Author's Note

Thought of this short story this morning and decided to write it down. I hope you enjoy it.

Mortal Troubles

Mortal Troubles

Princess Celestia was having the best time of her life in a long while. Her student Twilight Sparkle had finally been able to achieve her true destiny and become the alicorn of friendship. She had seen it a very long time ago when she was just a mere filly, the potential she had within herself and everything she was possibly capable of as long as a guiding hand kept her in the right path. And everything had gone according to plan; there were a few bumps of the road but nothing that some firm guidance couldn’t help.

Luna had taken to looking after Twilight for her first night as an alicorn, things like magic spurges were a common thing and with so much raw power available mistakes could be made so Luna had to make sure her dreams were calm and gentle. Celestia had moved all meetings a few days so she didn’t have to do any paper work; she essentially had the night to herself to celebrate her student’s achievement. She desired to have her with herself in this night so both of them could celebrate but such a thing could wait, this night was for her.

Celestia strode gracefully from her own room to the kitchen area with multiple guards bowing as she passed by them. The castle was very warm and cozy this evening as she moved with determination towards her goal. As she entered the dining room a single well groomed pony came towards her and bowed.

“Good evening your majesty.” Said the pony, “Is there anything I can serve you with tonight?”

“Why yes Tight Suit I was hoping on getting a very special order I placed on the kitchen staff this morning.” She said with glee almost tasting her prize

“Certainly your majesty, if you would please follow me I'd be glad to show you to your seat.” Said the pony with finesse

“Oh no, that won’t be needed tonight Tight, I will be having my order to go.” Celestia said

“Very well your majesty.” the pony said as he left for the kitchen.

Every single second that passed Celestia ached to have her hoof at once over her prize, she had thought of it a long while ago with help with the castle’s confectioners. A cake so delicious and moist a single slice would be a trip to heaven in the palate. It would probably numb her taste for a few days but such a masterful creation had to be consumed at least once in a life-time and this was the perfect time for it.

She could hear a ruckus in the kitchen as the staff itself walked out and presented the box to her as if it were a work of art. They were careful with it like a foal but the pride in their eyes was visible to anypony as they offered it to her.

“Your majesty, it is done. We are proud to present you with “The Cake”.” Said the head chef as all the staff nodded and some even hoofstomped. The waiter seemed intrigued by the whole ordeal but didn’t question it.

“I couldn’t be prouder all of you; this will truly be a whole new experience.” She said as she gently picked up the package.

“May I be the first to say that this is our greatest creation yet your majesty. May you remember this piece of cake for the years to come.” He said

“As well as you, Chef Ram Sea.” She said which caused the chef to raise an eyebrow at the commentary.

“Well you don’t expect me to keep it all to myself do you? I mean the rumors about my love for cake are a little bit exaggerated but I don’t expect ponies to believe I hoard it. No, a true cake lover shares the beauty of a delicious cake with the world and that’s why I want you all in the staff to partake in the eating of it tonight. Please make sure you all get a slice, after all it was a group effort.” Said Celestia as a single tear fell from the face of one of the staff members

“Will do your princess, will do.” Replied the head chef as he and the staff waved her off like a hero

She began her trek back to her room and she couldn’t avoid feeling a little anxious at finally eating her delicacy. As she trotted through the halls she began imagining the kitchen staff taking the time to sit down and serving themselves a piece of cake. All their faces lighting up like Christmas lights as the beauty of confectionery masterpiece caressed their palates.

It was almost like clockwork because as soon as she thought of it the sound of ponies being caressed into a dreamlike state was heard coming from the kitchen as she and every guard in the vicinity stopped to look at the disturbance. Some guards went to check it out but Celestia had only been given all the motivation she needed as she redoubled her efforts and was now practically running towards her room.

As she moved through the halls she didn’t notice the sudden lack of staff in the alleys of the castle or the fact that the certain cozy and warm aura was now gone. It wasn’t until she reached her door that she noticed in her haste the lack of lighting. The whole place had done a 180 in appearance as it now looked cold, frightening, and abandoned. A thousand alarm bells went off in her head immediately and she reached to her bedroom door only to notice it wasn’t closed.

She place her prize on a nearby stand before cautiously entering her room, her horn glowing ready to cast a disarming spell. The air inside the room hit her like a blizzard as she suddenly had a flashback of something similar happening to her a very long, long while ago. So long ago was that moment in time that even the pony tribes still ruled the land. The hair on her back stood as she was finally reminded of the only entity an immortal was capable of truly fearing.

“Come in Celestia, we need to talk.” Came a stale voice from the inside of her room

Celestia held her breath before she slowly entered the room, she wasn’t afraid to admit that shed offer away her cake in order to get out of the situation…or maybe not I mean let’s not get crazy here. Inside the room an alicorn stood whilst looking out through the window of the balcony.

“Do you know why Im here Celestia?” asked the alicorn on her room

“Uh… no.” she said sheepishly as the alicorn swiftly turned to face her and presented itself in all its glory.

Its face was carved not of flesh but bone and its whole body was shrouded in shadows as dark smoke gave it the appearance of wearing a black cloak. Its bony wings twitching slightly as the Grim Pony of Death approached Celestia with its dark empty eyes penetrating into her soul.

“Come on Celestia, you are a lot smarter than that.” sounded the voice of Death though its face didn’t seem to move at all.

“I… uh… didn’t get some cake for you?” she said hoping it would be something mild and idiotic as that, after all Death did have a strange/sick sense of humor and sometimes liked to pull an immortals leg by scaring the crap out of them for a stupid reason

“Celestia, why did you get the cake exactly?” asked Death

“I was celebrating?”

“Celebrating what?”

“Oh! Well Twilight Sparkle’s ascension to alicornhood of course!” said Celestia a lot merrier than before.

“And that is exactly why I’m here.” Death said

“Youre not serious.” Said Celestia once more regaining a sense of comfort and control

“Im dead serious.” (Ah, theres the strange sense of humor)

“Whats wong with her finally achieving her destiny?” asked Celestia curiously

“It’s not her destiny which bothers me, I knew about it far before you yourself did. As a matter fact I’ve been watching her during all and every one of her adventures.”

“You mean waiting for her to screw up.” Said Celestia with a blank stare

“Don’t get sassy with me girl. The whole point of this is her actual turning more than anything.” Death said as the chimney in the room turned on, immediately bathing the room with light and warmth.

“What’s wrong with it? I took her to the place and showed Twilight her life as per protocol and then she ascended.” Said Celestia

“Come on, you are way smarter than this, you’ve been living for a couple thousands of years already.” Said Death staring at the fire

“What!? She did all the things. She saw her life and realized her destiny and so her inner magic took control and she ascended into alicornhood.” Replied Celestia without pause

“And immortality.” Said Death without looking back

“Yes, and immortali… uh oh.” Said Celestia as now Death turned to look at her

“Yes Celestia, its sort of a big Uh Oh do you not think?” he said

“Hey it’s alright, she accepted it so what if you weren’t present.” She said nonchalantly

“Celestia it is so uncommon of you do be so sloppy, it makes me want to check if you are actually dying as only those in the death row make such mistakes.”

“What mistake.”

“Twilight never agreed to immortality.”

“Wha!? No, I’m sure she did. I quite fully remember her accepting the gift of alicornhood.”

“Immortality can be a gift as well as a curse my child.”

“She wouldn’t have turned had she not wanted it.”

“Feelings on occasion can even cheat the system Celestia, and I’m afraid that your pupil might have been overcome with strong enough feelings and accepted to something she did not fully comprehend.”

“No, it can’t be…” Celestia said in disbelief

“Stop lying to yourself, I mean seriously I have it in bluray and dvd for Faust’s sake.” (theres the humor again)

“So what now? Will she begin to wonder why she isn’t aging and see her friends die one after another? Oh no what have I done!?” said Celestia

“Don’t worry child for that’s the reason I came here. You see I need to make sure you hadn’t done such a thing on purpose. I will now go and have a nice chat with Twilight Sparkle, and after it she can decide whether she wants to stay and alicorn or not.” Death said

“I want to come too, I feel like I should apologize.”

“No Celestia, you may not come as your own desire for her to reach this conclusion is too high and may affect the decision in the end. She must decide on her own without any sort of pressures, don’t worry though, if you have as much faith in her as you say you do then the answer should be clear to her. After it’s over, all there will be left is the matter of you punishment.”

“Punishment?” said Celestia with worry

“Why of course, playing with immortality isn’t something you want to do.” Death said and with that he snuffed out of existence and the whole place regained its warmth once again. Yet the encounter left Celestia with a very cold feeling of dread in her gut.

**********************

In the Ponyville library the newly ascended alicorn Twilight Sparkle rested in her bed as Princess Luna slept on the guest bed, besides them slept the assistant Spike the dragon. Everything was calm and serene, not a mouse squeaked inside the area and a gentle breeze passed through the place. Inside the dream of Twilight things were about to be stirred in a whole different direction.

Twilight Sparkle dreamt that she was relaxing in the Canterlot library with Princess Luna along for the ride. Luna had done a good job at keeping the dream and its host’s emotions in check. Twilight Sparkle found herself suddenly with a second guest as a unicorn she had never seen in her life before appeared from out of nowhere. The pony had a gray coat and a black mane; it could be easily overlooked on a crowd. He approached Twilight as she read a book about pony anatomy.

“I can’t believe all this is now part of me, so many new areas of study I can get into and test out hypothesis with!” she said in joy

“Yes, it is quite exciting isn’t it?” said the unicorn behind her

“Oh! Ah,Hi! Im Twilight Sparkle the librarian here, how may I help you?” she asked as she stood up

“Oh, it’s not like that Ms. Sparkle. It is more of how I may help You.” Said the pony which dragged confusion out of Twilight

She was about to ask what he meant as another voice came from nearby, “And you would be?” came Luna’s voice as she trotted through the hallway

“Me? Im Tight Schedule, nice to meet you Princess Luna.” The unicorn said

“I see, and what would be your business with Ms. Sparkle? You see she needs some alone time as she has gone through some changes which would rather be left undisturbed.” Said Luna

“Oh I know about them quite well Luna, that’s the whole reason Im here.” The unicorn replied

“Twilight I know you may have your fantasies, but why do you have to dream your colts so persistent?” asked Luna

“Uh, I didn’t. He just came out of nowhere, I was reading Pegasus anatomy.” Replied Twilight with uneasiness and a blush

Luna looked back at the colt, “Well as you may see Ms. Sparkle isn’t interested so if you could give her some space that would be deeply appreciated.” She said attempting to break the dream in the gentlest way possible

“Oh Im sorry Luna but that is not happening any time soon, you see I have a very important schedule to keep and talking to Twilight Sparkle is exactly what I need to do.” The unicorn said

“Okay! Enough of this! I’m done with games mister.” proclaimed Luna in agitation as her horn glowed and a beam of magic shot at the unicorn and squarely hit him in the chest.

Luna stopped the beam and expected him to be gone but was left shocked as she saw him still standing there with an unamused gaze.

“What are you!?” Luna said as she took a defensive position in front of Twilight Sparkle

“Are you done being reckless or do we have to go through this whole charade Lulu?” Death said

“Twilight stay behind me, this pony whoever he is, is not from your dream.” She said as Twilight now stricken with fear took step behind her.

“Luna, Im getting irritated with your little games. Now how about you be a good girl and let me speak with Twilight?” said the unicorn moving forward before a shot of magic stopped his progress

“You fool! You speak to the Princess of the Night as if she were a mere child! I am far older than thee, it would do thee good to know your place!” she said

“No Luna, it would do YOU good to know your place.” Said the unicorn before it teleported in front of Luna and with a single flick of magic she was gone.

Twilight stood there shocked before backing away in fright, “S-stay away from me! Who are you!?”

“Calm down child.” said the unicorn as it didn’t further walk towards her but instead began to grow in size. Before she knew it, in front of her stood a gray male alicorn with a black mane and hazel eyes.

“Just who in the hay are you!?” demanded Twilight

“Twilight Sparkle, it is nice to finally meet you in pony-ish. I am Death.” Said the alicorn

Twilight didn't seem to register the information well before she started screaming and running away. She moved through the library like a speedster but whenever she thought she lost him she found him sitting in front of her, before running away once more. This continued a few more times before she collapsed exhausted to the floor. Technically speaking she couldn’t get tired in her dream but the logic she had so deeply ingrained made her unable to see past reality in the dream.

“Are you done with this charade?” said Death

“You stay away from me you hear! If you step any closer I will…I will!?”

“You’ll what Twilight? Shoot me with magic? Kill me? Imprison me? Stop evading this.” Death said

“Please! Please don’t! I don’t want to die!” she pleaded before all her emotions halted as a certain sound reached her ears. The sound was a chuckling coming from Death itself as he began to laugh hysterically.

“IS THIS FUNNY TO YOU!?” Twilight screamed as her mane caught fire

*gasp* “Oh boy I haven’t laughed like that in millennia. Okay, okay, Im good.” Said the grim reaper as it stood once more. “You misunderstand Twilight, Im not here to reap you. As a matter of fact I’m here for the complete opposite.”

Twilight looked confused at him while raising an eyebrow, “What do you mean? Are you not here to take me with you?”

“No you silly pony, Im here to discuss with you the whole idea of immortality.” Death said

“Immortality?” she asked

“Figures, those two didn’t even tell you.” Grumbled Death, “Twilight am I correct that you like being an alicorn?” he asked

“Well it’s all new I guess, and there are so many things I can do now!” said Twilight

“That is indeed true, but you see not everything is fun and games. If you please follow me we will find a better place to have this conversation.” Said Death as a hole opened and he stood next to it.

“After you.” He said as Twilight cautiously looked into the hole and entered it after being followed by the grim reaper.

Twilight found herself waking up gently as she found Luna looking at her with concern.

“Twilight! Are you alright!?” she asked frantically

“Wha? Huh? Umm yes Luna I’m okay. I just had the weirdest dream ever.” She replied

“Oh thank goodness you are okay!” said Luna as she wrapped her hooves around her and gave her a strong hug

“Twilight! We were all worried! You were screaming and then you caught fire for a second!” said Spike leaping into the bed

“It was no dream child.” Came a voice for the other corner of the room which made everypony and dragon in the room freeze

Luna immediately sprang to action and turned while shooting a massive beam of magic at the unknown identity as the small dragon grabbed a lamp and stood at ready hoisting it up. The grey alicorn erected a barrier immediately and the magic was deflected out the window like nothing.

“Truly Luna, I would have guessed you would’ve recognized me a lot sooner.” Said the Alicorn as it walked closer

“NOT ANOTHER STEP!” yelled Luna with the Royal Caterlot Voice as her eyes lit up and the whole library began to shake, almost immediately Twilight went up to Luna and whispered something in her ear. The result was immediate as her eyes stopped glowing as well as her horn. She deflated and looked at the alicorn in shame.

“OH Im so sorry!” she said while pawing at the ground

“It’s okay child, as long as you realized your mistake. Now Ms. Sparkle if you please?” the alicorn said before a new hole opened, “After you.”

Twilight didn’t wait long before once more heading inside the hole while being followed by the alicorn.

The hole closed before Spike looked at Luna who seemed to be whimpering, “WHO THE HAY WAS THAT!?”

**********************

The whole opened once more and both alicorns walked out of it as they now stood on a field filled with roses and animals.

“This place is beautiful!” said Twilight as she looked around in awe

“I expect it to be, you wouldn’t want to go to heaven and realize it’s a giant room with an old bouncy castle in the middle would you?” Death said

“Wait!” said Twilight looking at Death, “This is heaven!? Shouldn’t I be? You know? Dead?” she asked

“Most of the time, but I tend to make exceptions when it comes to ponies meddling with immortality.”

“This place looks like it has every single type of flower in Equestria!” Twilight said walking around sniffing a few ones and daring to taste some.

“It doesn’t, it contains every single flower ever conceived in creation. From the beginning of times to the very end of them.” Said Death

“Wow.” Said Twilight as she was now awestruck, “But wait, shouldn’t there be more ponies here?” she asked

Death chuckled before walking to her, “Heaven doesn’t quite work like that Twilight, we can’t just exactly expect everypony to want the same thing out of the afterlife now can we? No, this is more of a display if you like. This is where I have this sort of talks with ponies like you. There is an infinite number of heavens, all catering to the wants needs of every single pony who has ever died. As a matter of fact yours I believe would be the biggest library ever imagined.” Death said

“Really!?” asked Twilight

“Yes Twilight, it’s not definite as it will change with anything you might want but I’m quite sure books will be a part of the equation. Heck I think we can even arrange you meeting with Starswirl the bearded to talk about magical theories. Just don’t tell him you solved his little spell, he tends to get overly emotional about his failures.” Said Death as Twilight seemed to be vibrating of the sheer excitement she was having. She didn’t think it physically possible but this place had far broken all her expectations and gone far beyond her wildest dreams.

“Now how about we talk about what we came here to talk about huh?” asked death as he walked and sat near a pond that wasn’t there a second ago

“Okay, what is it?” asked Twilight

“You see Twilight, alicornhood comes with a prize, the prize being immortality. Most ponies think it a gift, but those of us who know see how easily it can be a curse. If you accept being an alicorn, you have to accept not coming to heaven. That’s why I brought you here, so you can know all of what youll be missing. Not only that but you will grow to see your friends eventually growing old and dying.” Said Death as Twilight’s face fell

“Doesn’t seem quite fun now is it?” he asked

“You’ll have all the time in the world to do everything you’ve ever wanted or explore everything you’ve ever wanted, nothing will be out of reach. Sure there will be hardships but you'll also grow stronger and will make more friends than anypony alive. You'll also always have ponies like Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and even Discord to fall unto. I know they may seem erratic but in the end they are like a strange family. I will also be around if you ever need me.” Death said

“But that still doesn't help the fact that I'm never seeing my friends again.” Said Twilight

“Now I never said that.” He said as Twilight perked up, “You will be able to see you friends and come for a full week to heaven once ever century.”

“Wait! A full century!? That’s so long! They will forget me by then!” exclaimed Twilight

“Oh child, those who have passed away never forget their loved ones. But it is indeed quite the wait do you not think?” death said as Twilight looked at the pond in concentration

“And I will never be able to come to heaven?” she asked almost sorrowfully

“Not exactly, you see, everything eventually must move forwards from that plain of existence and this means immortals too. The problem is that nopony will be going to heaven until the very last mortal soul is reaped by me. And that is quite a long time, sometimes the immortals get desperate and do some pretty nasty things when they lose it. But I trust the others to help them out or I simply paid them a visit myself. Its understandable, they can get very lonely sometimes and they wish for it to end so they can go and live with all the friends they’ve had to let go to the pass of time. That’s why this decision is so important child, its not something to take lightly.” Death said as it stood up, “I will give you all the time you need to make this decision. You can become an alicorn and be immortal along with Luna and Celestia or you can choose not to and you will just wake up and think of this as a simple odd dream. The choice is yours.”

Twilight nodded as she staid looking at the pond as if it were the last time, Death never once making a sound. He stood there by her side the whole time.

“Could we, you know, visit some ponies before I make my decision?” she asked

“Of course we can.” Said Death

Both ponies began a long journey of self-realization that took probably several months as Twilight kept trying to answer the question laid before her. In the end everything came to a conclusion in the same pond where it all started which had now grown to be a lake.

“Have you made a decision child?” asked death

“Yes, Death. I choose…”

**********************

(Ponyville Library)

A hole opened inside the library as six ponies, two princesses, and a baby dragon awaited the return of their friend. They stood with heavy suspense before the grey alicorn passed through the hole first and all ponies seemed even more anxious to see their friend once more. Behind came their friend Twilight Sparkle with a determined look. All of them held their breath before she shot her head up and her wings unfurled in a majestic display.

“Oh Twilight we were so worried!” said Rarity

“Ah almost didn’t believe it when Spike came running saying ya had been foalnapped by ah strange alicorn.” Said Applejack as she sneered at the grey alicorn

“Yeah who is this guy by the way!?” asked Rainbow Dash as she flew up to the face of the alicorn

“He is a friend girls, and I just needed some time to figure things out.”

“What were you figuring out for 4 hours though!?” asked Spike

“Wait! Four hours!?” asked Twilight in shock as she turned to the grey alicorn

“Time is an odd thing Ms. Sparkle, you would be surprised to see how much a pony can do once it has figured out how to manipulate it.” He said as Twilight simply looked flabbergasted at the small smile Death had upon its face. (And this is how Twilight discovered Death’s sick sense of humor)

“Well we are just happy you are alright.” Said Fluttershy

“WOOOO MORE ALICORN PARTY!” yelled Pinkie Pie as all the friends brought themselves into a hug which seemed to break Twilight out of her shock. Celestia and Luna looked over the new alicorn with tears in their eyes before a certain presence appeared next to them.

“Celestia, Luna, we have two punishments to be dealt out.” Said Death

“Hey! Why me too!? It was her who bucked up not me!” claimed Luna

“Watch your language when speaking to your elders child, and your punishment is for taking so long in recognizing me and then shooting at me with magic.” Said Death

“Oh but it wouldn’t have even scratched you!” said Luna

“There is a principle Lulu.” Said Death, “Now come you two, there will be enough time to celebrate with your new timeless friend after were done.”

A hole opened once more as both Princesses groaned and huffed as they went through it. Death following them from behind but not before looking back once more at Twilight which stared at him before he winked at her and left.

The End
**********************

(Punishment)

Celestia cried her eyes out as she banged against a clearly indestructible window in a small little prison of hers, on the other side in a glass cell of her own sat Luna groaning loudly.

“Do I have to eat it all!?” she whined

“Every single piece.” Said Death

“But its gonna go straight to my flanks! And then I’ll look just like Celestia! I don’t even like cake!” whined Luna even louder as her sister cried rivers being unable to break from her prison. Death had placed the caked filled table a few inches away from her cell. Cake that looked exactly like the one the chef’s had made for her. How Death came upon making and duplicating several pieces of “The Cake” was beyond her.

“Don’t worry Luna, you have all eternity to work out. Now the sooner you finish, the soon we all go home.” Said Death of course omitting that they would just come back a few minutes after their departure which essentially meant that whatever time it took for her to eat it wouldn’t matter in the least.

“Youre a monster!” Cried Celestia

Death simply smiled

Death seriously has a sick sense of humor.