Bitter Autumn

It didn't take long for everyone to gather their supplies. Celestia allowed the party to take whatever they needed from the castle. Once they were packed, they said their goodbyes.

"Take care of yourself, Twilight Sparkle," The princess told her former student.

"We'll be alright. Don't worry."

"It's part of my duty as princess to watch over everyone."

"Fair enough."

"I wish you all the best of luck."

"I have to go somewhere for a little bit, guys. Try to reason with what's left of the humans. If things go wrong, you know the drill."

"Affirmative, commander Twilight," Rainbow joked.

"At ease, soldier," Twilight responded.

Twilight took one last look at her friends.

"Good luck," were her last words before she took off.

"Where do you suppose Twilight went off to," Rarity inquired as they walked through Canterlot.

"If I know Twilight, she'll make a dramatic entrance when we need her."

"I remember when we beat Discord. She never gave up, even when things looked their worst," Pinkamena reminisced.

"We would probably be scrambling around like chickens right now without her," Rainbow admitted, briefly casting off her pride.

"Do you think she'll really make it in time," Fluttershy requested to know.

"Trust me," Spike replied, "she knows what she's doing."

"Hey, what's that up ahead," Rainbow asked.

"It looks like we've finally caught up with them," Pinkamena stated.

"Well, here goes nothing," Spike said as he collected his nerves.

"Do it, Rainbow," Rarity told her friend.

Rainbow obliged...And whistled. The whistle caught the attention of every skeleton there.

"Hey," one of them said, "it looks like we've got some fresh meat!"

"Hey, could you guys cool it a bit," Rainbow demanded, "You've been going around freaking everybody out all night."

"Sorry," another one said, "but we have other plans for the remaining inhabitants of this planet."

The army of skeletons parted, revealing a mountain of bloody corpses. They were all Canterlot residents. Rarity wretched at the sight, Fluttershy fainted, Spike screamed at the top of his lungs, and one of Rainbow's eyes twitched. While Pinkamena appeared calm and unaffected, there was a strong desire to start putting human skulls over her mantle. They knew there would possibly be deaths involved, but the sheer brutality was unfathomable. Pinkamena stepped forward.

"Tell me why you're doing this."

"It's pretty simple really," one of the skeletons in the front row explained, "we humans gradually formed a collective consciousness that we didn't know existed until after we died. The first step was for each and every one of us to be exterminated. Our minds began to communicate with each other, and we gradually came to understand our role as Earth's execution force. In other words, this is omnicide, my pink horse friend."

"Well, I guess we'll have to be extra careful now, won't we," a strange voice said out of nowhere.

"Who said that," the skeleton wanted to know.

"Now that you've sealed your fate, I guess I can show you my face."

Out of nowhere, Twilight Sparkle appeared. She was holding a strange plastic object.

"Another one?"

Twilight lifted the object close to her muzzle.

"You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Wait a minute," one of the skeletons said, "I recognize that voice. She's using a makeshift voice modulator to sound like Ghostface from Scream."

"Impressive," Twilight acknowledged, "you figured out my little game."

"That was a good psych-out. We almost fell for it."

"Twilight, you're here," Spike nearly cried.

"Hey, you know I wouldn't leave you guys behind."

"Aw, how heartwarming," another skeleton mocked.

"I've had just about enough of you," Twilight warned, "Leave or die. It's up to you."

"This is too precious! A little pony girl thinks she can take on one of the most powerful species in history!"

"Suit yourself."

Twilight teleported behind the skeleton that spoke, punched through their rib cage, gripped their heart, and crushed it. The skeleton disintegrated to ashes, and then, completely disappeared. Now Twilight had the definitive answer she needed to save the planet formerly known as Earth.