I Die at the End

by phlamingsoul

Rating: teen
Tags: Anthro, Dark, Alternate Universe
Length: 3088

They said I was mad. And now I have to hunt down a madpony... The irony is not lost on me. I just hope I don't go from hunter to hunted...

My name is Sunshine.

They said I was a violent, sociopathic madpony.

They're wrong.

I have morals. They're just different from theirs.

They locked me up, bound me to a table, and did all in their power to unlock the secrets of my mind.

It's a shame most secrets are meant to be kept hidden.

They told me they wanted to help me.

To fix me.

You can't fix what's not broken.

Then they put me to sleep.

For years.

Probably threw away the key, too, bastards.

Shame somepony didn't want me to disappear quite yet.

A murderer is on the prowl in Ponyville, the town where all harbor secrets, and I have to find him.

Or her. I don't gender-discriminate.

Aaaaaaand ponies keep trying to be my friends.

Don't they know all friends die in the end?

A side story to Assassin of Kings and Queens

____________________________________________________________________________________________

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Tags will be added as the story progresses.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2016-10-11 03:42:10 UTC

Prologue: Introductions

They call me Sunshine.

Ironic, really. My coat is grey, my mane and tail black. Only my eyes shine, a brilliant gold in a dark landscape.

But that's just when I kill somebody.

My eyes are what got me into this mess into the first place, strapped down to a table, harsh lights seeming to burn away at my very essence.

They say my eyes used to be blue.

They also say that I'm a homicidal madpony.

They want to know why, though which "why" never really mattered to me.

They ask me about my past, about my urges, but they're never satisfied with the answers.

Why ask if they won't even listen to me?

I here ponies talking, just out of sight.

Hm. I can't move my head.

I don't like this.

I need to be able to move, to run, to jump, to hunt, to kill.

I need to feel the blood soaking my fur, my hooves crushing somepony's throat.

They say I killed my sister. That I attacked her without provocation.

They know nothing.

I had to kill her. She would have gotten me first.

Her name was Mockingbird. I don't know why this is significant to me. She tried to kill me, too.

I killed her with a pillow, slowly suffocating her.

A terrible way to die. No blood. A long, prolonged death.

I want to die quickly, with barely any pain. I want, and try, to grant others the death I wish upon myself.

Is that fair or equal? That I would do unto others that I wish upon myself?

Hm.

They stopped talking. I can hear the clopping of hooves as they approach.

The sound sounds fake, synthetic.

Wrong.

Maybe a plastic tile floor?

I can't see them, even when the clopping stops.

Heh. Clopping.

I can't move my head to look.

Why did they strap my head?

The straps feel like leather.

It has to be synthetic.

They hate leather.

Why are ponies so against leather when they adore silk? Animals die for both materials.

They're asking me something.

"Can you repeat that?" I implore.

My voice echoes too much in my head.

"Are you comfortable, Mr. Sunshine?" They ask me.

"No," I reply stoically. My left hind leg is falling asleep, pins and needles seeming to poke and prod all along my leg.

They laugh. It sounds forced.

Fake.

Liars.

One is a mare. She sounds young.

Sadistic.

Like my sister.

She needs to die.

The other is a stallion. His breathing is heavy. He's old, tired.

Needs to be put to rest.

"Now, please relax, Mr. Sunshine," the mare tells me.

"It will all be over soon."

I feel a prick in my foreleg, quickly followed by a feeling of dizziness and exhaustion.

And cold. So very cold.

They drugged me.

Drugs have negative side effects. Don't do drugs.

If a drug is something that chemically alters a body, is food a drug?

Why don't ponies want foals to eat?

What was I thinking about?

It's hard to think...

Drugs. Yes, drugs.

They plan on "treating" me.

They think they can cure me of insanity.

How can they cure what isn't there? I don't do the same thing over and over, expecting different results.

I am sane. They are not.

Wait.

The sensation is wrong.

And they told me it would all be over.

I'm going to die.

Or just sleep until my heart decides it's had enough dicking around.

I feel a sensation of falling.

It's dark. I can't see or hear the doctors anymore.

I don't like the dark.

Scary things hide in the dark.

Chapter 1: Awakening

/edit so anthro

I wake to an incredibly bright light, one I haven't felt in a long time.

It is a warm light.

Soft light.

Bright light.

Maker dammit, that is really bright.

I move to cover my eyes with a foreleg... and succeed.

That's new.

Usually something stops me from moving.

Straps or straightjackets are the usual route of immobilization in the facility.

And now they're gone.

Not to say the sudden freedom of movement is unappreciated.

I remember now.

I died.

Or, at least, I was supposed to.

Right?

...I'm stalling.

I crack open my eyes, taking in my surroundings.

Bed, dresser, window, nightstand...

I'm in a bedroom.

How strange.

I crawl out of bed, only to sprawl on the floor when my legs refuse to support my weight.

...It seems the lack of physical exercise has taken a toll on my physical strength.

That's no fun.

I drag my body toward the dresser, ignoring the sunlight burning through the partially drawn curtains.

Pulling myself up with a decent amount of effort, I examine my reflection in the mirror resting on the dresser.

Resting... That sounds nice...

Getting off track again.

My reflection looks back at me with sunken, dull, blue eyes, my emaciated frame looking to be barely able to support life, let alone movement.

It takes me a moment to realize something.

Blue eyes.

They're blue again.

Curious-er and curious-er.

I carefully return myself to the ground, my legs shaking from the strain of holding me up.

Damn legs.

I attempt to take a step forward.

WHAM

Damn legs.

I opt to crawl forward, dragging my body towards the door across floor me.

The carpet feels nice...

Focus, Sunshine.

Door.

Get to.

By the time I got to the door, I'm gasping for breathe, as if I'd just run a marathon.

I look back to gauge just how far I'd crawled.

My ears droop when I see the paltry distance to the dresser.

I'm really beginning to regret not doing any exercise during my time at the facility.

Oh, wait. I was never able to, on account of STRAPS.

Damn facility.

Damn doctors.

Damn tests.

Damn sister.

I reach up to the door handle, intent on opening the door, rage and irritation energizing my muscles.

Locked.

...Mother fucker!

Oedipony.

Stop that, brain.

Hm... Now what?

...I here footsteps approaching.

What a strange word, footstep. Nopony has feet.

The footsteps stop outside my door.

Maybe I can overpower the pony on the other side...

That's hilarious. I'd have more luck defeating one of the Princesses in a magic duel.

I don't even have a horn!

The door clicks as it unlocks.

WHAM

It proceeds to smash into my face as it opens.

That hurt.

That really hurt.

With a capital "F."

At least now I'm a hundred percent certain I'm not dead.

Damn doctors, not loo-

"OH MY GOODNESS, ARE YOU OK?!"

That... is not a voice I recognize.

Definitely a mare...

Maybe a new doc-

"YOUR FACE IS BLEEDING! I'M SO SORRY!"

Doctors never apologize unless you're going to die soon, which means you will not be able to tell anyone about their break in professionalism.

So not a doc-

"STAY RIGHT THERE! I'LL BE BACK WITH HELP!"

I can't see anything through the pain, but I can hear the mare make a speedy exit.

Stay right there...

This mare either didn't see my body, is half-blind, or is stupid.

...I'm still next to the door.

Wait, is that the sound of footsteps again?

...FUCKING DAM-

WHAM

"I'M SO SORRY!"

Everything is pain.

"Ditzy, get away from the door, please."

What did I do to deserve this?

Oh, yeah. I killed my sister, and my eyes changed color.

I can't feel my face anymore.

Hm... My leg is twitching.

I must have been hit pretty hard for that to happen.

I'm being lifted up.

Telekinesis is so useful.

I'm being lifted into bed by a green glow.

Green is a terrible hair color.

At least, that's what I heard.

My muzzle is gushing blood.

Stupid whorse, smashing my face with a door.

The pain is subsiding.

That's good.

I can see now.

That's also good.

The mare next to me looks angry.

That's bad.

My nose is still bleeding.

Also bad.

She's a unicorn.

Still mad?

Really fucking bad.

"What in Equestria were you doing by the door?!" she seethes.

What could I be doing other than trying to escape?

"You could have hurt yourself!"

I think I liked the doctors better. At least they drugged me before doing damage.

"Or, you know, more damage than was done," she says somewhat sheepishly.

Oh, look. She's not mad anymore.

I should kill her before she gets mad again.

...I'm too weak to move.

"Just rest up, OK?" she says.

She looks worried, as if I might do something to hurt myself again.

Now, why would I hurt myself on purpose?

That's counterproductive.

She's staring at me.

She has green eyes, black fur, and a green mane.

Green is a horrible color for a mane.

I swallow, as if to respond.

She smiles at me.

Fucking bipolar mares.

She trots out of the room, the door slamming behind her.

The lock clicks.

...That light is really bright.

Chapter 2: The Job

It's been a week.

It feels like it's been longer.

I stay in bed all day, doing nothing.

Don't want to anger the unicorn.

That would be bad.

Might get hurt again.

...

I should feel like I should need to use the bathroom by now.

I don't.

Which is strange.

Stranger than your sister trying to stab you.

Or smothering her back.

Or being locked up.

Or being interrogated and tested on for THREE FUCKING YEARS!

Or not dying from a supposedly lethal injection.

...

The unicorn's name is Night Light.

She introduced herself.

I'm still not sure why.

I'm not staying here any longer than I have to.

The pegasus is Ditzy Doo.

She has a daughter, Dinky.

And a husband, Timeturner Whooves.

He has a doctorate in Theoretical Physics, Physics, and Mechanical Engineering.

He builds clocks.

Ditzy gives other ponies mail.

What a dick move, giving bills to ponies she doesn't even know.

Ditzy talks to me alot.

I'm not sure why I listen.

Not sure why she talks.

Why I'm here, and not in a padded cell or on an examination table.

I'm not sure of many things.

I here hoofsteps outside.

Hmm...

Hoofsteps...

That doesn't quite sound right.

Even if it makes more sense than "footsteps."

Night Light comes into my room.

Heh.

My room.

It's a cell, even if it doesn't have the pads or reinforced door.

She looks worried.

Mares do scary things when they're worried.

Like try to kill other ponies.

"He's right in here, ma'am."

Oh, a figure of higher status.

How interesting.

We never get those around here.

...Wait, "we?"

A tall, white pony strides in.

I look at her horn.

I look at her wings.

I look at her multi colored mane, flowing in an ethereal wind.

I look at her eyes.

She's staring at mine.

She's a Princess.

Considered by some to be the Princess.

Why don't some ponies like Luna?

Sure, she went on a little rampage a couple years back, but she did her time.

Repented for her crimes.

Was reformed.

Changed.

Princess Celestia is still staring at me.

Have either of us blinked yet?

"Miss Light, may I please speak with Mister Sunshine in private?"

She's still staring.

She has pretty eyes.

I wonder if anyone has told her that before?

"O-of course, Princess," Night Light says hastily, leaving the room.

The door closes.

Celestia is still staring.

It's kinda creepy.

She breaks her gaze on me, moving to the window.

I blink when she's not looking.

Her back is turned to me as she looks out the window.

Nice butt.

Shame it's attached to a mare that's thousands of years old and would probably turn me to stone if I told her what a nice butt it was.

"Do you know why you are here, Mister Sunshine?"

Ooh, yes-or-no questions!

Those are no fun.

"No," my mouth says.

"Do you know where you are?"

"No."

"Why did you kill your sister?"

Ooh, now a good question!

A question that requires...

Oh, who am I kidding.

I've been asked this question far too many times.

"Because she tried to kill me."

"Would you do it again?"

...That one's new.

That one requires some thought.

A debate over the moralities of-

You know what?

Fuck it.

"Yes."

Who cares about morality?

She tried to kill me.

I was just better at it than she was.

Celestia nods her head thoughtfully.

"There is something I'd like to ask you."

You mean, other than the other questions?

Damn, mare, you're worse than one of the psycholo-

"Can you kill somepony for me?"

...

WHAT THE SHIT, PRINCESS?!

I THOUGHT YOU WERE AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY!

WHY THE FUCK WOULD I DO THAT?!

"Why?" my mouth says.

NOT THAT I'M AGAINST THE WHOLE "DEATH IF THEY DESERVE IT" THING, BUT DAMN!

"There's somepony out their who's hurting my little ponies," the princess said gravely as she turned toward me.

That didn't sound like some strange product placement.

Nope.

Not one bit.

"I need you to find the whoever, or whatever, is doing this, and put a stop to it."

Well, that's not cryptic at all.

Nope.

Not one bit.

Then something occurs to me.

"Why?"

She seems taken aback.

"Why?" she repeats.

You're not a parrot.

Don't go repeating what I say.

Even if you kinda look like a parrot.

Except for the butt.

One hundred percent very nice pony butt.

I'm getting off track.

"Why can't you do it?" my mouth asks.

She's silent for a minute, staring at me.

...Fifty nine alligator...

...Sixty alligator...

...Sixty one alli-

"Because I can't."

That took a while.

"I can't find whomever is doing this to my little ponies,-"

Not product placement.

Nope.

Not one bit.

"-and even if I could, no punishment I would give would be enough to forgive that pony his or her crimes."

Good job for including both genders.

Top marks.

"So, let me get this straight," my mouth says.

"Not even being turned to stone or banishment to the moon is punishment enough for the crimes a mortal pony has done?"

Good one, mouth.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

"Not for what this pony has done."

Again, that's not cryptic at all.

Nope.

Not one bit.

She has pretty eyes.

Not in the sense that a mare in makeup is pretty.

She knows things that would make a pony go mad.

Those are the eyes of those who have killed.

Who want to kill again.

Who can't.

Or won't, whichever the case may be.

But I can.

"So I find whoever, or whatever, is 'hurting' the citizens of Equestria, and put a permanent stop to a temporary, if long-winded, problem. What's in it for me?"

Would the act of helping ponies by killing be enough for me?

Would that satisfy the itch in my hooves to end the lives of those around me?

"A clean slate."

Well.

That's not underwhelming at all.

Nope.

Not one bit.

"And a job, working for the Equestrian government in matters that may require your skills."

So, being paid to kill criminals?

Is that morally just?

...Oh, who am I kidding.

"I accept," my mouth says.

Celestia smiles at me.

I don't like that smile.

It's the smile of someone getting exactly what they wanted.

And what they expected to get.

Her eyes aren't so pretty anymore.

Chapter 7: An End...

I stood before the mare I knew to be Chrysalis, my accusations fading into the air as she meet my glare with a cool, level gaze.

The two Guards holding me stared questioning at their Queen, waiting for the order to drag me away, most likely to a grim and not-so-painless end.

"Release this... Sunshine," she ordered her guards, a cruel smirk staining her face. To think, not a month had passed since I had believed with all my heart that this mare had been my Princess. How wrong I had been.

The Guards hesitated, but released my arms, the dagger still clutched in my right hand.

"Leave us. Now." The Queen's declaration stunned the Guards, but they hurried to exit the throne room, shutting the door behind them. Two soft thumps quickly followed.

Ignoring the sound, the Queen addressed me, her voice taking on an air that confused me," I assure you, my dear stallion, that I have not murdered your pathetic Princess. If anything, I'm the only being keeping her alive."

My mind reeled, but my eyes hardened. I could feel the change, the color flooding my irises as a cool contempt filled my mind. I had slipped, damn it. Shadow had control now. He sneered at the Queen, twirling the dagger between his fingers.

"That so, Chryssi?" He said in a voice not quite my own, causing the Queen to bristle.

"I distinctly remember an occasion where you tried to not only kill Celestia, but enslave all the defenseless ponies of Canterlot. A coup," Shadow continued," that not only led to not only the deaths of thirty two Guards, but sixty seven civilians, as well as leaving Celestia in a vulnerable state for almost an entire week."

I felt myself approach the mare before me, my dagger's hilt slipping into my hand as I held the weapon at the ready.

"Now." My body stopped, it's feature's twisting into a rage-filled mask.

"WHERE IS SHE?!" I lunged at Chrysalis, my thirst for truth and Shadow's thirst for blood fueling our motion.

SHLINK

Our forward momentum lurched to a halt as something unnervingly cold slipped between our ribs and through our heart.

As our vision slowly began to fail, we turned our head to view our attacker. A black-and-red unicorn, dressed in an extravagant yet functional tunic, held the hilt of the sword between our ribs. The ruby in the cross guard shimmered as our-no, my blood began to stain the blade red. The gold faded from my eyes as I stared uncomprehendingly into his crimson eyes. His mouth moved, though his words fell upon un-hearing ears. My body lurched forward as the stallion wrenched the sword out of my swiftly-turning-limp body, before the blade swung in a graceful arc towards my neck.

I became briefly aware that my head was no longer connected to my shoulders.

I found my head to be lying on the marble floor, my vision slowly turning to darkness, as my killer turned to the false Celestia, and bowed.

We failed... I thought to Shadow, but no response came.

And so, I died.