longer Twilight looked at it, the more she felt her skin crawl and an unpleasant ripple made its way through her stomach. With predatory smoothness, it straightened its posture as it rose from Rarity, moving like water over ice. Thick gooey saliva dripped from the fanged maw, slapping against the floor as the strand grew to thin and slid from the jaw.
You. spoke the monster, without opening it’s mouth, You are the last.
Even its voice was a affront to logical existence, a hissing grate of seven tones that echoed backwards upon itself. Twilight had to fight against her own mind as it began to spiral into insanity trying to bring logic and understanding of the creatures existence.
“No…No…” whimpered Twilight.
It turned to face her on its serpentine body, the claw like hands flexing.
Twilight backed away, pushing herself from the monstrosity before her with her hind legs, unable to tear her eyes away from its visage.
One of her hooves slipped in something slick, causing her to loose balance and collapse to her right side. Twilight turned to find the cause, and let loose a scream of her own.
Applejack’s glazed eyes stared into space, focused on nothingness.
She had been the second to meet a grisly end, after Rainbow Dash.
True to her nature, the brave Pegasus had charged the monster after it revealed its betrayal, only to be cut from the air by the impossibly sharp claws before she realised what had happened.
The scraping of the scales against the dusty floor filled Twilight’s hearing, a hissing inhale sent a shiver down her spine.
Be calm…this will not be painless, prepare yourself.
Twilight turned to find her vision filled with the monster. The four eyes blinked one after the other.
Twilight felt herself lifted from the floor in clawed arms, gently, as if a mother were lifting her child.
Pinkie, Twilight couldn’t see Pinkie, how she had met her end at the end of those wicked claws was unknown to her.
Fluttershy had died the most peacefully, a single quick slash of her throat and Fluttershy just looked like she was tired, and a few moments later, she was asleep.
“I wanted…all I wanted was to find a way out…” whimpered Twilight.
The creature’s mouth pulled into a twisted smirk.
But this is the way out Twilight Sparkle. Death is but the beginning…she comes for you now…just as her kin come for your companions.
Twilight kicked in the grip.
“Who? Who’s coming?!”
Twilight’s struggles ceased as she felt pin picks in her back.
Shhh…spoke the monster, as it stroked the claws of its left hand through Twilight’s mane.
It will be over soon.
Twilight’s back arched, and she looked down in horror as three of the scythe like talons slid out of her chest. The pain went beyond anything Twilight could imagine, her tortured mind unable to comprehend the path that would lead to a scream of agony.
Twilight’s mouth moved wordlessly, only stopping as she coughed out a mouthful of blood as the monster gently lay her back down.
It is done. You are chosen.
The cold tiled floor felt like ice on her back, slowly turning warm as her life bled from the puncture wounds on her back.
“Ch…Chosen…? Chosen for…for what?”
With a gurgle, Twilight looked up, and saw that the monster had vanished.
Her eyelids grew heavy, and Twilight began to fight to keep them open. She tried to stand, but her limbs grew heavier with each passing second.
“I…I…don’t…I don’t…”
Twilight coughed out more blood as she tried to speak, and with a despairing groan, her limbs gave out and she crumpled to the floor.
Twilight grit her teeth and began to drag herself towards Rainbow Dash.
The Pegasus was the bravest of them, she would know what to do, she would help her.
Rainbow Dash never let her friends down.
“I…I don’t…want…”
Twilight rolled onto her back as her mind began to spin, giving her a sense of vertigo. Images of her life began swimming together, merging into events that never happened, or never could happen. Her dying mind was becoming jumbled like the books in the library after Fluttershy had crashed while she had been practicing for the Wonderbolts…
“No…that’s…that’s not right…Rainbow…Rainbow had crashed…” gasped Twilight.
In Blackhearts place, lay a smaller alicorn. Princess Luna strode forward to stood over the smaller pink mare, while Cadence was unable to look her sister in the eyes…
“No! No that’s not…not right!”
Twilight struggled to make sense of her memories and think of a solution to her problem. She could solve this…Twilight Sparkle could solve anything!
Twilight closed her eyes and groaned.
“I…I…I don’t…want…to…die…”
As Twilight’s eyes closed, the feeling of a cold, oily liquid pouring through her head filled her senses.
She heard a horrifying sound, one of her friends taking a ragged breath, and the last thing she saw was Applejack twitching, rising from the tiled floor on struggling limbs.
======
Celestia set the quill down.
“I’m sorry Twilight…but that is what happened? You all died…and rose again?”
Twilight was staring at her reflection in the cup of water before her. Her dangerously thin body absolutely still.
The fire place in Celestia’s chambers crackled in the background, throwing long shadows along the walls and floor. Celestia glanced at her own and Twilight’s shadow, dancing against the wall. For the briefest second, Celestia frowned. Twilight’s shadow had flickered, and for a moment it looked as if the unicorn was casting two shadows.
Twilight gave a low sigh, her head rising slowly so that Celestia could see directly into the sunken lavender eyes.
Celestia shifted slightly. Her beloved student’s eyes painted scenes that Celestia would never experience, or would ever want to.
Despite Twilight dishevelled appearance, her eyes ringed with the markings of not enough sleep, life burned brightly within the orbs, as if a candle had been lit behind them.
Twilight answered. Celestia knew it was the truth by the tone of Twilight’s voice.
Celestia wished Twilight had lied to her.
“Yes.”