Now
Firearms. What was the reason? Why were they made? Of course, deep down, Twilight Sparkle knew why.
They were made to combat the threat to Equestria.
Considering everything, that idea was almost laughable. In other circumstances, she may have actually laughed.
The rain poured on, indifferent to the tragic comedy that played on below. Lightning struck the ground near were Twilight Sparkle lay on the ground.
All around her, the corpses of her dearest friends lay. Unfortunately, the fight was far from over. In fact, the fight had barely just begun.
This war, this threat, had reached it's warlike state only three weeks ago. Three week ago, had it only been three weeks? To Twilight, it felt like an eternity ago.
She rose from her place on the ground as another lightning bolt struck the ground, this one even closer, mud and other debris flew past her.
A cold steel determination lit her eyes, her wings were spread, as an act of defiance, she refused to be beat.
In the mud, was her tiara, the symbol of the element she represented, the element of magic. Her horn glowed as she lifted it from the mud. From somewhere in the darkness ahead, she heard a chittering laugh.
Her horn glowed with a magic purple light, and the tiara within her magical grasp shattered. "You wanted this!" she screamed, "I'm on your level now!"
She felt ahead with her magic, and found what she wanted. As her magic closed around the firearm, lightning struck again.
Three Days Ago
"Ah don't know Twi, is this a good idea?" Apple Jack asked, in her southern drawl.
"Yes," Twilight sighed, "we need to make sure everypony is far away from here"
Rainbow Dash was hovering a little ways above the ground, looking nervous. "Don't you think that the guards should at least stay? We might need the back up," most of Rainbow Dash's over confidence had left when the killing started a week ago.
"No," Twilight said firmly, "They would be putting themselves in needless danger," she was silent a moment, "Look girls, when have the elements ever failed us?"
No one spoke up, the answer was obvious, the elements had never failed, but deep down, they all knew the real reason she wanted everypony gone. Twilight wanted to make sure she was the one who did this. She wanted revenge.
One week after the killing started, Twilight had gone to Canterlot alone, to speak with Celestia, pleading with her to stop production of the firearms, trying to convince her that magic would do fine, and they didn't need to sink to their enemies level. Of course, Celestia knew that these weapons, no matter how barbaric, were necessary.
When Twilight had returned home, she found out.
While she was away, a regiment of changelings had come through Ponyville. They had killed quite a few, and at one point, they were preparing to execute Sweetie Belle, and Spike had jumped forward to save her. The changeling put a bullet into his head, killing him instantly. A jagged hole went through his eye socket, and out the rear of his skull.
The regiment was destroyed shortly after, but at a terrible cost. The CMC were forever scarred by this act of cruelty, unparalleled in Equestrian history.
Twilight's older brother lost his life defending the small village. The local mail mare, as well as many others, had lost their lives as well.
Rainbow Dash, Apple Jack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie all knew exactly why she wanted everypony else gone. Twilight wanted to extract her revenge.
Now
Twilight quickly got a feel for the death machine gripped tightly in her magic, checked the load, and stood her ground.
Silence rained supreme for what felt like an eternity, only the pounding and driving rains, pouring like the heavens had unleashed the flood gates.
Twilight was soaked to the bone, her mane limp with the weight of the water, her coat soaked through and covered in mud.
A chittering laugh, right near her made itself known. She fired the weapon blindly into the night, directing the barrel were she heard the laugh.
'Is this the face of war?' Twilight thought, while slowly moving the firearm back and forth, 'Is this what it comes down to? Standing alone with no one to help you?'
Twilight felt the presence of the bodies scattered around her. Her best friends, her sisters.
She heard another chitter, and fired. "Come out and fight me!" Twilight screamed into the night.
Silence.
Two Days Ago
The plans were laid out. The preparations made. The bearers of the elements of harmony were ready to do what needed to be done.
They were standing in a clearing, on the outskirts of the Equestrian nation. Preparing to end the threat to their homelands once and for all.
They felt a presence with them in the clearing. They prepared for anything.
"Oh calm down, I mean really, after all this time, you still don't recognize me?" it was Discord.
"What do you want, Discord?" Twilight asked, sounding irritated.
"Oh, Twilight. I thought we were friends," Discord said sarcastically.
"Get on with it!" Twilight snapped, "what do you want?"
"Celestia sent me," Discord said, after a moment of silence.
"Why?" Twilight asked, her attention finally called.
"She's worried about your choice. To stand alone with your friends, she wants to know if you're sure you don't want any soldiers with you," Discord informed her.
"Tell Celestia thank you for her concern, but no, the help isn't needed," she returned to her map and books, going over the plan again.
"Twilight, are you sure?" Discord asked, the smallest hint of true concern in his voice.
"Yes, yes," she said dismissively, "Thank you for your concern, but you can go back to Celestia with my message"
Discord looked to the other five, all but Fluttershy just looked away nervously. Fluttershy just shook her head sadly.
"Twilight," Discord said.
"Hmm? Was there something else?" Twilight asked, distracted.
"I'm sorry about what happen to your brother, and Spike, but you don't have to do this alone," Discord said, uncharacteristically, all the humor had left his voice.
Twilight went rigid. Rainbow Dash face hoofed, and shook her head, everypony else quickly averted their eyes.
Twilight turned slowly, and looked Discord in the eyes. Discord saw insanity, unbridled, and a deep, torturous sadness.
"What did you say?" the calmness in her voice was almost as scary as the look in her eyes.
Discord was silent.
"What did you say!" her scream was shrill, and oddly broken, "leave Discord, just go. Get the buck out of here! Now! and don't come back! Not until I fix everything!"
"Twilight," Discords voice was quiet, "I don't think the elements are enough to deal with this,"
"Don't question me Discord, leave" she swung around quickly, and returned to her map.
"Twilight, I don't think the elements are enough to deal with this. There's no way you can handle Queen Chrysalis, Sombra, and..." he paused, not wanting to say the last one.
Nopony spoke for a moment, not wanting to remember, that Luna had once again become Nightmare Moon.
"The elements of harmony, and the power of friendship is more then enough to handle this," Twilights voice had restored it's deadly calm, "you're dismissed, Discord, thank you for delivering the message,"
Discord lowered his head and left.
Now (Just Outside Of The Clearing
)
The Draconequus had been moving through the trees outside the clearing in the hard rain, hoping to save Twilight.
He knew the others were dead, but tried to ignore it. The idea that Fluttershy was gone forever was too heartbreaking of a concept to accept just then.
As he traveled through the trees, he thought he heard something. It sounded like a skittering. He pressed onward, knowing he must be close.
Discord was right at the edge of the clearing, the skittering noise was right in front of him, and behind him.
Too late he realized he was completely surrounded.
'Well, buck' Discord thought, not without twisted and ironic humor, 'sorry Twilight'
Now
Twilight heard a gunshot in the night, and jumped expecting to feel the pain.
Nothing.
She heard the chittering laugh again, this time further away. She fired again, in the direction of the laugh.
"Come out!" she screamed, for what felt like the thousandth time.
She was running low on ammunition. She knew what they were doing.
They were waiting her out. They would attack when she was out of ammo.
She shuddered a small sob. 'This is all my fault,' she thought, 'I should have listened to Discord, if I had...' she sobbed at the thought. She knew it was her fault, her fault that all of her friends had died. All because she wanted revenge. Something so petty.
"I'm so sorry, girls," she sobbed, the tip of the firearm lowered slightly.
One Day Ago
The army was moving in. Rainbow Dash had done some scouting, and predicted that the enemy would be on top of them in four days.
"Rainbow, are you sure we only have four days?" Twilight asked.
"Pretty sure, yeah," Rainbow Dash said, her own worry clear in her eyes.
"How many are there?" was Twilight's next question.
"A lot," Rainbow said.
"Dash, I need a number," Twilight pressed.
"I don't know, more then a thousand," at those words, Fluttershy made a squeaking noise of fear.
"Relax Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash flew to her yellow friend to give her comfort, "I won't let anything happen to you, I promise," there was a small flash of the old Rainbow confidence in her voice.
Fluttershy seemed to calm a bit at the words.
"Rainbow," Twilight spoke up, "I need you to watch them from a distance, if anything changes, let me know,"
Rainbow saluted, and flew off.
Earlier Today
Twilight was pacing, planning and preparing.
Rainbow Dash hadn't returned yet, so she assumed that meant nothing had changed.
Twilight looked at each of her friends, taking them in.
Rarity, her mane, normally expertly styled, was now cropped short. She looked so different now. She looked like a soldier, prepared for anything. There was a fierce determination in her eyes.
Fluttershy. Fluttershy looked... terrified. The fear was blatant in her eyes, as well as the way she held herself. Twilight could tell she was trying to put on a brave face, but it wasn't working.
Pinkie Pie had the most drastic change of all. Pinkie had seen Spikes fate, and ever since that day, her mane was flat, deflated like a balloon at an abandoned party that was long forgotten. She was still the element of laughter, but her laughter, and humor had taken on a dark edge, she was more quite now, and she no longer skipped when she walked. She was pacing now, her head down, a look of concentration on her face.
Apple Jack didn't look much different, her attitude hadn't changed much either, exept a bit more determination then usual.
Suddenly Rainbow Dash appeared out of nowhere, in a flash of rainbow colors, looking terrified.
"What's wrong Rainbow Dash? What happened?" Twilight asked, scared herself now.
"They were marching in," Rainbows eyes looked a million miles away, "Then they all stopped, I thought they were stopping for the night,"
Twilight waited for her to finish
"Then Queen Chrysalis and Nightmare Moon stepped in front of the troops, and started preforming a spell. A huge hole opened in front of them. All the changelings started walking through," Rainbow was looking pale.
"Yes, what else?" Twilight asked.
They-they skipped over miles of their trip. Instantly,"
"How much did they skip?" Twilight was worried.
"They'll be on us by night fall," Dash said.
Just Before Sundown
"Alright, Rainbow Dash," Twilight said, "We need cloud cover, and a lot of it. I don't want them to be able to get a clear shot on us once our presence is known. I want this quick and clean. We use the elements, one shot, problem solved,"
Rainbow Dash flew off to get the clouds gathered.
"A.J., I want you waiting at the edge of the clearing. Let us know when you hear them moving in" Twilight said to the earth pony.
"Got it Twi, I'll be all ears," Apple Jack moved to the edge of the clearing.
"Fluttershy, see if any animals are around, and get them to leave, we don't need any animals getting hurt. And Pinkie, you go with Fluttershy, and make sure she stays safe," Twilight started pacing, her mind moving faster then her hooves.
Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie moved out, disappearing in to the trees.
"Rarity, you stay with me, I need to think, you take any reports until they arrive," Twilight looked her friend in the eyes, and tried to smile. It failed utterly.
"Don't worry, darling, I'll keep an eye on things, while you prepare," she gave Twilight a quick hug, and pulled away.
That Night
The clouds were formed, a few fat droplets of rain were falling, and everypony was back in the clearing.
Twilight had built her resolve, and destroyed as much of her fear as she could.
The wind was blowing cold, as the six friends stood together, prepared for whatever fate my deliver them.
"They're almost here," Twilight could sense them in the forest ahead.
"Now?" Apple Jack asked.
"Not yet, they're still too far away," Twilight answered, focusing on the darkness ahead.
The silence went on for a few minutes, other then the rain fall, and the wind.
The first bolt of lighting struck the ground, causing Fluttershy to jump, and squeak lightly. Rainbow Dash put a hoof on her shoulder, trying to calm her down.
"Now," Twilight said.
The six prepared to use the elements, they all lifted off of the ground, a light glowed around them, as a rainbow began to cascade upward, and started it's decent.
The next few moments seemed to move in slow motion for Twilight Sparkle. She heard the first CACK of gun fire, and Apple Jacks head exploded, spreading gore all over the remaining five. The light and rainbow died as quickly as it started.
Fluttershy screamed, in terror and sadness. At the sound of her scream, another CACK of gun fire echoed into the night, as a bullet tore though her chest, just below the neck, and exploded from her backside, leaving her bloody and eviscerated.
Fluttershy's body hit the ground with a hallow THUD. Rainbow Dash flew forward in rage. "By Celestia, I'll kill everyone of you, you worthless things!!!!!!!" she made it about twelve feet ahead, and was cut down in a hail of bullets.
Twilight's body froze, shock set in. She couldn't believe what she was witnessing.
Another shot rang out, and Twilight watched Rarity fall in front of her.
Pinkie Pie was frozen next to Twilight, but she suddenly snapped, and insanity overtook her. She lowered her head, then looked up. She ran in a zig zagging pattern towards the trees, with something in her mouth, but Twilight couldn't tell what it was in the dark.
Pinkie pulled her head back, and launched what ever was in her mouth forward into the night. Judging by the noise it made when it hit the tree causing no damage at all, Twilight assumed it was a rock.
The moment she stopped to throw was all the needed, another shot fired, Pinkies front left leg fell from her body. She pitched forward. Another bullet buried itself into her chest, casing her body to slam violently back.
"T-Tw-Twilight," Pinkies voice was wet, and she began coughing violently, she was choking on her own blood.
Another bullet screamed through the dark night, as half of Pinkies face disappeared. The remainder of her head fell forward into the mud.
In less then a minute, all but one of the six friends had fallen.
The rain began to fall in earnest, as Twilight stared down her terrible fate.
Now
Twilight stood in the darkness, rain swirling around her.
She knew the changelings were playing with her, and why not? If not for her, Nightmare Moon, Queen Chrysalis, and Sombra would have all succeeded in their goals.
She was the reason they had all banded together in the first place, and now she was helpless. She could teleport, but to what end? To fight and lose again? Why? For the sake of petty revenge? She had just tried to extract revenge, and in the process she lost eveypony she cared about. No. Running away was not an option. Deep down she had to ask herself, was it ever an option?
A spark. A plan was forming. A way to end it. For good.
She had the means necessary. She could end it now, but the cost was high. Did she have the strength?
Yes.
"I'm done!" she screamed, "you win! Come out and claim your prize!"
Silence.
'Good,' she thought. She dropped the firearm back into the mud, and focused her magic elsewhere.
On the tip of her horn she built an electric charge.
Twilight's fear was trying to get the better of her, but she focused on the faces of the ones she had lost, letting their deaths fuel her courage. Shining Armor, her B.B.B.F.F., Spike, her loyal assistant, Apple Jack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, her fellow element bearers.
She knew she could do it.
She focused all he energy on the electric charge on her horn. A bright flash. Lightning came streaking towards her horn at blinding speed. She quickly drew in the lightning, sending it back out in all directions.
The clearing lit up like day as pain coursed through her. She forced herself to remain upright.
Some of the bolts struck trees, lighting them ablaze. But most found their targets.
Changelings were being electrocuted all around Twilight.
Standing at the edge of the clearing, sharing looks of shock, that were quickly turning to panic, where Nightmare Moon, Chrysalis, and Sombra. The lightning flew outward, and coiled around all three. Even Sombra, who was shadow incarnate, couldn't escape the lightning.
The blasts of electricity lasted about thirty seconds.
Darkness descended once again.
All was quiet, save for the pounding rain, the howling wind, and the crackling fire from the trees, but those were quickly dissipating, due to the harsh rain.
Twilight's body toppled forward, as her heart came to a stop. The lightning was too much. Her last thought as her vision cut to black was 'I did it. It's over'
The Next Day
Princess Celestia stood in the clearing, holding back her emotions that threatened to rip her apart.
The pegasi that had come before her had made fast work of eliminating the storm.
The carnage that lay before Celestia, in the light of the sun, was almost too much to handle.
Twilight was in the worst shape of all, the lightning bolt had literally cooked her from the inside out, her flesh was black, her coat and mane burned off. muscle and meat had ripped out of her skin in places, leaving an almost zebra striping of pink within the black. The smell of cooked pony flesh was strong.
All of Twilight's friends had been shot to death.
The odd part was, that all the changelings, Their queen, Celestia's sister, and Sombra, were all dead as well.
One of the unicorns examining the bodies came over to Celestia and bowed.
"Rise, my little pony, and report," Celestia said, fighting to maintain composure. Breaking down now wouldn't do at all.
The unicorn explained what happened, based on the evidence.
Celestia nodded stiffly.
"What do want us to do with the bodies, your majesty?" The unicorn asked.
"Load up Twilight and her friends, they will receive a proper ceremony in Canterlot," Celestia said.
"And the others?"
"Deal with them as best as you see fit," Celestia answered.
The unicorn nodded his head, bowed again and went to deliver the orders.
In Canterlot
Celestia had ridden back with the bodies of the fallen heroes, giving them each a heartfelt goodbye.
In Canterlot, the memorial service had been very difficult.
Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo had to be removed, because they could not control themselves. Scootaloo seemed to be taking it harder then the other two. Her crying could be heard until she was completely out of the castle.
"My little ponies, this is a hard day indeed, but a happy day none the less, for today the threat that could have destroyed us all, has been eliminated," Celestia intoned, "but this success has come at a great cost.
"The bearers of the Elements of Harmony gave their lives so that we may live on. But know this, my little ponies, although they are gone, they live on inside of us, the lessons they learned, and the lessons they taught us all. They will be remembered always.
"They gave us something we can never forget, they gave us hope, and they gave us a tomorrow. An Equestria that will be safe for us all. We owe them everything. We can never forget their act of sacrifice, what they did for the good of all ponykind.
"They showed us all a love and a bond that runs deeper then life itself, and we can never forget that. No matter what life may hand us, we must always remember to sacrifice what ever is necessary for the ones we love.
"I thank you all for coming to honor the ponies who gave everything for us, and I ask you to forgive me, but I must step out, I'm afraid the events of the day have been very taxing, and I must leave early,"
Everypony knew that Celestia needed time to grieve. Twilight had not only been her best student, but also her closest subject.
Celestia went to her private chambers to seek solitude, but found herself reading all of Twilight's letters.
They went on and on, but she read everyone, tears streaming down the entire time.
When she finished reading them, she went to her desk, and pulled out a quill and ink, as well as some parchment.
Dear Twilight Sparkle, my most faithful student,
You have learned well over the years you spent in Ponyville, you studied hard, and came to a masterful understanding of the meaning of friendship.
Though you are gone, your lessons live on, to teach other ponies, to help them grow. Your spirit lives on, through all your knowledge. I will always remember you. Everything you've done, everypony you've saved. Your sacrifice will not be forgotten. The sacrifice of your friends will not be forgotten.
Though you are gone, you will remain, teaching others the lessons you learned.
Your faithful teacher,
Celestia
Celestia recapped the ink well, and floated it and the quill back into her desk. She then took the letter she wrote, sealed to with the royal seal, and fed it into the fireplace.
One Year Later
"Alright, little ponies, settle down," Cheerilee said, "We have some new study material, sent straight from Princess Celestia herself,"
The class quieted and turned there attention to their teacher.
Cheerilee pulled out a stack of textbooks and began passing them to the students.
When Scootaloo received her textbook, she nearly dropped it, upon seeing the cover.
Six Cutie Marks were engraved on the front, and the title was Lessons In Friendship and Magic.
The End
Author's Note
This will be the first written work that I have ever put out for people to read, and as such I am a bit excited to see what people will think. The story was inspired by two things, firstly, of all the types of fanfics I've read, my least favorite is the ones were all the main characters die, mostly because they are handled so callously and merely for the shock value of "all the characters die brutally", with no real care for the story constructed, so with that in mind, I set out to create a story that would be (hopefully) well crafted, and that didn't rely on shock, I hope I have succeeded on that end. I'm not insulting that type of story, just hoping to improve on it. The other (and most important) inspiration for this was the song 'Til We Die by Slipknot. I had originally put snippets of the lyrics between each part, that worked well in relation to the part. In the end I removed them, not only because of rules of the site, but because I felt they distracted from the story. My biggest hope for this story is that I properly conveyed the emotions of the characters, but I will leave that opinion to the readers.
