"Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee"
I am not used to being seen, I am used to being that of a shadow, hidden from the eyes of those not fit to see me for what I am. I show my self when the toll of the witching bell rings to all those who are in written onto my list, nothing more nothing less.
I am Bell Toll, Alicorn of the Dead and the Shepherd of souls, My tale is endless and my memory vast, but I can’t remember the last time I spoke to a mortal, nay, a pony such as this.
It was a cold winters night, just before the Hearths Warming, the bell had tolled and the endless list appeared before me, the hour of deaths rule was upon Equestria. From Twelve o'clock to the rise of Celestia’s sun I was permitted to take the souls of those ready to enter the eternal slumber.
I was visiting the small town of Ponyville, it has always been such a quaint little town, but it was also a strange one. For being a town so close to the Everfree and the gates of Tartarus, I’d expect that more ponies would die from monster mauling and other things like that, but surprisingly none ever did, most died from natural causes or left the town to find their purpose in life, and then die on the way to that purpose.
I walked the silent snow covered roads, my destination was the Golden Oaks library, my night was strange indeed, Canterlot had a total of forty deaths and the count was getting higher as my spirit walked through and gathered the souls of old and young alike, Trottingham fared no better with sixty deaths in one old folks home and forty passed foals and fillies in an orphanage, but Ponyville only had one slated for my list, and that disturbed me.
That one pony was currently resting in the Golden Oaks library with an ailment that I have all too much knowledge of, the feather flu. Now the feather flu is an easy enough disease to treat, give the filly some soup and liquids and they will be right as rain the next day, but when the child has a weak immune system, it becomes harder to handle.
The large tree came into my hooded view and it welcomed me as I walked through the door and up the wooden stairs towards my destination. I could hear the snores of Spike the dragon, who still had thousands of years before he made my list, the mumbling of the still awake Princess Twilight Sparkle who would see me only when the sun itself had ceased to be.I saw the phoenix Pewee sleeping peacefully in the fireplace keeping the flame high and warm, and I saw the owl Owlawiscious who stared at me with saddened and heavy eyes but did not disturb my duty, animals knew my list and he knew that it was final.
I stepped into the darkened room that housed the dying filly and I laid eyes upon her. She was beautiful and at the same time so very sad, her orange feathers had all fallen out and were scattered out upon her pillows and sheets. Her breathing was labored and she looked as if she was in pain.
I Leaned down touched my horn too her head, whispering “Be at peace, Scootaloo.” with that her breathing relaxed and her facial expression was one of sleep, not pain. I was too preoccupied with the child to notice the shadow that stood over me but the voice that came with it was unmistakable.
“Who are you and what are you doing to Scootaloo!” Twilight Sparkle shouted her horn ignited and wings flared.
I was glad I had cast my relaxation spell on the sleeping child, or she would have awoken and that would have made my job much more difficult than it already was. I turned to the younger Alicorn and spoke “I am doing my job Twilight Sparkle, I am here for her as the list demands.” I didn’t need to explain anymore for I knew Celestia had made sure to tell her pupil about me when she became one of us.
Twilight Sparkle’s eyes dawned with the realization of what I was doing in her home, her eyes drifted to a nearby clock and then back to me, She sighed “Why now...why Scootaloo? she just has the feather flu!” she stomped a hoof to the ground cracking the hard wooden floor.
“I do not care for the hows or whys Twilight Sparkle, I care about getting her to the afterlife, just as I have always done, so stand aside and let me finish.” death is a natural part of life She should know this, her teacher taught her so, so why did she stand there looking at me instead of heading my order.
After what seemed like ages, even for one as timeless as I, she spoke one word that still haunts me to this day “No.”
“What do you mean no?” I asked my hood covering the confusion of my eyes “You can not defy Death Twilight Sparkle, only those whose names have been erased from the list can be truly free from my grasp, and only five such beings so live on this world.”
“I mean what I said and I said No” her eyes burned with defiance “Come downstairs with me and we can talk this out, but I will not let you leave this home with that filly.”
This was an entirely new experience for me, no living creature would dare stand before me, even those whose names had been taken from my list as a reward for perfecting a field of magic that none other had done before, Cadence was love, Twilight Sparkle was Friendship, Discord was Chaos, Luna and Celestia were Balance and I was Death.
I knew that trying to defy the Element of Magic was not worth the risk of disturbing my charge even more than I already had, and so reluctantly I nodded and we made our way down the stairs and into the darkened living area of the library.
“Princess you know that talking me out of doing my job is futile, your mentor has taught you about me hasn’t she?” I asked as we sat around the table that sat in the middle of the room.
“Of course she has,” Twilight’s voice was even and calm for one who was keeping death from doing her job “But indulge me please?”
I looked at her for a good while, trying to find any way past her, anyway for me to retrieve Scootaloo and be off on my way but I nodded in agreement “very well then, speak and let me be on my way.”
Twilight Sparkle smiled, it was the same damnable smile that Celestia had perfected all those years ago during our many political games that she would play, that smile should have told me that I was making a mistake in agreeing to hear her out, but I am a mare of honor and I don’t go back on my word.
“Alright then,” She began with a clap of her hoofs “Celestia told me that long ago, the two of you made a pact stating that could only collect the souls of ponies who die of natural causes during the witching hour correct?”
I nodded wondering why such a question was asked when she herself already knew the answer.
“She also explained that the deal does not apply to those who die of murder or other causes deemed unnatural, could you list those off for me?” She was lecturing me, ME, the Alicorn of Death!
I wanted to complain, I wanted to ask who are you to question my ways or my job?! But instead I found myself answering her “Being slain by any beast of the world, be they sentient or be they feral, death from exposure, death during childbirth, death from war, from famine, and from natural disaster.”
Twilight sparkle seemed to hum at this as she wrote down what she had been told “Okay then so natural causes are disease and old age?” She asked still writing.
I nodded and said “You're taking this well for somepony who has never seen the mare of death before.”
Twilight chuckled at that “When you've fought armies of changelings and defeated the avatar of chaos nothing really surprises you anymore,” She said putting down her note pad “ Before we continue can I make a request?”
“You are already wasting my time Twilight Sparkle, What more do you wish of me!” I all but snapped at her. I was starting to dislike this mare, she was wasting my time and denying the filly that lay sleeping the night away her right to enter the summer lands.
The purple alicorn was unfazed by my outburst and spoke again “My request is that you take off your hood.”
“Thats it?” I asked “No spare her? No please let her live, you just want me to take my hood off?”
The princess nodded “Scootaloo will be saved don’t get me wrong, but I want to see the pony who is willing to take the life of a filly.”
I cringed at her words, I hated taking a child’s life more than anything, but my list was my ruler, and I followed it for if I did not it would throw the word into chaos, breaking the balance that the sisters had worked hard to achieve.
“Very well then” I said flipping my head back to reveal my face to the princess of magic. Twilight’s eyes grew when she laid eyes upon me and I raised an eyebrow at her reaction, was I that ugly that she was speechless?
Before I could ask her why she was silent she finally muttered something “You're beautiful…”
That is not the reaction one would expect when meeting the avatar of death, “What do you mean? Why are you not cowering for your soul like all the other’s who have seen my face?” I asked
This caused Twilight to look at me with an expression that I could only label as confused, as if she couldn’t understand that death was to be feared. “Death….”
“Bell Toll” I mumbled cutting her off.
“What?” She asked still staring at me with her awestruck expression that creeps me out even to this day.
“My name, it is Bell Toll.” I muttered to her “I assume that since you have seen my face and are of rank that you deserve to know my name and not my title.”
Twilight nodded “Okay then, Bell Toll what did you mean by others cower when they see your face?”
It was my turn to look confused “Wouldn’t most normal ponies be afraid of a skeleton?” I asked my mind just couldn’t wrap itself around why she would call me beautiful, For as long as I could remember I was described as a skeletal being, whom everypony feared and called the Pale Mare.
Twilight looked too me and then shook her head “You're not a skeleton take a look.” she levitated a mirror over to me, and that's when I saw what she meant.
Behind the mirror was a beautiful mare, one with gray fur and deep blue eyes, the eyes looked old and tired, but they also were brave and strong. Had I not looked in a mirror for so long that I had believed the tales that others told of me?
“You hid yourself behind that hood for so long you forgot what you looked like.” Twilight whispered softly
“I...I guess I did,” My brain was still working to regain itself when I spoke again “But this still does not change the fact that I am still Death, no matter what I look like I must do my job.”
Twilight looked saddened by my sudden change of subject, may be distracting me from my job was her idea of keeping me from claiming Scootaloo, I will admit seeing what I looked like was jarring and I had to use all of my willpower to keep myself from crying like a filly when I saw my reflection in that mirror, but I am Death, I do not waver because of such trivial things and I carried on.
“I am not heartless though,” I looked to her, our eyes connecting and understanding going between us “I make you this wager, You must ask me a question and if I cannot answer you I will allow the child to stay.”
Twilight smiled at me and was about to speak and say something along the lines of I accept! but I beat her too it “But, if I win I rewrite you name onto the list, and you cease to be an Alicorn.” She looked shocked at this, but she nodded her head in acceptance.
“I accept your challenge.” she faced death with courage, I’ll give her that. she rose her hoof as most ponies do when accepting a deal.
“Very well then Twilight Sparkle, ask your question.” I said shaking her hoof to seal the deal.
Twilight Sparkle sat there for what felt like hours thinking of the perfect question to stump me, while she did that I took inventory on the souls my shades had collected, a total of one thousand ponies had died, and the count was rising but not by as much as I had thought. I was had just started recounting when Twilight finally yelled out a loud “A HA!”
“I take it you have found your question?” I asked her.
“Yes,” She said curtly “My question for you is simple, how did you earn your cutie mark?”
I laughed at her, I know it’s rude to laugh but she deserved it “ha ha, that’s your question? the brilliant question that will save that filly from me is how I got my cutie mark?”
Twilight nodded and this caused me to laugh even more “Very well then Twilight Sparkle, I’ll have you know that I earned my cutie mark when I….” it was then that realization struck me...I didn’t remember how I had earned my cutie mark.
“Can’t remember?” She asked with that sweet voice of hers, she still had the smile that I despised Celestia for, the one that she uses when she has outsmarted you.
“I...I..” I couldn't remember, I looked down at my flank and saw the same ink and inkwell that had once meant so much to a younger me, and I couldn't remember. I remembered being a white mare with red hair, I remember finding the list and the understanding that came with learning from its pages. I remembered the day when I became what I am today, when My fur turned gray and my mane a light blue, but I could not remember the day I had earned my cutie mark.
“Princess Celestia couldn't remember either.” Twilight spoke upon seeing my startled face “I asked her the same question when I was a filly, and she told me that she could not remember that far back.”
I nodded numbly...I had been outsmarted by a mere child when it comes to Alicorns, I stood and turned to leave “You...you have bested me Twilight Sparkle….I allow you to keep Scootaloo’s life,” I ripped Scootaloo’s name off the never ending list and floated it over to the Alicorn. “Take her to the hospital and tell them to give her immune system a boost, and after they have done that burn that slip of paper.” I then left the house and before Twilight Sparkle could say anything I was out of site.
The sun was peaking over the horizon and the hour of witching was over, for the first time in ages a living being stood up to me, and in the first time since the I and the sisters became Alicorns, a mortal was spared the sting of death.
Author's Note
Thank you for reading, this took me two days to write....it is currently like 5:31 Am and I'm tired please enjoy.
