Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
Princess Twilight Sparkle sat quietly in the waiting room of Ponyville Hospital, humming to herself as she recited the process that she was about to endure.
It had been roughly several dozen years of isolation within her library before she was finally able to attempt to breach death's veil. Spike had visited her on several occasions to chat, granted, a figure of his size had trouble maneuvering in tight corridors. Twilight sighed to herself, he'd grown to an impressive stature, how much longer did he have to live?
He had mourned their friends too, Rarity's passing hit Spike the hardest of course. They had died peacefully, of old age, though Twilight couldn't remember the order in which they passed away. While they had begun to wither, Twilight only grew stronger. For being one hundred and twenty six years old, Twilight still felt as young as and adolescent.
The only other figures who had taken the time to visit her were Celestia and Luna, and the two had contrasting views on her ambitions. Where Luna had agreed with Spike in a sense that there was no stopping Twilight in her endeavors, Celestia actively attempted to prevent Twilight from doing what she considered was the impossible.
'Impossible', Twilight hated that word. Time travel was impossible, and she knew several ponies including herself who had done it. Twilight believed very little was impossible, and she knew that Celestia knew that Twilight could do it. Celestia was afraid, afraid of losing Twilight in the event that something were to go wrong.
Twilight grinned internally, uncertainty scared normal ponies, and it scared her too for the longest time. However, there was no backing out of this now, she had become invested in this project. Even though years meant nothing to her anymore, time was not something Twilight Sparkle wasted, she still had a grip on her perception of time.
In fact, now that she recalled, Discord had also seem to be interested in her pursuits, encouraged it in fact. Twilight knew that he always expressed the majority of his emotions on the outside, but was Fluttershy had passed, he seemed more erratic than usual. Maybe it was his coping mechanism? Maybe he no longer felt chained? Twilight didn't know, and frankly, it wasn't important to her right now. Celestia and Luna were keeping close eye on him, making sure he didn't step out of line.
He didn't bother her much though, all he said once he found out what she was doing was, "Let me know if you see her again."
It made her pity him, really.
Twilight's train of thought was interrupted by the nurse who had stepped into the waiting room and called her name. The process she was going to undertake was quite a simple one, really. She just had to be in the presence of a pony whose life was nearing the end, and as their life ebbed from their body, snag unto said strands in order to allow herself to be transported to what she could only assume would be an afterlife.
Twilight didn't know what the other side looked like, or if there even was one. Her and Celestia had had this conversation on several occasions, while neither of the two were particularly superstitious, plenty of wild circumstances had happened that could have easily changed their minds.
Twilight sighed as she entered the room, she had a way to teleport herself back to this current reality if the situation became dire. If she had to fight death itself, she didn't know how she'd fair. A large portion of those years that she had sealed herself away had involved training, learning and creating her own combative skills and the like. She had cast a spell that allowed her to monitor her vitals, as well as another that allowed her to detect the life energy of other ponies.
The nurse's energy was a vibrant green, given that she was young, most likely right out of medical school. It contrasted heavily with that of the old pony confined to the small medical bed, whose energy was dwindling to its last few strands. She had asked for the codger's permission to be there at his passing, and he agreed, saying that it was an honor that the princess would grace him with her presence. She still didn't like the title, but she let it slide regardless.
Twilight smirked as her horn glowed a dull violet as she attached herself to the old stallion's remnants of life. It was true she had grown to love uncertainty, it was the one element that surprised her nowadays. Maybe that was why she had gotten along with Discord better recently.
Twilight opened her eyes slowly, wincing at the bright, uncomfortable light that invaded her eyes. She sat there in her stupor for several minutes before sitting up on what seemed like open nothingness. She could only her the ticking of what she could only assume was a clock. She examined her surroundings before her eyes settled on a pony in front of her sitting at a desk. His hind legs were up on the desk and his black eyes were giving her a knowing look.
"I knew you'd show up one of these days Sparkle, please, have a seat," the figure said as he smiled uncannily. His coat was a steal gray color and his mane and tail shared the same color as his eyes, pitch black. His mane was gelled back, and styled, almost like he was expecting her.
She couldn't meet his gaze, she couldn't look back into his eyes. She didn't know who or what he was, but he radiated power. She couldn't detect his life energy, but he seemed very virile.
"W-who are you?" Twilight almost sputtered, cursing herself internally for sounding so weak.
His smile didn't leave his face, "I have many names, including the one you refer to me by. You know who I am Twilight. You also know what I'm capable of. You also know that you are particularly gifted, and that it would be a waste to kill you. I'd prefer to have a civil discussion, please, have a seat."
She approached the seat in front of her without making direct eye contact with him, it was a small wooden chair, unlike his lavish brown leather chair. Another way to make her feel lesser, she reckoned. The area around them looked like an office, not including the vast whiteness of course. It included a wooden desk, bookshelf and grandfather clock. The thing that stuck out the most though, was the rather ancient-looking scythe that was propped against the bookshelf.
"I'd figure you'd be arriving soon, so I made the place look presentable to you. I know you probably weren't expecting me to look the way I do. In truth, this is not what I look like normally, but you wouldn't want to see my natural form, I promise."
Twilight shifted in her chair uncomfortably, "I'll be honest, this isn't what I was expecting."
"I know. From your preparations, I assume you were anticipating a battle of epic proportions to bring your friends back to the living world."
Twilight gawked at him, and he continued, "I know that your teacher said it couldn't be done, whereas your other friends supported you."
He leaned in to get a better look at her, "I commend you for your great skill, Sparkle. However, the truth is that there is nothing beyond this point. This is as far as anyone can get, including me."
Twilight felt her stomach turn to ice, "W-what do you mean? You're the god of death! Don't you have control over who lives and who dies?"
He scoffed at her, "I don't like the word god, for it implies I have no limitations. No Twilight, I can't control who lives or who dies. It's true I can kill on demand, but I have long outgrown that power, become bored of it, in fact. I cannot prevent a pony from dying, because like the seasons, each phase comes and goes regardless of everything else. That is why I bear a scythe, for it represents a bountiful harvest, and transition."
Twilight bit her lip, "But all of the legends and stories I have read... do you even have control of an afterlife?"
He sighed, she was desperate, but he could not lie to her. "Twilight Sparkle, I'm afraid I'm nothing more than a mere figurehead for an inevitable consequence of life. There is no afterlife, no place that a pony goes once they have passed. I am in charge of an afterlife though, in a matter of sense."
Twilight looked at him desperately, "Explain."
He pushed himself back in his chair, "The ponies you once knew live forever onward in your memories. There's no bringing them back, but I can bring back the manifestations of what they were to you. Is that what you want Twilight? Do you want to remember what your friends were like?"
"Please."
It was a bright summer day in Ponyville, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were giggling as they played in the park as their sisters watched them. Everything was right in the world once again. Twilight felt herself tear up as she looked at each of her friends in awe. Applejack looked over at her, perplexed at her look, "Somethin' wrong, sugar cube?"
"Please don't l-leave me Applejack," Twilight said in a choked sob.
Pinkie Pie embraced her from behind while Applejack gave her an incredulous look, "We aren't goin' anywhere, don't you fret!"
Fluttershy sat next to Twilight, adding her own words of encouragement, "We're your friends Twilight, you mean the world to us."
Twilight broke down as she bawled into Pinkie's coat, her friends embracing her in a group hug.
They were right, she didn't need to mourn, they never left her.
