Bitter Autumn

"Shining, she's coming to," a familiar voice rang out.

Twilight's eyes slowly opened, the sight of her library ceiling coming into focus as she did so.

"Hey sis. How are you doing?"

Twilight sat up to see her friends, Shining, and Cadance standing around her. Spike was asleep in a chair on her bedside.

"I'm okay, I guess. What happened?"

"You apparently went on a killing spree against the dead. You nearly bled to death, and that's not taking into account the severe strain you were under."

"I remember now."

Twilight's expression to one of great sorrow and remorse.

"So many broken dreams..."

"What?"

"When we were fighting, I could feel the desperation in their strikes. They were trying to cling to their last purpose."

"Oh...You mean as the omnicidal executioners."

"So you've already heard everything."

"Yeah. Rainbow came and got us from the crystal empire. We talked to the princess while you were unconscious. I had a hard time believing it, but when I saw you, I knew it was all true."

"I wonder if this was their original purpose at all."

"Original or revised, it's already been set in motion. Now it's up to us to stop them."

"You didn't alert the royal guard, did you?"

"Not yet. Why?"

"I think this is a job best left for us alone. If we cause too much disturbance, the public will panic, and we may have a full-scale war on our hooves. That's too risky."

"Well, what can we do? Every mare, stallion, and foal that didn't escape was slaughtered."

Twilight looked around the room for a minute. When she found what she was looking for, she levitated it near her face. It was a familiar plastic device.

"What's that?"

"Something has to be done, so..."

Twilight positioned the power switch to ON and placed it near her muzzle.

"...I think it's time for a sequel."