Life's End

by Nightingale28

Rating: teen
Tags: Death, Twilight Sparkle, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Starlight Glimmer, Thriller, Trixie, Tragedy, Sunset Shimmer, Horror, Discord, Violence
Length: 3593

Twilight tries to solve the mystery of what or who is picking her friends off one by one.

Twilight is a alicorn, meaning she would live far longer than most creatures. What happens when death takes her friends one by one in a very short time? Was death really to blame or were there other forces at play?

Characters: Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Shining Armor, Princess Cadence, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Zecora, Rara, Minuette, Vinyl Scratch, Tempest Shadow, Spitfire, Bon Bon, Braeburn, Lemon Hearts, Twinkleshine, Spike, Lightning Dust, Ocellus

https://www.deviantart.com/vampireselene13/art/Everything-we-need-is-all-right-here-816789620

Published 2023-07-13 00:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2024-01-03 05:30:56 UTC

Dreaded Descent

This is going to be the best party ever!, thought Pinkie Pie as she set up decorations.

She’d already set up balloons and hung streamers. All that was left was to hang the banner from the balcony.

As she was hanging it, however, she stumbled and crashed right into the balloons. The balloons twisted and raveled, wrapping around her face, blocking her eyesight as she continued to fumble.

Pinkie tried to catch herself, and maintain her balance, however because of her lack of eyesight she didn’t see that she was making her way toward the edge of the balcony.

As she cascaded over the verge, people looked up and screamed in terror as she plummeted down.

She fell so fast that when she hit the ground her body had become crooked and disheveled.

She was barely recognizable as Pinkie Pie.

Hazardous Hunting

Applejack walked through the forest, she was taking a hike to clear her head.

A sound suddenly reached her ears. Was it a scream?

“Timberwolves!” a voice yelled.

Applejack decided to run towards the screaming. She followed the voice until she saw a hooded figure surrounded by timberwolves.

Applejack yelled and diverted the timberwolves attention, allowing the figure to move a good distance away.

Applejack turned the other way and ran from the wolves.

She soon lost one of them but several more were still on her trail, one caught up with her, lunged at her, and scratched her with it’s sharp, wooden claws.

The pain of the claws tearing through her flesh made her trip while one of the wolves was lurking right behind her.

Applejack watched as the hooded figure made a run for it, while the wolf violently ripped out her throat with it’s sharp teeth.

Electrifying Eventuality

The storm was bad.

Rainbow Dash knew the dangers of flying in a storm, but she’d done it so many times before, sure it was dangerous, but for some reason that was what drove her to them. She loved the slight breeze, she loved how the clouds lit up with flashes of the storm.

What danger could she be in? She’d only fly for a short time and go back home afterwards.

A bright flash of lightning lit up the sky, storm clouds blocking out the sun as hail rained down.

She took off into the very heart of the storm.

It was difficult to fly through, every move she made was met with resistance.

Instantaneously, a sharp pain erupted through her chest.

She assumed she’d been hit by a rogue lightning bolt, her vision being overwhelmed with light as her wings failed and she fell to the ground.

However what Rainbow didn’t realize was that it wasn’t a lightning bolt that struck her, but a blast from the horn of a unicorn.

Treacherous Trammel

Luna wandered through the verdant meadows, captivated by the symphony of hues and fragrances.

As she delved deeper into the wood, she came across a grove.

Allured, she cautiously tread into the grove.

The air grew heavy, and an eerie silence enveloped her surroundings.

Unaware of the changes, she continued, her hooves striding lightly on the moss-covered ground.

Suddenly, two vines latched onto her back legs, pulling her deeper into their clutches.

Panic welled up inside her as she struggled to break free, but the vines only tightened around her, their thorns piercing her skin. Her struggles became more and more frantic, she fought against their suffocating grasp, but they merely constricted tighter and tighter.

She gasped for breath, her heart pounding with fear and exhaustion.

With each desperate attempt to break free, the vines only compressed themselves more, ensnaring her in their thorny embrace.

Luna’s strength waned, and she finally realized that escape was futile.

She felt a sense of resignation wash over her, accepting the fate that awaited her.

Luna’s consciousness gradually faded, and her entangled body fell still.

Cold-Blooded Carousel

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo walked through the carnival

The carnival was a new attraction that had just recently come to town.

Each of them thought it would be the perfect place to spend the day.

As they sauntered through the carnival, they passed Ferris wheels, roller coasters, and bumper cars.

Eventually they came across a small patch of grass where no rides were located.

In need of a break, they decided they should stop and take it easy.

After a few minutes, they were about to get up and start walking again when the ground began to slightly shake.

Three metal poles shot up from the ground and punctured each of them.

While they were struggling to comprehend what was going on, a base began to form underneath the poles.

The base abruptly began to spin around, and a roof composed itself atop the device.

The three of them suddenly realized that this was a carousel.

The last thing they ever saw, was their bodies being presented as some twisted form of merriment.

Crushing Circumspection

Zecora trudged through the wood.

She looked around and tried to concentrate, was she lost?

How could she be lost? She had been in these woods so many times before, and yet everywhere she looked seemed unfamiliar.

There was something about this part of the wood that she couldn’t quite describe, a lurking feeling that she shouldn’t be here.

She didn’t even want to be here, but she couldn’t find the way to get back to her hut.

She heard something crack behind her.

Alerted, she looked back, attempting to see what it was, but it was too dark to see much of anything.

She started to run, but was too slow.

She felt a blinding pain engulf her back hooves.

She looked back and, now that it was so close, saw that it was a tree that had cracked and fallen atop her.

She tried to pull herself out, but the trunk she laid beneath was far too heavy.

Blood loss took over and Zecora’s mind was sent into unconsciousness.

Vindictive Voltage

Rara was in the middle of a concert.

Ponies flooded the theater.

Rara held the microphone to her muzzle, took a soft breath, and began to sing.

The melody was soft, beautiful, and... almost melancholic.

As she neared the climax she was deluged with emotion, putting everything she had into those lyrics.

She didn’t notice the wire behind her until it was too late.

Her hoof crunched down on the wire, splitting it in two.

She let out a blood-curdling scream of pain and agony as she convulsed from the electricity that coursed through her veins.

She fell to the floor, contorting as her flesh sizzled.

The crowd watched in horror as Rara took her last few breaths and succumbed.

Fiendish Freezing

Minuette opened her eyes only to see that she was in a... freezer?

Why was she in a freezer?

How did she get here?

As she slowly began to rise to her hooves, she felt an aching in her body from the sheer cold.

She made her way to the door of the freezer, and began to beat loudly on it. However, no matter how hard she beat against the large metal door, it wouldn’t budge.

Her body shivered from the unforgiving cold that was all around her.

She saw that her hooves shone a shade of dark black from the merciless frostbite.

For one last time, Minuette looked around, trying to see if she could find anything to pry the door open.

She could feel her face freezing, her eyes becoming painful to keep open, her legs giving out as she took her last frozen breath.

Sinister Shredding

Vinyl Scratch was practicing on her DJ board.

She had a big performance coming up, and she wanted to make sure she was prepared.

As she placed her hoof down on the vinyl turntable, it suddenly transformed into a spinning saw blade.

It began to grind and tear away at her hoof, as she attempted to pull herself free.

In spite of her most valiant efforts to free herself, her hoof was reduced to mush in a matter of seconds.

Panicked beyond all reason, she began to flail around aimlessly, hoping against hope that she would extricate herself from the saw.

As the blade began to move to the rest of her body, Vinyl experienced unfathomable pain, feeling her bowels being churned to mush.

She finally stopped moving, just wanting it to be over, just wanting the pain to stop.

When the pain did indeed finally stop, Vinyl wasn’t even recognizable as pony anymore, merely a puddle of slush.

Obscene Overload

Tempest Shadow was at home.

She wasn’t feeling the best right now.

There was a seemingly exacerbating pressure in her head, as well as a buzzing in her ears.

She felt as that tightness moved up to her horn, making her feel as though she was about to pass out.

The remnants of her horn suddenly shattered, leaving a gaping hole in her head.

Tempest stood there in shock as blood gushed down her head in rivulets.

She cried out in pain, the blood didn’t appear to be stopping.

She rushed out her door, trying to find somepony that could fetch a doctor, a surgeon, anypony that could help her.

Before she was able to find anypony, a hooded figure approached her.

They fired a blast at her, striking her brain, before watching with a smile as Tempest Shadow slumped to the ground.

Provocative Poisoning

Bon Bon walked down the stairs from her bedroom to the kitchen.

She began to make herself a cup of coffee, like she did every morning.

Ponyville...wasn’t the safest anymore, ponies turning up dead wasn’t uncommon and that was a truly grim thought.

Despite this Bon Bon tried to stay in the best of spirits, knowing that fear and grief would get her nowhere.

She opened the fridge door and got out her coffee creamer, pouring it into her coffee mug and stirring it with a spoon.

She took a sip, and noticed a strange taste to her coffee that she hadn’t ever tasted before. It smelled like...bitter almonds.

Bon Bon felt a wave of nausea wash over her, as she started retching violently.

She gasped for air but couldn’t seem to draw enough into her lungs.

Bon Bon’s eyes rolled up into her head as she hit the floor with a thud.

Terrible Train

Braeburn’s eyes adjusted to his surroundings.

He tried to move his hooves, but found that they were bound together.

Struggling to rise to his hooves, he saw the moon high above.

If it was night what was he doing outside? Why were his hooves bound together?

Suddenly panicking, he struggled all the harder.

He took into account the rough texture rubbing against his back the more he struggled.

Was he on a train track?

As if answering his question, he heard the sounds of a train coming his way.

He had to move, he had to get out of the way!

He heard the train steadily approaching, he prayed that they would see him and stop.

He began screaming at the top of his lungs, if the pony driving the train couldn’t see him maybe they could hear him.

In the end his efforts were in vain, the train drove right over him, as he let out a final scream of agony.

Desolate Drowning

Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine were on a cruise.

Ever since they lost Minuette, one of their best friends, they desperately needed it.

It was a beautiful day, the sun’s reflection glistening on the blue waves, and the scent of sea salt being carried along a gentle breeze.

As they both gazed across the open waters, another pony approached.

The pony’s features were hidden beneath a cloak, but in the shadow cast from their hood covering their face, one could just barely make out a grin.

They walked up to the pair, and pushed them overboard.

Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine spiraled downward, landing into the vast ocean with a plop.

They were engulfed by the azure emptiness, struggling to make it to the surface again.

They both looked at each other, Lemon Hearts didn’t even know how to swim properly and Twinkleshine wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she left her dearest friend behind, nor did she think she could haul Lemon Hearts out on her back.

Their vision began to fade while their muscles gave in, and they sunk to the depths of the sea.

Cruel Capture

Spike looked out the window of Canterlot Castle.

It was storming, strikes of lightning illuminating his view of outside.

It didn’t really matter that it was raining, what would he even be doing if it wasn’t? All he did nowadays was lay around the castle. He didn’t find much joy in life anymore. He couldn’t enjoy it with his friends after all. Sure he had Twilight, but she was so busy ruling Equestria that she barely had time for him.

He had lost so much in such a short time, he had lost Fluttershy, Pinkie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and even Rarity, not to mention countless others.

What was the point of making friends if they were constantly being taken away?

He closed the blinds of his window and went to his bed, curling up beneath the covers.

As he was getting comfortable he noticed something, no somepony standing in the doorway of his bedroom as a strike of lightning flashed across their black, tattered cloak.

Before he could get Twilight, or even so much as move, a dart was shot into his stomach and he slumped to the floor.

The hooded figure moved closer, putting Spike into a sack, before teleporting out of the castle.

Callous Crunching

Lighting Dust flew around the halls of an abandoned mansion that was only illuminated whenever the luminescence of lightning striking the ground several miles away flashed through the window.

She had woken up in the confines of the building about an hour ago, having no idea how she had gotten there.

All she knew was that she needed to find her way out.

As she came upon the front entrance of the mansion, she picked up her pace, desperate to get out of this place as quickly as possible.

However, as she tried to push the door open, she found it wouldn’t move.

Turning around to try and find another exit, she bumped right into a figure concealed in a black cloak.

She winced, turning and trying to run in the other direction, eager to get away from her unwanted visitor. However, her efforts were quickly ceased by the pony picking her up with their magical aura, spinning her around to face them.

Lightning Dust could just barely make out the cerulean color of the pony’s mane before she felt a harrowing surge of pain throughout her body.

Her abdomen was snapped in a way that allowed all four of her legs to be pushed together, leaving her looking like a contorted jaw.

Fortunately, Lightning Dust didn’t experience much of the pain, her death arriving swiftly from the blood loss.

Total Eclipse of the Heart

Shining Armor and Cadence were enjoying each other's company.

Distracted as they were, they were easy targets.

A cloaked figure approached them, stirring confused looks from the pair.

They weren’t given a second more to act. The figure brought forth a sickle and thrust it into Shining Armor’s neck, continuing to plunge the sickle into his throat until his head came clean off.

Cadence was stunned, How can something so horrible be happening?, she thought to herself.

Had she been faster to act she might have gotten away.

The figure lunged forward, tackling Cadence to the ground.

The cloaked assailant then brought out a dagger and submerged it into her chest, moving it in such a way as to carve out a check of flesh.

Carefully, they used the dagger to lift the flesh away, revealing the beating organ that was Cadence’s heart.

The last thing Cadence saw before she faded into insensibility, was the figure reaching into her chest, and ripping out her heart.

Flickering Flames

Fluttershy never suspected that raging flames would reach her cottage.

The flames were scorching everything they came into contact with.

As the fire flared through her walls, they were close to collapse.

She was trapped.

She looked to her front door, wide open, the air from outside providing the oxygen needed for the flames to grow in intensity.

She needed air! She needed to get out, her lungs were burning as the smoke entered her mouth.

Her eyes stung with tears as the fire grew closer. Her mane was the first thing to catch fire, then her legs, her wings, her tail, then her head.

Unbearable pain ignited within her as the fire added her to it’s feast.

When the fire finally died down, the clean up team found nothing but charred bones of Fluttershy.

Stitches and Needles

A sewing machine whirred away at the blue fabric, the stitches held.

A sharp prick in Rarity’s hoof made her flinch backwards, she’d pricked herself with a needle, she chided herself for being so careless, but continued with her work.

Hours ticked by before she felt something warm run down her leg, followed by white hot pain as her eyes shot open and she saw that her hoof had somehow managed to get wedged underneath the needle of the machine and was carving a line of stitching up her arm.

Crying out in pain as the machine snagged on her skin, ripping it out violently, she released her hoof from the peddle, but the machine continued as though it was jammed.

A scream turned into a gurgle as the arteries in her throat were sliced through, sending blood out in streams that squirted outwards, splattering the walls a dark crimson as the machine whirred onwards.

Insidious Impalement

The dusk was beautiful.

Celestia watched as the moon rose high in the sky above. The stars glistened and twinkled in the moon’s presence.

She walked along a winding cobblestone pathway.

As she glanced around, she caught sight of a trail of smoke, it seemed to be winding around the exact pathway she was taking.

She shrugged it off and continued making her way along the path.

Before she could reach her destination, she felt a searing pain shoot through her stomach.

She wanted to turn around to see what it was, but was unable to, as something sharp and pointy had impaled her back.

She coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Suddenly, whatever had pierced her skin was pulled downward, breaking ribs and Celestia’s spine.

It was then retracted abruptly and Celestia hit the ground with a thud, a crimson puddle pooling around her body.

Vicious Velocity

Spitfire flew through the sky.

These past few months had been anything but easy for her.

The Wonderbolts team had all lost one of their best flyers after all, Rainbow Dash.

Nopony really knew what had caused such events to transpire, all that was found was Rainbow’s charred body, which from the autopsy report showed that the cause of death was a fatal blast to the chest.

Ever since the rest of the Wonderbolts found out Spitfire felt like she had to pick up the slack.

She knew her body wouldn’t last much longer if she continued to use it in such a way, but she had to try, she told herself it was what Dash would’ve wanted.

She passed clouds as she soared overhead, picking up speed as she went.

She noticed that she was going...a little too fast. She should probably slow down, and yet for some reason she couldn’t, she couldn’t control her movements, her wings wouldn’t obey her commands anymore.

She could feel the skin on her face stretch and push back. She needed to stop! She needed to stop!

The skin on her face finally started to tear, revealing the muscle and bone beneath.

She screamed as loud as she could but nopony could hear her, she was going too fast.

She could feel the wind ripping her feathers straight out of her wings.

She was able to shed one tear as she approached the ground.

When she collided with the earth a massive explosion occurred.

Perverse Piercing

Ocellus was alone.

Her parents were out, taking her brother and sister with them, but she had chosen to stay behind.

As she walked down the flight of stairs leading from the second floor to the first, she reflected on her plans for the day.

She planned on meeting up with Thorax and Pharynx in the evening, but other than that she was free to do as she pleased.

She peered out the window, noticing the gray clouds looming overhead. Perhaps it was a good thing she had chosen to stay indoors.

As she continued to gaze outside, she saw a figure looming over her in the reflective surface of the window.

She gasped, whirling around reflexively, as she stared at the cloaked individual before her.

The pony was so close she could feel their breath on her neck.

She gulped, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to get away from the intruder.

The figure then pulled out a spear, violently ramming it into her left temple, watching with a smirk as Ocellus’s eyes rolled back into her head.