Watch Out, Life'll Kill Youby Grayson GearsChaptersBreaking The VeilGrowing ConnectionsRevelationsLosing YourselfMemories Are Not Enough: An EndingBut As Long As You Have One FriendBreaking The VeilAlone... He was alone...rather, he had always been alone. He didn't know why, and nobody had ever felt the need to explain it to him, then again, he doubted that there was anybody able to explain it. His existence had been like this for as long as he could remember, and he could remember everything. He had been there since the beginning, and he expected to be there long after the end, cursed to be only an observer. Forever forced to watch the world for all time, unable to walk through its soft grass or feel the warmth of the sun upon his head. Forced to hear every dark accusation against him, to hear all the pain and anguish of those he visited, to hear their wracking sobs as they collapsed to the ground, but forbidden from ever speaking back. Forced to be a part of everybody's life, young or old, rich or poor, great or small, he would always be there in the end. But he would never be allowed to understand them... Understanding...that concept has never occurred to him, until so recently. The world he watched over had fallen under attack by powerful creatures, three times in less than two years. Nightmare Moon, the God of Chaos, Discord, and the Queen of the Changelings. He had watched them, expecting so much to happen because of them, expect so much...work. But then...they were all stopped, by the simplest and oddest, of things. The first two were brought down by six average ponies, using what they called The Magic of Friendship. How something so...silly, could take the form of a multicolored magical blast was another thing he wouldn't understand. The changelings had be defeated by two older ponies, by their power of 'love.' Something he so often heard when collecting others, but to him, it was simply words. Why had so much power come from such simple concepts? He found himself following those six strange ponies as they lived their lives. He was surprised at how...normal they seemed on their own. True, they all had their own eccentricities, but compared to all the ponies that had come before them, it was nothing special. It was when they were together, helping each other, or just talking, that he noticed...something. Between all of them was something special. He started hanging off of their every word, trying to find some hint, some clue, that would help this mystery make sense. But no matter what he did, the answer refused to appear. He didn't understand. He couldn't understand, not like this, not from simply watching. He had to see them with true eyes, to talk with them personally. That was his only chance, his only hope to...be... But that was an impossible wish, he was stuck behind the veil. Just cross over. A thought...his, it had to be, there was no one else. But...cross over? He couldn't, that was... Impossible? When had that ever been decided? Never...it had never been decided, the thought to try had never crossed his mind before. Curious, he reached out with his essence, feeling the veil, like the surface of a pool of cold water. All his questions, the question of why, the need to understand had somehow affected him. Now he questioned his own boundaries, what was there, really, to stop him from passing through? The veil began to feel so flimsy in his grip, like paper. There is nothing left to stop me In an instant, the veil was torn, and he was pulled through. It was all so simple, he couldn't but imagine himself chuckling. His dream had been realized, and his questions would be answered. Death was coming to Equestria, but the ponies would have nothing to fear from him. Or so he thought... He found himself lying on the ground, something soft tickling his nose. Slowly, he opened his eyes, and was rewarded with a view of the city of Ponyville. He had appeared on a large hill overlooking the town, and luckily, there were no other ponies around him. Shifting his legs, he forced himself to stand, a new experience, one of many as he realized just what having a body meant. He could feel the beating of a heart in his chest, so loud, like an endless drumbeat. He could feel the body as it labored for breath, understood how quickly it could fail when cut off from such a simple supply. So weak, but underneath it all, so complex, so...unique and confusing. Pausing his thoughts, he took a moment to observe his own body. It appeared he was a gray stallion with a black mane, of average height and build with no wings or horn, perfect for blending into the crowd, but there was something else. On his flank there was a small picture of something. Looking closer, he recognized it as a scythe. A scythe for the reaper stallion, how...appropriate He focused his mind back to the task at hand, heading down the hill towards the town, when he noticed something else. The grass brushing against his hooves was soft, softer than anything he'd ever felt before, and the sun on his head was warm...gentle. But it was nothing like how he'd imagined it to be. In his own realm, he had watched ponies run and roll through the grass laughing and smiling like nothing could be greater. He had watched as ponies simply sit and let the sun shine on them, content to spend the whole day with its warmth as their only company. Watching them, he expected those two things to be so much...more. Experiencing them now, they simply 'were.' Just a side effect of nature, nothing more. But he didn't have time to be distracted by his failed expectations, he had far more important things to discover. He kept up a brisk pace as he entered the town, hoping that no other ponies would try to talk to him. He wanted to go directly to the pony called Twilight Sparkle, she had the information he needed. He just needed to get there without- "Hellooooooo!" a sing-song voice called out to him as a bouncing pink pony seemed to materialize in front of him. He recognized her, she was one of those six special ponies. Her name was- "I'm Pinkie Pie!" she gleefully introduced herself. "And I've never seen you around before!" "Not a surprise...though I have been here before," he found himself replying, surprising himself with the sound of his own voice. It was low and gravely, like he suffered from a constant sore throat. "What? I don't think so, because if you had been I'd know who you were, and then I would've thrown you a party and you would'a been my new friend! And if there's one thing Pinkie never forgets, it's her new friends, and parties...oh wait, I guess that was two things! Haha!" She collapsed in a fit of giggles. A party...he had noticed a few of Pinkie Pie's parties, rather, he couldn't help but notice them. Their scope and energy were truly a sight to behold, and the last thing he wanted right now. "But I do know you, Pinkamina Diane Pie," Pinkie's full name brought her attention back. "You grew up on a sad little rock farm, two sisters, a father and a mother, always so gloomy. Also, a grandmother who taught you how to laugh...all still alive." He started listing off facts of her family robotically, hoping to convince her that he did actually know her and thus remove the need for a party. He knew so much about her, he couldn't help it. He remembered everything after all. "Huh, that's weird...almost nopony knows my full name...except...hum," she placed one hoof on her chin, thinking. "Okay, I'm gonna go check something, don't move!" She rushed off in an instant, but not before giving him a dark glare, just daring him to move. Alone now, he immediately moved, heading for the library, where he knew Twilight Sparkle would be. The library was unmistakable, a massive tree near the center of town that housed every book, and then some, the studious unicorn could get her hooves on. He quickly walked through the open doorway, intent on finding her. He wandered through the empty rooms, peering curiously at the many book titles, wondering in the back of his mind if any of the stories would be worth reading to something like himself. Finally he found her curled up in the corner of the back room, her nose completely buried in a massive novel. He walked up next to her, but she still failed to notice him. "Greetings," he finally announced, startling Twilight who quickly dropped her book and jumped up to face him "Oh, hello! I'm sorry, I thought I would just take one little peek at my new book that came in today, but it was so good that I figured one more chapter wouldn't hurt and then..." she paused, realizing she was rambling. "Sorry, that probably doesn't matter to you. I'm Twilight Sparkle, and you are..." she trailed off, waiting for him to fill in his name. He stood stumped for a few moments, it had never occurred to him to think of a name, so he said the first thing that came to mind. "Sunny," he blurted, remembering the feel of it's warmth on his face. But he still needed a last name, he would be suspicious without it. He quickly thought one up, thinking about the mark on his flank. "Harvest, I'm Sunny Harvest." "Nice to meet you Sunny Harvest," she looked to the side and noticed his cutie mark. "Oh, are you a farmer? Do you know my friend Applejack? She lives over at Sweet Apple Acres." Twilight asked curiously. "She lives with her older brother, younger sister and grandmother. No parents, they're both gone," the words seemed to spill from his mouth, surprising him. He hadn't meant to say so much, it was almost like he'd been...forced to. "Oh, I guess you do know her then," Twilight replied after a few awkward moments of silence. "Did you meet at one of the Ponyville rodeos?" "Yes," he answered quickly, then quickly decided to change the topic, "but I didn't come here to talk about Applejack. I understand that you're doing research for the alicorn Celestia?" "You mean Princess Celestia?" he nodded, in the grand scheme of things, such titles were meaningless to him. "Yes, she has me sending in reports on friendship...how'd did you know about that?" "I've...been doing research on it, on how you used its power to stop Discord when he almost took over Equestria." a partial truth to help mask his terrible ability to lie. "You're a farmer with the spare time to research the Elements of Harmony?" Twilight asked, a twinge of suspicion sneaking into her voice. "I'm very good at multitasking," another partial truth. "Well, what exactly did you want to know?" Twilight grudgingly accepted his answer. "Well, I would like to know about friendship itself really, how it was powerful enough to give six ponies the power to drive back a god of chaos. What about friendship makes it so strong?" he asked, unsure of himself. He wasn't if that was the question that would bring the answers he wanted. From Twilight's expression, it looked like it wasn't. "Well...I don't really know how to answer that. I mean, you could look up 'friendship' in the dictionary, but that's not really gonna tell you anything. You can really only learn about it by experiencing it, just like I did," she explained, trying to be helpful. "So you don't know? You don't understand it at all?" he didn't believe her, how could she not know? "I do know! It's just, not something you can put down in words. I write the Princess reports on it, but in the end they're only reports, and they can never match up to the actual experience of friendship," she said, trying to make him understand. He didn't. "Thank you for your help Miss Sparkle," he said to her before turning and quickly trotting out of the library. Outside, he shook shook head, so confused. How could she not know? How could she not understand? If she didn't understand, how could he ever hope to understand what friendship was? Was this whole trip, finally learning how to pass through the veil, pointless? Suddenly, he realized that he had started walking without realizing it while his mind was occupied. Looking around, it seemed like he had reached the edge of the town. He was standing at the bottom of a large hill, but it seemed he wasn't alone. Looking up, he spied a orange colored pony at the top of the hill. Her neck was bent downwards and he thought he heard her saying something. He strained his ears, straining to do something, now that was a new experience for him, trying to hear her. "...Bloom is still doing fine, long as I can prevent her from tryin' to get a timber wolf tamer cutie mark. Granny Smith is still goin' strong, sometimes I think she's gonna outlast all of us!" the pony, Applejack he finally recognized, paused for a moment. "I still miss you yah know. I'll always miss yah..." She stepped back from what she had been looking at, and managed to catch sight of him at the bottom of the hill. "Oh, howdy stranger, what brings you out here?" Applejack said friendly, heading downhill towards him. "Just got lost in my thoughts," he nodded towards where Applejack had just been. "I heard you talking, your parents?" He asked, hoping to learn something from her, she was one of the six after all. "Huh? Oh, yeah. It's a memorial for them, for helpin' to protect the town. Have you heard of 'em?" Two ponies, a strong stallion and a gentle mare, lay together in the grass. Their forelegs were wrapped around each other, together til the last. The alicorn Celestia stood next to them, putting all of her magic towards helping them, but it was too late. He already carried their souls. Small, yet so very bright and strong. they had been content at the very end, he could feel it. But like so many other things, he didn't understand it. "Something like that," he told her, still gazing up at the hill. "...why do you talk to them?" He asked her bluntly. That was something he had observed countless times, living things talking to those that had no chance of hearing their words. "What'cha mean?" Applejack replied, confused. "They can't hear you, what's the point?" Applejack shrugged at his question. "Point, why does there haf'ta be a point? Sometimes it just nice to talk to them, helps me remember them, and who says they can't hear? You ever been to where they went?" he opened his mouth to answer, but stopped. She was right...he had never been...there. He was only a shepherd, helping the souls go...beyond, forever stuck in the middle. "No...you're right. Thank you," he bowed his head towards her and walked away. "Thanks fer what?" Applejack called after him, but he didn't answer, thought already swirling in his mind. Perhaps, it seemed, he could learn something from these ponies after all... "I just can't believed he moved!" Pinkie Pie complained, stomping through the library. "After I specifically told him not to!" "Well you could hardly expect him to wait there for you, most ponies have other things to do," Twilight said, shelving her new book, very satisfied at its ending. "Well I guess you may have a point, but it looked like he was heading to your library and I hoped to see him here." she grumbled, shaking her head. Twilight paused, turning to face her. "What did this pony look like?" she asked. "Oh! He was a gray stallion with black mane, and he had one of those silly gravely voices 'like this,'" Pinkie explained deepening her voice into a decent copy. "Did he have a scythe mark on his flank?" Twilight pressed. "Yup! I didn't get the chance to ask him about it before I had to run off," she replied. "Right, and why did you run off?" Twilight asked rather guiltily, she hadn't been listening too intently to the first part of Pinkie's story. "Silly willy, I told you! He said that he had been to Ponyville before, which I said was impossible because then I would have known who he was, but then he started saying things that he could only know if he had been here before so I needed to go back home to get my collection of party photos!" she unceremoniously pulled out a massive stack of photos that proceeded to cascade over the floor of the library. "I looked through every single picture, but he doesn't show up in any of them! And everypony who's ever been to Ponyville had been to at least one of my parties." She nodded happily at her own explanation. "Huh...Pinkie, can you give me a moment? I need to write a letter to the Princess," Twilight said. "Okie dokie lokie! I think I'll look through some of these photos, those were some pretty great parties," she immediately began scrounging through the photos, making an even larger mess. Twilight headed upstairs and grabbed a piece of parchment and a pen with her magic. "Dear Princess Celestia," she started. "There's a new pony in town, Sunny Harvest, but he claims to have been here before, and he knows...strange information. He knew about my friendship reports, and odd information on Applejack's family. Pinkie Pie says she's never seen him before, and you know that she knows everypony who's ever shown up in Ponyville. I don't know what to think about this, but after the changeling attack you told me report any suspicious behavior, and he certainly is suspicious. I will send another report if anything changes. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle." She rolled up the parchment and went looking for Spike. She found the dragon resting in his bed, he'd apparently decided to go to sleep a little early today, but she needed his fire to send the message. A small grin grew on her face as she got an idea. She held the scroll in front of his mouth and began tickling his nose with the feather on the pen, the results were spontaneous. "Ah, ah-choo!" a burst of flame shot from his mouth,engulfing the letter and sending it flying away through an open window into the outside air. Spike merely grumbled and rolled over in his bed. Twilight watched the smoke drift away, wondering what, if anything, would come from this strange pony. Later...she was sorry she asked. Growing ConnectionsThe sun rose bright and high over Ponyville, signalling the start of a new day, a new chance. He had retreated back to his own realm after the events of the previous day in order to think and plan. How could he understand? Who did he have to talk to, and what were the right questions to ask? He spent the whole night focusing all his power towards finding an answer. Walking back into town on the dawn of a new day, he still had no idea what to do next. He hated that feeling. He was death, the final judge, there should be no mysteries for him that the living would know the answer to. Yet here he was, hunting down and questioning ponies in an effort to understand why he- "Hello again Mr. Gravely!" Pinkie Pie greeted happily as she rushed up alongside him, snapping him back to reality. "Pinkamena," he greeted, slightly confused. He had just gotten back, how had she managed to find him so quickly? "You remember me! But call me Pinkie Pie, 'Pinkamena' is just so boring and bleh," she said, sticking her tongue out at the last word. "Very well, Pinkie," he replied, continuing to walk, even with no thought as to where. "Good! But you still left yesterday after I told you to stay still, which wasn't nice. I spent the whole rest of the day trying to find you, are you sure your special talent isn't hide-and-seek?" suddenly, she was in front of him, forcing him to stop. "And you never told me your name, that wasn't very nice either," a tiny frown graced her face. "Sunny Harvest," he told her immediately, a truly upset Pinkie was something even he knew to avoid. "Well it's nice to meet you Sunny!" Pinkie said, grabbing one of his forehoofs and pumping it up and down vigorously. "But there's still something else I need to ask you." "And that is?" he replied, tenderly rubbing his hoof. "Well since you've been to Ponyville before, you should show some of the ponies who live here like...ohmygoshwhosthat!" she spun him around and pointed to a light purple earth pony stepping out of her home. "Berry Punch, one sister, parents and grandparents who are still here," he recited. "I see...and him?" she waved towards Carrot Cake who was busy setting up Sugarcube Corner for another day of business. "Carrot Cake, two children, only his father left," Pinkie Pie nodded, tapping her chin. "Hum, one more," she pointed up into to the sky at a white Pegasus with a striped green and pink mane who was busily moving any stray clouds out of the way. "Blossomforth, two younger sisters, parents, but no grandparents," he answered, starting to wonder where Pinkie was going with this. "Nothing else?" Pinkie questioned, leaning in closer. "No," he stated, standing his ground. "Then I was right!" she announced happily. "You don't know anypony!" "What do you mean?" he asked, not admitting anything. "I don't know how you know so much about everypony's families, but that's all you know about them. You didn't say anything about how Berry Punch makes the some of the yummiest juice in the town, or how Blossomforth is the best cloud arranger for letting the sunlight through, you didn't even mention that Mr. Cakes birthday was last week!" Pinkie explained smugly. "Just knowing about somepony's family and actually knowing them are very different things." "Very well. And why, exactly, does me not knowing anyone make you so happy?" he asked warily. "Because that means you can still make friends with everypony! You should always take the chance to make new friends! And the best way to do that is with a party!" she threw her hooves up, colorful confetti spraying into the air. "No thank you," he told her. He knew that the answer he wanted would not be found in a party, no matter how good its intentions were. "But don't you want to make friends?" Pinkie asked, cocking her head to the side. "Something like that," he said after a moment, "it is just...I am not good around large groups of other ponies." He offered, another partial truth. His real self and crowds tended to mix rather poorly. "Oh, I get'cha, you're just like my friend Fluttershy! She's the worst pony at big parties! I think you should meet her," she said matter-of-factually, grabbing him by the hoof and pulling him away. "And why exactly do you think I should meet her?" he asked, following along. "Cause you need friends, well more friends because you've already got me, and Fluttershy is the friendliest, kindest, and quietest Pegasus I know!" She paused for a moment. "Plus, nothing interesting has happened today, and Fluttershy is really good for attracting silly hijinks." Another big smile and she was off, while he, now slightly unsure about all of this, followed after. "Oh, good morning Pinkie Pie, it's good to see you today, who's your new friend?" Fluttershy greeted, seeing the both of them walk up the road to her cottage.She carried a large bag of feed and was going through the morning ritual of giving all her animals their breakfast. "This is Sunny Harvest, he's new in Ponyville and he needs more friends. I was gonna throw him a big welcome party, but he's not good with crowds so I thought you would be a good pony to talk to," she explained, the words shooting quickly out of her mouth. "I understand," Fluttershy nodded, then turned to him. "Would you like to help me feed the animals?" "Very well," he accepted, nodding his head. "You two have fun, I need to go help the Cakes with Sugarcube Corner, be back soon!" Pinkie said, immediately running off back to town. Watching her go, he turned his attention back to Fluttershy and followed her inside. Scattered all over the floor of the cottage were many small animals, each one happily stuffing their faces at their food bowls. Animals were always interesting to him, their souls never needed his guidance. He would notice them as he collected the souls that needed him, they always looked so small, not weaker, just...less. They would move around him, taking their own path to wherever it was they would find their final resting place. Perhaps it was their natural instincts helping them even after life, or maybe something deeper than that. It was another mystery, but one he had no intention of solving. That mystery would not answer his question. Fluttershy gave him a bag of feed for the animals and he went around refilling their bowls. Most didn't even look up from their food, but one, a small white rabbit, looked up at the stranger giving it food. The rabbit didn't like what it saw. It jumped up and ran over to Fluttershy, tugging on the end of her mane while gesturing madly towards him. "Oh my, what's wrong Angel?" she asked, bringing her head down to get a better look at the rabbit. Angel pointed at him then immediately collapsed, holding a little flower above his still body. "It would appear Angel doesn't trust me," he observed, watching the rabbit's over the top performance. "Well that's no way to treat guests Angel, he's just a new pony looking for some friends," Fluttershy explained to him. Angel jumped back up and shook his head. Angel gave him one last scathing glare before pointing at his eyes and then back at him. The meaning was obvious. "I'm watching you." "See, now that wasn't so hard," Fluttershy said, patting Angel on the head, completely missing the gesture. "So tell me, why do you dislike Pinkie Pie's parties?" he asked, hoping to learn something more about another member of the six. "Oh, I don't dislike her parties, she puts so much work into them to make sure everypony has fun, it's just...it's hard to be around all the other ponies that she invites," she replied shyly, afraid to say anything evenly slightly bad about another pony. "But you're a hero, you've saved Equestria twice, I'd think everypony would be happy to even see you," he said, slightly confused. "Well yes, but, they'd expect me to act like a hero too. In the stories the heroes always so big and tough and strong and brave...and I'm just not any of those things. I'd hate to disappoint those other ponies." "What do you mean?" "Well...so many ponies build up a dream of meeting a hero. They spend so long perfecting it that in the end, reality can't match up to it. I think it would be just terrible for me to ruin somepony's dream. I'd rather stay here with my animals, they just want food and love, and that's something I know I can give them," she nuzzled the cheek of a field mouse and looked back at him. "Sometimes it's better to let somepony keep their dream than ruin it for them, don't you think?" He stopped, mulling over her question, and quickly realized that he didn't know what to think. He didn't have a dream, all he had was a question, he had never considered that the answer to his question might be less than satisfying. He had figured that knowing the answer might change...something, but what if it didn't? What if everything simply remained the same as before? "I don't know," he finally admitted to her. "It was nice to meet you." With those words he turned and walked out of her house, ignoring any of her questions that followed him. He needed to think, needed to know. Was there a chance that this whole expedition could be pointless? He found a lone bench by the side of the road and climbed up into it, settling down into a comfortable position. He tried to focus, to try and understand something, anything. This wasn't happening like he'd expected. He thought this would all be so easy, but all his journey had done was give him more questions, pushing the answer he wanted further and further away. "Mom, do you think I could get a scooter for my birthday?" a small voice grabbed his attention, it was a unicorn filly talking to a gray Pegasus pony with a strange set of eyes. "Well...I'm not sure you really need a scooter," the Pegasus replied, ruffling the filly's mane. "But I promise I'll use it everyday and make sure it doesn't break and wear protective headgear and everything!" the filly begged. "I still don't think you need a scooter," her mother stated firmly, staring intently down at her daughter. The gaze continued, but as the seconds passed, he thought he noticed the traces of a smile forming on the Pegasus's face. "...a second one that is!" she announced, pulling a package out of her knapsack to present to her filly. "Happy early birthday Dinky." Dinky let out a gasp before leaping at her mother with a massive hug. "Thank you so much mom! You're the best!" the Pegasus couldn't help but hug her daughter back. It was beautiful, but it didn't make him any happier. He knew it should have, he knew that moments like these were rare and precious in anypony's life. Love was beautiful, but why...? Life was beautiful, but why...? The question that had been hounding him, the question he had been finding himself more and more afraid to ask. Afraid...that was an emotion he had never expected to feel, but he realized he shouldn't be surprised. He was part of the world of the living, and the living feared so many things. "Well there you are! What happened, did Fluttershy scare you off?" Pinkie Pie appeared, again, seemingly from nowhere. "Something like that...how is it you can always find me Pinkie?" he decided to ask, choosing to focus on that mystery as a distraction. "Well that's easy, I just close my eyes and try and find your aura of gloominess!" she looked at him, expecting a smile he did not give. "Plus, you're on a bench next to the path to Fluttershy's place, it wasn't that hard. You should still lighten up though, look how beautiful it is today!" She gestured up towards the sky and the rays of sun shining down on them. He couldn't help but agree with her, but in the end, that was part of the problem. "Believe me, I've noticed," he told her, then looked past her as he noticed something coming down the road. "What's that?" Pinkie followed his gaze and her mood seemed to darken, as in, she looked visibly darker to him. It was a group of ponies walking towards the center of Ponyville. "Oh, I was hoping to miss that," Pinkie mumbled to herself. "Miss it how?" he asked. "I thought that some hijinks would happen with you and Fluttershy, and then I could show up to help out, and then I'd have an excuse to not be in Ponyville, an excuse to miss it," she explained slowly. "And what exactly is 'it?'" "It's a funeral, an old mare passed away last week, and they're holding the procession today. They must be her friends from the edges of Ponyville," she told him. "I see..." funerals were something he had little experience with, by the time they were set up, his work was over. "Were you friends with the mare?" "Of course! I'm friends with everypony," she replied happily, though it sounded a little forced. "Then shouldn't you go as well?" Pinkie's head seemed to droop at the question. "I don't know, I want to pay my respects, but funerals are always so gloomy and sad. I don't want to be sad because of her, I want to be happy, I want to enjoy the day because of her. I think she'd enjoy that, don't you?" A week ago, an old mare sat comfortably in her bed, surrounded by her family, so loved. She was so happy, her last words were of thanks to them all for staying next to her, right before she closed her eyes and joined him. "I don't think she would mind," he told her, then after a moment of silence. "You know, since I am new in this town, I don't know where most things are. I could really use a guide to show me around." That was an obvious lie, he was everywhere, the layout of the world was no mystery to him. But Pinkie seemed not to notice. "Really? Well come on, there's so much I can show you!" her mood brightened up and she immediately pulled him off the bench, away from the marching crowd of ponies. The rest of the day was spent following and listening. Pinkie Pie knew every important landmark of Ponyville, along with some other areas she had simply decided were important. "And here's where we all gather every week with our pets to play, and over there is the hill where we watched the meteorite shower!" she had told him as they walked through the park. He would simply respond with a nod, that was enough to keep her going. "That was one of the houses smashed up when Snips and Snails brought an Ursa Minor to town, you should've seen it, it was crazy! And right here..." she stopped in the middle of the road through the town. "Right here is my favorite spot in Ponyville." "And why is that?" he asked as Pinkie beamed with excitement. "Because right here..." she paused for dramatic effect. "is where I first met Twilight Sparkle! Thanks to her I was able to become one of the bearers of an element of Harmony, save the world, and most importantly, make five great new friends!" "That's the most important one?" "Of course, at the end of the day, if you still have friends that care about you, then it can't be a bad day," she explained confidently. She was so sure, so happy, he almost found himself smiling. If that's true, than how many good days have I had? And it was gone. "C'mon, there's still so much more to show you!" and they were off. He was shown every nook and cranny of the town, well, except those near the funeral, and they finally stopped on the top a hill outside of town. The same hill he showed up on when he first crossed over, a strange coincidence. "I don't think there's any special history with this hill, but it's still a nice place to relax," Pinkie shrugged before settling down in the grass. He sat next to her...strange, the grass seemed softer than he remembered. "Also, thanks for letting me lead you around all day, even if you didn't really need it," she giggled at his surprised reaction. "Sorry, but you're a really bad liar. It was a nice try, and it did keep my mind off of things. I'm not really supposed to be sad, I am the element of laughter after all," he wasn't sure how to respond, so he just listened. "And you know what? I've made a decision, when I go, I'm gonna make everypony pinkie promise that my funeral is a big party! I would hate it if anypony was sad because of something I did," hearing her, he found himself picturing the future. A pink pony, once so bright and full of life, as an old mare, cold and still, he once exuberant mane laying flat against the hard ground as he stood over her, ready to collect her soul. As he saw this, a heavy weight seemed to form in his chest, a pain he had never felt before. A dread he didn't understand... "Look, the moon's coming out!" Pinkie's voice cut through his thoughts and he turned to watch the face of the moon slowly rise over the horizon. "I always make sure to watch the moon rise for Princess Luna, the story says she got angry 'cause no one would appreciate her night. I'd hate for something like that to happen again. Can you imagine being trapped for a thousand years? Away from all your friends and family?" Pinkie mused. "Easier than you'd think..." he replied, mainly to himself. "What was that?" Pinkie asked. "Nothing, I'm just...tired. This day was...longer than I expected. Thank you though, for spending so much of it with me," he told her, and he meant it. Having someone to talk to...rather, just having someone talk to him, was such a rare gift. "Well it was no problem! What else are friends for?" she said. Friends...only Pinkie Pie could make friends with Death so easily, and so quickly. "Goodnight Pinkie Pie, I will see you tomorrow," he stood up. "Okie dokie lokie! Have a good evening!" she bounced up and gave him a happy wave before heading back towards town. He watched her go, and then felt for the veil. He could over, but he found himself hesitating. It was so tempting to stay, for just a moment longer, to truly watch the night sky, to feel the soft grass, for just one more second... His concentration was broken by the sound of a pair of wings cutting through the air. Looking up, he saw a giant Pegasus, no, an Alicorn, he corrected as he saw the horn, descend to the ground. "Celestia," he greeted, tilting his head forward. "I've heard of you." "And I have heard of you," Celestia replied, a stern expression on her face. "More importantly..." "Twilight, it looks like you got a letter from the Princess!" Spike announced, running down the stairs and waving a scroll back and forth bearing the royal seal. "Really, let me see Spike, this could be important," Twilight grabbed the scroll with her magic and immediately unrolled it. "To my ever faithful student," she began, reading it aloud. "I looked into the pony you told me about in your last letter, and made a rather startling discovery. I am telling you this because I trust you, and in case something goes wrong. I am confronting the pony now, because..." "I've uncovered who you really are, Death..." Revelations"Who I really am?" he repeated, undaunted by the powerful Alicorn. "You are quite brave, to confront me alone like this." "This is not a confrontation, Death, this is only a...discussion," Celestia replied evenly. "A...discussion?" he tilted his head, confused. "My student, Twilight Sparkle, was suspicious of your visit and sent me a letter. We have been rather...on edge, since the changeling attack. I turned my gaze towards you, and while you do not seem inherently suspicious, I cast a simple spell towards you just to be safe." "It was a spell we created to reveal strip away illusions, to show us somepony's 'true self.' It showed me you were no changeling, but neither were you a pony," she paused, as if recalling a painful memory. "You had piqued my curiosity, exactly what were you hiding? So I poured more power into the spell, and still I saw nothing. The entire day, as you were lead around Ponyville, I poured more and more of my strength into the spell. Finally, with a last burst of brute force magic, I tore away your disguise...and I saw you," another pause. "It was something so great, so powerful, so dark...so terrifying." "The final judge, who had been there since the beginning, and would be waiting at the very end." A twinge of horror crept into her voice. "I saw it, and I saw my myself grow old, weak, and fall into an open grave..." "That must have been very shocking for you," he told her. How odd, he hadn't even noticed the spell scyring him. Then again, that was probably the point of the spell. "You have no idea, it's not often I'm forced to face my mortality," she took a breath to steady herself. "But seeing that, I was reminded of old stories, stories I had read when I was just a filly, of death appearing in the land as a warning of a great calamity. So I thought to ask...are the stories true? You have spent all your time in Ponyville, around Twilight and her friends. I have to know, are my lands in danger, is Twilight...and her friends, in danger?" "You're afraid, aren't you?" he realized. "Why wouldn't I be? They are my subjects...my friends. I would give anything to protect them, I would make a deal with death if it would save them," she boldly stated. He stared back at her, silent. This Alicorn was prepared to give everything to help her subjects...to help those she cared about. He couldn't but feel impressed...and a little envious. "There no need for any deals, or worries," he consoled her. "Those stories you speak of are not true. I do not bring death, it happens whether I will it to or not, I only show up to clean up what is left behind. I take every beings final breath into me, and with it, their soul..." His words came out laced with with a dark sadness, surprising himself. "Then why are you here? Is this some sort of...holiday for you?" Celestia asked him. "Something far more than that, I came here to understand something, and in understanding, find an answer to a question," he explained, perhaps this Alicorn, this Princess, was the one that could finally help him. "Understand what? What question could Death possibly have to ask?" "I am merely all-seeing, not all-knowing...I've seen you before you know," he sat down in the grass and gazed up at the moon. "I saw you and your sister defeat Discord, bringing harmony and peace to the land . I saw your joy and love together, and I saw it fall apart..." he began. "Wait, so you saw..." "Everything, and I can never forget it. I saw your sister become cold and corrupted as you failed to notice, failed to do anything. I was there when you used the Elements to banish her to the moon for a thousand years after you failed to purify her. I saw the pain on your face as she vanished, I saw the tears fall from your cheeks after the deed was done, and I saw the mask you put on to face your subjects the next day," "I do not normally follow living beings as closely as I did you, but your usage of the Elements...interested me. I cannot explain it, but perhaps it was the beginning of my rebellion, perhaps I wished to be part of someone's life, rather that just their death," he took a slow breath, letting the air flow through him. "For a thousand years, I saw you rule over the land, taking on the duties of both the sun and moon. I saw, as you raised the moon and felt the glare of your sister bore into your mind every night, the simple question that grazed your lips..." "Why..." Celestia found herself saying with him. "Why had this fate been forced on you? Why were you the one who had to rule alone? Why couldn't you just have been like any other pony? Why was the opportunity to enjoy the simple pleasures of life taken from you, overruled by your royal duties?" he continued, then turned to stare at Celestia. "That question is mine, only with the pain multiplied by an aeon. Your sister returned after all those years, begging forgiveness and allowing you a reprisal in your duties. No such kindness was ever given to me..." "Why was I forced to see the life of every living being, but denied anything life had to offer. Every living thing is giving the chance to find friendship or love, and even if they fail, they have the decency to die and find some peace in that. But not me...I was meant to always be alone..." "That's why I'm here, to try and understand friendship and love, powers used to save this land almost half a dozen times. I thought that by understanding them, I might learn why they were never meant to be offered to me..." his gaze dropped to stare at the ground. "Do you understand? Can you even imagine the emptiness I felt, forced to be always watching this world?" "A little...though I know I could never imagine its true scope," Celestia finally said, choosing he words carefully. "Have you found your answer yet?" "...No, but I am learning, understanding a little. I am starting to form connections," he replied, a bright pink pony in his mind's eye. "And how long do you plan to stay?" Celestia asked. "As long as it takes, until my questions are answered and my existence makes sense," he stated in defiance, as if those who created him could hear. "Don't," Celestia whispered. "Don't stay here, if anything, you should leave this world immediately." "Darling, exactly why did you feel the need to drag us all from our homes to the library at this dreadful hour?" Rarity yawned, standing in a circle with the other Element bearers around Twilight. "Yeah, and couldn't ya have jus' sent us a message with Spike to get our attention? Y'all nearly scared me half to death, yellin' in my head with yer magic like that," Applejack added. "Sorry everypony, but I had to be sure you heard me and got here as soon as possible, this is important!" she waved around the letter she got from Celestia. "Now have any of you, besides Pinkie Pie, seen a strange gray pony with a scythe mark on his flank? He calls himself Sunny Harvest." "Um, I did today, Pinkie brought him over to my cottage earlier today," Fluttershy spoke up. "And why did you do that Pinkie?" Twilight asked. "Well I was trying to help him make some friends, duh. I spent most of the day showing him around Ponyville," she explained, though she tried to keep her tone flat, seeing the serious expression on Twilight's face. "Ah saw him last night Twilight," Applejack said, stepping forward. "He was a right strange fella, and he said he knew my parents. He asked me a few questions 'n then walked off." "And you two?" Twilight turned to Rarity and Rainbow Dash who just shook their heads. "I've been busy training up in Cloudsdale the past few days," Rainbow Dash explained. "And I've been working on a simply massive order in my boutique," Rarity added. "Exactly what's so important about this 'Sunny' pony anyway?" Rainbow Dash finally asked. "Well I was worried about him, he walked in here asking about the Elements of Harmony and friendship, so I sent a letter to the Princess, but then she sent one back. She had identified who he really was. She said he's..." she gulped, worried at how her friends would react, she expected anything from laughter to complete terror. "Death." She was greeted with complete silence. Her friends just stared at her, confusion on all of their faces. "Y-You just mean that his name is Death, right? Instead of Sunny Harvest?" Fluttershy said quietly, Twilight noticed her hind legs shaking slightly. "I wish I did. Princess Celestia specifically said that he is Death, our Grim Reaper," her friend's faces remained blank, they had no idea how to respond to this. "Well if this Sunny fellow really is a masquerade for Death," Rarity paused, this was such an odd topic to discuss. "Why is he here?" "Well why else would he be here?" Rainbow Dash jumped in. "He's probably here to grab one of the ponies in the old folk's home." She looked at Twilight hopefully. "I don't know Rainbow Dash...I've never heard of something like that before. you think we would have noticed if a strange pony showed up in town every time somepony was about to die," Twilight shook her head, she hated when things refused to make logical sense. "Wait, so if he's death that means when he was talkin' 'bout knowin' my parents he meant..." a dark scowl appeared on Applejack's face. "I'm afraid so Applejack...I'm sorry," Twilight said. "Y'all got nothin' to apologize fer," Applejack told her, though she still sounded a bit angry. "Well...what else did the Princess say?" She moved to Twilight's side to get a better look at the letter. "She said that she was going to confront him to try and talk to him, and if she needed to...stop him," she looked around, a pleading look in her eyes. "She says that she sent me this because she trust me and in case...something goes wrong. Oh, girls...I'm scared..." She was quickly comforted by a massive group hug. "Don't worry Twilight, Princess Celestia is one of the toughest, coolest ponies out there! And she's got us to back her up, the ponies who beat Nightmare Moon and Discord!" Rainbow Dash said proudly. "Yeah, and maybe Death's here to make friends!" Pinkie said, drawing quite a few odd looks. "And what makes you think that darling?" "Well...did any of you get the chance to really look at him? He just looks super duper lonely, I mean, being the Grim Reaper can't be that thankful of a job, can it?" Twilight couldn't help but grin a little at Pinkie Pie's assumption. "I hope you're right Pinkie, I really do," she looked around around at everypony. "But just in case...could you all stay here, until I hear back from Celestia?" "We're your friends Twilght, we'll stand by you no matter what." Fluttershy said, surprising the others, and herself, with her bold tone. The rest of the ponies quickly agreed, Twilight smiled brightly at all of them. With all of them together, nothing could go wrong. ...she hoped "Leave? And why would I do that?" he asked the Alicorn. "So that you won't-" "Are you afraid that while I'm here I'll forget my duties, that death would simply stop? That would be impossible. Death waits for no pony, griffon, dragon, anyone! I am always there, I could not stop it if I tried!" he felt himself grow angrier with each word. "Who are you to tell me what I should do? Every living being in this world bows to me whether they wish to or not. You may have lived for over a thousand years, but such a time is nothing to me. I've watched rulers greater than you grow old and die in less than an instant, I have seen kingdoms mightier that yours fall in the blink of an eye. Your soul will be carried by me, you have no power," he stated, glaring defiantly up at her. Celestia made no response, she simply stamped one hoof onto the grassy hill. It looked rather unimpressive, but suddenly, he felt a massive force radiate from her. It was like being hit in the chest with a cannon ball. Her horn began to glow as she let her strength radiate outwards, soon her own body seem to shine brilliantly, to the point where couldn't himself to look at her, to look upon he radiance. Surprised and intimidated, he unconsciously took a few steps back. Celestia didn't let him gain any ground, advancing forward, her tone dark and serious. "You may be king, and ruler, of your own world of death and darkness, but in this world, where you have barely spent two days, you are less than a colt. I am the sun and its light, responsible for the lives of all these ponies, rather than their deaths! I battled a god of chaos for them! I locked my sister away for a thousand years to save them, and though it all, I have endured. For over a thousand years I have lived, you still don't understand what it is to truly live. You stumble around in a fake body, unaware of anything life has to offer, so naive about its wonders..." she paused and her voice fell into a whisper as her radiance dimmed. "So naive about its pains..." her eyes seemed so full of sadness as she looked at him. "I am trying to protect you, so much pain awaits you if you stay here," she explained to him. "Pain? Here? How could there be pain here? It finally...it doesn't hurt here," he admitted to her. "Here, I'm not alone...someone is happy to see me. It's not...empty here. I've finally gotten a chance to...live." He paused as these words flowed out of him, how could he have been affected, changed, in such a small amount of time. "And what will you do with that chance? Make more friends, more connections, you may even be lucky enough to fall in love. But then, life will happen. They will grow older and weaker while you are forced to stay the same. As an alicorn, I have outlasted so many friends, but you will out last everypony..." "I was forced to watch them die...but it will be so much worse for you, you have witnessed this pain before, but never have you been a part of it. You will be forced to take their last breath away, you will be responsible for the deaths of all those you come to care about," she took another step towards him, her gaze so powerful he could not bring himself to look away. "Can you do it? Can you face that pain?" He tried to answer, but he could not. He didn't want to admit...admit that he didn't know what he would do if he had to face such pain... "I see..." Celestia finally said, turning away. "Better to leave now, and be happy with your memories." She started to walk away. She would leave him alone. "No," he muttered quietly, his gaze fixated on the ground. "No, I won't leave with nothing. I shattered the rules of my own existence the come here, and my question will be answered!" His voice gained strength with each word. "And how do you plan to do that?" Celestia asked, still facing away from him. "With your help," he told her. "You are one of the strongest magical beings alive, and you have access to every spell in Canterlot. There has to be something you can do." "There is a spell...something I researched long ago," she admitted to the chilling night air. "It is a spell to show you another pony's life, their history. " "Then use it!" he demanded. "The spell is strong, on its own it takes quite a lot of power, and to view the history of a being as old as yourself could be...dangerous for me. And to view all of your memories...if I am not careful, I could lose myself." She hesitantly explained. "You don't need to look through every memory, just the first, my first. If you go to the beginning, you might learn something. If you do this...I swear on every soul that I've carried, that I will go back to where I belong, no more arguments," he vowed. After all, if this didn't reveal anything, what would? "Very well," Celestia accepted after a moment of silence. She walked back to him and placed the tip of her horn against his forehead. "Brace yourself." He felt her power as the her horn began to glow with a golden aura. Suddenly, his head began to burn as the magic found a path to his mind. He felt it burrow deeper and deeper until it felt like his entire body was on fire. He forced himself not to scream, he had to endure this pain. He would endure anything if it meant an answer. However, that resolve didn't stop him from blacking out. An abyss. That was how Celestia would describe the endless stream of memories before her. Magically projected into his mind, Celestia stood before a dark...void. She didn't know how she was supposed to handle this. She could not see anything that resembled a 'beginning.' But every moment in here drained more of her strength, she had to start somewhere...and then something caught her eye. A spot of light in the black. She willed herself towards it, and fell into the abyss. "And what exactly do you think some sparkling jewels are going to do to me? Hah-" a mocking voice caught her attention before it was abruptly cut off right as it began to laugh. She recognized that voice. An image appeared before her, a mocking Draconequus being frozen in stone by two Alicorns wielding the Elements of Harmony. The blast had hit him directly in the face so it looked as if he mocked them even in his imprisonment. So he had been watching them even back then, she wondered how many time he'd personally witnessed the power of the Elements... "Tis a job well done sister!" her past self told Luna. "Thank thee sister, I knew we could do it," Luna replied, happily embracing her elder sister. Celestia was so tempted to stay and watch, for just a little longer. It was so nostalgic to see her sister like this, before everything had gone so wrong. But she couldn't stay here, she couldn't let herself get lost in the past. She had to keep moving while she still had the strength. She let the stream of memories pull her further and further back. Eventually, she felt the pull weaken and slow. She had to be close... She opened her eyes, but saw only darkness. This had to be it...Death's first memory, the first soul he had collected. A tiny light entered the black, the soul, but as she continued to watch it she something. And in a moment, she understood, she knew the answer. And it worried her. Lying on the ground, he slowly stirred and opened his eyes. In front of him, looking completely exhausted, was Celestia. "Did it work?" he croaked. "Did you find anything?" "I did," she told him, but she seemed hesitant. "I know the answer to your question." She took a deep breath. "The reason you were never meant to know friendship, love, or life is because...you were never meant to exist..." Losing Yourself"What do you mean?" he ask her, wary, and a little fearful. "That death was never meant to be a part of this world? That everyone was meant to live forever? You're wrong!" "No, you misunderstand. Death was meant to exist, death has to exist, you cannot have life without it. What I saw showed me that you, a living, thinking, consciousness, was never meant to be a part of death," Celestia forced herself to stand, the spell had drained so much of her power. "You are an...error," she paused, searching for a better word. "An anomaly...something that was never expected." All he could do was shake his head at her. She had to be wrong, this couldn't be the answer he wanted. She'd made a mistake, the spell had gone wrong, something, anything! "I don't understand," he choked out. "What did you find in my memories? What did you see? Tell me!" He demanded, so desperate, so worried. "I saw the beginning, I saw death...as it was meant to be. The first soul entered it, and I understood," a deep breath to steady herself. "Death is not supposed to think, to wonder, to observe. There is no need for it to wish for an understanding of life. Death is only...an instinct, a force," from his expression, she saw that this wasn't enough, so she continued. "Imagine a great river, powerful and black, its current never slowing. Whenever something in the world dies, their soul drops into the river. It simply pulls them along to where they're meant to go. That is all death was ever meant to be," she explained. "That can't be, I am the shepherd for the souls, they need me!" he argued back. "Are you sure about that? You told me that even now, you are everywhere, collecting the souls of anypony that dies. How much of that is simply instinct, rather than conscious thought?" He wanted to yell, scream at her to stop, but he couldn't. This was the answer he'd been searching for, but why did it have to be so...wrong? ""If...if I was never meant to exist...then why do I? Where did I come from?" he finally asked, hoping for some recompense. He looked so small now, like a young colt, and Celestia couldn't help but pity him. "When you collect a soul, you gain something, don't you? I saw it with that first soul, a tiny pinprick of light left behind in the black." "It's nothing, just a vision. I see a bit of their last moments, and maybe a hint of their emotions. It doesn't last, and so many of them are meaningless. With so many souls, I don't even notice most of them." he answered with a shrug. "But it wasn't, don't you see? Over so many years, so many souls, all of their thoughts, ideas and emotions, their last dying dreams, slowly gathering together in that river. They formed something new...something different. It was an idea...an idea of life," she told him, her voice full of wonder at such an occurrence. "And that idea...was me?" he guessed hesitantly. "No...well, no quite," she corrected. "It was...and it wasn't, It was only a concept. The final thoughts of all the countless souls that have passed out of this world could not equate to true life. I didn't understand either, at first, but then I remembered. You were there when my sister and I used the Elements against Discord." "Why does that matter?" "The full power of the Elements is enough to trap a god. I think their power managed to affect you, even across the veil. They gave an idea of life the first stirrings of consciousness. You told me that after seeing them, you began to follow me, to try and be a part of mine and my sister's lives." "So...they changed me," he realized. How could he not have noticed how those feelings of...curiosity, had arisen after seeing the Elements. "And they continued to change you, you witnessed the Elements three more times didn't you?" Celestia continued to question. "Yes, when you sealed your sister, when your student and her new friends purified her, and when they resealed Discord," Celestia winced at this, she hated knowing the the problems her student faced were due to her own shortcomings, but he didn't notice. "Even though you weren't a target, they tried to help you, to give you what you wished for...what you dreamed of..." "They gave you the ability to realize that you could leave, that could could cross over into this world. They gave you a chance to experience life," she said. "And I am so sorry..." "And so am I, for wishing for something so...foolish," he growled. "As you so happily explained earlier, such a wish has brought me nothing but pain." "That is one of the harsher lessons of life. Sometimes...things don't go the way you want, and no amount of wishing will change that," Celestia said sadly, she was well versed in that lesson. "And what exactly should I take away from this 'lesson?' That all of this was pointless? That I'm pointless? What do you expect me to do?" He asked, so crushed it came out as a dark whisper. "Keep your promise, return to where you belong and forget the memories you have here. You can't stay, any happiness you found here would only turn to more pain," it was all she could say. She wished there was something more she could do, but what? What comfort could she offer to Death? "There is pain no matter where I go, don't you understand?" he muttered to himself. He couldn't forget those memories, he could forget anything. His only choices were to leave, and be forever haunted by his memories. Forced again to watch what he had only just begun to understand Or he could stay, and find a moment of happiness that would be lost and swallowed by the pain as he watched those he cared for die, as he watched himself pull their final breath away. How could they even be called choices? They were simply different forms of punishment. Loneliness and pain. He looked up, and he saw the expression on Celestia's face. She pitied him, pitied the lonely Death. How could she not? He wasn't supposed to exist, he was never meant to know friendship or love. She knew he had no other options. He had to choose. "No!" he screamed, reaching out to try and find something that could help him. He found the veil. It tore apart so easily in his grasp, and the force threatened to pull him through, but he refused. He dug his hooves into the dirt and stood his ground. The pull lessened, and then stopped. Instead, he felt himself pull the other side towards this world. A flow of dark energy rushed from the other side and infused itself into his body. Celestia could not see what was happening, but she could feel...something. And it was wrong. "What are you doing?" she cried. He simply looked up at her, a crazed smile on his face. "Changing the rules," unheeded, the power flowed out from him and slammed into Celestia, driving her to the ground. It was too much. In her prime, she might have been able to do something against it, but she'd spent too much power, she was failing. As darkness began to cloud her vision, she focused what strength she had towards one last spell,something she had prepared before the meeting, just in case. Her horn sparkled briefly as the spell was completed, and she fell into nothing, wishing that it had been enough. The power abruptly stopped, and he paused to look upon what he had wrought. The princess had collapsed onto the hill, her eyes closed and her chest barely moving. But he could see more than that now. He could see her soul beneath her skin, shining bright and yellow, like a miniature sun. But something was...off about it. It had been moved, partially drawn out of her. It wouldn't fall into the stream of death, but it wasn't enough to keep her body moving. He had been the one to do this. The rules wouldn't be the only things to change. With this power, he could change the world, he could make it into whatever he wanted. He wouldn't have to hurt anymore. He laughed. "So there I was, with no decorations except a can of whipped cream," Pinkie Pie finished her story. "And let me tell you, it was-ow!" she clutched her right knee, wincing in pain. "Is something wrong Pinkie Pie?" Twilight asked. "Is it yer...Pinkie Sense?" Applejack added, worried. "Yeah...uh, girls, this is my right knee, isn't it?" her friends nodded as she held out the aching appendage. "Oh no oh no oh no oh no," Pinkie started to pace the room, peering through the windows, trying to find something. "Pinkie Pie, stop acting so weird and tell us what a hurt knee means!" Rainbow Dash demanded, pulling her away from an open window. "Well an achy left knee means that a storm's about to hit us, but I've never felt an ache in my right knee before. All I know is that it can't be anything good!" Pinkie frantically explained, unconsciously rubbing her knee. "Oh darling, you don't think that-" Rarity was interrupted by a burst of magic in the center of the library. As the blast cleared, they were able to see a magnificently jeweled chest waiting for them. "Hey, ain't that the..." Applejack began. "Yes, that's the chest for the Elements!" Twilight confirmed. Quickly, she ran over to the chest and lifted the lid with her magic, revealing all six element, safe and sound. "The Princess must have sent them to us, something must have gone wrong!" "Oh no, does that mean the Princess might be..." Fluttershy clamped a hoof over her own mouth, afraid to finish that sentence. "No way! The Princess is way too though for something like that to happen! Death probably just ran away so she sent us the Elements to protect the town from him," Rainbow Dash argued, though it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than Fluttershy. "Either way, we need to go out and stop him!" Twilight declared, tossing everyone their respective Elements while settling her crown on top of her head. "Now come on!" She charged out of the front door, barely giving her friends time to follow. "Um, Twilight, do you have an idea on where we're supposed to go?" Rarity asked, already breathing heavy as they raced through the quiet town. "I can follow the spell Celestia cast back to her, we can help her then she can tell us what happened with-" Twilight started to explain. Then the screams started. "Sorry Twi', looks like we won't get the chance to see the Princess," Applejack said, looking towards the sounds. A crowd of ponies, roused from their sleep, were running through the streets, terrified of what followed behind them. they didn't even notice the six friends standing of them, charging around them like a mindless herd. "What's gotten them so scared?" Twilight worried. "I can't even see anything behind them." "Uh, I'd put my bets on whatever that thing is," Rainbow dash said, hovering in the air to get a better viewpoint. She gestured down the road to where a lone pony was walking, not even looking in their direction. Pinkie Pie rushed ahead of everypony, trying to get a glimpse of what was going on. "Oh! I see something! Well, somepony actually," she narrowed her eyes, trying to get a better focus. "It looks like...Sunny Harvest!" Pinkie called out, catching a glimpse of a scythe mark on their flank. But her friends were not the only ones who heard her. 'Sunny' stopped and slowly turned her head towards her. "Oh no..." she whispered. A wicked smile was etched onto his face, and it only grew wider as he recognized her. He began to walk towards them, and he began to change. His gray coat grew darker and darker,soon matching his mane with its blackness, while his eyes seemed to clear until they were nothing but white voids. Surprised, Pinkie found herself stepping backwards until she was standing with her friends again. "What's wrong Pinkie Pie, what did you see?" Fluttershy shifted next to her, hoping to provide some comfort. Pinkie opened her mouth to reply, but she didn't get the chance. Because suddenly, he was there, standing over them and staring down at them with those blank eyes. He had even grown too, towering over them with a height to match Princess Celestia. And then they understood what had woken up all those ponies in the night and made them run, unthinking, though the town. Standing anywhere near him, was like hanging of the edge of a cliff while feeling your grip slowly slip away. It showed you how your life was balanced on a razor's edge, and any wrong movement could bring it to an end. "Just the ponies I was looking for," he whispered to them, his voice unchanged, still so rough and gravely. Sometimes it was fun to be scared...this wasn't any fun at all. "We know who you are Death!" confronted Twilight, forcing herself to step forward. "What have you done with the Princess?" He just laughed, the noise echoing through the town. But it sounded...wrong. It seemed forced, like it was something recreated from a memory. "Do not worry little pony, your Princess is not dead," he assured her, abruptly breaking out of his laughter. "Though she will not be able to interfere with me until I decide otherwise. Thought I do suppose I should be thanking her, none of this would have been possible without her." "Don't act too happy," warned Rainbow Dash. "We've got the Elements! You aren't gonna last long." "Oh really?" he said, and then he was behind them, Rainbow Dash's necklace held in one of his hooves. He brought it up to his face to inspect the symbol. "I understand your loyalty to the Princess, but you don't even know what my plan is." "Wha? How did you?" Rainbow Dash could only stammer. "I am Death, I am everywhere at once," the necklace reappeared on her neck. "I ask again, do you even know what my plan is?" "That don't matter none!" Applejack declared, though her voice seemed to lose some luster as his gaze and smile turned on her. "We all know it can't be nothing good!" "Oh, but it is my little ponies! I'm going to change the world for the better, don't you understand?" they didn't respond, so he happily continued. "Thanks to your princess, I've discovered something so wonderful. I've discovered my true strength!" "I can stop death!" he announced, sweeping his gaze over the entire group. "Don't you see? No more sadness, no more pain," he looked back to Applejack. "No more sad ponies talking to the quiet graves of their parents." The earth pony swallowed nervously. "But death is a part of life, how can you just...stop it?" Twilight asked, slightly more confident. She was getting used to his aura. "Death is a river that collects your souls, pulling them onward. But I can stop it! I can 'dam' it, letting you stay here. I won't have to-you won't have to leave this world anymore," he stumbled over his words, the smile on his face flickering. He quickly forced it back on and continued talking. "Fluttershy! You won't ever have to worry about losing your animal friends, they'll stay here forever with you! And Twilight, you'll have all the time in the world for your books and studies, no knowledge will ever be out of your reach," he seemed so happy, so enthralled by his own plan. "And Pinkie Pie, there's no need for you to be sad, for your parties to end, your friends will be around forever! And Rainbow Dash-" "How do you know it will work?" Twilight asked, breaking his flow. "What?" was all he could reply. "If you stop everypony from dying, then what? What about growing old? What if we get hurt? Will we simply stay here forever, trapped in bodies that will grow too old and weak to move?" "Of course not! You will remain safe and strong...you have to..." the last part he whispered to himself. "You don't even know what will happen!" Twilight realized. "All you know is that death will stop, you haven't even thought of the repercussions of that!" "You are wrong! It must work, it has to work!" he yelled, his mask of joy cracking. "No, you are the one who's in the wrong," Rarity joined in. "You're like a young colt playing with a spear, with no idea of the damage it might cause." "W-why do you even want to stop death?" Fluttershy added, slightly trembling in his aura. "To help you ponies, don't you see? I want to make your live better-" "Liar," Applejack interrupted, her voice low and strong. "She asked why you want ta stop death, not why ya think we'd agree with yah." His face shifted into a snarl. "You stubborn ponies, you can't even accept a gift! I thought you all would understand, but I was obviously mistaken," he slammed a hoof into the ground, and they found themselves flung back by an unseen power. "No matter, it has already begun, and you cannot stop me!" In the next moment, he was gone. His aura vanished with him, allowing them a respite from its effects. "What? That coward, he's running from us!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, flying higher into the sky to see if she could spot him. "Rainbow Dash, get back down here," Twilight called. "I don't think you're going to find him. He could be...well, anywhere." Grumbling, Rainbow Dash settled down back with the group. "Well what do we do now sugar cube? We can't let that fellow run around, he could cause a frenzy with that aura o' his," Applejack asked Twilight. "Oh...I don't know..." the unicorn admitted. "Even if we find him, he'll just rush off somewhere else. I suppose maybe if we activated the Elements the magic could find him on its own...but since he's death, would sealing him just cause more problems?" She shook her head, trying to focus. "Um, Twilight?" Pinkie spoke up. "I think I have an idea, but I have to do it alone, okay?" "Alone, why?" Twilight already didn't like the sound of this plan. "You've gotta trust me, I don't think he'll run if it's just me," she explained. "But you all have to make a Pinkie Promise not to follow me!" "I...okay Pinkie, I trust you," Twilight sighed. "We promise not to follow you. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my-auh!" She yelled as she accidentally jabbed herself in the eye. Pinkie couldn't help but smile at that. "Okie dokie lokie, now just stay here and with any luck, I'll be back soon!" she turned and trotted away from them, hoping deep in her chest that her assumption would prove to be right, Soon, she found the spot she was looking, and, after planting her hooves firmly on the ground, waited. She felt him before she saw him, the same scary feeling washing over her. But she didn't let it affect her, couldn't let it affect her, she was here for her friends, one friend in particular. Slowly, he walked out of the shadows, the smile back on his face. "Pinkie Pie, my one true friend. I knew you would understand. You even waited for me here, at your favorite spot in Ponyville," he greeted, sounding so relieved. "But you see...I didn't come here to see you..." Pinkie Pie looked around and hoped this spot wouldn't become the bearer of a bad memory. "I want to see my friend, Sunny Harvest." "But I am Sunny Harvest, I am still the same pony you made friends with," he reassured her, thought his new appearance didn't help with that argument. "But you're not the same pony! The pony I knew spent the whole day listening to me talk about Ponyville just to make me feel better, he wouldn't risk hurting everypony just...just to make himself feel better." "That's why you want to stop death, isn't it?" "You don't understand Pinkie! If this works...I can stay here. I can be happy, I can finally experience life, isn't that worth the chance?" he asked her, trying to keep the smile on his face. "But what if it goes wrong? Even if it's just one pony that gets hurt because of you, would that be worth it to make you happy? I know that's not you Sunny..." Pinky pleaded. "I...I..." I would hate it if anypony was sad because of something I did... He remembered those words...and those words made him see. Pinkie could be anypony... She was old, weak, unable to even move, but she couldn't find peace because he wouldn't let her. Or worse, he saw her injured, fatally, but not allowed to die, forced to live with a constant pain. Then it wasn't just her, it was her friends, their parents, everyone. All of them screaming for help, for death. Because of him, because of his weakness. "I would hate it too Pinky," he told her, the smile falling from his face, a smile he had worn more for his own benefit than anyone else. A smile to convince himself that he really had been happy. "You're right Pinky...it's not me, and it never will be." He shrank down, his color and eyes shifting back to normal. Soon he was back to normal, gloomy Sunny Harvest. He stared to say something, but didn't get the chance as Pinky wrapped him up in a hug. "I was right! I mean, I hoped I would be right, but there was always the chance I could be wrong, but I wasn't!" she pulled away and beamed at him. "I knew you were good!" "Something like that," was all he could say. "I was so wrapped up in my new power I thought your friends couldn't help but go along with me...but they saw through the words of a sad, unthinking pony..." "Now, let's get back to your friends before they start to worry." He placed a hoof on her shoulder, and then they were back. "I'm back everypony!" Pinky announced as her friends jumped back in shock. "So, by the looks of that fellow, I'm guessing yer plan worked?" Applejack said after catching her breath. "Yes," he answered in Pinkie's place. "She was able to talk some sense back into me. But there is still one thing I have to fix, and you should all be there." He closed his eyes focused, and then they all founds themselves on the grass, next to the body of Celestia. "Princess!" Twilight exclaimed, rushing over to her. "What happened to her?" She asked him, so worried. "I...partially removed her soul. She is...stuck, between both worlds. But, this is something I can fix," walking over, he simply tapped her on the head with one hoof. Celestia suddenly drew in a deep breath, gasping as her eyes opened. "What...what happened?" she asked, seeing all of them standing before her. "I made a mistake, I should have listened to you. But you should be proud, your students are truly worthy to bear the Elements of Harmony," he told while helping her stand up. "But it was really Pinky Pie who did everything," Fluttershy said, always so modest. "But you're my friends! You give me strength even when you're not around. It's because of tough friends like you that I was brave enough to go face him on my own," Pinkie replied, affectionately rubbing Fluttershy's mane. You can really only learn about it by experiencing it... That's what Twilight had said about Friendship...and now, he felt like he finally understood what she had meant. Not that it mattered anymore. "Once again, I apologize to you Celestia. It seems that my dream really was too great to achieve. I shall not bother your world again," he bowed to her. "Wait! Can't you stay just a little bit longer? I mean, you still need a party! And..." Pinkie paused. "I haven't even made you smile yet..." Seeing her pleading eyes, he wished he could smile for her...but it just wouldn't show. "I am sorry...but I think it's far too late for that Pinkie," was all he could tell her. "Well, will I at least see you again?" "No, you won't," but he would see her...one last time. He'd stayed too long, it was time to go. He allowed himself one last look, one last memory of the sun, the grass, and the ponies who truly lived. He grasped the veil, but found himself hesitating. Now he knew how those silly ponies could spend all their days lying in the grass with nothing but the warmth of the sun as company. Because at any moment, you could lose it. The veil tore, and he was gone. Memories Are Not Enough: An EndingIt was dark, quiet...lonely. It was just like it was supposed to be, just like he wanted it to be... Eyes closed, ears covered, and mouth shut. That was how he went about his duties. He would jump into the other world to grab a soul and immediately jump back. He wouldn't even allow himself to view the memories of those souls, blocking them from his mind. He had enough memories already. Memories that would never be forgotten. Sometimes...he was tempted, so tempted to go back over, just to experience the sun again. Just to talk to someone, anyone. But then he would start to dream, to hope. And all of those dreams would start...and end the same. They would be so bright at first, he would find friends in other ponies, ponies that all seemed to represent Pinkie Pie in some way, either in looks or personality. "Have you tried being less gloomy?" they would always ask before dragging him along to a party. A party so big and grand that he would smile, a real smile. And then laughter would follow, not just from him, but from all of his friends. That beautiful noise would wrap around him, bringing him joy he could barely imagine. But then the dream would turn dark. He would be forced to stay the same as the world around him moved forward, his friends growing old and sick, while all he could do was watch, powerless. Why did their lives have to be so short? Why couldn't they stay, for just a moment longer? Eventually, he would stand before them all, and they would always ask. "What are you doing? What's going to happen?" the first he could easily answer...the second...was so much harder. "Peace," was all he found himself saying. And he wished it was, he wished with all he had, everything he was, that the place he took them to would be peaceful. And then one of them...always the last one, would whisper. "I'll wait for you then..." that declaration, said out of friendship, would hurt so much. She would wait forever, for he could never follow, never know of their peace. And with those friends gone, he would be alone again, with memories of them dancing throughout his mind. Memories that would never be enough. He could try again, but those memories would haunt him, and so few of the ponies would trust him. He never aged, but he wasn't a Alicorn, he looked just like a regular earth pony What was he really? Their questions would follow, and he could not respond, for how could they trust him if they knew his true nature? Pinkie Pie was the only pony he had ever felt had truly accepted him...and he did not share the same hope with anyone else. So he would leave that all behind, alone again with new memories that only brought sadness. Two choices, stay or go, with the same ending, always alone. The dream would end and he would be pulled back to himself, the temptations gone, for now... The idea of life...still dreamed of living. How pathetic. He found himself moving around less and less, relying more on the instinct that was a part of him, or rather, the instinct he was a part of, to gather souls. Before he knew it, there was no need for him. The souls would drop into the river and be pulled along on their own. The princess was right, he was useless. He didn't know what to do anymore. He wasn't meant to exist, he was everyone that had died, and yet none of them. He'd waited so long for that answer... Did anyone wait for him? His thought drifted to those six ponies, and their princess. Would they keep watch for him? Worried that he may return some day, trying once again to understand life? He took a strange sort of pleasure from that, at least he would be remembered by someone, though he knew it wouldn't last. Memories were so fickle with living beings. At least he'd be a part of their world though their thoughts, for a little while. A little while... How long had he been here? That thought spoke up from the back of his mind. Exactly how long has it been since he had ran away from life, away from the pain? After all, time had a strange way of moving forward when you weren't looking. Maybe he could check, for just a moment, it was probably only a few years... But he didn't need to. He felt the sigh of a last breath, and with it, the sensation of a soul crossing over, bringing a memory with it. He blocked it, as always. But this memory wouldn't be blocked. It seemed to crawl past his defenses right into his mind. He saw a hill, its soft grass flowing like water in the breeze. Resting in the grass was an earth pony... A pink earth pony... No, no! He tried to stop the memory, to pull away, to block it out, to do something! But it was too late. The pony had been so tired that day, she had known that she didn't have much time left. But that didn't mean that she couldn't brighten up someponies day. So she'd made her way, slowly, out to that hill, making sure to give a friendly greeting to anypony she saw along the way. Climbing to the top of the hill, she'd been so sleepy, but she couldn't sleep yet, she had to wait for him... She waited and waited, her eyelids growing so heavy, but he refused to show. "Fine," she had said, letting her eyes close. "Fine then, I'll just bring the party to...him. It'll all be sunshine and...smiles...for Sunny..." her head nestled down between her hooves. And that was all, she passed on, her last feelings full of such hope to see that gloomy pony again. Free of the memory, he knew that he had to find that soul, find her soul. He dove into the river, so worried. How far had she gone, was it already too late? He couldn't believe what he saw. Right in the middle of the river...was her. She was stubbornly fighting against the flow, still waiting for him. Her soul was pink, of course. But it wasn't just simple pink, she was the pink of a sunrise, a sunrise right before the most perfect day. Something you could look at and just be happy for no real reason. He gathered up the soul in his arms and drew himself out of the flow. He held her close, and he almost feel her unbridled joy. It seemed that nothing could ever bring her down. His grip tightened, holding her closer, and then...nothing. He could not communicate with souls...and they could not communicate with him, he doubted that Pinkie Pie could even notice him. She'd waited for him, and he'd failed her. No matter he tried...he'd never be able to make up for it. Her fierce determination to make him smile had been for nothing. He dropped her soul, and hoped she would stop resisting the stream. There were so many other ponies in the beyond that could use a smile from her. He was tired. Life had been far too much for him. He had had enough. His existence had brought happiness to no one, not even himself. In the end...he was just a collection of memories with delusions of life, and it was time for them to be forgotten. He dropped into the river again and...let go. Nothing seemed to happen at first, but as the stream continued to pull he noticed himself growing...smaller. The memories were being pulled away, leaving him as tiny spots of light to rejoin their original souls. It didn't hurt, though some part of him wished that it did, wished that he could feel...something. As his memories fell away, one by one, but with his last bit of strength he managed to hold one memory close. One that he wished to see one more time. Hellooooooo! I'm Pinkie Pie, and I've never seen you around before! She was so happy, so friendly. It was before he had learned the truth, before he had made everything go wrong... "I am sorry, Pinkamina Diane Pie..." he whispered. He was never supposed to exist... So now he wouldn't. A tiny spark remained in the black river, so small, so bright. Then it was gone... But As Long As You Have One FriendHer eyes opened as the the early morning light slowly streamed through the window onto her face. Groggily, she scanned the room, her vision stopping on Spike's bed where the young dragon was still sleeping, his snores echoing throughout the library. This was always the strangest part. Having to wake up the next morning and treat it like it was just another day. To just...move on. Though maybe that was just how the ponies of Ponyville wanted to live, never caught up in the past, always moving toward the future. Of course, it would be hard to work that sort of talk into everyday conversation. "I say, wasn't it just terrible being forced the witness the fragility of life last night?" "Of course, sent me running though the night in terror!" "Truly awful...so will that be six carrots or just three today?" She giggled to herself as she imagined the conversation. She guessed that sometimes, it was just easier to act like something almost world changing didn't happened the night before. Groaning a little, she shifted around under the covers, tempted to lie there for just a few more minutes. She was still tired, and with good reason. Chasing down and confronting Death was quite an exhausting experience. Celestia had told all of them to head back to their homes for some well needed rest. Even Pinkie Pie had looked tired...well, tired for Pinkie. She had still been jumping around the whole walk home, but something about her had seemed...off. Had her mane been less...poofy? She shook her head, it was too early in the morning to wonder about that, it was probably just fatigue. Anyway, no matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't just stay in bed, there was so much research to be done! The fact that Death, which should have been a simple force off nature, had visited them as a living breathing pony meant there was so much she didn't understand, which meant there was so much more she could learn! Also...the Princess had told them all to see her again today, to try and offer some explanation of what happened. She had no idea what to expect from this, what had caused death to attack Celestia, and why had he said everything was 'Thanks to the Princess?' Twilight shook her head and threw aside the covers, climbing out of bed. She hoped her friends were doing a better job of treating today like a normal day. "C'mon Spike, I think you've spent quite enough time sleeping," Twilight said, prodding her assistant with one of her hooves. She still couldn't believe how he had managed to nap through the entire incident. Spike let out a massive yawn and opened his eyes. "Aww, I was just about to beat my record for longest nap Twilight," she frowned at him. "Oh you know I'm just kidding Twi, your number one assistant is always ready to help! What do you need?" He stepped out of bed and stretched his tiny arms up into the air. "Thank you Spike. Now, the first book I need is..." "Woah nelly! You putting a book fortress together in here Twi'?" Applejack called over the massive stack of books that nearly blocked the doorway. "I must say, I don't think I've seen the library this cluttered before. Are you doing an early re-shelving darling?" Rarity asked, heading in to the library alongside Applejack. "Oh, sorry girls. I've been trying to do some research on the...incident that happened yesterday. I've been looking through any book that might be related, but nothing seems to make any sense!" Twilight said, annoyed. Spike rushed back in the room, a heavy book held over his head. "Here's the book you wanted Twilight, Advanced Theory On Existence After Death," he plopped the book down on the pile. "Oh, hey Applejack, hey...uh, Rarity." A huge grin appeared on his face as he saw the fashionista pony. "Well howdy-do Spike," Applejack returned. "Indeed, it's nice to finally see you awake," Rarity smiled at the dragon. "So are we the first to arrive then Twilight?" "Looks like, I was expecting Pinkie to be the first honestly. I don't think that pony's ever been late for anything," Twilight replied, shifting a few piles of books to the side with her magic to allow some more room for her friends. "I saw her walking this way on my flight over here," a voice called from outside. Peering through the doorway they all saw Rainbow dash settle down on the ground, Fluttershy right behind her. "Oh yes, it didn't look like she was walking that fast though," Fluttershy added. "Oh, and good morning everypony. It's so good to see that you're still doing well." "Good morning to you too Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash," Twilight smiled at her friends and led them inside. "Do any of you know why Pinkie might be...less than energetic today?" "I'd guess it'd have somethin' to do with that Death fellow..." Applejack said. "She seemed pretty sad to see him go." "Why don't you ask her yourself? I think I see her coming this way," Rarity said, looking out one of the windows. Walking up beside her, Twilight followed her eyes to see a spot of pink on the the horizon that just had to be Pinkie. Well...at least it looked like Pinkie. The earth pony appeared to be trudging along the road. Trudge, now that was a word Twilight had never expected to associate with Pinkie. Also, her head was held low to the ground, with the expression on her face looking absolutely serious. This day was turning out far stranger than Twilight expected. In a few minutes the pink pony had reached the library, joining the rest of the group. "Um, good morning Pinkie Pie," Twilight greeted after a few moments of silence. "Hello," Pinkie replied in a flat voice. She sat on the floor and narrow her eyes, making her look intently focused on...something. "Uh...are you okay Pinkie Pie?" Rainbow Dash asked, waving a hoof in front of her face. "Huh? Oh, sorry girls. I'm just thinking, think think thinking," she emphasized by tapping her head with one of her hooves. "About what?" Twilight inquired. "Oh, a whole bunch of things! A lot of whys, with a few whats, a couple whos thrown in, and right now I've got one when," she turned to Twilight. "When's Princess Celestia supposed to show up?" "Pretty soon I'd guess. We can go wait for her out on the balcony," Twilight replied, still looking a bit worried about Pinkie. "Okie dokie lokie, lead the way Twilight," Pinkie said, her eyes still focused in concentration. Nodding, Twilight led all of her friends out on to the lower balcony of the library, which was bathed in the warm morning light. "So Twilight dear, you were saying that none of your research was helping, what did you mean?" Rarity asked, trying to start some conversation while they waited. Twilight's eyes brightened, she loved any opportunity she got to explain her research to her friends. "Well I was going through all of my magical theory books and cross checking them with my books on the study of souls and other metaphysical concepts, but nothing in them added up. Sunny said that he was Death, but you can't just take that entire...concept, and turn it into a pony," she shook her head. "It just doesn't make any sense." "Oh my student, you don't know how right you are," shocked, they all looked up to see the majestic form of the Princess descending down to them from the sky. Gingerly, she alighted on the balcony and smiled at Twilight and her friends. Quickly, they all bowed in reverence. "There's no need for that my little ponies," Celestia chided them. "Oh, we're sorry Princess," Fluttershy apologized, standing back up. "What did you mean about me being right Princess? Are you saying that Sunny really wasn't death?" Twilight asked once everypony had stood up from their bows. "Yeah, and why did Sunny have to leave? Why did he turn so scary all of a sudden? Why did he say the whole thing was 'thanks to you?'" Pinkie jumped in next to Twilight. "And why...why did he have to be so sad?" Pinkie shied away sheepishly as Celestia turned her gaze on her. "The fact is...Sunny is death, but he is also not. His very existence, as you said Twilight, does not make sense. As for what happened last night...I tried to help him, and I wasn't good enough. I made...mistakes," Celestia explained, a pained expression her face. "What kind of mistakes Princess?" Applejack joined in. "He asked me to do something for him, something I should have refused. But I let my emotions get the better of me," she took a deep breath. "I cast a spell on him and discovered...the truth about Sunny is..." "...he attacked me,and the next thing I knew, you were all standing over me," she finished. "He was never meant to exist? That's just terrible," Fluttershy commented. "But I still don't understand, how could the Elements affect him? All he did was witness their power," Twilight asked, still confused. "Nopony knows the full power of the Elements my student, and he witnessed their power on four separate occasions. I do not think anypony could have come away from that unchanged," her teacher replied. "But it doesn't really matter in the end, right?" Rainbow Dash added. "I mean, he's back where he's supposed to be 'cause it would be too had for him to stay here." "But why? Why isn't he allowed to be happy?" Pinkie's mane had lost a bit of its puffiness. "That's not fair..." "I'm sorry sugar cube but...life ain't exactly fair," Applejack rested a hoof on Pinkie's shoulder. "For those livin' it, or those wishin' for it." "Btu that doesn't mean we should just give up! I have never given up when it comes to making somepony smile, and I won't stop now," Pinkie turned to Celestia. "There has to be something we can do. What about the Elements? What if we used them to bring Sunny back here?" "Um, darling..." Rarity responded to the desperate question. "I understand how you feel for Sunny, I personally would not wish his fate on anypony...but last time he was here he attacked the Princess and almost went mad with his own power..." "No no no no, not just bring him back! Celestia said that the Elements tried to help Sunny, but what if they didn't have enough 'oomf' to help him all the way. What if they were trying to, trying to..." Pinkie trailed off, searching for the right words. "What if they were trying to separate him from death and give him a real life, make him a part of this world," Twilight realized. Pinkie nodded happily, but the unicorn just shook her head. "That might be true...but using the Elements like that...it might work, but there's a chance..." Twilight paused. "A chance of what?" Pinkie asked. "After all of this...Sunny may not wish to experience life anymore. The majority of his memories here are...painful. If that's true then the Elements will fail, and I don't know what their magic will do," she replied with a gentle voice. "Well...what do you think we should do Princess?" Applejack asked. "I do not know," answered the Princess, slightly sad. "You six are the bearers of the Elements now. I am sorry, but in the end, you are the ones who must decide on how to use their power." "Well...I think we should try to help Sunny," admitted Pinkie. "Helping him just has to be worth it, don't you think?" She looked hopefully to her friends, but they remained silent. Twilight knew why. None of them had really known Sunny, it was only Pinkie that had spent any real time with him. Even thinking of him now, the images that stood out in Twilight's mind were...less than pleasing. The pitch black coat and mane. The white void eyes. And the crazed smile etched on his face, the never fading grin with the wild laughter. He had scared her, scared all of them, and it wasn't something they would ever forget. Faced on all sides by uncooperative silence, Pinkie seemed to grow gloomier and gloomier. To Twilight, it almost looked like she was growing...darker. As if the sun refused to shine down on her. She wanted, no, needed to say something. But what could she... "I think Pinkie's right," Fluttershy's meek voice broke through the silence. What?" the other ponies exclaimed, making her shy back a few steps. "Oh, um...the reason that Sunny turned so scary was because he was so desperate to stay..." she paused, looking nervous. "I think he was so desperate because of something I said to him. When Pinkie brought him over to my cottage I told him that...sometimes your dreams don't come true." "Because of that, he tried even harder, asking the Princess for the spell, and then trying to change the world when that didn't work," a tiny frown formed on her face. "I should have just kept my mouth shut." "Hey, you can't blame yourself for everything!" Rainbow Dash argued. "There's no way this was all your fault." "But that doesn't mean I'm completely innocent either, I need to make it up to him, and..." Fluttershy walked over to stand beside Pinkie Pie. "I have to let him know that even if dreams sometimes don't come true, that doesn't mean his won't. We can help him, we can give him his dream." Her pleading look joined Pinkie's. Finally, Twilight relented...slightly. "Pinkie, if we do this, you have to have no doubts. You can't be less than one hundred percent sure when it comes to using the Elements," she made sure her voice was deeply serious, Pinkie could not take this lightly. "You don't have anything to worry about Twilight. I don't I've ever been as sure about something before," Pinkie gave a warm smile. "Does that mean...that you're gonna help?" "Yes Pinkie, it does," Twilight turned to her other three friends. "What about you?" "Hey, Element of Loyalty remember?" Rainbow Dash said smugly. "I can't let my friends down." "Honestly, this all sounds a little crazy," Applejack admitted. "But I went with y'all to stop Nightmare Moon, so I think I can handle another crazy adventure." "It doesn't look like I have a choice now," Rarity observed, her five friends before her. "But if this can work, then I, Rarity, will give death his chance at life!" She declared, thrusting her head upward dramatically. "Well, it looks like we found our answer," Twilight said to the Princess. "I can see that," Celestia replied, smiling. "And I guess you'll be needing these." A quick flash of her horn, and suddenly, all the ponies found themselves wielding their Elements. "But please remember this...be careful," Celestia added. "We will Princess," Twilight assured her, then turned back to Pinkie. "So...what now? This is your plan after all. Pinkie beamed at her. "Well first we need to..." "So tell me again why we had to come back to this hill?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking behind them at Ponyville. Celestia stood a little ways away from them as an...'observer' she had said. "Well this hill needs a happy ending to its story of course," Pinkie explained like it should have been obvious. "Plus, it just seems...right. If this is where Sunny left...it's where we should bring him back." "Well, I guess that makes sense," Rainbow Dash admitted. "In a Pinkie sort of way." "That's what I thought!" Pinkie agreed. "Now then, is everypony ready?" The five mares nodded, completely prepared to follow their friend. "Then let's get started!" Standing together in a small circle on top of that hill, they closed their eyes, and focused. Using the Elements was always a strange experience. Twilight could always sense their power, like a giant wave just waiting to crash down, but she had no idea how to use that terrifying strength. Alone, that is. Together with her friends, when they were fully focused on what they wanted to accomplish, bringing that power out was as easy as breathing. The last two times, it had been her that controlled the flow of power, but this time, she entrusted that duty to Pinkie. Twilight could almost feel Pinkie's smile as the powers of Harmony gathered within her. The world paused... The wave came crashing down and Twilight opened her eyes. A multicolored beam flowed out of the jewels each pony wore, the rainbow slowly wrapping around all of them. Soon, they were encased in a dome of brilliant light, the colors almost blinding. Then, Twilight felt a notion like she being...pull away. The feeling grew stronger and stronger as the light grew brighter. And suddenly...it stopped. The light vanished, and all went black. Twilight held her breath for moment, thinking she had passed out, but no. She was still awake. Had something gone wrong? Had the Elements failed? Had she made a mistake? Frantically, she scanned the black void, looking for anything that might be familiar. She couldn't find anything, there nothing here but...shadows. But then...something caught her attention. It was a light...no, five lights, and they were drawing closer. The leading light was a bright and happy pink. Even in the darkness, it looked like it was bouncing around, barely able to contain its joy. Behind it was a proud blue that seemed like it was deliberately trying to outshine any other light. Next was a beautiful pure white light, its brilliance seeming to reinforce and hold up the lights around it. Then, a soft yellow spark. It seemed smaller than the rest, but Twilight could feel the great strength it contained, its light soothed her worried feelings. And at the very end, a strong, steadfast orange. It was calm and silent, making no boasts, because it didn't need to. It was pure and honest strength. It looked like her friends had found her. Curious, Twilight tried to see her own color, and was able to recognize from the light of her friends. A dark and mysterious purple, containing unknown wonders. Twilight wondered briefly what her friends felt from her light. She almost asked before she realized she didn't have a mouth. And then she realized something else... Standing together, their lights began to grow stronger. They illuminated the darkness, and Twilight saw that there was something else there. Something small, something black, curled into a tiny ball fall below them. A shadow within the shadows. Almost immediately, the pink light traveled down to it. The light expanded, shaping itself into the form of a silly pink pony. Hello again Sunny... Those words echoed in Twilight's mind. They hadn't been spoken, they'd been...thought. It hurts...every choice I make hurts... The tiny shadow's thoughts were so small, so quiet. But don't you see? It doesn't have to hurt anymore, we can help you... Everything will be sunshine and smiles! The shadow shifted slightly, like it was trying to look at Pinkie, but couldn't quite figure out how. Come on. It's just a hop, skip, and jump. Pinkie reached out a hoof, placing it beneath the shadow. She paused for a moment, then looked up. Girls? I don't think I can do this on my own... Twilight chuckled softly in her head, drifting down next to Pinkie joined by the other lights. Twilight focused for a moment and felt her own light expand outwards. Soon, they had all formed their own celestial bodies. Twilight brought out her own hoof to join Pinkie's, and as she touched the shadow, she felt something enter her mind. Memories, old, sad, and dark. Long memories of watching and wishing, trapped alone in the darkness. She watch through somepony else's eyes, as the world aged and changed before them. As so many souls fell into her arms. Then, in an instant, she was back her own mind, her hoof still supporting the shadow. But now, four more hooves had joined them. The six friends were ready. It's time to go. The pink pony shimmered. Yeehaw! Let's get outta this gloomy place! A orange glow of confidence Well duh! The boastful blue. Be careful everypony. The kind yellow. I agree, I think I've had quite enough of this place. And the generous white. See you on the other side. Twilight added in. Together, they began to rise, the shadow held between them all so carefully. Then, a soft burst of light wrapped around them, pulling them back to where they all belonged. The hill, they were all back at the hill. Twilight didn't feel any different, the only proof she had gone anywhere were her memories. She got the feeling she would never forget the dark memories from the shadow. "Oh my, is everypony all right?" Rarity asked, calmly checking on all of her friends. "Um, everypony, look," Fluttershy pointed towards the center of their circle, and Twilight couldn't help but gasp. Nestled down in the grass was a young gray colt, calmly napping as the morning sun shone down on his blank flank. Slowly, Pinkie inched forward and tapped the colt on the head. He yawned and slowly opened his eyes, staring confused at the odd sight of a grinning pink pony a few inches from his face. "Umm...hello?" he asked, his voice soft. "Hello Sunny, it's me, Pinkie Pie," she gleefully introduced. "Don't you remember?" "I...I don't..." he paused, glancing worried at the ponies surrounding him. "I know you...but I don't remember..." Pinkie frowned a little. "I bet there's one thing you remember," Pinkie decided, then poked him in the chest. "You're far overdo for a party!" The colt paused...then nodded. Pinkie beamed at him, almost uncontrollably happy. Faced with such overwhelming joy, Pinkie's mane shimmering in the sunlight, the colt couldn't help himself... Sunny smiled.
Breaking The VeilAlone... He was alone...rather, he had always been alone. He didn't know why, and nobody had ever felt the need to explain it to him, then again, he doubted that there was anybody able to explain it. His existence had been like this for as long as he could remember, and he could remember everything. He had been there since the beginning, and he expected to be there long after the end, cursed to be only an observer. Forever forced to watch the world for all time, unable to walk through its soft grass or feel the warmth of the sun upon his head. Forced to hear every dark accusation against him, to hear all the pain and anguish of those he visited, to hear their wracking sobs as they collapsed to the ground, but forbidden from ever speaking back. Forced to be a part of everybody's life, young or old, rich or poor, great or small, he would always be there in the end. But he would never be allowed to understand them... Understanding...that concept has never occurred to him, until so recently. The world he watched over had fallen under attack by powerful creatures, three times in less than two years. Nightmare Moon, the God of Chaos, Discord, and the Queen of the Changelings. He had watched them, expecting so much to happen because of them, expect so much...work. But then...they were all stopped, by the simplest and oddest, of things. The first two were brought down by six average ponies, using what they called The Magic of Friendship. How something so...silly, could take the form of a multicolored magical blast was another thing he wouldn't understand. The changelings had be defeated by two older ponies, by their power of 'love.' Something he so often heard when collecting others, but to him, it was simply words. Why had so much power come from such simple concepts? He found himself following those six strange ponies as they lived their lives. He was surprised at how...normal they seemed on their own. True, they all had their own eccentricities, but compared to all the ponies that had come before them, it was nothing special. It was when they were together, helping each other, or just talking, that he noticed...something. Between all of them was something special. He started hanging off of their every word, trying to find some hint, some clue, that would help this mystery make sense. But no matter what he did, the answer refused to appear. He didn't understand. He couldn't understand, not like this, not from simply watching. He had to see them with true eyes, to talk with them personally. That was his only chance, his only hope to...be... But that was an impossible wish, he was stuck behind the veil. Just cross over. A thought...his, it had to be, there was no one else. But...cross over? He couldn't, that was... Impossible? When had that ever been decided? Never...it had never been decided, the thought to try had never crossed his mind before. Curious, he reached out with his essence, feeling the veil, like the surface of a pool of cold water. All his questions, the question of why, the need to understand had somehow affected him. Now he questioned his own boundaries, what was there, really, to stop him from passing through? The veil began to feel so flimsy in his grip, like paper. There is nothing left to stop me In an instant, the veil was torn, and he was pulled through. It was all so simple, he couldn't but imagine himself chuckling. His dream had been realized, and his questions would be answered. Death was coming to Equestria, but the ponies would have nothing to fear from him. Or so he thought... He found himself lying on the ground, something soft tickling his nose. Slowly, he opened his eyes, and was rewarded with a view of the city of Ponyville. He had appeared on a large hill overlooking the town, and luckily, there were no other ponies around him. Shifting his legs, he forced himself to stand, a new experience, one of many as he realized just what having a body meant. He could feel the beating of a heart in his chest, so loud, like an endless drumbeat. He could feel the body as it labored for breath, understood how quickly it could fail when cut off from such a simple supply. So weak, but underneath it all, so complex, so...unique and confusing. Pausing his thoughts, he took a moment to observe his own body. It appeared he was a gray stallion with a black mane, of average height and build with no wings or horn, perfect for blending into the crowd, but there was something else. On his flank there was a small picture of something. Looking closer, he recognized it as a scythe. A scythe for the reaper stallion, how...appropriate He focused his mind back to the task at hand, heading down the hill towards the town, when he noticed something else. The grass brushing against his hooves was soft, softer than anything he'd ever felt before, and the sun on his head was warm...gentle. But it was nothing like how he'd imagined it to be. In his own realm, he had watched ponies run and roll through the grass laughing and smiling like nothing could be greater. He had watched as ponies simply sit and let the sun shine on them, content to spend the whole day with its warmth as their only company. Watching them, he expected those two things to be so much...more. Experiencing them now, they simply 'were.' Just a side effect of nature, nothing more. But he didn't have time to be distracted by his failed expectations, he had far more important things to discover. He kept up a brisk pace as he entered the town, hoping that no other ponies would try to talk to him. He wanted to go directly to the pony called Twilight Sparkle, she had the information he needed. He just needed to get there without- "Hellooooooo!" a sing-song voice called out to him as a bouncing pink pony seemed to materialize in front of him. He recognized her, she was one of those six special ponies. Her name was- "I'm Pinkie Pie!" she gleefully introduced herself. "And I've never seen you around before!" "Not a surprise...though I have been here before," he found himself replying, surprising himself with the sound of his own voice. It was low and gravely, like he suffered from a constant sore throat. "What? I don't think so, because if you had been I'd know who you were, and then I would've thrown you a party and you would'a been my new friend! And if there's one thing Pinkie never forgets, it's her new friends, and parties...oh wait, I guess that was two things! Haha!" She collapsed in a fit of giggles. A party...he had noticed a few of Pinkie Pie's parties, rather, he couldn't help but notice them. Their scope and energy were truly a sight to behold, and the last thing he wanted right now. "But I do know you, Pinkamina Diane Pie," Pinkie's full name brought her attention back. "You grew up on a sad little rock farm, two sisters, a father and a mother, always so gloomy. Also, a grandmother who taught you how to laugh...all still alive." He started listing off facts of her family robotically, hoping to convince her that he did actually know her and thus remove the need for a party. He knew so much about her, he couldn't help it. He remembered everything after all. "Huh, that's weird...almost nopony knows my full name...except...hum," she placed one hoof on her chin, thinking. "Okay, I'm gonna go check something, don't move!" She rushed off in an instant, but not before giving him a dark glare, just daring him to move. Alone now, he immediately moved, heading for the library, where he knew Twilight Sparkle would be. The library was unmistakable, a massive tree near the center of town that housed every book, and then some, the studious unicorn could get her hooves on. He quickly walked through the open doorway, intent on finding her. He wandered through the empty rooms, peering curiously at the many book titles, wondering in the back of his mind if any of the stories would be worth reading to something like himself. Finally he found her curled up in the corner of the back room, her nose completely buried in a massive novel. He walked up next to her, but she still failed to notice him. "Greetings," he finally announced, startling Twilight who quickly dropped her book and jumped up to face him "Oh, hello! I'm sorry, I thought I would just take one little peek at my new book that came in today, but it was so good that I figured one more chapter wouldn't hurt and then..." she paused, realizing she was rambling. "Sorry, that probably doesn't matter to you. I'm Twilight Sparkle, and you are..." she trailed off, waiting for him to fill in his name. He stood stumped for a few moments, it had never occurred to him to think of a name, so he said the first thing that came to mind. "Sunny," he blurted, remembering the feel of it's warmth on his face. But he still needed a last name, he would be suspicious without it. He quickly thought one up, thinking about the mark on his flank. "Harvest, I'm Sunny Harvest." "Nice to meet you Sunny Harvest," she looked to the side and noticed his cutie mark. "Oh, are you a farmer? Do you know my friend Applejack? She lives over at Sweet Apple Acres." Twilight asked curiously. "She lives with her older brother, younger sister and grandmother. No parents, they're both gone," the words seemed to spill from his mouth, surprising him. He hadn't meant to say so much, it was almost like he'd been...forced to. "Oh, I guess you do know her then," Twilight replied after a few awkward moments of silence. "Did you meet at one of the Ponyville rodeos?" "Yes," he answered quickly, then quickly decided to change the topic, "but I didn't come here to talk about Applejack. I understand that you're doing research for the alicorn Celestia?" "You mean Princess Celestia?" he nodded, in the grand scheme of things, such titles were meaningless to him. "Yes, she has me sending in reports on friendship...how'd did you know about that?" "I've...been doing research on it, on how you used its power to stop Discord when he almost took over Equestria." a partial truth to help mask his terrible ability to lie. "You're a farmer with the spare time to research the Elements of Harmony?" Twilight asked, a twinge of suspicion sneaking into her voice. "I'm very good at multitasking," another partial truth. "Well, what exactly did you want to know?" Twilight grudgingly accepted his answer. "Well, I would like to know about friendship itself really, how it was powerful enough to give six ponies the power to drive back a god of chaos. What about friendship makes it so strong?" he asked, unsure of himself. He wasn't if that was the question that would bring the answers he wanted. From Twilight's expression, it looked like it wasn't. "Well...I don't really know how to answer that. I mean, you could look up 'friendship' in the dictionary, but that's not really gonna tell you anything. You can really only learn about it by experiencing it, just like I did," she explained, trying to be helpful. "So you don't know? You don't understand it at all?" he didn't believe her, how could she not know? "I do know! It's just, not something you can put down in words. I write the Princess reports on it, but in the end they're only reports, and they can never match up to the actual experience of friendship," she said, trying to make him understand. He didn't. "Thank you for your help Miss Sparkle," he said to her before turning and quickly trotting out of the library. Outside, he shook shook head, so confused. How could she not know? How could she not understand? If she didn't understand, how could he ever hope to understand what friendship was? Was this whole trip, finally learning how to pass through the veil, pointless? Suddenly, he realized that he had started walking without realizing it while his mind was occupied. Looking around, it seemed like he had reached the edge of the town. He was standing at the bottom of a large hill, but it seemed he wasn't alone. Looking up, he spied a orange colored pony at the top of the hill. Her neck was bent downwards and he thought he heard her saying something. He strained his ears, straining to do something, now that was a new experience for him, trying to hear her. "...Bloom is still doing fine, long as I can prevent her from tryin' to get a timber wolf tamer cutie mark. Granny Smith is still goin' strong, sometimes I think she's gonna outlast all of us!" the pony, Applejack he finally recognized, paused for a moment. "I still miss you yah know. I'll always miss yah..." She stepped back from what she had been looking at, and managed to catch sight of him at the bottom of the hill. "Oh, howdy stranger, what brings you out here?" Applejack said friendly, heading downhill towards him. "Just got lost in my thoughts," he nodded towards where Applejack had just been. "I heard you talking, your parents?" He asked, hoping to learn something from her, she was one of the six after all. "Huh? Oh, yeah. It's a memorial for them, for helpin' to protect the town. Have you heard of 'em?" Two ponies, a strong stallion and a gentle mare, lay together in the grass. Their forelegs were wrapped around each other, together til the last. The alicorn Celestia stood next to them, putting all of her magic towards helping them, but it was too late. He already carried their souls. Small, yet so very bright and strong. they had been content at the very end, he could feel it. But like so many other things, he didn't understand it. "Something like that," he told her, still gazing up at the hill. "...why do you talk to them?" He asked her bluntly. That was something he had observed countless times, living things talking to those that had no chance of hearing their words. "What'cha mean?" Applejack replied, confused. "They can't hear you, what's the point?" Applejack shrugged at his question. "Point, why does there haf'ta be a point? Sometimes it just nice to talk to them, helps me remember them, and who says they can't hear? You ever been to where they went?" he opened his mouth to answer, but stopped. She was right...he had never been...there. He was only a shepherd, helping the souls go...beyond, forever stuck in the middle. "No...you're right. Thank you," he bowed his head towards her and walked away. "Thanks fer what?" Applejack called after him, but he didn't answer, thought already swirling in his mind. Perhaps, it seemed, he could learn something from these ponies after all... "I just can't believed he moved!" Pinkie Pie complained, stomping through the library. "After I specifically told him not to!" "Well you could hardly expect him to wait there for you, most ponies have other things to do," Twilight said, shelving her new book, very satisfied at its ending. "Well I guess you may have a point, but it looked like he was heading to your library and I hoped to see him here." she grumbled, shaking her head. Twilight paused, turning to face her. "What did this pony look like?" she asked. "Oh! He was a gray stallion with black mane, and he had one of those silly gravely voices 'like this,'" Pinkie explained deepening her voice into a decent copy. "Did he have a scythe mark on his flank?" Twilight pressed. "Yup! I didn't get the chance to ask him about it before I had to run off," she replied. "Right, and why did you run off?" Twilight asked rather guiltily, she hadn't been listening too intently to the first part of Pinkie's story. "Silly willy, I told you! He said that he had been to Ponyville before, which I said was impossible because then I would have known who he was, but then he started saying things that he could only know if he had been here before so I needed to go back home to get my collection of party photos!" she unceremoniously pulled out a massive stack of photos that proceeded to cascade over the floor of the library. "I looked through every single picture, but he doesn't show up in any of them! And everypony who's ever been to Ponyville had been to at least one of my parties." She nodded happily at her own explanation. "Huh...Pinkie, can you give me a moment? I need to write a letter to the Princess," Twilight said. "Okie dokie lokie! I think I'll look through some of these photos, those were some pretty great parties," she immediately began scrounging through the photos, making an even larger mess. Twilight headed upstairs and grabbed a piece of parchment and a pen with her magic. "Dear Princess Celestia," she started. "There's a new pony in town, Sunny Harvest, but he claims to have been here before, and he knows...strange information. He knew about my friendship reports, and odd information on Applejack's family. Pinkie Pie says she's never seen him before, and you know that she knows everypony who's ever shown up in Ponyville. I don't know what to think about this, but after the changeling attack you told me report any suspicious behavior, and he certainly is suspicious. I will send another report if anything changes. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle." She rolled up the parchment and went looking for Spike. She found the dragon resting in his bed, he'd apparently decided to go to sleep a little early today, but she needed his fire to send the message. A small grin grew on her face as she got an idea. She held the scroll in front of his mouth and began tickling his nose with the feather on the pen, the results were spontaneous. "Ah, ah-choo!" a burst of flame shot from his mouth,engulfing the letter and sending it flying away through an open window into the outside air. Spike merely grumbled and rolled over in his bed. Twilight watched the smoke drift away, wondering what, if anything, would come from this strange pony. Later...she was sorry she asked.
Growing ConnectionsThe sun rose bright and high over Ponyville, signalling the start of a new day, a new chance. He had retreated back to his own realm after the events of the previous day in order to think and plan. How could he understand? Who did he have to talk to, and what were the right questions to ask? He spent the whole night focusing all his power towards finding an answer. Walking back into town on the dawn of a new day, he still had no idea what to do next. He hated that feeling. He was death, the final judge, there should be no mysteries for him that the living would know the answer to. Yet here he was, hunting down and questioning ponies in an effort to understand why he- "Hello again Mr. Gravely!" Pinkie Pie greeted happily as she rushed up alongside him, snapping him back to reality. "Pinkamena," he greeted, slightly confused. He had just gotten back, how had she managed to find him so quickly? "You remember me! But call me Pinkie Pie, 'Pinkamena' is just so boring and bleh," she said, sticking her tongue out at the last word. "Very well, Pinkie," he replied, continuing to walk, even with no thought as to where. "Good! But you still left yesterday after I told you to stay still, which wasn't nice. I spent the whole rest of the day trying to find you, are you sure your special talent isn't hide-and-seek?" suddenly, she was in front of him, forcing him to stop. "And you never told me your name, that wasn't very nice either," a tiny frown graced her face. "Sunny Harvest," he told her immediately, a truly upset Pinkie was something even he knew to avoid. "Well it's nice to meet you Sunny!" Pinkie said, grabbing one of his forehoofs and pumping it up and down vigorously. "But there's still something else I need to ask you." "And that is?" he replied, tenderly rubbing his hoof. "Well since you've been to Ponyville before, you should show some of the ponies who live here like...ohmygoshwhosthat!" she spun him around and pointed to a light purple earth pony stepping out of her home. "Berry Punch, one sister, parents and grandparents who are still here," he recited. "I see...and him?" she waved towards Carrot Cake who was busy setting up Sugarcube Corner for another day of business. "Carrot Cake, two children, only his father left," Pinkie Pie nodded, tapping her chin. "Hum, one more," she pointed up into to the sky at a white Pegasus with a striped green and pink mane who was busily moving any stray clouds out of the way. "Blossomforth, two younger sisters, parents, but no grandparents," he answered, starting to wonder where Pinkie was going with this. "Nothing else?" Pinkie questioned, leaning in closer. "No," he stated, standing his ground. "Then I was right!" she announced happily. "You don't know anypony!" "What do you mean?" he asked, not admitting anything. "I don't know how you know so much about everypony's families, but that's all you know about them. You didn't say anything about how Berry Punch makes the some of the yummiest juice in the town, or how Blossomforth is the best cloud arranger for letting the sunlight through, you didn't even mention that Mr. Cakes birthday was last week!" Pinkie explained smugly. "Just knowing about somepony's family and actually knowing them are very different things." "Very well. And why, exactly, does me not knowing anyone make you so happy?" he asked warily. "Because that means you can still make friends with everypony! You should always take the chance to make new friends! And the best way to do that is with a party!" she threw her hooves up, colorful confetti spraying into the air. "No thank you," he told her. He knew that the answer he wanted would not be found in a party, no matter how good its intentions were. "But don't you want to make friends?" Pinkie asked, cocking her head to the side. "Something like that," he said after a moment, "it is just...I am not good around large groups of other ponies." He offered, another partial truth. His real self and crowds tended to mix rather poorly. "Oh, I get'cha, you're just like my friend Fluttershy! She's the worst pony at big parties! I think you should meet her," she said matter-of-factually, grabbing him by the hoof and pulling him away. "And why exactly do you think I should meet her?" he asked, following along. "Cause you need friends, well more friends because you've already got me, and Fluttershy is the friendliest, kindest, and quietest Pegasus I know!" She paused for a moment. "Plus, nothing interesting has happened today, and Fluttershy is really good for attracting silly hijinks." Another big smile and she was off, while he, now slightly unsure about all of this, followed after. "Oh, good morning Pinkie Pie, it's good to see you today, who's your new friend?" Fluttershy greeted, seeing the both of them walk up the road to her cottage.She carried a large bag of feed and was going through the morning ritual of giving all her animals their breakfast. "This is Sunny Harvest, he's new in Ponyville and he needs more friends. I was gonna throw him a big welcome party, but he's not good with crowds so I thought you would be a good pony to talk to," she explained, the words shooting quickly out of her mouth. "I understand," Fluttershy nodded, then turned to him. "Would you like to help me feed the animals?" "Very well," he accepted, nodding his head. "You two have fun, I need to go help the Cakes with Sugarcube Corner, be back soon!" Pinkie said, immediately running off back to town. Watching her go, he turned his attention back to Fluttershy and followed her inside. Scattered all over the floor of the cottage were many small animals, each one happily stuffing their faces at their food bowls. Animals were always interesting to him, their souls never needed his guidance. He would notice them as he collected the souls that needed him, they always looked so small, not weaker, just...less. They would move around him, taking their own path to wherever it was they would find their final resting place. Perhaps it was their natural instincts helping them even after life, or maybe something deeper than that. It was another mystery, but one he had no intention of solving. That mystery would not answer his question. Fluttershy gave him a bag of feed for the animals and he went around refilling their bowls. Most didn't even look up from their food, but one, a small white rabbit, looked up at the stranger giving it food. The rabbit didn't like what it saw. It jumped up and ran over to Fluttershy, tugging on the end of her mane while gesturing madly towards him. "Oh my, what's wrong Angel?" she asked, bringing her head down to get a better look at the rabbit. Angel pointed at him then immediately collapsed, holding a little flower above his still body. "It would appear Angel doesn't trust me," he observed, watching the rabbit's over the top performance. "Well that's no way to treat guests Angel, he's just a new pony looking for some friends," Fluttershy explained to him. Angel jumped back up and shook his head. Angel gave him one last scathing glare before pointing at his eyes and then back at him. The meaning was obvious. "I'm watching you." "See, now that wasn't so hard," Fluttershy said, patting Angel on the head, completely missing the gesture. "So tell me, why do you dislike Pinkie Pie's parties?" he asked, hoping to learn something more about another member of the six. "Oh, I don't dislike her parties, she puts so much work into them to make sure everypony has fun, it's just...it's hard to be around all the other ponies that she invites," she replied shyly, afraid to say anything evenly slightly bad about another pony. "But you're a hero, you've saved Equestria twice, I'd think everypony would be happy to even see you," he said, slightly confused. "Well yes, but, they'd expect me to act like a hero too. In the stories the heroes always so big and tough and strong and brave...and I'm just not any of those things. I'd hate to disappoint those other ponies." "What do you mean?" "Well...so many ponies build up a dream of meeting a hero. They spend so long perfecting it that in the end, reality can't match up to it. I think it would be just terrible for me to ruin somepony's dream. I'd rather stay here with my animals, they just want food and love, and that's something I know I can give them," she nuzzled the cheek of a field mouse and looked back at him. "Sometimes it's better to let somepony keep their dream than ruin it for them, don't you think?" He stopped, mulling over her question, and quickly realized that he didn't know what to think. He didn't have a dream, all he had was a question, he had never considered that the answer to his question might be less than satisfying. He had figured that knowing the answer might change...something, but what if it didn't? What if everything simply remained the same as before? "I don't know," he finally admitted to her. "It was nice to meet you." With those words he turned and walked out of her house, ignoring any of her questions that followed him. He needed to think, needed to know. Was there a chance that this whole expedition could be pointless? He found a lone bench by the side of the road and climbed up into it, settling down into a comfortable position. He tried to focus, to try and understand something, anything. This wasn't happening like he'd expected. He thought this would all be so easy, but all his journey had done was give him more questions, pushing the answer he wanted further and further away. "Mom, do you think I could get a scooter for my birthday?" a small voice grabbed his attention, it was a unicorn filly talking to a gray Pegasus pony with a strange set of eyes. "Well...I'm not sure you really need a scooter," the Pegasus replied, ruffling the filly's mane. "But I promise I'll use it everyday and make sure it doesn't break and wear protective headgear and everything!" the filly begged. "I still don't think you need a scooter," her mother stated firmly, staring intently down at her daughter. The gaze continued, but as the seconds passed, he thought he noticed the traces of a smile forming on the Pegasus's face. "...a second one that is!" she announced, pulling a package out of her knapsack to present to her filly. "Happy early birthday Dinky." Dinky let out a gasp before leaping at her mother with a massive hug. "Thank you so much mom! You're the best!" the Pegasus couldn't help but hug her daughter back. It was beautiful, but it didn't make him any happier. He knew it should have, he knew that moments like these were rare and precious in anypony's life. Love was beautiful, but why...? Life was beautiful, but why...? The question that had been hounding him, the question he had been finding himself more and more afraid to ask. Afraid...that was an emotion he had never expected to feel, but he realized he shouldn't be surprised. He was part of the world of the living, and the living feared so many things. "Well there you are! What happened, did Fluttershy scare you off?" Pinkie Pie appeared, again, seemingly from nowhere. "Something like that...how is it you can always find me Pinkie?" he decided to ask, choosing to focus on that mystery as a distraction. "Well that's easy, I just close my eyes and try and find your aura of gloominess!" she looked at him, expecting a smile he did not give. "Plus, you're on a bench next to the path to Fluttershy's place, it wasn't that hard. You should still lighten up though, look how beautiful it is today!" She gestured up towards the sky and the rays of sun shining down on them. He couldn't help but agree with her, but in the end, that was part of the problem. "Believe me, I've noticed," he told her, then looked past her as he noticed something coming down the road. "What's that?" Pinkie followed his gaze and her mood seemed to darken, as in, she looked visibly darker to him. It was a group of ponies walking towards the center of Ponyville. "Oh, I was hoping to miss that," Pinkie mumbled to herself. "Miss it how?" he asked. "I thought that some hijinks would happen with you and Fluttershy, and then I could show up to help out, and then I'd have an excuse to not be in Ponyville, an excuse to miss it," she explained slowly. "And what exactly is 'it?'" "It's a funeral, an old mare passed away last week, and they're holding the procession today. They must be her friends from the edges of Ponyville," she told him. "I see..." funerals were something he had little experience with, by the time they were set up, his work was over. "Were you friends with the mare?" "Of course! I'm friends with everypony," she replied happily, though it sounded a little forced. "Then shouldn't you go as well?" Pinkie's head seemed to droop at the question. "I don't know, I want to pay my respects, but funerals are always so gloomy and sad. I don't want to be sad because of her, I want to be happy, I want to enjoy the day because of her. I think she'd enjoy that, don't you?" A week ago, an old mare sat comfortably in her bed, surrounded by her family, so loved. She was so happy, her last words were of thanks to them all for staying next to her, right before she closed her eyes and joined him. "I don't think she would mind," he told her, then after a moment of silence. "You know, since I am new in this town, I don't know where most things are. I could really use a guide to show me around." That was an obvious lie, he was everywhere, the layout of the world was no mystery to him. But Pinkie seemed not to notice. "Really? Well come on, there's so much I can show you!" her mood brightened up and she immediately pulled him off the bench, away from the marching crowd of ponies. The rest of the day was spent following and listening. Pinkie Pie knew every important landmark of Ponyville, along with some other areas she had simply decided were important. "And here's where we all gather every week with our pets to play, and over there is the hill where we watched the meteorite shower!" she had told him as they walked through the park. He would simply respond with a nod, that was enough to keep her going. "That was one of the houses smashed up when Snips and Snails brought an Ursa Minor to town, you should've seen it, it was crazy! And right here..." she stopped in the middle of the road through the town. "Right here is my favorite spot in Ponyville." "And why is that?" he asked as Pinkie beamed with excitement. "Because right here..." she paused for dramatic effect. "is where I first met Twilight Sparkle! Thanks to her I was able to become one of the bearers of an element of Harmony, save the world, and most importantly, make five great new friends!" "That's the most important one?" "Of course, at the end of the day, if you still have friends that care about you, then it can't be a bad day," she explained confidently. She was so sure, so happy, he almost found himself smiling. If that's true, than how many good days have I had? And it was gone. "C'mon, there's still so much more to show you!" and they were off. He was shown every nook and cranny of the town, well, except those near the funeral, and they finally stopped on the top a hill outside of town. The same hill he showed up on when he first crossed over, a strange coincidence. "I don't think there's any special history with this hill, but it's still a nice place to relax," Pinkie shrugged before settling down in the grass. He sat next to her...strange, the grass seemed softer than he remembered. "Also, thanks for letting me lead you around all day, even if you didn't really need it," she giggled at his surprised reaction. "Sorry, but you're a really bad liar. It was a nice try, and it did keep my mind off of things. I'm not really supposed to be sad, I am the element of laughter after all," he wasn't sure how to respond, so he just listened. "And you know what? I've made a decision, when I go, I'm gonna make everypony pinkie promise that my funeral is a big party! I would hate it if anypony was sad because of something I did," hearing her, he found himself picturing the future. A pink pony, once so bright and full of life, as an old mare, cold and still, he once exuberant mane laying flat against the hard ground as he stood over her, ready to collect her soul. As he saw this, a heavy weight seemed to form in his chest, a pain he had never felt before. A dread he didn't understand... "Look, the moon's coming out!" Pinkie's voice cut through his thoughts and he turned to watch the face of the moon slowly rise over the horizon. "I always make sure to watch the moon rise for Princess Luna, the story says she got angry 'cause no one would appreciate her night. I'd hate for something like that to happen again. Can you imagine being trapped for a thousand years? Away from all your friends and family?" Pinkie mused. "Easier than you'd think..." he replied, mainly to himself. "What was that?" Pinkie asked. "Nothing, I'm just...tired. This day was...longer than I expected. Thank you though, for spending so much of it with me," he told her, and he meant it. Having someone to talk to...rather, just having someone talk to him, was such a rare gift. "Well it was no problem! What else are friends for?" she said. Friends...only Pinkie Pie could make friends with Death so easily, and so quickly. "Goodnight Pinkie Pie, I will see you tomorrow," he stood up. "Okie dokie lokie! Have a good evening!" she bounced up and gave him a happy wave before heading back towards town. He watched her go, and then felt for the veil. He could over, but he found himself hesitating. It was so tempting to stay, for just a moment longer, to truly watch the night sky, to feel the soft grass, for just one more second... His concentration was broken by the sound of a pair of wings cutting through the air. Looking up, he saw a giant Pegasus, no, an Alicorn, he corrected as he saw the horn, descend to the ground. "Celestia," he greeted, tilting his head forward. "I've heard of you." "And I have heard of you," Celestia replied, a stern expression on her face. "More importantly..." "Twilight, it looks like you got a letter from the Princess!" Spike announced, running down the stairs and waving a scroll back and forth bearing the royal seal. "Really, let me see Spike, this could be important," Twilight grabbed the scroll with her magic and immediately unrolled it. "To my ever faithful student," she began, reading it aloud. "I looked into the pony you told me about in your last letter, and made a rather startling discovery. I am telling you this because I trust you, and in case something goes wrong. I am confronting the pony now, because..." "I've uncovered who you really are, Death..."
Revelations"Who I really am?" he repeated, undaunted by the powerful Alicorn. "You are quite brave, to confront me alone like this." "This is not a confrontation, Death, this is only a...discussion," Celestia replied evenly. "A...discussion?" he tilted his head, confused. "My student, Twilight Sparkle, was suspicious of your visit and sent me a letter. We have been rather...on edge, since the changeling attack. I turned my gaze towards you, and while you do not seem inherently suspicious, I cast a simple spell towards you just to be safe." "It was a spell we created to reveal strip away illusions, to show us somepony's 'true self.' It showed me you were no changeling, but neither were you a pony," she paused, as if recalling a painful memory. "You had piqued my curiosity, exactly what were you hiding? So I poured more power into the spell, and still I saw nothing. The entire day, as you were lead around Ponyville, I poured more and more of my strength into the spell. Finally, with a last burst of brute force magic, I tore away your disguise...and I saw you," another pause. "It was something so great, so powerful, so dark...so terrifying." "The final judge, who had been there since the beginning, and would be waiting at the very end." A twinge of horror crept into her voice. "I saw it, and I saw my myself grow old, weak, and fall into an open grave..." "That must have been very shocking for you," he told her. How odd, he hadn't even noticed the spell scyring him. Then again, that was probably the point of the spell. "You have no idea, it's not often I'm forced to face my mortality," she took a breath to steady herself. "But seeing that, I was reminded of old stories, stories I had read when I was just a filly, of death appearing in the land as a warning of a great calamity. So I thought to ask...are the stories true? You have spent all your time in Ponyville, around Twilight and her friends. I have to know, are my lands in danger, is Twilight...and her friends, in danger?" "You're afraid, aren't you?" he realized. "Why wouldn't I be? They are my subjects...my friends. I would give anything to protect them, I would make a deal with death if it would save them," she boldly stated. He stared back at her, silent. This Alicorn was prepared to give everything to help her subjects...to help those she cared about. He couldn't but feel impressed...and a little envious. "There no need for any deals, or worries," he consoled her. "Those stories you speak of are not true. I do not bring death, it happens whether I will it to or not, I only show up to clean up what is left behind. I take every beings final breath into me, and with it, their soul..." His words came out laced with with a dark sadness, surprising himself. "Then why are you here? Is this some sort of...holiday for you?" Celestia asked him. "Something far more than that, I came here to understand something, and in understanding, find an answer to a question," he explained, perhaps this Alicorn, this Princess, was the one that could finally help him. "Understand what? What question could Death possibly have to ask?" "I am merely all-seeing, not all-knowing...I've seen you before you know," he sat down in the grass and gazed up at the moon. "I saw you and your sister defeat Discord, bringing harmony and peace to the land . I saw your joy and love together, and I saw it fall apart..." he began. "Wait, so you saw..." "Everything, and I can never forget it. I saw your sister become cold and corrupted as you failed to notice, failed to do anything. I was there when you used the Elements to banish her to the moon for a thousand years after you failed to purify her. I saw the pain on your face as she vanished, I saw the tears fall from your cheeks after the deed was done, and I saw the mask you put on to face your subjects the next day," "I do not normally follow living beings as closely as I did you, but your usage of the Elements...interested me. I cannot explain it, but perhaps it was the beginning of my rebellion, perhaps I wished to be part of someone's life, rather that just their death," he took a slow breath, letting the air flow through him. "For a thousand years, I saw you rule over the land, taking on the duties of both the sun and moon. I saw, as you raised the moon and felt the glare of your sister bore into your mind every night, the simple question that grazed your lips..." "Why..." Celestia found herself saying with him. "Why had this fate been forced on you? Why were you the one who had to rule alone? Why couldn't you just have been like any other pony? Why was the opportunity to enjoy the simple pleasures of life taken from you, overruled by your royal duties?" he continued, then turned to stare at Celestia. "That question is mine, only with the pain multiplied by an aeon. Your sister returned after all those years, begging forgiveness and allowing you a reprisal in your duties. No such kindness was ever given to me..." "Why was I forced to see the life of every living being, but denied anything life had to offer. Every living thing is giving the chance to find friendship or love, and even if they fail, they have the decency to die and find some peace in that. But not me...I was meant to always be alone..." "That's why I'm here, to try and understand friendship and love, powers used to save this land almost half a dozen times. I thought that by understanding them, I might learn why they were never meant to be offered to me..." his gaze dropped to stare at the ground. "Do you understand? Can you even imagine the emptiness I felt, forced to be always watching this world?" "A little...though I know I could never imagine its true scope," Celestia finally said, choosing he words carefully. "Have you found your answer yet?" "...No, but I am learning, understanding a little. I am starting to form connections," he replied, a bright pink pony in his mind's eye. "And how long do you plan to stay?" Celestia asked. "As long as it takes, until my questions are answered and my existence makes sense," he stated in defiance, as if those who created him could hear. "Don't," Celestia whispered. "Don't stay here, if anything, you should leave this world immediately." "Darling, exactly why did you feel the need to drag us all from our homes to the library at this dreadful hour?" Rarity yawned, standing in a circle with the other Element bearers around Twilight. "Yeah, and couldn't ya have jus' sent us a message with Spike to get our attention? Y'all nearly scared me half to death, yellin' in my head with yer magic like that," Applejack added. "Sorry everypony, but I had to be sure you heard me and got here as soon as possible, this is important!" she waved around the letter she got from Celestia. "Now have any of you, besides Pinkie Pie, seen a strange gray pony with a scythe mark on his flank? He calls himself Sunny Harvest." "Um, I did today, Pinkie brought him over to my cottage earlier today," Fluttershy spoke up. "And why did you do that Pinkie?" Twilight asked. "Well I was trying to help him make some friends, duh. I spent most of the day showing him around Ponyville," she explained, though she tried to keep her tone flat, seeing the serious expression on Twilight's face. "Ah saw him last night Twilight," Applejack said, stepping forward. "He was a right strange fella, and he said he knew my parents. He asked me a few questions 'n then walked off." "And you two?" Twilight turned to Rarity and Rainbow Dash who just shook their heads. "I've been busy training up in Cloudsdale the past few days," Rainbow Dash explained. "And I've been working on a simply massive order in my boutique," Rarity added. "Exactly what's so important about this 'Sunny' pony anyway?" Rainbow Dash finally asked. "Well I was worried about him, he walked in here asking about the Elements of Harmony and friendship, so I sent a letter to the Princess, but then she sent one back. She had identified who he really was. She said he's..." she gulped, worried at how her friends would react, she expected anything from laughter to complete terror. "Death." She was greeted with complete silence. Her friends just stared at her, confusion on all of their faces. "Y-You just mean that his name is Death, right? Instead of Sunny Harvest?" Fluttershy said quietly, Twilight noticed her hind legs shaking slightly. "I wish I did. Princess Celestia specifically said that he is Death, our Grim Reaper," her friend's faces remained blank, they had no idea how to respond to this. "Well if this Sunny fellow really is a masquerade for Death," Rarity paused, this was such an odd topic to discuss. "Why is he here?" "Well why else would he be here?" Rainbow Dash jumped in. "He's probably here to grab one of the ponies in the old folk's home." She looked at Twilight hopefully. "I don't know Rainbow Dash...I've never heard of something like that before. you think we would have noticed if a strange pony showed up in town every time somepony was about to die," Twilight shook her head, she hated when things refused to make logical sense. "Wait, so if he's death that means when he was talkin' 'bout knowin' my parents he meant..." a dark scowl appeared on Applejack's face. "I'm afraid so Applejack...I'm sorry," Twilight said. "Y'all got nothin' to apologize fer," Applejack told her, though she still sounded a bit angry. "Well...what else did the Princess say?" She moved to Twilight's side to get a better look at the letter. "She said that she was going to confront him to try and talk to him, and if she needed to...stop him," she looked around, a pleading look in her eyes. "She says that she sent me this because she trust me and in case...something goes wrong. Oh, girls...I'm scared..." She was quickly comforted by a massive group hug. "Don't worry Twilight, Princess Celestia is one of the toughest, coolest ponies out there! And she's got us to back her up, the ponies who beat Nightmare Moon and Discord!" Rainbow Dash said proudly. "Yeah, and maybe Death's here to make friends!" Pinkie said, drawing quite a few odd looks. "And what makes you think that darling?" "Well...did any of you get the chance to really look at him? He just looks super duper lonely, I mean, being the Grim Reaper can't be that thankful of a job, can it?" Twilight couldn't help but grin a little at Pinkie Pie's assumption. "I hope you're right Pinkie, I really do," she looked around around at everypony. "But just in case...could you all stay here, until I hear back from Celestia?" "We're your friends Twilght, we'll stand by you no matter what." Fluttershy said, surprising the others, and herself, with her bold tone. The rest of the ponies quickly agreed, Twilight smiled brightly at all of them. With all of them together, nothing could go wrong. ...she hoped "Leave? And why would I do that?" he asked the Alicorn. "So that you won't-" "Are you afraid that while I'm here I'll forget my duties, that death would simply stop? That would be impossible. Death waits for no pony, griffon, dragon, anyone! I am always there, I could not stop it if I tried!" he felt himself grow angrier with each word. "Who are you to tell me what I should do? Every living being in this world bows to me whether they wish to or not. You may have lived for over a thousand years, but such a time is nothing to me. I've watched rulers greater than you grow old and die in less than an instant, I have seen kingdoms mightier that yours fall in the blink of an eye. Your soul will be carried by me, you have no power," he stated, glaring defiantly up at her. Celestia made no response, she simply stamped one hoof onto the grassy hill. It looked rather unimpressive, but suddenly, he felt a massive force radiate from her. It was like being hit in the chest with a cannon ball. Her horn began to glow as she let her strength radiate outwards, soon her own body seem to shine brilliantly, to the point where couldn't himself to look at her, to look upon he radiance. Surprised and intimidated, he unconsciously took a few steps back. Celestia didn't let him gain any ground, advancing forward, her tone dark and serious. "You may be king, and ruler, of your own world of death and darkness, but in this world, where you have barely spent two days, you are less than a colt. I am the sun and its light, responsible for the lives of all these ponies, rather than their deaths! I battled a god of chaos for them! I locked my sister away for a thousand years to save them, and though it all, I have endured. For over a thousand years I have lived, you still don't understand what it is to truly live. You stumble around in a fake body, unaware of anything life has to offer, so naive about its wonders..." she paused and her voice fell into a whisper as her radiance dimmed. "So naive about its pains..." her eyes seemed so full of sadness as she looked at him. "I am trying to protect you, so much pain awaits you if you stay here," she explained to him. "Pain? Here? How could there be pain here? It finally...it doesn't hurt here," he admitted to her. "Here, I'm not alone...someone is happy to see me. It's not...empty here. I've finally gotten a chance to...live." He paused as these words flowed out of him, how could he have been affected, changed, in such a small amount of time. "And what will you do with that chance? Make more friends, more connections, you may even be lucky enough to fall in love. But then, life will happen. They will grow older and weaker while you are forced to stay the same. As an alicorn, I have outlasted so many friends, but you will out last everypony..." "I was forced to watch them die...but it will be so much worse for you, you have witnessed this pain before, but never have you been a part of it. You will be forced to take their last breath away, you will be responsible for the deaths of all those you come to care about," she took another step towards him, her gaze so powerful he could not bring himself to look away. "Can you do it? Can you face that pain?" He tried to answer, but he could not. He didn't want to admit...admit that he didn't know what he would do if he had to face such pain... "I see..." Celestia finally said, turning away. "Better to leave now, and be happy with your memories." She started to walk away. She would leave him alone. "No," he muttered quietly, his gaze fixated on the ground. "No, I won't leave with nothing. I shattered the rules of my own existence the come here, and my question will be answered!" His voice gained strength with each word. "And how do you plan to do that?" Celestia asked, still facing away from him. "With your help," he told her. "You are one of the strongest magical beings alive, and you have access to every spell in Canterlot. There has to be something you can do." "There is a spell...something I researched long ago," she admitted to the chilling night air. "It is a spell to show you another pony's life, their history. " "Then use it!" he demanded. "The spell is strong, on its own it takes quite a lot of power, and to view the history of a being as old as yourself could be...dangerous for me. And to view all of your memories...if I am not careful, I could lose myself." She hesitantly explained. "You don't need to look through every memory, just the first, my first. If you go to the beginning, you might learn something. If you do this...I swear on every soul that I've carried, that I will go back to where I belong, no more arguments," he vowed. After all, if this didn't reveal anything, what would? "Very well," Celestia accepted after a moment of silence. She walked back to him and placed the tip of her horn against his forehead. "Brace yourself." He felt her power as the her horn began to glow with a golden aura. Suddenly, his head began to burn as the magic found a path to his mind. He felt it burrow deeper and deeper until it felt like his entire body was on fire. He forced himself not to scream, he had to endure this pain. He would endure anything if it meant an answer. However, that resolve didn't stop him from blacking out. An abyss. That was how Celestia would describe the endless stream of memories before her. Magically projected into his mind, Celestia stood before a dark...void. She didn't know how she was supposed to handle this. She could not see anything that resembled a 'beginning.' But every moment in here drained more of her strength, she had to start somewhere...and then something caught her eye. A spot of light in the black. She willed herself towards it, and fell into the abyss. "And what exactly do you think some sparkling jewels are going to do to me? Hah-" a mocking voice caught her attention before it was abruptly cut off right as it began to laugh. She recognized that voice. An image appeared before her, a mocking Draconequus being frozen in stone by two Alicorns wielding the Elements of Harmony. The blast had hit him directly in the face so it looked as if he mocked them even in his imprisonment. So he had been watching them even back then, she wondered how many time he'd personally witnessed the power of the Elements... "Tis a job well done sister!" her past self told Luna. "Thank thee sister, I knew we could do it," Luna replied, happily embracing her elder sister. Celestia was so tempted to stay and watch, for just a little longer. It was so nostalgic to see her sister like this, before everything had gone so wrong. But she couldn't stay here, she couldn't let herself get lost in the past. She had to keep moving while she still had the strength. She let the stream of memories pull her further and further back. Eventually, she felt the pull weaken and slow. She had to be close... She opened her eyes, but saw only darkness. This had to be it...Death's first memory, the first soul he had collected. A tiny light entered the black, the soul, but as she continued to watch it she something. And in a moment, she understood, she knew the answer. And it worried her. Lying on the ground, he slowly stirred and opened his eyes. In front of him, looking completely exhausted, was Celestia. "Did it work?" he croaked. "Did you find anything?" "I did," she told him, but she seemed hesitant. "I know the answer to your question." She took a deep breath. "The reason you were never meant to know friendship, love, or life is because...you were never meant to exist..."
Losing Yourself"What do you mean?" he ask her, wary, and a little fearful. "That death was never meant to be a part of this world? That everyone was meant to live forever? You're wrong!" "No, you misunderstand. Death was meant to exist, death has to exist, you cannot have life without it. What I saw showed me that you, a living, thinking, consciousness, was never meant to be a part of death," Celestia forced herself to stand, the spell had drained so much of her power. "You are an...error," she paused, searching for a better word. "An anomaly...something that was never expected." All he could do was shake his head at her. She had to be wrong, this couldn't be the answer he wanted. She'd made a mistake, the spell had gone wrong, something, anything! "I don't understand," he choked out. "What did you find in my memories? What did you see? Tell me!" He demanded, so desperate, so worried. "I saw the beginning, I saw death...as it was meant to be. The first soul entered it, and I understood," a deep breath to steady herself. "Death is not supposed to think, to wonder, to observe. There is no need for it to wish for an understanding of life. Death is only...an instinct, a force," from his expression, she saw that this wasn't enough, so she continued. "Imagine a great river, powerful and black, its current never slowing. Whenever something in the world dies, their soul drops into the river. It simply pulls them along to where they're meant to go. That is all death was ever meant to be," she explained. "That can't be, I am the shepherd for the souls, they need me!" he argued back. "Are you sure about that? You told me that even now, you are everywhere, collecting the souls of anypony that dies. How much of that is simply instinct, rather than conscious thought?" He wanted to yell, scream at her to stop, but he couldn't. This was the answer he'd been searching for, but why did it have to be so...wrong? ""If...if I was never meant to exist...then why do I? Where did I come from?" he finally asked, hoping for some recompense. He looked so small now, like a young colt, and Celestia couldn't help but pity him. "When you collect a soul, you gain something, don't you? I saw it with that first soul, a tiny pinprick of light left behind in the black." "It's nothing, just a vision. I see a bit of their last moments, and maybe a hint of their emotions. It doesn't last, and so many of them are meaningless. With so many souls, I don't even notice most of them." he answered with a shrug. "But it wasn't, don't you see? Over so many years, so many souls, all of their thoughts, ideas and emotions, their last dying dreams, slowly gathering together in that river. They formed something new...something different. It was an idea...an idea of life," she told him, her voice full of wonder at such an occurrence. "And that idea...was me?" he guessed hesitantly. "No...well, no quite," she corrected. "It was...and it wasn't, It was only a concept. The final thoughts of all the countless souls that have passed out of this world could not equate to true life. I didn't understand either, at first, but then I remembered. You were there when my sister and I used the Elements against Discord." "Why does that matter?" "The full power of the Elements is enough to trap a god. I think their power managed to affect you, even across the veil. They gave an idea of life the first stirrings of consciousness. You told me that after seeing them, you began to follow me, to try and be a part of mine and my sister's lives." "So...they changed me," he realized. How could he not have noticed how those feelings of...curiosity, had arisen after seeing the Elements. "And they continued to change you, you witnessed the Elements three more times didn't you?" Celestia continued to question. "Yes, when you sealed your sister, when your student and her new friends purified her, and when they resealed Discord," Celestia winced at this, she hated knowing the the problems her student faced were due to her own shortcomings, but he didn't notice. "Even though you weren't a target, they tried to help you, to give you what you wished for...what you dreamed of..." "They gave you the ability to realize that you could leave, that could could cross over into this world. They gave you a chance to experience life," she said. "And I am so sorry..." "And so am I, for wishing for something so...foolish," he growled. "As you so happily explained earlier, such a wish has brought me nothing but pain." "That is one of the harsher lessons of life. Sometimes...things don't go the way you want, and no amount of wishing will change that," Celestia said sadly, she was well versed in that lesson. "And what exactly should I take away from this 'lesson?' That all of this was pointless? That I'm pointless? What do you expect me to do?" He asked, so crushed it came out as a dark whisper. "Keep your promise, return to where you belong and forget the memories you have here. You can't stay, any happiness you found here would only turn to more pain," it was all she could say. She wished there was something more she could do, but what? What comfort could she offer to Death? "There is pain no matter where I go, don't you understand?" he muttered to himself. He couldn't forget those memories, he could forget anything. His only choices were to leave, and be forever haunted by his memories. Forced again to watch what he had only just begun to understand Or he could stay, and find a moment of happiness that would be lost and swallowed by the pain as he watched those he cared for die, as he watched himself pull their final breath away. How could they even be called choices? They were simply different forms of punishment. Loneliness and pain. He looked up, and he saw the expression on Celestia's face. She pitied him, pitied the lonely Death. How could she not? He wasn't supposed to exist, he was never meant to know friendship or love. She knew he had no other options. He had to choose. "No!" he screamed, reaching out to try and find something that could help him. He found the veil. It tore apart so easily in his grasp, and the force threatened to pull him through, but he refused. He dug his hooves into the dirt and stood his ground. The pull lessened, and then stopped. Instead, he felt himself pull the other side towards this world. A flow of dark energy rushed from the other side and infused itself into his body. Celestia could not see what was happening, but she could feel...something. And it was wrong. "What are you doing?" she cried. He simply looked up at her, a crazed smile on his face. "Changing the rules," unheeded, the power flowed out from him and slammed into Celestia, driving her to the ground. It was too much. In her prime, she might have been able to do something against it, but she'd spent too much power, she was failing. As darkness began to cloud her vision, she focused what strength she had towards one last spell,something she had prepared before the meeting, just in case. Her horn sparkled briefly as the spell was completed, and she fell into nothing, wishing that it had been enough. The power abruptly stopped, and he paused to look upon what he had wrought. The princess had collapsed onto the hill, her eyes closed and her chest barely moving. But he could see more than that now. He could see her soul beneath her skin, shining bright and yellow, like a miniature sun. But something was...off about it. It had been moved, partially drawn out of her. It wouldn't fall into the stream of death, but it wasn't enough to keep her body moving. He had been the one to do this. The rules wouldn't be the only things to change. With this power, he could change the world, he could make it into whatever he wanted. He wouldn't have to hurt anymore. He laughed. "So there I was, with no decorations except a can of whipped cream," Pinkie Pie finished her story. "And let me tell you, it was-ow!" she clutched her right knee, wincing in pain. "Is something wrong Pinkie Pie?" Twilight asked. "Is it yer...Pinkie Sense?" Applejack added, worried. "Yeah...uh, girls, this is my right knee, isn't it?" her friends nodded as she held out the aching appendage. "Oh no oh no oh no oh no," Pinkie started to pace the room, peering through the windows, trying to find something. "Pinkie Pie, stop acting so weird and tell us what a hurt knee means!" Rainbow Dash demanded, pulling her away from an open window. "Well an achy left knee means that a storm's about to hit us, but I've never felt an ache in my right knee before. All I know is that it can't be anything good!" Pinkie frantically explained, unconsciously rubbing her knee. "Oh darling, you don't think that-" Rarity was interrupted by a burst of magic in the center of the library. As the blast cleared, they were able to see a magnificently jeweled chest waiting for them. "Hey, ain't that the..." Applejack began. "Yes, that's the chest for the Elements!" Twilight confirmed. Quickly, she ran over to the chest and lifted the lid with her magic, revealing all six element, safe and sound. "The Princess must have sent them to us, something must have gone wrong!" "Oh no, does that mean the Princess might be..." Fluttershy clamped a hoof over her own mouth, afraid to finish that sentence. "No way! The Princess is way too though for something like that to happen! Death probably just ran away so she sent us the Elements to protect the town from him," Rainbow Dash argued, though it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than Fluttershy. "Either way, we need to go out and stop him!" Twilight declared, tossing everyone their respective Elements while settling her crown on top of her head. "Now come on!" She charged out of the front door, barely giving her friends time to follow. "Um, Twilight, do you have an idea on where we're supposed to go?" Rarity asked, already breathing heavy as they raced through the quiet town. "I can follow the spell Celestia cast back to her, we can help her then she can tell us what happened with-" Twilight started to explain. Then the screams started. "Sorry Twi', looks like we won't get the chance to see the Princess," Applejack said, looking towards the sounds. A crowd of ponies, roused from their sleep, were running through the streets, terrified of what followed behind them. they didn't even notice the six friends standing of them, charging around them like a mindless herd. "What's gotten them so scared?" Twilight worried. "I can't even see anything behind them." "Uh, I'd put my bets on whatever that thing is," Rainbow dash said, hovering in the air to get a better viewpoint. She gestured down the road to where a lone pony was walking, not even looking in their direction. Pinkie Pie rushed ahead of everypony, trying to get a glimpse of what was going on. "Oh! I see something! Well, somepony actually," she narrowed her eyes, trying to get a better focus. "It looks like...Sunny Harvest!" Pinkie called out, catching a glimpse of a scythe mark on their flank. But her friends were not the only ones who heard her. 'Sunny' stopped and slowly turned her head towards her. "Oh no..." she whispered. A wicked smile was etched onto his face, and it only grew wider as he recognized her. He began to walk towards them, and he began to change. His gray coat grew darker and darker,soon matching his mane with its blackness, while his eyes seemed to clear until they were nothing but white voids. Surprised, Pinkie found herself stepping backwards until she was standing with her friends again. "What's wrong Pinkie Pie, what did you see?" Fluttershy shifted next to her, hoping to provide some comfort. Pinkie opened her mouth to reply, but she didn't get the chance. Because suddenly, he was there, standing over them and staring down at them with those blank eyes. He had even grown too, towering over them with a height to match Princess Celestia. And then they understood what had woken up all those ponies in the night and made them run, unthinking, though the town. Standing anywhere near him, was like hanging of the edge of a cliff while feeling your grip slowly slip away. It showed you how your life was balanced on a razor's edge, and any wrong movement could bring it to an end. "Just the ponies I was looking for," he whispered to them, his voice unchanged, still so rough and gravely. Sometimes it was fun to be scared...this wasn't any fun at all. "We know who you are Death!" confronted Twilight, forcing herself to step forward. "What have you done with the Princess?" He just laughed, the noise echoing through the town. But it sounded...wrong. It seemed forced, like it was something recreated from a memory. "Do not worry little pony, your Princess is not dead," he assured her, abruptly breaking out of his laughter. "Though she will not be able to interfere with me until I decide otherwise. Thought I do suppose I should be thanking her, none of this would have been possible without her." "Don't act too happy," warned Rainbow Dash. "We've got the Elements! You aren't gonna last long." "Oh really?" he said, and then he was behind them, Rainbow Dash's necklace held in one of his hooves. He brought it up to his face to inspect the symbol. "I understand your loyalty to the Princess, but you don't even know what my plan is." "Wha? How did you?" Rainbow Dash could only stammer. "I am Death, I am everywhere at once," the necklace reappeared on her neck. "I ask again, do you even know what my plan is?" "That don't matter none!" Applejack declared, though her voice seemed to lose some luster as his gaze and smile turned on her. "We all know it can't be nothing good!" "Oh, but it is my little ponies! I'm going to change the world for the better, don't you understand?" they didn't respond, so he happily continued. "Thanks to your princess, I've discovered something so wonderful. I've discovered my true strength!" "I can stop death!" he announced, sweeping his gaze over the entire group. "Don't you see? No more sadness, no more pain," he looked back to Applejack. "No more sad ponies talking to the quiet graves of their parents." The earth pony swallowed nervously. "But death is a part of life, how can you just...stop it?" Twilight asked, slightly more confident. She was getting used to his aura. "Death is a river that collects your souls, pulling them onward. But I can stop it! I can 'dam' it, letting you stay here. I won't have to-you won't have to leave this world anymore," he stumbled over his words, the smile on his face flickering. He quickly forced it back on and continued talking. "Fluttershy! You won't ever have to worry about losing your animal friends, they'll stay here forever with you! And Twilight, you'll have all the time in the world for your books and studies, no knowledge will ever be out of your reach," he seemed so happy, so enthralled by his own plan. "And Pinkie Pie, there's no need for you to be sad, for your parties to end, your friends will be around forever! And Rainbow Dash-" "How do you know it will work?" Twilight asked, breaking his flow. "What?" was all he could reply. "If you stop everypony from dying, then what? What about growing old? What if we get hurt? Will we simply stay here forever, trapped in bodies that will grow too old and weak to move?" "Of course not! You will remain safe and strong...you have to..." the last part he whispered to himself. "You don't even know what will happen!" Twilight realized. "All you know is that death will stop, you haven't even thought of the repercussions of that!" "You are wrong! It must work, it has to work!" he yelled, his mask of joy cracking. "No, you are the one who's in the wrong," Rarity joined in. "You're like a young colt playing with a spear, with no idea of the damage it might cause." "W-why do you even want to stop death?" Fluttershy added, slightly trembling in his aura. "To help you ponies, don't you see? I want to make your live better-" "Liar," Applejack interrupted, her voice low and strong. "She asked why you want ta stop death, not why ya think we'd agree with yah." His face shifted into a snarl. "You stubborn ponies, you can't even accept a gift! I thought you all would understand, but I was obviously mistaken," he slammed a hoof into the ground, and they found themselves flung back by an unseen power. "No matter, it has already begun, and you cannot stop me!" In the next moment, he was gone. His aura vanished with him, allowing them a respite from its effects. "What? That coward, he's running from us!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, flying higher into the sky to see if she could spot him. "Rainbow Dash, get back down here," Twilight called. "I don't think you're going to find him. He could be...well, anywhere." Grumbling, Rainbow Dash settled down back with the group. "Well what do we do now sugar cube? We can't let that fellow run around, he could cause a frenzy with that aura o' his," Applejack asked Twilight. "Oh...I don't know..." the unicorn admitted. "Even if we find him, he'll just rush off somewhere else. I suppose maybe if we activated the Elements the magic could find him on its own...but since he's death, would sealing him just cause more problems?" She shook her head, trying to focus. "Um, Twilight?" Pinkie spoke up. "I think I have an idea, but I have to do it alone, okay?" "Alone, why?" Twilight already didn't like the sound of this plan. "You've gotta trust me, I don't think he'll run if it's just me," she explained. "But you all have to make a Pinkie Promise not to follow me!" "I...okay Pinkie, I trust you," Twilight sighed. "We promise not to follow you. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my-auh!" She yelled as she accidentally jabbed herself in the eye. Pinkie couldn't help but smile at that. "Okie dokie lokie, now just stay here and with any luck, I'll be back soon!" she turned and trotted away from them, hoping deep in her chest that her assumption would prove to be right, Soon, she found the spot she was looking, and, after planting her hooves firmly on the ground, waited. She felt him before she saw him, the same scary feeling washing over her. But she didn't let it affect her, couldn't let it affect her, she was here for her friends, one friend in particular. Slowly, he walked out of the shadows, the smile back on his face. "Pinkie Pie, my one true friend. I knew you would understand. You even waited for me here, at your favorite spot in Ponyville," he greeted, sounding so relieved. "But you see...I didn't come here to see you..." Pinkie Pie looked around and hoped this spot wouldn't become the bearer of a bad memory. "I want to see my friend, Sunny Harvest." "But I am Sunny Harvest, I am still the same pony you made friends with," he reassured her, thought his new appearance didn't help with that argument. "But you're not the same pony! The pony I knew spent the whole day listening to me talk about Ponyville just to make me feel better, he wouldn't risk hurting everypony just...just to make himself feel better." "That's why you want to stop death, isn't it?" "You don't understand Pinkie! If this works...I can stay here. I can be happy, I can finally experience life, isn't that worth the chance?" he asked her, trying to keep the smile on his face. "But what if it goes wrong? Even if it's just one pony that gets hurt because of you, would that be worth it to make you happy? I know that's not you Sunny..." Pinky pleaded. "I...I..." I would hate it if anypony was sad because of something I did... He remembered those words...and those words made him see. Pinkie could be anypony... She was old, weak, unable to even move, but she couldn't find peace because he wouldn't let her. Or worse, he saw her injured, fatally, but not allowed to die, forced to live with a constant pain. Then it wasn't just her, it was her friends, their parents, everyone. All of them screaming for help, for death. Because of him, because of his weakness. "I would hate it too Pinky," he told her, the smile falling from his face, a smile he had worn more for his own benefit than anyone else. A smile to convince himself that he really had been happy. "You're right Pinky...it's not me, and it never will be." He shrank down, his color and eyes shifting back to normal. Soon he was back to normal, gloomy Sunny Harvest. He stared to say something, but didn't get the chance as Pinky wrapped him up in a hug. "I was right! I mean, I hoped I would be right, but there was always the chance I could be wrong, but I wasn't!" she pulled away and beamed at him. "I knew you were good!" "Something like that," was all he could say. "I was so wrapped up in my new power I thought your friends couldn't help but go along with me...but they saw through the words of a sad, unthinking pony..." "Now, let's get back to your friends before they start to worry." He placed a hoof on her shoulder, and then they were back. "I'm back everypony!" Pinky announced as her friends jumped back in shock. "So, by the looks of that fellow, I'm guessing yer plan worked?" Applejack said after catching her breath. "Yes," he answered in Pinkie's place. "She was able to talk some sense back into me. But there is still one thing I have to fix, and you should all be there." He closed his eyes focused, and then they all founds themselves on the grass, next to the body of Celestia. "Princess!" Twilight exclaimed, rushing over to her. "What happened to her?" She asked him, so worried. "I...partially removed her soul. She is...stuck, between both worlds. But, this is something I can fix," walking over, he simply tapped her on the head with one hoof. Celestia suddenly drew in a deep breath, gasping as her eyes opened. "What...what happened?" she asked, seeing all of them standing before her. "I made a mistake, I should have listened to you. But you should be proud, your students are truly worthy to bear the Elements of Harmony," he told while helping her stand up. "But it was really Pinky Pie who did everything," Fluttershy said, always so modest. "But you're my friends! You give me strength even when you're not around. It's because of tough friends like you that I was brave enough to go face him on my own," Pinkie replied, affectionately rubbing Fluttershy's mane. You can really only learn about it by experiencing it... That's what Twilight had said about Friendship...and now, he felt like he finally understood what she had meant. Not that it mattered anymore. "Once again, I apologize to you Celestia. It seems that my dream really was too great to achieve. I shall not bother your world again," he bowed to her. "Wait! Can't you stay just a little bit longer? I mean, you still need a party! And..." Pinkie paused. "I haven't even made you smile yet..." Seeing her pleading eyes, he wished he could smile for her...but it just wouldn't show. "I am sorry...but I think it's far too late for that Pinkie," was all he could tell her. "Well, will I at least see you again?" "No, you won't," but he would see her...one last time. He'd stayed too long, it was time to go. He allowed himself one last look, one last memory of the sun, the grass, and the ponies who truly lived. He grasped the veil, but found himself hesitating. Now he knew how those silly ponies could spend all their days lying in the grass with nothing but the warmth of the sun as company. Because at any moment, you could lose it. The veil tore, and he was gone.
Memories Are Not Enough: An EndingIt was dark, quiet...lonely. It was just like it was supposed to be, just like he wanted it to be... Eyes closed, ears covered, and mouth shut. That was how he went about his duties. He would jump into the other world to grab a soul and immediately jump back. He wouldn't even allow himself to view the memories of those souls, blocking them from his mind. He had enough memories already. Memories that would never be forgotten. Sometimes...he was tempted, so tempted to go back over, just to experience the sun again. Just to talk to someone, anyone. But then he would start to dream, to hope. And all of those dreams would start...and end the same. They would be so bright at first, he would find friends in other ponies, ponies that all seemed to represent Pinkie Pie in some way, either in looks or personality. "Have you tried being less gloomy?" they would always ask before dragging him along to a party. A party so big and grand that he would smile, a real smile. And then laughter would follow, not just from him, but from all of his friends. That beautiful noise would wrap around him, bringing him joy he could barely imagine. But then the dream would turn dark. He would be forced to stay the same as the world around him moved forward, his friends growing old and sick, while all he could do was watch, powerless. Why did their lives have to be so short? Why couldn't they stay, for just a moment longer? Eventually, he would stand before them all, and they would always ask. "What are you doing? What's going to happen?" the first he could easily answer...the second...was so much harder. "Peace," was all he found himself saying. And he wished it was, he wished with all he had, everything he was, that the place he took them to would be peaceful. And then one of them...always the last one, would whisper. "I'll wait for you then..." that declaration, said out of friendship, would hurt so much. She would wait forever, for he could never follow, never know of their peace. And with those friends gone, he would be alone again, with memories of them dancing throughout his mind. Memories that would never be enough. He could try again, but those memories would haunt him, and so few of the ponies would trust him. He never aged, but he wasn't a Alicorn, he looked just like a regular earth pony What was he really? Their questions would follow, and he could not respond, for how could they trust him if they knew his true nature? Pinkie Pie was the only pony he had ever felt had truly accepted him...and he did not share the same hope with anyone else. So he would leave that all behind, alone again with new memories that only brought sadness. Two choices, stay or go, with the same ending, always alone. The dream would end and he would be pulled back to himself, the temptations gone, for now... The idea of life...still dreamed of living. How pathetic. He found himself moving around less and less, relying more on the instinct that was a part of him, or rather, the instinct he was a part of, to gather souls. Before he knew it, there was no need for him. The souls would drop into the river and be pulled along on their own. The princess was right, he was useless. He didn't know what to do anymore. He wasn't meant to exist, he was everyone that had died, and yet none of them. He'd waited so long for that answer... Did anyone wait for him? His thought drifted to those six ponies, and their princess. Would they keep watch for him? Worried that he may return some day, trying once again to understand life? He took a strange sort of pleasure from that, at least he would be remembered by someone, though he knew it wouldn't last. Memories were so fickle with living beings. At least he'd be a part of their world though their thoughts, for a little while. A little while... How long had he been here? That thought spoke up from the back of his mind. Exactly how long has it been since he had ran away from life, away from the pain? After all, time had a strange way of moving forward when you weren't looking. Maybe he could check, for just a moment, it was probably only a few years... But he didn't need to. He felt the sigh of a last breath, and with it, the sensation of a soul crossing over, bringing a memory with it. He blocked it, as always. But this memory wouldn't be blocked. It seemed to crawl past his defenses right into his mind. He saw a hill, its soft grass flowing like water in the breeze. Resting in the grass was an earth pony... A pink earth pony... No, no! He tried to stop the memory, to pull away, to block it out, to do something! But it was too late. The pony had been so tired that day, she had known that she didn't have much time left. But that didn't mean that she couldn't brighten up someponies day. So she'd made her way, slowly, out to that hill, making sure to give a friendly greeting to anypony she saw along the way. Climbing to the top of the hill, she'd been so sleepy, but she couldn't sleep yet, she had to wait for him... She waited and waited, her eyelids growing so heavy, but he refused to show. "Fine," she had said, letting her eyes close. "Fine then, I'll just bring the party to...him. It'll all be sunshine and...smiles...for Sunny..." her head nestled down between her hooves. And that was all, she passed on, her last feelings full of such hope to see that gloomy pony again. Free of the memory, he knew that he had to find that soul, find her soul. He dove into the river, so worried. How far had she gone, was it already too late? He couldn't believe what he saw. Right in the middle of the river...was her. She was stubbornly fighting against the flow, still waiting for him. Her soul was pink, of course. But it wasn't just simple pink, she was the pink of a sunrise, a sunrise right before the most perfect day. Something you could look at and just be happy for no real reason. He gathered up the soul in his arms and drew himself out of the flow. He held her close, and he almost feel her unbridled joy. It seemed that nothing could ever bring her down. His grip tightened, holding her closer, and then...nothing. He could not communicate with souls...and they could not communicate with him, he doubted that Pinkie Pie could even notice him. She'd waited for him, and he'd failed her. No matter he tried...he'd never be able to make up for it. Her fierce determination to make him smile had been for nothing. He dropped her soul, and hoped she would stop resisting the stream. There were so many other ponies in the beyond that could use a smile from her. He was tired. Life had been far too much for him. He had had enough. His existence had brought happiness to no one, not even himself. In the end...he was just a collection of memories with delusions of life, and it was time for them to be forgotten. He dropped into the river again and...let go. Nothing seemed to happen at first, but as the stream continued to pull he noticed himself growing...smaller. The memories were being pulled away, leaving him as tiny spots of light to rejoin their original souls. It didn't hurt, though some part of him wished that it did, wished that he could feel...something. As his memories fell away, one by one, but with his last bit of strength he managed to hold one memory close. One that he wished to see one more time. Hellooooooo! I'm Pinkie Pie, and I've never seen you around before! She was so happy, so friendly. It was before he had learned the truth, before he had made everything go wrong... "I am sorry, Pinkamina Diane Pie..." he whispered. He was never supposed to exist... So now he wouldn't. A tiny spark remained in the black river, so small, so bright. Then it was gone...
But As Long As You Have One FriendHer eyes opened as the the early morning light slowly streamed through the window onto her face. Groggily, she scanned the room, her vision stopping on Spike's bed where the young dragon was still sleeping, his snores echoing throughout the library. This was always the strangest part. Having to wake up the next morning and treat it like it was just another day. To just...move on. Though maybe that was just how the ponies of Ponyville wanted to live, never caught up in the past, always moving toward the future. Of course, it would be hard to work that sort of talk into everyday conversation. "I say, wasn't it just terrible being forced the witness the fragility of life last night?" "Of course, sent me running though the night in terror!" "Truly awful...so will that be six carrots or just three today?" She giggled to herself as she imagined the conversation. She guessed that sometimes, it was just easier to act like something almost world changing didn't happened the night before. Groaning a little, she shifted around under the covers, tempted to lie there for just a few more minutes. She was still tired, and with good reason. Chasing down and confronting Death was quite an exhausting experience. Celestia had told all of them to head back to their homes for some well needed rest. Even Pinkie Pie had looked tired...well, tired for Pinkie. She had still been jumping around the whole walk home, but something about her had seemed...off. Had her mane been less...poofy? She shook her head, it was too early in the morning to wonder about that, it was probably just fatigue. Anyway, no matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't just stay in bed, there was so much research to be done! The fact that Death, which should have been a simple force off nature, had visited them as a living breathing pony meant there was so much she didn't understand, which meant there was so much more she could learn! Also...the Princess had told them all to see her again today, to try and offer some explanation of what happened. She had no idea what to expect from this, what had caused death to attack Celestia, and why had he said everything was 'Thanks to the Princess?' Twilight shook her head and threw aside the covers, climbing out of bed. She hoped her friends were doing a better job of treating today like a normal day. "C'mon Spike, I think you've spent quite enough time sleeping," Twilight said, prodding her assistant with one of her hooves. She still couldn't believe how he had managed to nap through the entire incident. Spike let out a massive yawn and opened his eyes. "Aww, I was just about to beat my record for longest nap Twilight," she frowned at him. "Oh you know I'm just kidding Twi, your number one assistant is always ready to help! What do you need?" He stepped out of bed and stretched his tiny arms up into the air. "Thank you Spike. Now, the first book I need is..." "Woah nelly! You putting a book fortress together in here Twi'?" Applejack called over the massive stack of books that nearly blocked the doorway. "I must say, I don't think I've seen the library this cluttered before. Are you doing an early re-shelving darling?" Rarity asked, heading in to the library alongside Applejack. "Oh, sorry girls. I've been trying to do some research on the...incident that happened yesterday. I've been looking through any book that might be related, but nothing seems to make any sense!" Twilight said, annoyed. Spike rushed back in the room, a heavy book held over his head. "Here's the book you wanted Twilight, Advanced Theory On Existence After Death," he plopped the book down on the pile. "Oh, hey Applejack, hey...uh, Rarity." A huge grin appeared on his face as he saw the fashionista pony. "Well howdy-do Spike," Applejack returned. "Indeed, it's nice to finally see you awake," Rarity smiled at the dragon. "So are we the first to arrive then Twilight?" "Looks like, I was expecting Pinkie to be the first honestly. I don't think that pony's ever been late for anything," Twilight replied, shifting a few piles of books to the side with her magic to allow some more room for her friends. "I saw her walking this way on my flight over here," a voice called from outside. Peering through the doorway they all saw Rainbow dash settle down on the ground, Fluttershy right behind her. "Oh yes, it didn't look like she was walking that fast though," Fluttershy added. "Oh, and good morning everypony. It's so good to see that you're still doing well." "Good morning to you too Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash," Twilight smiled at her friends and led them inside. "Do any of you know why Pinkie might be...less than energetic today?" "I'd guess it'd have somethin' to do with that Death fellow..." Applejack said. "She seemed pretty sad to see him go." "Why don't you ask her yourself? I think I see her coming this way," Rarity said, looking out one of the windows. Walking up beside her, Twilight followed her eyes to see a spot of pink on the the horizon that just had to be Pinkie. Well...at least it looked like Pinkie. The earth pony appeared to be trudging along the road. Trudge, now that was a word Twilight had never expected to associate with Pinkie. Also, her head was held low to the ground, with the expression on her face looking absolutely serious. This day was turning out far stranger than Twilight expected. In a few minutes the pink pony had reached the library, joining the rest of the group. "Um, good morning Pinkie Pie," Twilight greeted after a few moments of silence. "Hello," Pinkie replied in a flat voice. She sat on the floor and narrow her eyes, making her look intently focused on...something. "Uh...are you okay Pinkie Pie?" Rainbow Dash asked, waving a hoof in front of her face. "Huh? Oh, sorry girls. I'm just thinking, think think thinking," she emphasized by tapping her head with one of her hooves. "About what?" Twilight inquired. "Oh, a whole bunch of things! A lot of whys, with a few whats, a couple whos thrown in, and right now I've got one when," she turned to Twilight. "When's Princess Celestia supposed to show up?" "Pretty soon I'd guess. We can go wait for her out on the balcony," Twilight replied, still looking a bit worried about Pinkie. "Okie dokie lokie, lead the way Twilight," Pinkie said, her eyes still focused in concentration. Nodding, Twilight led all of her friends out on to the lower balcony of the library, which was bathed in the warm morning light. "So Twilight dear, you were saying that none of your research was helping, what did you mean?" Rarity asked, trying to start some conversation while they waited. Twilight's eyes brightened, she loved any opportunity she got to explain her research to her friends. "Well I was going through all of my magical theory books and cross checking them with my books on the study of souls and other metaphysical concepts, but nothing in them added up. Sunny said that he was Death, but you can't just take that entire...concept, and turn it into a pony," she shook her head. "It just doesn't make any sense." "Oh my student, you don't know how right you are," shocked, they all looked up to see the majestic form of the Princess descending down to them from the sky. Gingerly, she alighted on the balcony and smiled at Twilight and her friends. Quickly, they all bowed in reverence. "There's no need for that my little ponies," Celestia chided them. "Oh, we're sorry Princess," Fluttershy apologized, standing back up. "What did you mean about me being right Princess? Are you saying that Sunny really wasn't death?" Twilight asked once everypony had stood up from their bows. "Yeah, and why did Sunny have to leave? Why did he turn so scary all of a sudden? Why did he say the whole thing was 'thanks to you?'" Pinkie jumped in next to Twilight. "And why...why did he have to be so sad?" Pinkie shied away sheepishly as Celestia turned her gaze on her. "The fact is...Sunny is death, but he is also not. His very existence, as you said Twilight, does not make sense. As for what happened last night...I tried to help him, and I wasn't good enough. I made...mistakes," Celestia explained, a pained expression her face. "What kind of mistakes Princess?" Applejack joined in. "He asked me to do something for him, something I should have refused. But I let my emotions get the better of me," she took a deep breath. "I cast a spell on him and discovered...the truth about Sunny is..." "...he attacked me,and the next thing I knew, you were all standing over me," she finished. "He was never meant to exist? That's just terrible," Fluttershy commented. "But I still don't understand, how could the Elements affect him? All he did was witness their power," Twilight asked, still confused. "Nopony knows the full power of the Elements my student, and he witnessed their power on four separate occasions. I do not think anypony could have come away from that unchanged," her teacher replied. "But it doesn't really matter in the end, right?" Rainbow Dash added. "I mean, he's back where he's supposed to be 'cause it would be too had for him to stay here." "But why? Why isn't he allowed to be happy?" Pinkie's mane had lost a bit of its puffiness. "That's not fair..." "I'm sorry sugar cube but...life ain't exactly fair," Applejack rested a hoof on Pinkie's shoulder. "For those livin' it, or those wishin' for it." "Btu that doesn't mean we should just give up! I have never given up when it comes to making somepony smile, and I won't stop now," Pinkie turned to Celestia. "There has to be something we can do. What about the Elements? What if we used them to bring Sunny back here?" "Um, darling..." Rarity responded to the desperate question. "I understand how you feel for Sunny, I personally would not wish his fate on anypony...but last time he was here he attacked the Princess and almost went mad with his own power..." "No no no no, not just bring him back! Celestia said that the Elements tried to help Sunny, but what if they didn't have enough 'oomf' to help him all the way. What if they were trying to, trying to..." Pinkie trailed off, searching for the right words. "What if they were trying to separate him from death and give him a real life, make him a part of this world," Twilight realized. Pinkie nodded happily, but the unicorn just shook her head. "That might be true...but using the Elements like that...it might work, but there's a chance..." Twilight paused. "A chance of what?" Pinkie asked. "After all of this...Sunny may not wish to experience life anymore. The majority of his memories here are...painful. If that's true then the Elements will fail, and I don't know what their magic will do," she replied with a gentle voice. "Well...what do you think we should do Princess?" Applejack asked. "I do not know," answered the Princess, slightly sad. "You six are the bearers of the Elements now. I am sorry, but in the end, you are the ones who must decide on how to use their power." "Well...I think we should try to help Sunny," admitted Pinkie. "Helping him just has to be worth it, don't you think?" She looked hopefully to her friends, but they remained silent. Twilight knew why. None of them had really known Sunny, it was only Pinkie that had spent any real time with him. Even thinking of him now, the images that stood out in Twilight's mind were...less than pleasing. The pitch black coat and mane. The white void eyes. And the crazed smile etched on his face, the never fading grin with the wild laughter. He had scared her, scared all of them, and it wasn't something they would ever forget. Faced on all sides by uncooperative silence, Pinkie seemed to grow gloomier and gloomier. To Twilight, it almost looked like she was growing...darker. As if the sun refused to shine down on her. She wanted, no, needed to say something. But what could she... "I think Pinkie's right," Fluttershy's meek voice broke through the silence. What?" the other ponies exclaimed, making her shy back a few steps. "Oh, um...the reason that Sunny turned so scary was because he was so desperate to stay..." she paused, looking nervous. "I think he was so desperate because of something I said to him. When Pinkie brought him over to my cottage I told him that...sometimes your dreams don't come true." "Because of that, he tried even harder, asking the Princess for the spell, and then trying to change the world when that didn't work," a tiny frown formed on her face. "I should have just kept my mouth shut." "Hey, you can't blame yourself for everything!" Rainbow Dash argued. "There's no way this was all your fault." "But that doesn't mean I'm completely innocent either, I need to make it up to him, and..." Fluttershy walked over to stand beside Pinkie Pie. "I have to let him know that even if dreams sometimes don't come true, that doesn't mean his won't. We can help him, we can give him his dream." Her pleading look joined Pinkie's. Finally, Twilight relented...slightly. "Pinkie, if we do this, you have to have no doubts. You can't be less than one hundred percent sure when it comes to using the Elements," she made sure her voice was deeply serious, Pinkie could not take this lightly. "You don't have anything to worry about Twilight. I don't I've ever been as sure about something before," Pinkie gave a warm smile. "Does that mean...that you're gonna help?" "Yes Pinkie, it does," Twilight turned to her other three friends. "What about you?" "Hey, Element of Loyalty remember?" Rainbow Dash said smugly. "I can't let my friends down." "Honestly, this all sounds a little crazy," Applejack admitted. "But I went with y'all to stop Nightmare Moon, so I think I can handle another crazy adventure." "It doesn't look like I have a choice now," Rarity observed, her five friends before her. "But if this can work, then I, Rarity, will give death his chance at life!" She declared, thrusting her head upward dramatically. "Well, it looks like we found our answer," Twilight said to the Princess. "I can see that," Celestia replied, smiling. "And I guess you'll be needing these." A quick flash of her horn, and suddenly, all the ponies found themselves wielding their Elements. "But please remember this...be careful," Celestia added. "We will Princess," Twilight assured her, then turned back to Pinkie. "So...what now? This is your plan after all. Pinkie beamed at her. "Well first we need to..." "So tell me again why we had to come back to this hill?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking behind them at Ponyville. Celestia stood a little ways away from them as an...'observer' she had said. "Well this hill needs a happy ending to its story of course," Pinkie explained like it should have been obvious. "Plus, it just seems...right. If this is where Sunny left...it's where we should bring him back." "Well, I guess that makes sense," Rainbow Dash admitted. "In a Pinkie sort of way." "That's what I thought!" Pinkie agreed. "Now then, is everypony ready?" The five mares nodded, completely prepared to follow their friend. "Then let's get started!" Standing together in a small circle on top of that hill, they closed their eyes, and focused. Using the Elements was always a strange experience. Twilight could always sense their power, like a giant wave just waiting to crash down, but she had no idea how to use that terrifying strength. Alone, that is. Together with her friends, when they were fully focused on what they wanted to accomplish, bringing that power out was as easy as breathing. The last two times, it had been her that controlled the flow of power, but this time, she entrusted that duty to Pinkie. Twilight could almost feel Pinkie's smile as the powers of Harmony gathered within her. The world paused... The wave came crashing down and Twilight opened her eyes. A multicolored beam flowed out of the jewels each pony wore, the rainbow slowly wrapping around all of them. Soon, they were encased in a dome of brilliant light, the colors almost blinding. Then, Twilight felt a notion like she being...pull away. The feeling grew stronger and stronger as the light grew brighter. And suddenly...it stopped. The light vanished, and all went black. Twilight held her breath for moment, thinking she had passed out, but no. She was still awake. Had something gone wrong? Had the Elements failed? Had she made a mistake? Frantically, she scanned the black void, looking for anything that might be familiar. She couldn't find anything, there nothing here but...shadows. But then...something caught her attention. It was a light...no, five lights, and they were drawing closer. The leading light was a bright and happy pink. Even in the darkness, it looked like it was bouncing around, barely able to contain its joy. Behind it was a proud blue that seemed like it was deliberately trying to outshine any other light. Next was a beautiful pure white light, its brilliance seeming to reinforce and hold up the lights around it. Then, a soft yellow spark. It seemed smaller than the rest, but Twilight could feel the great strength it contained, its light soothed her worried feelings. And at the very end, a strong, steadfast orange. It was calm and silent, making no boasts, because it didn't need to. It was pure and honest strength. It looked like her friends had found her. Curious, Twilight tried to see her own color, and was able to recognize from the light of her friends. A dark and mysterious purple, containing unknown wonders. Twilight wondered briefly what her friends felt from her light. She almost asked before she realized she didn't have a mouth. And then she realized something else... Standing together, their lights began to grow stronger. They illuminated the darkness, and Twilight saw that there was something else there. Something small, something black, curled into a tiny ball fall below them. A shadow within the shadows. Almost immediately, the pink light traveled down to it. The light expanded, shaping itself into the form of a silly pink pony. Hello again Sunny... Those words echoed in Twilight's mind. They hadn't been spoken, they'd been...thought. It hurts...every choice I make hurts... The tiny shadow's thoughts were so small, so quiet. But don't you see? It doesn't have to hurt anymore, we can help you... Everything will be sunshine and smiles! The shadow shifted slightly, like it was trying to look at Pinkie, but couldn't quite figure out how. Come on. It's just a hop, skip, and jump. Pinkie reached out a hoof, placing it beneath the shadow. She paused for a moment, then looked up. Girls? I don't think I can do this on my own... Twilight chuckled softly in her head, drifting down next to Pinkie joined by the other lights. Twilight focused for a moment and felt her own light expand outwards. Soon, they had all formed their own celestial bodies. Twilight brought out her own hoof to join Pinkie's, and as she touched the shadow, she felt something enter her mind. Memories, old, sad, and dark. Long memories of watching and wishing, trapped alone in the darkness. She watch through somepony else's eyes, as the world aged and changed before them. As so many souls fell into her arms. Then, in an instant, she was back her own mind, her hoof still supporting the shadow. But now, four more hooves had joined them. The six friends were ready. It's time to go. The pink pony shimmered. Yeehaw! Let's get outta this gloomy place! A orange glow of confidence Well duh! The boastful blue. Be careful everypony. The kind yellow. I agree, I think I've had quite enough of this place. And the generous white. See you on the other side. Twilight added in. Together, they began to rise, the shadow held between them all so carefully. Then, a soft burst of light wrapped around them, pulling them back to where they all belonged. The hill, they were all back at the hill. Twilight didn't feel any different, the only proof she had gone anywhere were her memories. She got the feeling she would never forget the dark memories from the shadow. "Oh my, is everypony all right?" Rarity asked, calmly checking on all of her friends. "Um, everypony, look," Fluttershy pointed towards the center of their circle, and Twilight couldn't help but gasp. Nestled down in the grass was a young gray colt, calmly napping as the morning sun shone down on his blank flank. Slowly, Pinkie inched forward and tapped the colt on the head. He yawned and slowly opened his eyes, staring confused at the odd sight of a grinning pink pony a few inches from his face. "Umm...hello?" he asked, his voice soft. "Hello Sunny, it's me, Pinkie Pie," she gleefully introduced. "Don't you remember?" "I...I don't..." he paused, glancing worried at the ponies surrounding him. "I know you...but I don't remember..." Pinkie frowned a little. "I bet there's one thing you remember," Pinkie decided, then poked him in the chest. "You're far overdo for a party!" The colt paused...then nodded. Pinkie beamed at him, almost uncontrollably happy. Faced with such overwhelming joy, Pinkie's mane shimmering in the sunlight, the colt couldn't help himself... Sunny smiled.
