The New Steed

      Miss Cheerilee was talking in the small school room full of young Ponies, though Dinky couldn't hear a word she was saying. So many thoughts were racing through her head now. She wanted to know what Samael actually was, she wanted to know why she could suddenly know everyponies name without asking. It wasn't even just Ponies anymore, she could now look at plants, trees, insects, and animals. She knew all of their names, and while at first it was very scary to her, she now found herself interested in how this information was coming to her.

   "Dinky?" Cheerilee asked again, this time with a louder voice to make sure that she got the filly's attention. This attempt was just as unsuccessful as the last however, as the small light purple Unicorn was still staring out the window. The deep red mare couldn't help but get a small smile on her face as she heard several of the children giggling to themselves. She did have to maintain her status as the teacher though, so she leaned over to her desk where she took a book in her mouth. She then walked slowly over to the fillies desk, where she suddenly dropped the book to the floor; making a loud bang as it hit.

   "Twenty seven!" Dinky shouted as she almost jumped out of her chair as the loud sound made her eyes expand to their largest size. This reaction made all the other Ponies in the room now laugh out loud as Cheerilee slowly shook her head with a small grin.

   "Your answer might be correct Dinky," Cheerilee said as she walked back up to the head of the class. "Unfortunately we are not doing math, we are on history."

   "I'm sorry Miss Cheerilee," Dinky said with a quiet mope while sinking down into her chair in an attempt to hide herself as much as possible from the embarrassment.

   "That's alright sweetie. Just try to keep your attention straight." Even though she knew she was being scolded for slacking off in class; Dinky didn't mind so much if it was Cheerilee doing it. She always thought the teaching Pony had the nicest voice, even if she was mad. "Now as I was saying," Cheerilee continued as she turned back to the chalk board. She was just about to start speaking again, but the end of the day bell rang, causing all the small fillies and colts to turn into a chaotic cloud of joyous yells and laughs as they all bolted for the door.

   "Come on Dinky!" Apple Bloom yelled as she, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo all picked up their things and started heading for the door. "We have a great new plan to get our cutie marks."

   "Yeah!" Scootaloo exclaimed as she lept into the air while her small wings became an orange blur. "It involves us, a cave, and three pounds of firecrackers!"

   All three of the girls suddenly came together, and they tapped their hooves into one another. "Cutie Mark Crusaders mining operation, woo!" all three of them yelled as they bolted out the door. Dinky let out a long chuckle as her three new friends vanished outside. She really wasn't sure that causing explosions inside a cave was the safest thing in the world to do, but she just figured they would all get distracted, and find something else to do. With that thought in mind, she quickly finished gathering her things, and headed for the door.

*****

      As soon as Dinky's hoof hit the ground, she knew something was wrong. The landscape around her was completely different now. It had become a rolling visage of tall gold and brown mountains. Soft fine dirt covered the expanding rocky area, one that was littered with an assortment of small to mid sized sharp looking bushes. All of this accented by a orange setting sun, that was just now coming to rest in the distant horizon. This experience was startling, but not foreign to her now. She knew exactly what had happened, and she let out a small annoyed sigh as her head fell to look at the ground. "Oh come on Sammy!" she shouted out into the scene before her.

   "Follow me," Samael said as he walked past the young mare. His stride was slow, but deliberate in it's path. There was a kind of dryness in his voice that the young filly had not heard before, and it made her get a sudden shiver over her whole body as she realized that just those two words made him seem very serious, and really kind of scary. The sensation she felt was gone just as quickly as it had arrived, and she did as she was told, by bringing herself in time with his steps.

   "Why are we here Sammy?" Dinky asked after only a few long silent steps.

   "The truth," the tall slender man said as he came to a sudden stop. An act that almost made the tiny Pony bump into his long legs in the process. For a moment the pair stood there, Samael just staring off into the distance as if he was waiting for an unknown event to take place. That's when Dinky heard something from behind a small dirt hill. Her attention directed itself to the strange sounds, and what came over the mound made her take in a deep gasp, and even place herself behind Samael's legs.

   A Dragon; massive in it's size and weight came walking with a slow limp. It's scales were a tarnished dull red. His eyes were a vibrant yellow, and she could easily see the long black slits that were it's pupils. even though the gargantuan reptile looked in their direction several times; it took no notice of them, and she could start making out more detail of his body. It's wings were tattered and frayed. It's tail were missing several spikes that would have normally formed a long crest down the appendage. It's breathing now was taxed as it finally came to the top of the hill, then laid itself down. Dinky could not help but get a look of concern on her face now. For she knew this Dragon's name. His name was Bellarek, he was very old, and he was dying.

   "Come along D," Samael said as he started walking towards the gigantic creature that had by now placed himself in a long stretched prone position in the dirt.

   "What?" Dinky shouted in a silent voice. "Are you crazy? That's a Dragon! Do you have any idea how dangerous those things are?"

   "Oh yes. They are quite dangerous indeed," Samael said with a chuckle in his tone. "They are one of the most dangerous creatures on this world, and many others for that matter." He then looked down to the wide eyed filly, and gave her a quick smile. "But to you, and me? He is no more dangerous than a spec of dust would be to the Sun. And besides, he is going to need your help."

   "M-my help? How am I going to help something like that? His smallest scale is like ten times bigger than me!" She waited for Samael to give her some kind of answer, but all he did was let out a laugh as he turned to face her. Some thing was very different now however, for he wasn't looking down at her, he was looking up, and he had become very small.

   "Is it now? Oh I don't know, you appear to be size appropriate it seems," As soon as he said this, he vanished in a blink of an eye. Dinky tried to protest by holding out one of her hooves, but her hoof was gone now. There in its place was a glimmering white scaled claw, with golden nails so bright and polished, they seemed to have a glow all their own. This made her once more take in a panicked, and horrified gasp of air, that to her ears turned into a loud roar. She began to spin on her newly found claws, only to see that her whole shape had changed. She was pure white, every scale on her body appeared to be a flat smooth pearl that shined with hues of purples and blues. She even had a long elegant set of wings that matched her new color scheme, and flowed about as she spun around like a great dress made of gold and sunlight.

   "Is that you?" Bellarek said with a strained voice as he looked over at the long slender framed Dragoness that danced before him. "Please come closer Great Mother. My eyes are fading, and I wish to see you so you may hear my deeds."

   "Who me?" Dinky asked in a small innocent voice as she stopped moving, taking notice that she had been seen by the ancient winged creature. One that now did not look so large, he was actually much smaller than she was now, and even very sad, not the terrifying monster she had perceived before. She did however do as she was asked, as she started to walk towards the heavy breathing Dragon, who now had a deep smile on his long muzzle. "You know who I am?" she asked as she came to with in just a few yards of him.

   "Of course I do," Bellarek chuckled out, followed by a painful sounding cough. "Every Dragon since the day they are hatched knows you. You are the Great Mother. From you, all Dragon kind was born, and to you, all Dragon kind will return."

   "Umm, yeah. My name's Dinky Hooves. And I am pretty sure this is a very, very mean joke my soon to be ex-friend," she shouted these last words as her long neck swung from side to side to see if she could catch Samael hiding somewhere. "Is playing on me."

   "Hmph," Bellarek huffed out as he slowly blinked his eyes. "In all the stories and legends I have been told through out my life. I do not remember you being described as a jokester," he laughed a little after saying this, and Dinky could see it pained him to do so. "I wish I had a way to amend the stories. So others that will follow me will be better prepared." A very violent coughing fit over took the Dragon now, so much so that Dinky couldn't help but feel sorry for him, and she rushed over to place one of her claws on his head. "Thank you Mother," Bellarek said as his coughing subsided. "Now. Will you hear my deeds?"

   "Y-yes, of course. You can tell me anything you want." Dinky did not understand what it was this Dragon truly wanted. She did know however that these were more than likely going to be the last words he would ever speak, and she could at least hear them, not knowing what good it would do.

   "Thank you Great Mother," Bellarek said as he settled himself deeper into the ground. "I will not lie to you Mother. My like was long, and I have regrets held with in it. I may have had a few more females in my time than I should have. I said many things I did not mean. But I did have many children, they grew strong, they had children of their own, and I saw my legacy grow. My lair was sturdy, and the horde that it contained rivaled that of some of the greatest Dragon Lords. Of these things, I know I am happy." For a few moments, the massive Dragon stopped speaking as he let out a rather content sounding sigh. "So now tell me Great Mother. Have I appeased you? May I go with you now to the Lair Eternal? Where the hordes, and the sky are everlasting."

   "I," Dinky started, only coming to a pause as she looked down at the aged lizard beneath her. She couldn't stop a pair of tears that had formed in her eyes from rolling down her scaled cheeks. They were tears of sadness for this creature she had been taught to fear her whole life, but more than that, they were also tears of rage. She wanted to know why Samael had done this to her, she wanted to know what she had done to him to have to witness something so cruel. Whatever the reason was, she knew she could not leave this Dragon named Bellarek here with no answer. "I, I think that would be very nice. You know, for you to come to the Lair Eternal with me." After saying this, Dinky placed her claw on Bellarek's head, and slowly stroked her nails through the dull and matted hair that flowed from the top scales.

   "Thank you Great Mother," Bellarek said with a whimper in his rough, and raspy voice. "It does my old heart good to know that I have made you proud." His words began to trail away after that, so much so that Dinky could no longer understand what he was saying. Soon after that, the old Dragon simply laid there, taking in deep breaths that seemed to be forcing him to use every part of his will to collect. Then soon after that, he took in no breath at all.

   "Bellarek?" Dinky asked as she gently shook his head in her claw. The shaking became a little harder, as her own breaths became shallow, and heavy. "Hey Bellarek?" she shouted, her voice becoming a roar as she called out his name. With a panicked grab, she brought his head into a cradle, and shook it even more violently than before. "Come on Bellarek. You have to wake up okay? I'm not this Great Mother! You have to wait for her to show up okay? You have to tell her all those things, not me! I'm just a Pony, you have to wait for her!" The realization of her situation finally set in, this old Dragon had just passed away. She could do nothing now but sit down and start to cry. She had never seen anything die before, she had only heard stories of what happens when elderly Ponies finally pass on. She could only feel a great heart ache in her chest now, and this was for a Dragon that she had never even met until just a few minutes ago. The thought of having to watch one of her friends or family die like this filled her head, and she knew it was something she feared now more than anything.

   "Well," Samael started as he came walking up to the still weeping Dinky, and the recently deceased Dragon. "Not exactly how I would normally do it. But you did just fine for your first time out I think." As soon as Dinky heard him speak, she felt an uncontrollable rage flow through her like a dam that broke to release an angry river. Her head snapped down, and towards the smirking man, followed by a low menacing growl. Her claw became a balled up fist, and she swung wildly towards him. The result of her sudden out burst was turning Samael into a high speed projectile. He easily flew through the air, reaching a distance of several hundred yards before crashing down onto the ground, then skidding to a stop.

   Dinky immediately realized what she had done, and brought her claws up to her mouth in a wide eyed gasp as she saw the man turn into a rag doll, and soar through the air. Before he even hit the ground, Dinky was in hot pursuit. She ran as fast as she could, even taking several great bounds to cover as much distance as possible. "Oh no!" she cried out as she finally reached his motionless body that was now laying face down in the dirt. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, please be okay."

   "It's not nice to hit people D," Samael said with a shaken voice that was now muffled by speaking directly into the ground. Without so much of a groan of pain however, he easily picked himself up off the ground, then let out a sigh as he began brushing himself off. "I think that is enough lessons in the field for today." He then made a fast gesture towards Dinky, and just as quickly as she had become the massive Dragoness, she was now back to her normal self, looking up at Samael with a deep saddened look in her eyes, and on her muzzle.

   "Why did you do that Sammy?" Dinky asked with a hint of anger in her voice. "Why did you bring me here to watch that poor Dragon die?

   "I told you D. He needed your help," Samael responded as he finished dusting himself off, and walked over to a small rock, where he sat himself down.

   "My help? He didn't need my help. He needed a doctor! He didn't need me lying to him, telling him that I was something I wasn't. I'm not this Great Mother he wanted to see." Dinky once again could not hold back a few tears that forced themselves out of her large gold eyes. She was about to continue her yelling, but Samael was quick to intervene.

   "Ah ha!" he said with a large grin, and an uplifted finger. "That is where you are wrong little D. You in fact did not lie to him. You were very much this Great Mother he spoke of."

   "I, I am?" Dinky said with a confused twist of her head.

   "Well, normally I am. But I decided this would be a fine opportunity to let you get a small glimpse at the bigger picture of things."

   "So you're a giant girl Dragon?" Dinky asked. A question that made Samael let out a sudden burst of laughter, as he clapped his gloved hands together.

   "Sometimes I am, yes. Sometimes I am a massive boat that brings departed spirits to their final destination. Sometimes I am a shadowy cloaked figure that hides, waiting to jump out and snatch up souls when they least expect it. The truth of the matter is: I am not any one thing really. I am nothing more than the concept of people's personal, and cultural beliefs."

   "Argh!" Dinky shouted in frustration as she spun around, while stamping her hoof to the ground. "Stop talking like that Sammy! Just tell me what you are, just tell me what this is about!"

   "That's fair I suppose. I guess I have been leading you on for a time now." Samael raised himself up off the rock he had been sitting on, and walked over to the filly. "This is all about destiny D. That's why I came here to your world. Your kind understands destiny better than most of the Denizens of all the Universes combined. It is implanted in you on an almost instinctual level." He then kneeled down, so he could get as much to eye level with the tiny filly as he could. "I was the second thing to be birthed in all of creation. I will be the last thing to go when all Universes finally reach the end of their ever expanding life spans. And you, much like myself, are Death."

   Dinky suddenly felt cold, as if something had come and literally ripped all the heat from her body. She couldn't swallow, she couldn't breathe. She wanted so much to run away, but her body wouldn't respond. She even wanted to reach out and punch him again, she wanted to do anything to get the information out of her head that she was just given. "Death?" she whispered as she looked deep into Samael's now very cold looking, doll like eyes. "I, I, I, I'm n-n-not Death. I don't even have my cutie mark yet. I don't know what I am. But I know I'm not Death." After this, she let out a nervous laugh. She didn't know why she did it, it just seemed a way to dissolve the fear that was gripping ferociously at her heart now.

   "What you know, and what is truth are two completely different things my little pony friend," Samael said as he rose to his feet. "You are just another faucet of what I am. It was this way long before you were born, long before your kind took in its first breath. It will be this way long after your race has slipped away into the ether, and faded from memories."

   "No!" Dinky screamed as she finally found the strength to turn around on her hooves. She blasted off as fast as she could, not knowing where she was running, just as long as it was away from him. She didn't dare look behind her, she didn't want to see if he was following her, she didn't want to see if he had become some horrid, and indescribable monster that was just a hoof step away from her. The only thing she wanted was to go home, she wanted to see her mother, now more than anything.

*****

      In a sudden flash, Dinky found herself no longer running through the unfamiliar landscape she was before. Now her hooves beat heavily against her own yard, her house getting closer, and closer with each step. Her tears of fear and anger were quickly replaced by a overwhelming sense of relief as she came galloping up onto her porch, where she almost slammed herself through to get inside. Once there, she came to an abrupt halt, she only had to survey the room for a short second before she saw her mother there in the front room, who at first had a welcoming smile, but quickly twisted into a look of concern as she saw the tear soaked cheeks of her child. "Mommy!" Dinky cried as she ran across the room, and threw her self into her mother's warm coat.

   "Dinky! What's wrong?" Derpy asked as she gently closed her front legs around her foal in a tight embrace. Dinky didn't say anything in response to her mother's question. She just squeezed herself as hard as she could, almost pushing Derpy down in the process. The cross eyed Pegasus could only speculate what had Dinky so upset. All the normal situations came to mind. Somepony was mean to her, they called her small, or a blank flank. Or even worse, somepony had brought up the fact that she once again delivered mail to the wrong house. For just a few minutes, Derpy let Dinky nuzzle herself into the soft coat on her chest, before finally pulling away while still holding her whimpering child in her hooves. "Come on Cutie. tell me what happened. Was somepony mean to you?"

   "No," Dinky said with a hard sniff, while wiping away some of the tears that dampened her face. "It's nothing like that. I just got some really bad news I guess. It kinda upset me, cause it was scary too."

   "Well I tell you what," Derpy began as she came down to all fours, then walked into the kitchen. "You tell me all about it, and I will make us a nice dinner." After saying this, Derpy started rustling through the pots, pans, and other cooking utensils that were stashed away in the various cabinets of their kitchen. She even decided to try to make Dinky smile by coming up with a large salad bowl on top of her head, making it appear as a lop sided helmet. The joke did not gain the reaction she had hoped for, as Dinky just stood there looking at her with a raised eyebrow. This caused her to quickly pull the bowl off her head, and continue gathering all the things she needed.

   "Umm, Mommy? Can I ask you about something?" Dinky said as she stepped up to the counter of the island in the middle of the kitchen.

   "Well sure!" Dinky answered in a bright, and cheerful tone. "You can ask me about anything," She then paused for a second, and looked up towards the ceiling with a look on her face as if she had forgotten something important. "Except math, I'm not good with math. Don't ask me about history either. Or geometry, or math."

   "I kinda want to know about, death." As soon as Dinky said this, Derpy jumped, and dropped several plates to the ground, making a large clattering noise as they hit.

   "D-death! Oh Dinky, why would you want to know about something like that?" Derpy asked as she hit the ground, picking up the now cracked, and chipped plates. "Let's talk about, umm, let's see here. Oh I know, let's talk about rainbows!"

   "Come on Mommy. I really need to know about this." The two mares exchanged a silent glare at one another for a few moments. Though it was Derpy that eventually surrendered.

   "Okay I guess," the mother mare sighed out as her face became a more saddened one. "What do you want to know about it?" This really wasn't something Derpy was prepared for. She wished that her little filly would ask her about anything else. Like boys, where do babies come from, why is the sky blue; any other question would be better than having to explain to a child why things die.

   "Why? Why do Ponies, or anything really have to die? Why can't we all just keep going forever and ever?" Dinky sat there for what seemed like hours as she looked at her mother, who at this point had one of the most uncomfortable looks on her face that she had ever seen. Still she waited patiently; waiting for her mother to give her some insight on the predicament she was in.

   "That would be nice huh?" Derpy said in a quiet, and sad voice. "If everypony could just live forever. We could all just live together, watch all our children, grand children, great grand children all grow up forever." Derpy could actually feel her brain start to hurt. She wanted so badly to find some way out of this conversation, something to distract them from the things she had to say. Then something came to her, something that put a small sliver of a smile on her lips. It wouldn't be the best way to end it, but it would end it. "But really, everypony has to die at some point."

   "But why?" Dinky shouted as she pounded her hoof down to the counter top.

   "Well Honey. If everypony lived forever, then the whole wide world would get completely filled up with Ponies. There wouldn't be enough houses to go around. All the food would eventually run out. And pretty soon, everypony would be cold, starved, and just very unhappy. Besides, if you think about it, no pony ever really dies.

   "They, they don't?" Dinky asked, as her eyes widened, and her voice became a little more chipper with the hope that her mother had somehow discovered the secret to immortality.

   "Well, I mean, our bodies may stop working and all that. But as long as you have lots of family and friends, ones that will remember you when you are gone. If you have that, then no, you can never truly die." Dinky stood there in silence as she took in her mother's words. She thought back on the experience she had with Bellarek, and how proud he sounded when he mentioned his own family. Even though he was gone now, his children, and their children all knew who he was. They would always remember him, all the things he had said and done through out his life. This made her feel just a little bit better, and it coming from her own mother was comforting enough. It was just the fact that according to what Samael had told her, she was going to be the one that had to take the lives of those whose time had come up.

   "Mommy?" the purple filly said in a solemn tone as she slid from the counter to all fours, and walked over to push herself up against her mother's grey coat.

   "Mmm hmm?" Derpy responded as she unfolded one of her wings, and wrapped it around her child's body.

   "I'll always remember you. Whatever happens, I just want you to know that." While it was odd to hear for whatever reason, Derpy just smiled, and sighed as she pulled her foal a bit closer.

   "Thank you Dinky. It is nice to know I will always be remembered." The two shared a long silent embrace after that. Then Derpy gave her child a small kiss on the top of her head, before going back to her work on making dinner.

   "Mommy?" Dinky asked as she replaced herself back at the counter top of the island.

   "Yes dear?" Derpy responded, not looking away from her busy work.

   "What's the square root of nine million, seven hundred and forty five thousand, two hundred and twenty two?" Derpy completely froze as she heard the inconceivably large number get thrown at her from out of no where. Her eyes went completely crossed from one another; one looking down, while the other turned all the way up. She could even feel the corner of her mouth twitch as her brain tried desperately to calculate the equation. She then heard the stifled giggles of Dinky behind her, and she knew she was being the subject of a mean joke.

   "Sweetie, don't do that to Mommy. All the smoke from my ears will make Ponies think there is a fire in here!" The two shared a long laugh at Derpy's last remark. They then exchanged a set of smiles, as Derpy went back to making their meal, and Dinky stood there and watched her.

*****

       A large iron cauldron flew across the room as Pestilence let out a loud growl of anger, and frustration. "Intolerable little vermin!" he shouted at the guards that now scampered to get clear of the flying metal object. "When I say a container of the purest metal. I do not mean for you to bring me some poorly crafted common use item that was made by some amateur blacksmith with a mental deficiency!"

   "Yes sir, sorry sir," the guards in question said as they backed away quickly from the irate stallion. The pair made a hasty retreat out of the room, and scuttled away to try once again to complete the task they had been given.

   "Having a bad temper is one thing," Celestia said as she stepped forward, using her magic to place the still rolling cauldron up right. "I will not have you mistreating my subjects Pestilence."

   "Do not toss your insignificant little threats at me Celestia," Pestilence said with a low growl as he looked over the table of items he had the guards, and even Celestia herself collect for him. "Do you think this is some low grade magic I am creating here hmm? Do you think all these items are for a kind of potion? Or perhaps a fun little alchemy?"

   "I don't know what you are making Pestilence. You have yet to inform me of its purpose." Celestia herself started to look over the odd assortment of items that this mysterious, and angry stallion had asked for. Some were common place, while others took some time to collect. She knew that if she herself were not an Alicorn with thousands of years experience to call upon. Some of these items could never been obtained at all.

   "That's right!" Pestilence snorted as he used his own levitation magic to bring some other items in an organized fashion. "You don't know. And that's because this is not some mundane Pony magic that you and your kind hold so dear to. This is a kind of creation that will forever be out of your realm of comprehension."

   "It appears to be simple enough," the Sun Goddess said as she looked up and down the table before her.

   "Yes well, I am sure there is many a thing that appears simple to you," the marble patterned stallion said with a malicious chuckle.

   "Why do you act in such a way?" Celestia sighed out. She had become more than annoyed at this point with this rude visitor. The only reason she had tolerated it up to this point is because he had told her he knew a way to banish the unwanted spirit that had been roaming around her lands. Though now she was becoming more, and more untrusting of him.

   "It is no concern of yours Alicorn. Now why don't you go play with your Sun, until I need you." Once again, Pestilence chuckled to himself, though he did not see the piercing glare that Celestia was giving him now.

   "That will be quite enough out of you!" Celestia shouted as she stamped her hoof to the ground. This making Pestilence slowly turn his head to give the tall white mare a menacing look of his own. "Oh do not look at me like that!" Celestia said as she strengthened her resolve to confront the ill mannered stallion. "Yes, you are powerful, I can see that. You can use magic without a horn, you come from a place I do not understand. Well if we are so stupid to understand your magic, then why don't you just go out there and collect all the ingredients yourself? And then deal with Death personally!"

   Something happened then that took Celestia a little off guard when she saw it, Pestilence actually smiled at her. "Very brave Princess, very brave indeed," Pestilence said with a small laugh. "Very well, I will tell you why I cannot do this by myself. You see, I cannot directly cast this spell. No, it will take the combined effort of you, and your fellow Alicorns to do that."

   "Why? Why can you make it, but not be able to cast it?" Celestia asked with a look of wonder.

   "Because those are the rules of the game, and we will leave it at that." Pestilence's face then became very stern as he began to speak again. "There is one more component I will need before I can start constructing the spell."

   "And what would that be?" Celestia asked.

   "Life," Pestilence answered as a cruel, and twisted grin came to his muzzle. "You see, to banish Death, you have to sacrifice life. It has to be willingly given, without regret, or remorse of the decision."

   This made Celestia take several steps backwards as the horror of what had to be done came crashing into her ears. Slowly she shook her head back and forth, as both fear, and anger came welling up inside her. "You must be mad," she said through clenched teeth. "I will never do such a thing. Not one creature would I ask, Pony or otherwise to make such a sacrifice." This made Pestilence throw his head back, then emit a howling laughter. A kind of shrieking outburst that even made Celestia cringe from the sound of it. She could only imagine what it was doing to any other Pony that was unfortunate enough to hear it.

   "How very obnoxiously noble of you my dear Princess," Pestilence said as he brought the laughter to a dull chortle. "No I am afraid you do not understand. You see while you could sacrifice the lives of the mortals that live here on this world. Though I might say that after it was all said and done, you would not have very many subjects to rule over. No, the life that must be given must come from a more splendid source. Plucked from a soul with an overflowing supply," he paused at those words, as he looked over to the still glaring princess. "An immortal. Yes, that is what we need."

   "An immortal?" Celestia repeated as the seriousness of what he was asking came to light. "You mean me?"

   "Indeed I do Princess. It seems you Alicorns have just enough immortality to power such a spell as this." Pestilence then turned around completely, to where he was facing Celestia almost nose to nose. "So what say you great Sun Goddess? Will you give willingly the one thing that will stop Death itself from claiming its prize right from under your hooves?"

   With little thought, Celestia held her head up high, straightening her posture, and even letting her wings unfold from her side. "Yes, I will, without a doubt."

   "Excellent!" Pestilence exclaimed as he returned back to the table. "It is settled then. And once all the components have been gathered, we will begin the ritual that will bring Death to its knees. And there, it will know the cost of its betrayal!" Once more the sickly looking stallion threw his head back, and let out another soul wrenching cackle as several of the items on the table came up into the air, and started swirling around him. All Celestia could do now was just hang her head down low, as she turned to leave the room, while a single silvery tear started to roll down her cheek.