Research trip of a lifetime.
"Huh?"
Pinkie Pie grunts as she shakes her legs which were caught between two rocks. Right above her, a large boulder precariously sits atop a mountain of smaller rocks of its kind. It wobbles as she squirms about in her locked position, alarming her friends below. Rarity gasps at the situation that is unfolding in front of her eyes.
Behind them stands a figure, observing the pink pony in danger.
"Looks like I'll be having another one from this dimension it seems." It spoke quietly.
"Watch out!" Applejack screams as she points to the boulder that was descending rapidly down the rocky slope, splashing pebbles beneath it. Pinkie Pie screams to the top of her lungs as it quickly came down on her.
"Aaaah! Help!" Her cries for help reached Maud's ears as she bolts towards her sister.
She grabs the closest clothing she could get as she sprinted past the mannequins, taking a spiked helmet and knee guards in the process. She flies through the yellow tunnel and through the glimmering rainbow-coloured strips with ease. Her sights were set on her little sister as she somehow flew towards her.
Unfortunately, the boulder was accelerating down the rocky mountain, reaching Pinkie Pie faster than Maud. It tumbled down with the intent to crush the pony that was hopelessly stuck in its path. Maud gritted her teeth, hoping for the best as she places her hooves in front of herself. She didn't have time to stop it, nor did she have time to break Pinkie free.
Stuck with only one idea in mind, she used all of strength to aim and push at Pinkie Pie's leg, using her head to butt her body away once it was freed.
"I think I'm getting two, methinks." The hooded figure peers at the rescuer.
"Pinkie!" Maud shouted.
"Maud!" Pinkie Pie replied. The rocks break beneath her legs, freeing her as she is pushed away from the boulder's path with Maud's head. She heard a small voice speaking to her as she flew down the mountain.
"Sorry."
The boulder crushes Maud with such force that it causes her bones to break. It slows down from the friction of her body, setting its weight all on top of the poor mare as she is killed in the process. Pinkie stared, wild eyed as blood splashes beneath the boulder. Her eyes shrink to the size of pinpricks as the sudden terror sets in.
"Maud! Mauuuud!" She screamed as she tumbled down the rocky mountain.
Maud opened her eyes, looking at the obstacle course that her sister made.
"Did I make it?" She said.
"Sadly, no." A thin, wispy voice replies. "You were crushed underneath a boulder whilst saving your sister."
"Oh." Maud looked downtrodden.
"You should be glad, others don't have the luxury of having a quick death like yours." It spoke again.
Maud looked around as she stood beside the tree that brought her shade. To her left she saw a robed figure sitting leisurely as it watched six ponies gather over the bloody boulder.
"Are they looking at me?" She said.
"Yep, they're probably mourning over your loss at this minute." It replied.
"But..I'm here, and I'm alive, from the looks of it." She poked her body, feeling the eerily cold flesh on her hooves.
"No, you're dead. What you're poking right now is just your soul-which I managed to swipe before it got flattened by that boulder."
"How did you do it?" Maud questioned.
The being held out its five fingered hand. A long bladed tool poofs out in front of it with black smoke, falling into the being's hand. "It's a scythe." It said, turning it's face. Maud looked at the creature, observing its features. It had void black pupils, accompanied by unkempt hair of the same colour. It's skin was extremely pale, and its cheekbones were slightly showing.
"The blade hits your soul and it tugs it out , leaving your physical body unharmed. You just happened to be one of the many souls that I rescued before it was contorted into some weird shape...depending on what situation you were in." It added.
"Oh, well thank you, I guess." Maud thanks her saviour. "What's your name?"
"I don't know." It replied. "Just call me Death, many others have called me that."
"You don't know? Well you should, because it's the name that you were born with." Maud replied.
"I don't remember being born I guess, it's been so long." It said. "Well anyways, let's get this deal over with, I have more clients to take before the day ends." It stood up.
A parchment poofed on the being's other hand. The writing that was on it was quite different and alien to Maud, but she could easily recognise her name on it.
"Lets see....Maud Rock Pie?" It spoke.
"That's me." Maud said.
"Your death is recorded on Sunday the twelfth, in the year 1689 in Equestria. One relative has witnessed your death: Pinkamena Diane Pie. Your blood type is AB positive, you have no known illnessess during your death, has three siblings and her parents are currently alive..."
Maud stared at the being with curiosity, wondering how it managed to know everything about her.
"....Has a roktorate and is currently a virgin." Death looked at Maud before looking back into the parchment again. "Do you have any qualms with me taking your soul away to another dimension to be reborn?"
"No."
"Do you have any relatives you wish to see slash haunt before you depart?"
"No."
"Just skip this one. Are you interested in an apprenticeship to study other beings and to become a successor of Death?"
"Yes."
"And also this one, Are you interested in changing gender- wait what?"
"No."
"Are you really that interested into studying how people die and such? It's not really meant for the light hearted. Seriously, I'll be taking you to different regions in this world and in other dimensions with aliens you've never seen."
"Are those regions filled with different kinds of rocks?" Maud questioned.
"...Yeah, I guess so." Death looked at her, puzzled.
"Then it seems perfect."
"Maud Rock Pie...Do you really want to leave behind your family and friends for the sake of becoming my apprentice?"
Maud looked at Death with a stoic face, nodding in agreement. Death stared at her for a while, ignoring the cries of her friends in the background as they mourn her death.
"This is the most useful opportunity I can get, since my current research trip is nearing its end due to the lack of funds. So long as you can keep this trip going, I'll follow you around and document my findings inbetween." Maud said.
"Document?" Death replied.
"Yes, document. I'll need my equipment before I leave, and I have other things to bring along with me on this journey." Maud started trotting away, presumably towards her home. "I'll visit my sister later, I need to get my things ready and I don't think that I should see my mangled body under that boulder." Death could hear a small sniffle from Maud as she trotted away from the scene of her death.
"You probably shouldn't wander out without me, or else things get nasty." Death caught up with Maud and patted her on the back. "The scroll told me where you live anyway, so we can just port over there." Maud stopped in her tracks and watched as Death smacked the bottom of his scythe on the ground, ushering a small rip in the fabric of reality. It pulled itself open slowly, showing Maud a small view of her bedroom.
"There, go get your stuff and we can leave before those ponies manage to pull out that boulder." Death pointed towards her death scene, showing his bone-like fingers that have hidden themselves under his cloak this entire time.
Maud casually walks inside the rip, looking back to check if it was real or not. She gathered what she could: A notebook containing her life-long research, a grey coloured bag, some pencils and sharpeners and finally her pet rock, which were all stashed inside the bag.
She takes one last look of her dilapidated room, looking at the pale walls and plain furniture. Her house was as simple as it could be, since she was never really at home most of the time anyway. Her one bedroom house in an apartment somewhere a small village was enough to be considered as 'cosy' to her.
Death looked at Pinkie Pie, who was bawling her eyes out as her friends looked on with downtrodden faces. He neither smiled nor frowned, he didn't know how to react to it, not because he's been de-sensitized to it, but because he never knew how to.
"It's just a life lost from your mistakes. Get on with it, you have other relatives to cherish that haven't died yet." He said to them from afar.
The afternoon sun descends with Pinkie Pie's group successfully removing the boulder. Maud returns to see her mangled body revealed from the boulder that killed her. She looks away, preferring not to look at her previous self.
"Are you going to say goodbye to your relatives?" Death spoke up.
She stared at her de-poofed little sister sniffling all the while.
"D-dont worry, she'll s-spring up like it's a joke! right? right?! She's not dead. She's not dead." She stuttered. The purple pony beside her nuzzled her reassuringly, dragging her away from the scene.
"Don't worry, Pinkie Pie, she'll be back. Let's take you somewhere that can cheer you up." The purple pony drags Pinkie Pie but she resists, pulling away from the pony.
"No! I'm not leaving until she comes back!" Pinkie Pie screamed.
Maud approached her little sister, staring her in the eyes as if she hoped that she could see her big sister. Maud moved to her cheeks to nuzzle her, but upon contact she felt an icy surface, causing her to reel back.
"The dead and the living aren't meant to be one. We stay away from each other to reduce grief. I only ask if you want to see your relatives because I have to, but I should suggest that you don't. The longer you cling to worldly things, the more you resent being dead." Death spoke behind Maud.
"So I can't even say goodbye to my little sister...even if you tell me that I'm allowed to?" Maud didn't face him as she asked.
"No." Death replied. "It's better to forget all this like it's some weird dream." He said condescendingly.
"You're dead now, and if you still want to come with me to study, you still can."
"Or... You can be reborn again. You'll forget everything that has happened and everything you know so far. You'll live under a new name and a new family to love and cherish. Your little sister will eventually move on and you will forget her and carry on with yours." He said. "So if you really think that you can live with your sister's grief for the rest of your new life as my apprentice, then tell me now."
He holds out his free hand, showing his bony fingers once more.
"Maud Rock Pie, if you take my hand now, we'll leave this place and I'll resume my job while you follow. It's your choice to turn back now, so choose wisely."
Maud stares at the ominous figure, her face scrunching up in thought.
"As long as I can at least continue my interest in geology, I'll follow you wherever you go."
"I'm telling you now to leave behind you past life, it'll become a bother later on.""
"I wont stop doing what I love, not until I say so. It'll be nice working with you....Death."
"....You too, Maud Rock Pie."
