First published
These are the last words that were never said.
These are the last moments they had.
A Birdshot story (dozens of tiny stories). Each chapter may or may not be related to another.
Cover image done by me.
Words
Unspoken
Twilight Sparkle to Princess Celestia:
I'm sorry, Princess. I failed...
She galloped into the room, setting down her tiara and quickly scooping up Starswirl the Bearded's journal in the process. "From all of us together, together we're friends. With the marks of our destinies made one, there is magic without end!" The Elements of Harmony, bourn upon the necks of her friends, shot out a brilliant light. But without her own element at the center, there was no way for Twilight Sparkle to focus the incoming magic.
All that was left was a pile of ash.
Rarity to Spike:
I know you didn't mean to, Spikey-Wikey. I know you love me, and I love you too...
The titanic dragon was not in the clearest states of mind. Rarity found herself wrapped in the tail of the beast that was once her friend, precariously dangling hundreds of feet above the ground. She screamed some more.
The Wonderbolts swooped in, ensaring Spike-zilla's attention. His tail loosened, sending Rarity plummeting to the hard ground. She shrieked a different, higher pitched scream than before.
Spike did not like that sound, not one bit. His tail lashed out instinctively. Then he nodded; the horrid noise was silenced.
Rainbow Dash to Princess Luna:
Heh heh... Sorry about the window, Princess Luna. I hope I didn't hit you with any glass.
'Where did that gust come from?' Rainbow Dash wondered as she attempted to correct her flight trajectory. It was supposed to be a simple, sunny day in Canterlot with prime flying weather. Instead, Rainbow hit the one patch of totally random, turbulent air.
The last thing she saw was the balcony of the eastern tower of Canterlot Castle. Her neck, mercifully, snapped cleanly on impact.
Carrot Top to Pinkie Pie:
I told you I was allergic to cinnamon!
It was supposed to be a simple birthday party. Her little filly was turning seven. And the cupcakes looked so delicious, too. Carrot Top hadn't even tasted any cinnamon, there was that little of it in the individual cakes, but she was so violently allergic that her first and only bite was a death sentence.
At least she had made it to the bathroom before she passed out. Her little filly wouldn't have to see her mother perish.
Mr. Greenhooves to Fluttershy:
Don'cha cry, Missy. Ya didn' know ah had a weak heart.
Perhaps the flowers were a tad over watered, but then again, maybe not. Mr. Greenhooves decided to keep watering them anyway, regardless of what that little yellow mare thought. What did a pegasus know about gardening anyway?
The water stopped. It was so sudden that he had to wonder if there was a clog. He held the hose up to his eye to see if there were any obstructions within the garden hose. "Hmm?"
The water spurt out again. It was also very sudden, and very, very cold. Mr.Greenhooves felt his heart pounding, the tiny burst of excitement having worked up the old ticker. "Well, perhaps that is enough water."
"Thank you," the yellow mare said as she turned to walk away.
He was about to respond when he noticed something off. His chest severely hurt. His heart convulsed within his rib-cage, pounding, as if pleading to be set free. It grew weaker, weaker, and then it stopped completely.
Mr. Greenhooves toppled over. The one mare both close enough to help and capable of doing so continued to trot on her merry way. Her mind was so engrossed with assertiveness lessons that she never looked back.
Pinkie Pie to Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, and Apple Jack:
Come on! I'm right here! Giggle at me! Please... Giggle at the ghosty... I'm right here... Don't cry.
It wasn't supposed to be like this. Dying of brain cancer? That wasn't fun at all. But she laughed anyway. The tumors had taken away her ability to not laugh; it was compulsive now.
Pinkie just wished her friends would laugh too. That way, she could genuinely laugh back, and everypony would be happy.
She tried to talk, she really did, but the tube down her throat that fed her air kept her words locked away. Pinkie wanted them to smile. They were just standing there, waiting stoically for the end.
'Come on everypony, smile smile smile...'
Celestia to Discord:
You win, Discord. After all this time, you finally won.
Thank you!
Nothing happened.
Literally, nothing happened at all.
The universe had died eons ago. The black holes had long since evaporated. Neutrons had decayed. Energy had dissipated into nothingness. Nothing happened.
Nothing could.
And then something did. Celestia, who still existed to this time, finally expired, consumed by Discord's ultimate chaos.
And she was glad. As was Luna.
Luna to Celestia, then to Discord:
We came into this world together, and an eternity later we depart, still together.
Thank you, kind spirit.
Nothing happened.
Literally, nothing happened at all.
The universe had died eons ago. The black holes had long since evaporated. Neutrons had decayed. Energy had dissipated into nothingness. Nothing happened.
Nothing could.
And then something did. Luna, who still existed to this time, finally expired, consumed by Discord's ultimate chaos.
And she was glad. As was Celestia.
Scorpan to Tirek:
I really thought you could see reason.
The light was already fading from his eyes, being drawn out from his body along side the blood leaking from the wound. Scorpan, with the last of his strength, looked down at the sword that had impaled his chest. Their fathers before, it was a simple blade with a sole ruby embedded into the hilt, a ruby that seemed to Scorpan's dull eyes to be drinking merrily.
Tirek had stabbed him.
Tirek had stabbed him.
Tirek had stabbed him.
Tirek... had... stabbed... him...
Scorpan had only been trying to help.
Queen Chrysalis to her Hive:
Take my love. Use it well. That is my last gitf to you, my children. Survive!
It was the single most powerful, incontestable, absolute order the Changeling Queen had ever given. One thought, one titanic though that echoed throughout the hive mind, amplified by pain and grief, sadness and despair, and most of all, desperation.
Battered and broken beyond all repair, Chrysalis could only do one thing. She couldn't move. She couldn't use magic. She couldn't help her children who so desperately needed her. But she could do this.
'FEED!'
And she was dinner.
Twilght Velvet to Twilight Sparkle:
Spend eternety well, my beautiful filly.
The day had come; Twilight Velvet demanded nothing less than perfect grace from her collapsing body. Old age had finally come to take her, she was sure.
Beside her bed, just a little to the left, sat her beautiful daughter, a goddess now. The younger Twilight hadn't aged a day since her ascension. Her beautiful daughter, forever in eternity.
An infinite amount of friends and family awaited her daughter. The thought caused a pang of guilt in Velvet's chest, for she selfishly wished that her daughter would follow her into the next great adventure, to see her brother and father again. But it would be wrong to deny so many people Twilight Sparkle's love and friendship.
As her last breath escaped her, Twilight Velvet smiled.
Spike to Twilight Sparkle:
I did what I could to hold them off. Your number one asistant, to the rescue! *Snort* Goodby, Mom. I'll miss you.
He spun, sawing dozens of invaders in half with his tail's namesake spikes and fanning the inferno that he had spewed forth an instant before. They just kept coming; dozens upon dozens of them seemed to pop up every time the adolescent dragon cut down one.
Yet despite the odds, he held the gap. None of them had managed to pass him on the narrow cliff face, giving his friends the time they needed to escape.
Despite his best efforts, he was wearing thin. Low on fire magic, low on stamina, and low on blood, Spike was fading fast, and the enemy still came just as fast as before. He tried to dodge an incoming attack, but he was too slow to avoid the kiss of cold steel. In that moment, he knew he was done.
With one last gasp of breath, he gathered up the last of his magic and the last of his diminishing life-force, and in an eruption of plasma far hotter than the surface of the sun, he died, chasing thousands of invaders to the grave.
Zecora to her mother:
Mother, no monster felled me.
I was stung by a mere bee.
Living in the Everfree forest was a dangerous lifestyle. Zecora knew that well. She had a checklist of precautions that she had to take every single day to ensure that she was safe.
One of the less frequent things on her list was "go to Ponyville to get groceries." Simple enough, it seemed. There was no danger to her there, and ever since her reputation had been cleared, she had gained quite a few friends. In her mind, Ponyville was quite pleasant.
She was trotting down the market street when she happened upon a flower stand. "Stop and smell the flowers," her mother had told her, "to enhance the mind's powers." But when her muzzle was mere inches away from the blooms, a sharp pain was inflicted upon her.
A bee, sans its stinger, flew away from her face. Zecora gasped, her eyes widening as panic set in. Her skin flushed, the world started to spin, and her breath could not find her. She collapsed, drawing concerned stares from the ponies around her. Yet none of them moved to help her, each thinking that somepony else would.
Surely somepony would help her?
But nopony did.
Orange Sorbet to Big Macintosh Apple:
Take care of your sisters now that I'm gone. Eat well, grow big and strong, find a nice mare to settle down with, have a bunch of foals, and be happy. I love you, Big Mac.
The inferno spread so fast, she barely had any time to react before their only escape was cut off. Orange Sorbet, an Apple by marriage, huddled close to her husband, Alexander Apple. The flames licked at their hooves from all sides, burning them with their destructive touch. It was getting hard to breathe as smoke filled the air.
Her one solace was that her children were safe in the house, and not here in the barn. With her last conscious breath, she looked at her husband.
The barn started to collapse around them.
Alexander Apple to Granny Smith:
Sorry Ma'. Take care of mah little apple seeds, al'right? Sorbet and I... at least we're togetha in tha end.
The inferno spread so fast, he barely had any time to react before their only escape was cut off. Alexander Apple, an Apple by birth, huddled close to his wife, Orange Sorbet. The flames licked at their hooves from all sides, burning them with their destructive touch. It was getting hard to breathe as smoke filled the air.
His mind pictured his mother and his children, who were safe in the house, and not here in the barn. With his last few conscious breath, he looked at his wife.
The barn started to collapse around them. A falling rafter snapped his spine.
A Changeling Named Fleur Dis Lee to her Husband:
FANCY!
She was huddled over an office desk, helping Fancy Pants with his investment portfolio. Just because she was a model didn't mean that she didn't have smarts. Half of their fortune, which was quite impressive, was due to her ideas. Fleur Dis Lee had everything she wanted, and a magnificent stallion to share it with. In fact, she was confident in the fact that she was the most well-to-do changeling in the world, bar Queen Chrysalis.
The pink wall of energy that slammed into her was such a completely unexpected interruption to her otherwise normal day that she never really got around to reacting at all. Her body was crushed by the impact with the barrier, and again, repetedly, by the stone walls of her house. By the time the energy wave reached the edge of Canterlot, she was little more than a smear of blood and guts.
Shining Armor to himself:
What a stupid way to go.
Shining Armor was eating lunch. He choked on a corn-dog and died.
And that was that.
Queen Chrysalis to Princes Mi Amore Cadenza and Shining Armor:
I may have lost, but at least I have never murdered anypony. Enjoy Tartarus, Mr. and Mrs. Bastard.
The few changelings that were left in good enough condition to move were feasting on the last of Chrysalis's energy and flesh. From above, her disembodied soul watched on somberly. Around her, the souls of her dead children similarly arose. For the first time in their individual existences, or Chrysalis's hundreds of years of memory, they were finally free of the perpetual aches of chronic malnutrition and ever present hunger.
Even if she wasn't bound for paradise, though she hoped she was, Chrysalis knew in her heart that this purgatory was better than anything she had when she was alive. She was free.
A Royal Guard Unicorn to a Pegasus Thug:
Who pushes somepony off the edge of Canterlot?
Hooves clattered on the cobblestone streets near the edge of Canterlot, swiftly chasing after the flying thief in front. The unicorn guard reached out with his magic, intent on crashing the pegasus. It was hard to focus, though, as he had to simultaneously maintain the alarm spell to aid reinforcements in finding his location.
The thug swooped left, ducking into an alleyway. The guard swiftly followed, sliding on his hooves a few inches as he made the very sharp turn.
He wasn't expecting to get a buck to the face at that very instance. He wasn't expecting to stumble backwards due to his poor stance. And he definitely was not expecting the magic built up in his horn to randomly discharge, pushing him closer to the edge.
The pegasus, seeing an opportunity to rid himself of his pursuer, gave one more push to the thoroughly unbalanced unicorn.
Ditzy Doo to Daring Doo:
I know exactly what went wrong.
It had been an honest mistake on both of their parts, really. The two sisters looked at one another, the morbid acceptance of their fate clearly reflected in the eyes of the other.
It wasn't a trap in a dilapidated temple that killed the elder sister.
It wasn't clumsiness that killed the younger sister.
It was just an honest mistake.
Big Macintosh to Applejack:
In the finale of this grandiose existance, I find myself capeable of eloquently expressing myself at last. Dear sister, fret not; I am merely passing to the next great adventure. And though someday we may meet again, I pray that it is not for some time. Savour the grand challenge that is life, grow, reach for the sky like the proudest of apple trees, and let your roots hold our family and friends together. So long, Applejack. Be strong. Be brave. I'll make sure Ma' has supper ready for you when you do get here.
Eeyup.
Apples were stubborn. That was a well known fact. They were also quite prideful.
The last time their stubborn pride had gotten the best of them was applebuck season, two years ago. Applejack refused aid when he was hurt, leading to her sleep deprivation and nearly poisoning half the town.
His last incident of pride was the same event. He refused to go to the doctor, merely bandaging the wounds himself. He had thought them healed correctly, and had thought nothing more of it at the time.
Now, thought, his old wound was bothering him again. He paused his bucking to massage the old wound.
"Nope." He continued bucking.
He bucked long into the day.
He bucked even as the pain grew worse.
Big Macintosh bucked his last buck.
Twilight Sparkle to Spike:
I've been organized to death.
Re-shelving Day! It was Twilight's favorite day of the year. The mindless repetition of sorting books acted as a form of meditation to the purple librarian. With a simple thought, the unicorn summoned the first stack of books to her.
A few minutes later, Spike walked in, weaving his way through the towering stacks of books to get towards Twilight. "I got those things you wanted," he called out.
Twilight nodded and turned around to retrieve the box from Spike's grip. Her flank brushed against a stack of books, causing it to wobble precariously. And, as wobbling, top-heavy things are prone to do, the stack toppled over upon its owner.
Octavia Melody to Vinyl Scratch:
Never turn it up to eleven million again.
For all her roommate's eccentricity, Octavia had to admit that she was quite talented. To maintain a duel career, in two seemingly opposite lifestyles and yet merging both into a seamless whole, was quite impressive. By night, Vinyl Scratch was DJ Pon3, Canterlot's top electronic music performer and a nightclub veteran. By day, she was a white collar, lab-coat-wearing researcher, helping to develop new acoustic machinery and magic.
It was in their building's basement in which those two careers merged into a Frankenstein hobby. Octavia followed Vinyl down the steps into the presently silent, soundproofed rehearsal room. Her ears were tickled by Vinyl's magic, encased in a hearing-protection spell Octavia had insisted that Vinyl learn as soon as possible.
Seconds later, Vinyl was fiddling with the controls of her sound equipment. Octavia, spotting her own prized instrument, decided to push the cello aside as her friend set up the machine.
"Ready for awesomeness, Octy?"
She sighed, preparing for the huge headache to come. "Ready."
"Kick it!"
The base dropped, rumbling within the supernaturally loud speakers. The spell that protected her inner ear did little to stop the damage when the speaker hit the resonant frequency of her skull. It did nothing to protect against hitting the resonant frequency of the cello's wood.
Vinyl Scratch to Octavia Melody:
I've always secretly enjoyed listening to your music. But don't you think a bow to the brain is a bit much? Sorry, I know it wasn't your fault. I should have never turned those speakers up so much.
The experience was so alien, Vinyl Scratch did not know how to react.
Her roommate was dead.
Her roommate's cello had exploded.
The cello's bow was sticking out of her chest.
And it was her fault, although she couldn't quite wrap her head around it. She couldn't quite wrap her head around anything atvthe moment. None of it seemed real.
Pinkie Pie to You:
Careful around those closing irises at the end of an episode. They're really sharp.
Pinkie Pie stuck her muzzle-less head through the closing iris at the end of the episode, intent on calling the viewer's attention to it. She knew that if she could get their attention, it would be fixed before the next episode. In the land of television, the status quo is god, after all.
What she didn't expect was that the closing iris was only two dimensional, and thus really, really sharp.
Elizabeth's grin evaporated instantly when Pinkie's severed head landed on the floor in front of her TV.
Angel Bunny to Harry the Bear:
Well fuck you too!
Fluttershy was away in Manehattan.
Fluttershy was away.
To the animals in her cottage, that was a terrifying prospect. She had never left them alone this long before. Ever. And they were hungry.
And, as hungry, intelligent animals are wont to do, when deprived of a food source, they go looking for one. And, most of them having spent time either in the Everfree or Whitetail woods, they knew how to hunt.
They knew how to kill.
Poor little Angel Bunny had the misfortune to be locked in a room, accidentally of course, with Harry the very-hungry-bear.
Seabreeze to Lily Petal:
Supa laipas data kurpa! Mise neku ersken laika maur! Siripat sulat!
Lilly Petal flew to close to him. She knew better than to fly to close to any other breeze, but her lapse in attention brought her too close anyway. Her wings clipped Seabreeze's, causing him to spin.
He spun.
He fell.
He hit the ground. Hard.
And miles away, a baby flutter pony lost his father.
King Sombra to himself:
No! My Cryssstaaalllsss....
The wave of pure happiness washed over him. Much like the ponies below, his flesh turned to living gemstone too. But the dark magic within his body that kept him alive reacted poorly, rapidly decaying and building up pressure within him. His body cracked.
When the second wave of magic came, he shattered into dust.
And below, the smiling form of Princess Cadance never realized that she had one more murder on her soul.
Spot to Rover:
"Yes. Take them," you said.
"We still be able to pay Dogfather," you said.
"That it?" the Dogfather asked, adjusting the buttons on his very formal and astronomically expensive vest as he did so. "I give you three more months, and that it?"
The small cart full of gems looked even smaller to Spot than it had before. There was no way they would be getting out of this.
"Time and again, I give leeway. No more. Anything to say, mutts?"
"Whiny pony hurt ears," Fido admitted, rather idiotically too, "so we give gems to make shut up!"
"Give... gems... to... pony," the Dogfather said, as if feeling out each word to make sure he heard it correctly. "That it. Pla-"
"NO!" Spot barked. "No, please give 'nother chance! Please!" Tears were streaming from his eyes. "I have bitch, and pups! Please!"
The Dogfather paused to think. After an eternity of five seconds, he decided, "Hmmm... No. Play Dead."
Reginald the Dragon to himself:
Wasn't that the gem that the whelp touched?
It glinted off the floor, a little green gem that was noticeably out of place. Still irritated from the whelp's intrusion minutes ago, Reginald the Dragon plucked the stone between his claws. Instead of putting it back in its place in the hoard, he popped it into his mouth and swallowed it whole.
There was a strange, sharp pain in his stomach, but it was gone in a fraction of a second. Even if he had worried, there wasn't anything he could really do about it.
He first suspected that there was a problem when the ache in his chest refused to go away.
He first acknowledged that there definitely was a problem when he threw up the contents of his stomach, blood without meat.
Reginald first realized that he was dying when he couldn't stop vomiting.
Cookie Crumbles to Hondo Flanks:
You were right.
Cookie Crumbles had always loved sweets, be they her own namesake cookies or treats from Sugarcube Corner. At her age, though, the sweets weren't doing her any good. She was already on insulin, yet she couldn't find it in her to stop eating the sweets.
With one missed shot, she ate herself to death.
Hondo Flanks to Cookie Crumbles:
Yes, Dear.
Hondo Flanks had always been a drinker. Never heavy, just a beer or two every night since he had been old enough to drink, and only after his daughters had gone to bed. He held a good job, he had a loving wife, and had a nice home. Even when Rarity, his eldest, had moved out, he never drank more than two beers a night. They were fun drinks; he had nothing he wanted to forget or suppress like a binge drinker.
It was shortly after his second daughter, Sweetie Bell, had moved to Canterlot to attend university did things change. His wife passed away suddenly and without warning. Though Rarity was only across town, she couldn't fill the hole in his heart. It didn't work that way.
Months passed, and he was incredibly lonely. As his grief faded, he found himself in bars trying to pick up other mares, but without luck. And each time he came back, he would spend just a little more time and a little more money on alcohol.
And one night, a year from Cookie Crumbles's death, he wound up so drunk that his life... just slipped away.
A human OC to his story's readers:
What do you know? Applejack really is made of dark matter.
I followed behind Applejack as we carried buckets of water to her barn. It was a shame that the cows weren't flexible enough to operate the water pump themselves, otherwise we wouldn't have to do this job.
As I walked into the barn, I tripped over the slight step-up, sending my bucket of water flying, and eventually crashing, onto Applejack. She froze in place before shouting, "Run!"
I was confused. Was there something wrong? That didn't sound like she was angry, but fearful. My confusion only grew as the color started to drip off her fur, leaving nothing but a distortion in the air shaped like Applejack.
But worse, the longer I stood there, the harder running away became. Not for any psychological reasons, mind you, but for a literal gravitational pull that attracted me and everything in the barn to Applejack.
I slipped, falling towards the mare.
Rainbow Dash to Tirek:
Look behind you, if you dare.
The gigantic hoof seemed to crawl towards her, just as the rest of time did as well. She had no magic left; the only thing that gave her her speed was adrenaline. Yet even that was not enough to save Rainbow Dash her fate.
But as the hoof descended, a few inches an hour, Rainbow spotted a yellow blur near the enraged behemoth of a centaur's head. Fluttershy.
An eternity later, the hoof finally squashed Rainbow flat. But by the time it did, she had a smirk firmly in place.
Tirek to himself:
Those eyes... Those eyes... Those eyes... Those eyes... Those eyes... Those eyes... Those eyes... Those eyes... Those eyes... Those eyes... Those eyes... Those eyes... Those eyes... Those eyes... Those eyes... Those eyes... Those eyes... Those eyes... Those eyes... Those eyes... Those eyes...
His hoof slammed into the ground, crushing the Element of Loyalty into paste. Tirek smirked victoriously.
The centaur's good mood fell to annoyance the instant he saw the yellow pegasus fluttering around his head. YyOoUu KkIiLlLlEeDd HhEeRr!" the pegasus roared with the voice of the Leigion. His eyes met hers....
Those eyes...
So cruel...
Those eyes...
They were so all consuming...
Those eyes...
So full of hatred and rage and scorn...
Those eyes...
They were all he could see. They were all he could think about. They consumed his reality, no, they were his reality.
Those eyes...
They weighed so heavily on his heart that, at the moment he gazed upon him, his titanic organ imploded upon itself in grief and despair.
The magic he had stolen erupted out of him, returning to its rightful owners, but it didn't matter to Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash was gone.
Scootaloo to her flight instructor, then to herself:
I can fly! Please, let me try again! I'm not worthless!
I don't want to go to the factory...
"I'm sorry, you failed."
The words hit her like a ton of bricks.
That was it.
Her dreams had gone up in smoke.
The large stallions stepped up behind her and pressed a cloth into her muzzle before she could even begin to protest the decision. Within seconds, the sweet-smelling fumes made her too dizzy to stand, let alone fight back. As the world went black, Scootaloo let out a desperate, pitiful cry.
Flim to Flam:
Oops.
It was a simple mistake, really. The coolant looked just like the liquid mana fuel, and was stored in a similar jug. Yes, they were clearly labeled, and Flim knew which was which, but in his haste, he grabbed the wrong one to pour into their latest machine.
When he flipped the switch, it ran fine for a minute as the liquid mana did work as a coolent. However, the moment it reached the critical temperature...
There was no warning.
Flam to Flim:
I told you not to mix up the coolant and the liquid mana, and to keep small metal objects away from it!
Flim had just fired up their latest invention and stood watching it. Flam, who was standing further back, caught sight of the coolant jug that was suspiciously full. He turned to warn his brother when he was struck by a shockwave-propelled bolt.
Cheerilee to Berry Punch:
Hey Sis, you were right. Those fillies were the death of me.
Cheerilee sat quietly at her desk in the single-classroom schoolhouse. Her pencil quickly marking down the many errors on Diamond Tiara's essay. Outside the schoolhouse, the foals laughed and played as foals were supposed to. Well, all but a particular trio.
The CMC were playing, yes, but in a way that they should not have been. For you see, Sweetie Belle was up in a tree. Not just any tree, she was perched on the large branch hanging over the roof of the school building.
Crack!
The white filly froze in place, suddenly riddled with fear. Gradually, she started inching backwards, encouraged by the cries of her fellow CMC members and classmates. But each movement made the weakened limb creak more.
Snap!
Sweetie and the branch plumeted, crashing into and through the thin roof of the schoolhouse. The shock cracked the wall behind Cheerilee's desk, loosening the screw that held the chalkboard in place. The blackboard toppled over, landing directly on the back of Cheerilee's skull.
Applejack to the Chimera:
Ya, thats right. Eat me, ya varmit, and leave mah sister alone. I hope you choke.
Mud parted as fireproof boots plowed through the waterlogged soil. Flames erupted around the occupant of said boots, bathing her, her sister, and their three-headed pursuer in intense yellow light. A claw shot out, swiping at the back of the boot-wearing pony, severing the straps of the saddle bag in the process.
She could not stop to retrieve it.
Hooves tore through swamp, echoed by paw-steps behind. The smaller pony pulled ahead; her lithe, tiny body was less inhibited by the swamp. She jumped left, barely dodging an eruption of fire. Her rear hoof landed in the exact spot where her elder sister expected to land after similarly jumping a split-second later. The elder, surprised by her little sister's sudden move, contorted so that she would land close to - but not on top of - the foal.
And in that single instant after landing in which Applejack was off-balance, the venomous serpent tail of the Chimera struck.
Berry Punch to nopony in particular:
What happened last night?
Berry Punch, in her astute opinion, was feeling even more pathetic tonight than ever before. She had managed to stagger home even more drunk than usual. She hadn't been drinking at a party, nor at a restaurant, nor testing her personal wine collection. No, it had been cheep shots at some seedy little bar that could barely hold a dozen ponies and served drinks that tasted, in her astute opinion, like piss. Not that she would remember; excessive alcohol dose that to a pony.
She lay there face up on her bed, seconds away from passing out, wondering what the hay had gone wrong with her life. Before any conclusive answer could be conjured up by her intoxicated mind, the seconds before unconsciousness ticked out.
Roughly a thousand seconds later, about seventeen minutes since she fell unconscious, her irritated stomach decided to void itself of its problems. Berry Punch was still face up.
Babs Seed to the Cutie Mark Crusaders:
Why the hay did you girls kill me with a parade float? Eh buck you too.
They say a butterfly flapping its wings there can make a hurricane happen here. Events in Ponyville often have causes that are just as minor, yet equally far-fetching. For instance, Coudkicker was distracted by an actual butterfly, and ended up dropping the hay-burger she had been eating. The burger fell close enough to a certain mare to elicit a cry of "TWITCHY TAIL!" a split-second before. Applejack, having heard Pinkie Pie's warning, stopped walking towards her little sister's group and ducked down for a few seconds. Seeing that nothing was going to hit her, Applejack resumed her walk towards Applebloom. Because of this, her conversation started and ended a few seconds later than it would have if the burger hadn't been dropped.
In that time extra time elapsed, the golden apple and the lettuce head floats both covered ten yards more before the Cutie Mark Crusaders started pursuing. By the time the CMC were able to catch up to the golden apple, slight variations in the positions of the crowd had delayed them further by a few more seconds. When the lettuce was pushed off the road, it fell a few more meters because of the topography of the ground. By the time the trio had finally climbed to the road again, the trapped float was already carrying its passenger off the road.
Due to the delayed confrontation between the floats, the apple was in a different initial position when it finally went off the cliff. It laded far more deeply in the mud than it would have, and with only one occupant instead of three. That did not matter though, because the filly inside had been hit in the chest. If it had been fifteen milliseconds sooner or later, she would have walked away just fine. Instead, Babs Seed suffered a lethal case of commotio cordis, heart failure due to a perfectly timed impact.
Winona to Applebloom:
Why, Little Apple?
Winona stretched her stiff muscles in three of her legs. Her fourth leg was carefully held rigid, minimizing the pain it felt. Satisfied as much as she could be at her advanced age, she settled down by the blazing fire, and drifted off to sleep.
She awoke curled up next to the one she knew as Little Apple, and Little Apple was upset. Why was she upset? Was it the strange stallion in the back of the room that had made her sad? Winona did not know.
What she did know was that it was her duty to cheer Little Apple up. She snuggled closer to to Little Apple, and Little Apple did the same to Winona.
The elderly canine caught a pleasant scent. Cheese. Little Apple had Cheese! Winona yipped, excitedly asking for the cheese from the sad mare. Little Apple obliged, placing the cheese cubes in front of Winona's muzzle. The dog eagerly crawled forwards, yelping as her bad hip gave a sharp stab of pain, but continuing anyway. Winona stuck her tongue out, wrapping it around the cheese cube before pulling it back into her mouth.
At the same time, the strange stallion had moved around behind her. She paid him no mind. What she did pay attention to was the sudden, sharp pain in her side, much like that time she had been stung by a bee. Winona whipped her head around, looking back to see a clear cylinder floating away in a cloud of yellowish grey magic. She tried to bark, but the sound came out strange. She barked again, but it barely came out as a whimper.
The world dimmed. Winona felt so tired. She looked at Little Apple, who looked back at Winona with eyes flooded with grief.
The world went black.
Opalescence to Rarity:
Thank Bastet, I'm finally free of you!
The warden gazed enviously up upon the elegance of Her Imperial Majesty, Ruler of Everything Glorious and Feline - Opalescence to the mere mortals - as she sat on her high throne of soft fabrics. Did that worm really believe that she, Her Imperial Majesty, Ruler of Everything Glorious and Feline, would be tempted by kibble and tuna? The feisty feline chattered quietly to express her irritation.
The irritation quickly grew to righteous fury when thee warden's hideous facial protrusion ignited with atrocious blue-white light and proceed to envelop her in the same Bastet-awful light. With a hiss, Opalescence tried to fight her way to freedom even as the light yanked her off her perch and to the peasant's floor below. The moment that disgusting energy released her, she bolted out the door as fast as her graceful legs would carry her, while of course taking every effort to maintain the level of dignity of one of her position. She was nothing less than perfect, after all. Even the cat goddess Batset was merely Opalescence's equal in all things.
She stopped running a short distance later, when she knew she was free of pursuit. Her stomach made its insurrection clear, worryingly displeased with Opalescence's wise and proper decision to avoid sullying her body with tuna and kibble. Her despairing thoughts were put to rest when the tell-tale squeak of a mouse graced her velvety ears.
She turned in place, predator mode activated and senses on overdrive. Opalescence crouched, easily spotting the scrumptious morsel scuttling under the cabinet. One step, then two, and a third.
She pounced.
The feline only had a second to realize that she had plowed right into the wooden wardrobe before a large bolt of fabric, wound tightly around a wooden rod and no longer precariously balanced on top of the furniture, violently announced its arrival. Her Imperial Majesty, Ruler of Everything Glorious and Feline, never discovered what, exactly, dense wood did to the mind of a cat, but she had a pretty good impression of it.
Gummy:
...
Gummy sat there, blinked once, and died.
Lyra Heartstrings to Bon Bon:
I told you that they were real!
Light blossomed forth from Lyra's horn while her mare-friend cheered her on from safely behind two feet of reinforced concrete. The light, blinding in intensity, suddenly cut out without so much as a sound.
"Lyra?" Bon Bon hesitantly inquired.
As the blood quieted its pounding in the confectioner's skull, she began to hear a panting breath com from around the corner. Slowly, Bon Bon exposed her head. She gasped.
There in front of her very much alive mare-friend was a glistening ripple in space and time. "I *huff* did it, *huff* Bonnie!"
"You... certainly did. Well done, Lyra," Bon Bon agreed.
"Well done? Just well done? I'd say Awesomely done!" Lyra did a little happy dance.
Bon Bon smiled. "You are so much like your cousin, Vinyl, when you do that."
Lyra chuckled. "I know. COME ON! Let's go!" Without waiting for a reply, the mint-green unicorn launched herself through the portal into the world beyond.
"Wait! Lyra!" Bon Bon cried out as she pursued her lover. She too jumped through the portal, landing right next to Lyra who was standing - quite unexpectedly too - on a busy sidewalk next to a sign that read Nagasaki Chūtō Gakkō*.
While Lyra was in a little bit of shock from seeing all her theories finally be proven true, Bon Bon was a little more composed. The duo was surrounded by tall, minotaur-like creatures with small, squinting eyes, who were obviously just as startled by the ponies as they were of them.
"Sorera no mono wa nanidesu ka?" one of the creatures asked.
Another responded, "Watashi wa shiranai ga, karera wa sukoshi uma no yō ni mieru."
A droning noise sounded from overhead, causing all of the occupants of that particular sidewalk, pony or alien, to look up. Bon Bon spotted what looked like a solitary, silver bird flying overhead, but dismissed it as irrelevant considering her current situation.
"Bonnie..."
"Yes, Lyra?"
The mint-green unicorn never got to answer, as a brilliant light erupted from high above the city. The light of the spell that had brought them here, and that Bon Bon had called blinding, was a firefly in comparison to this light.
Their shadows were the only things left of them.
Gilda to Rainbow Dash:
You don't know how much your friendship with me was worth. You don't know how much it cost me.
I hope you never find out.
You're my best friend, even if we haven't really talked in forever.
Even if our last meeting was a flop, I... like you. As a friend.
Dweeb.
There was something to be said about those griffins that lived among ponies. Among those that did, it was a testament to their willpower. To be able to resist the temptation, knowing that your friends and neighbors were literally some of the sweetest, juiciest cuts of meat on the planet, to be able to bear the scorn of being a carnivore in a land of herbivores who were not above making their opinions known, one had to be amazingly tough. But, to those griffins who did not live among ponies, the vast majority, those who did were considered social deviants. To be a pony-lover was, in their eyes, the same as a pony having relations with a salad.
On a different note, one particular griffin hen had what could be considered the most intricate case of artificial dissociative identity disorder ever. Born and raised Giordana Leonetti, daughter to the crime boss "Big Lion" Leonetti, she was raised a canary in a gilded cage, ready to sing at her father's notice. A quiet girl, she always did what she was told, or else. Giordana, as it turned out, was also one of the most skilled improvisational actors of her generation.
Grizelda, or "Gilda," no surname, was her greatest masterpiece. Conjured at a whim, she donned the mask the day she ran away from home. Within two weeks, she had dyed her fur, conjured a complex and unverifiable back-story, and got a home at Cloudsdale Public Orphanage. Gilda was everything Giordana had wanted to be, but was not. Brash, bold, and athletic, Gilda became fast friends with Rainbow Dash. In fact, their relationship was so solid that in time, it was Gilda that was the true personality and the "little dweeb" that was Giordana became the discarded mask.
Three years went by and her "family" found her and brought her back. Easily disguising herself as Giordana, Gilda bode her time until escape was hers. Six years later, she found her chance to escape.
Thus Gilda found herself in Ponyville once more, only to be humiliated by Pinkie Pie. The part of her that she had inherited from her father, Gilda's/Giordana's pride and arrogance, was infuriated at the embarrassment, so much so that she had not cooled down by the time her guards found her. And, for the first time ever, Gilda and Giordana broke character, admitting to being a pony-lover.
Her father, who's pride was twice Gilda's and Giordana's, combined, believed that any humiliation his "family" suffered reflected worse on him. He would not stand for that.
Thus, it was Gilda, not Girodana, who marched into her other's father's office for the last time, head held high.
Tom to Rarity:
Why did you stop believing in me? Why do you think me worthless?
The strange thing about magic is that it is inherently intuitive and illogical. The magic channeled through a unicorn has some order because it passes through a semi-orderly mind, thus making magical research as much a study in psychology as arcane physics. When a mind is magically destabilized, let's say by someone like Discord, the afflicted tends to "leak" semi-structured mana. Usually, this mana dissipates within minutes, unless of course it is stuck to an object by heavy focus. You could even say obsession would be a more apt term.
Rarity was obsessed with a boulder while leaking mana, giving birth to "Tom." While not technically alive, as Rarity maintained a connection to it, the mana was able to react to stimuli and shared access to her soul, and thus was alive in the way a finely crafted homunculus was.
The moment the connection was cut, the moment Twilight used her memory spell on Rarity, the manaform-psudosoul named Tom ceased to be. It's last though before it was extinguished was a plea for life.
Twilight Sparkle to Spike:
You were right. Summoning was a terrible idea.
I̫̪̩̙ț̜̪͔͈͎ͫͮ̌̅̆̈ͫ ̣̺̃h͎̝̪̠̙̅͒͂̍̇̆ạ͉̞̠͉̺̰̏̄͊ͤp̻̩͕̦͈̲͇p̣̌̈́ë̺̖̣͉́ͬ͛͐͊̐̚ne̦̔ͥ̓ͦ͐ͤ͑d̻̬̼̭̝̩͚̿͊͗͂ ̉̀ͨ̔̅́ͧi̜̖̠̟̣ͤ̇ṅ̥̯̝̩̼̅̓̿͂ͤͭ ̩̰̮̄ͩ͛a̟̖̳̘̠̙̋ͩ̍̾̊ ̫͔̪̭̦̣̀̂̐̈ͦ̀̚m̦͆̀ȯ͎̖m̫̳͉͕̤e̓ͧͮ̍̄ͧ̌ñ͗̏ͯ͋̐ͮt̼͓̜͖̹ͤ.̗̯̮̻̪̩̯̇̄ ͎̣̋̅͒̌̎̓̚
̺̼͙̩̇ͣ͌͋̽͑̈́Tͦͣh̫̀ͮ̑ͭ͂e̪͂̽̓ ͇̖̰͇̰̟͉͂s̞̻͖͇ͩͪ̐̈́̿̓ů̩̥͂̊̉͛̉m̮̫̻̳̳̳̓ͅm̬͉̥̏̾̀̿̎o̗͆͋̍̒̂n̳̭̼ͩ͌̊̓ͧ̋ị̋ͦͧͬn͕̩͍̼̥̺̈́ͬͭg̪̫̿ͧͥ͆͗ ̻̮̫͎̘ͧ̇̇ͮͥͫp̯̹̉̑͋̽͒ͅo̦̖͙̫̬ͬ̔̐ͦr̅̓̏ͮt̝̃̄ͥͥ͆ͅǎ̉l͈ͥ͒ ̼͔̣̣̽o͔̲̠̔̇p̺̤̰̩̩̪̆e̦̪ͦͨͮ͌͌ṋͤ̊̍̂̅͗e̘̩̰̳̺̖̾d͈̻̤̮̜̯̹̄͆̇̎̋̇̈́.̓ͤ̓͗
̜͚̣̩̱͈̇ͩ͊́̇͐T̥̟̋̑ͭ͛̌̽͒w̩̥͈̙̬̘̉ͅil͉̘̇ͨ̚i̬͛̀̌̊̊ͦǵ̠̔̋̎hͬ̒t͖̫͚̠͊̍ͧ͂ͤ͌ ̝̤̩̦͆̽ͪ͒a͍̜̖͍̬ͮ̀̅̽̓̀̎n̐͛͋d̯̬̱͎͚̼̙͆̉ Sp̩̦̲̭̜̤̆̄i͚̫͖̅k̤̹̯̟̀̌ͮͧ̎e̹͙͕̦̻̤̼͊ ̖͚l̩̞̳̜̼̗͒͊͛̿ͨ͗̎ö̟̪͍́͂o̹̰̺̣̓͗̋̍ͫ́ͬk̩̹̈́ͭ̌̓̂e̻͈̦̥̱̖d͉̫͔̺͚̱̜ͬͭ́̎.̫̤̗̭̭̖̻
̥̪͖̣̲̯ͩ̔ͬ̚T̤̳̯̥̰͐̿ͣͥ͆̋ͅh͇̱ͯ̿ͯ̽ͤě͎̬̺͙̂̓̊̌y͇̼͆ͬͫ̉ͫ̍̆ ̼͉̦́̈ͫ̒ͥ̈̓s͕͍̣̖̰̥͌̑̃̅a̯̗͙̾̾͑ͮͤw̬̒͊ͭ̽̏ͥ ̙͖̫͓͈̄̏ͅO̖̩̞͒̇͗b̼͓̼̙̊ͤ́̌͊̑l͋̑̓ͧ̆ͮi̮͂͆ͅv̹͚͓͖̗̥ͥͮ̾͋̋̋ḯ̝͔ͦ͂͗͊ö̤̣́̓ͩ̂n͚̑̍.̼̳̗̾
͕̩͖̲͖͛̅T͎̞͍̍̇̊ḥ͙͓̮͗͛ẽ̱̳̣̦͍y͔͎̲̺̿ͤ̈ͬ͗ ͔̦̜̮̰̏̿͛ͅk͙̗̮͊̂ͯ̿̚n̦̳͎̜ͤ͑ͬ̅́̈̾è̥͚̈́w̠̲͖̟ͯ̋͛̊ͥ ̪ͥ͛ͯe̺̜͙͍̳̘̍̇̑͗ṱ̝̬̙̠̾ẹ͑ͫ̿̃ͤ̊͐r͙̫̗̝̟̳̝͛̈́ͦ́̉̿n͍ͮi̭̱̳͐̆̓̑̿̅̓ͅt̗̻̯͎ͧ͂͐̉͆ͅyͥ̉̾.̰͇͓͍͂ͥ̑ͮ̇
͓́̎̔̂̅͋Ṗ̳͇͉ͅo͓ͧ̈́̐͛̔ͫnͣ̉͊͋͂̌̚y̮͐͂̅̎͆̂̚ ̭̠͇͔ͥͩͨä͎̯̰͙̺̞́̀̄n̙̮͈̦d̪̹̯͊ͅ ͙̭̺̥d͎̩̠̊̎̐ͤ̉̑̚r͔͇̣̩̱ͭͬ̌̊ͨa͔g̱̥̟̳̏̅̇o̰̺̳n̐͛͌ͭ̏ ̭ͯ̔͛́w̘̺͈͌̈ͪ̚e̗̜̲͆͆r͖̱e̻̯̫̯͔̺ͣ̅ͪ ̖̙̺̗͖͇͐͂͌̏̉ͮͅn̦ȏ͓̭̖̘́͑͋̏ͤͅ ͉̮̯̪͗m̪͉͈̏o͕͇͔͚̲͇ŕȇ͚̏̈́̊ͨ͛̚ͅ.̪̙̏̑̅̒̌
A random mare:
Is this really it?
He had wanted her purse.
He had a knife.
She tried to run.
He launched it with magic.
He took her bag.
He ran.
She did not.
Spitfire to Soarin:
When I get my hooves on you...
There once was a mare, Spitfire,
Who wanted to fly much higher...
He clipped her flight,
Soared out of sight,
And lit her funeral pyre.
Soarin to the Grim Reaper:
I crashed into a mare named Pinkie Pie, who was holding a pie, and you mean to tell me that I'm not going to the Big Pie in the Sky?
Yes, sir?
There was one more thing.
Were there any more messages?
There was one more.
How many ponies were involved?
There was one.
Was somepony killed?
There was.
Where did he die?
There.
What were his last words?
Iron Will to himself:
Now that you're dead,
fill your enemies with dread.
I like it.
Sweat glistened on his short, blue body hair, accenting the rippling muscles underneath. A series of grunts escaped his lips, vaguely reminiscent of one of his trademark motivational statements if you listened closely enough. The dumbbells that occupied his grip moved up and down in time with the bulging meat powering them.
"...Ninety eight. Ninety nine. One hundred." Satisfied, he returned the two thirty-pound weights to the rack, which groaned under the weight of all the equipment on it. He turned and examined himself in the mirror, and frowned. It wasn't enough. How could he motivate others if he weren't perfectly sculpted, the ultimate expression of his own motivation and dedication?
"You've got the power," Iron Will told himself. "Now make your enemies cower!" He flashed his signature grin and gave a thumbs up, and then immediately turned away from his reflection. His eyes were hollow, his smile fake, and his words empty, he felt. More strength, more conviction, bigger muscles. Yes, that was what he needed, he decided. Maybe then he could convince himself that what he said was actually true.
The shelf behind him creaked once, then gave way. The dumbbell that he had been exercising with earlier came tumbling down and smashed against the back of his left leg, cracking the tuber calcaneus. A small fragment was broken off, but remained relatively in place. That is, it stayed put until the pained minotaur tried to make his way out of his basement to get to his doctor. The fragment dislodged, getting pushed into a vein in the process. Slowly, the bone shard worked it's way up to Iron Will's heart.
Owlowiscious to Peewee:
Lucky bastard. Regeneration is cheating.
Impact.