Near Death Experience

by Hadles

Chapter 4

Pinwheel laid her supplies out on the kitchen table. She ran down her mental checklist. Dizzy had drawn her a map to the castle ruins. Along with the map, she had a flashlight, a canteen of water, and a handful of cookies. Did Death like cookies? Did he even need to eat? Shaking her head, Pinwheel returned to the task at hand. There were too many uncertainties when dealing with Death – it was best to just cover all contingencies. Trotting over at the counter, Pinwheel pulled a knife from the chopping block and added it to her pile of supplies. There was a reason everypony avoided the Everfree Forest. Monsters ran free and wild in the darkened underbrush. While no monster in its right mind would attack Death, Pinwheel would look like an easy meal. Taking a deep breath, Pinwheel glanced up at the clock over the door. 11:45 in the evening. Death would arrive in just fifteen minutes.

With a great sweep of her hoof, Pinwheel pushed all the supplies into her saddlebags. The knife poked through the fabric, cutting a small hole in the bottom of the bag. Sighing, Pinwheel pulled it out and left it on the table. She couldn't risk it cutting her bags open. There was no guarantee that Death would defend her against a monster attack, though. If it came to that, she'd just have to run. Pinwheel snorted. Knowing Death, he'd probably laugh his head off if a monster attacked her.

Slipping the saddlebag over her head, Pinwheel stepped out of the kitchen and made her way outside. Thick grey clouds obscured the stars. Pinwheel could just make out the hazy, blue-white halo of the moon. She ambled down the path through her pinwheel garden and stood in the wide dirt road. Her heart hammered in her chest. Questions buzzed through her head like angry horseflies. Just want kind of pony was Death? What did he like? How was she supposed to show him a good time if she didn't know what he liked?

An abrupt crack of thunder rumbled through the landscape. Pinwheel looked up at the sky. A bolt of blue lightning arced across the sky. All of a sudden, a dark hole opened in the clouds. A frigid blast of wintry air punished hillside. Glittering frost formed on the trees and the pinwheels in the yard. Evil tendrils of darkness crept from the sky-hole, splaying out like the tentacles of some horrible cloud kraken. Pinwheel's blood went to ice in her veins. She couldn't look away. Out of the sky-gate dropped Death, flying on massive white bone wings held together with shadowy, shifting membrane. His cloak billowed around him, vanishing like steam as he circled down from the heavens. As he approached the earth, the dark sky-gate sealed shut behind him. His cloak vanished, revealing his grotesque skeleton form. Shreds of flesh quivered on his body, stretched tight on his ancient yellow bones. The flesh knit itself into life over his naked bones, forming muscles and fat right before Pinwheel's eyes. By the time he touched down, he had a whole fleshy body covered in soft grey hair. On his flank, Pinwheel could make out the shape of a scythe cutie mark. The giant wings vanished into thin air, leaving only the five foot tall grey pony. Pinwheel gaped at him as he walked forward. He looked exactly like a regular pony, except…

Well, he had no face. He didn't even have eyeballs. A yellow horse skull sat atop his furry neck, grinning down at Pinwheel with exposed teeth. His eye sockets were like yawning, empty caverns. A pair of pointed, furry ears peeked out from over the skull, but Pinwheel couldn't see what they were attached to. His spine, a protruding railroad of bone, stuck out from his back. He had no tail, no mane, just short grey hair and yellow bone. Pinwheel swallowed hard.

"HELLO." Death said. His voice lacked the booming echo it had in the spirit world, but hearing him speak still gave Pinwheel the chills. His voice was solid, coming from a fleshy pony throat, and he spoke with a surprisingly high class Manehattan accent, but Pinwheel still couldn't stand it. He had no lips and his jaw didn't move as he spoke. Whatever words he said, they weren't coming out the way a normal pony's would.

Pinwheel stared at him incredulously, her ears limp. "Look at you." She mumbled, shaking her head slowly.

Death turned his head creakily, looking at his new fleshy body. "WHAT'S WRONG?" He asked as if he genuinely didn't know.

Pinwheel pointed to his head. "You don't even have a face! You don't have lips! How are you talking?" She demanded. Death cocked his head, "I can't take you to Ponyville looking like that! You'd cause a riot!"

"THIS FORM IS FINE."

"Can't you at least make a face for yourself?"

"THIS FORM," Death reiterated, a little more slowly, "IS FINE." Pinwheel felt another sudden chill. She grimaced, looking away.

"Well…maybe I can give you a tour after everyone's gone to bed." Pinwheel sighed deeply, closing her eyes in frustration and covering her face with her hoof, "Honestly. You can make a big dramatic entrance like that but you can't even give yourself a normal-looking face?"

"I COULD DO IT, IF I WANTED." Death answered, "I DON'T WANT TO."

"Fine." Pinwheel dropped her hoof. She stared up at the half bone-half flesh pony. She tried to smile, "I have something cool for us to do. I hope you'll like it. My friend, Dizzy, found these ruins in the Everfree Forest. We're gonna go explore them. How's that?" Pinwheel was more thankful than ever for Dizzy's suggestion. The Everfree Forest was filled with creepy things, not to mention all the ponies avoided it like the plague. If she could keep Death's attention focused on the ruins, maybe she could avoid having to parade him around Ponyville. That skull face would frighten the socks off all the ponies in town. Pinwheel could barely keep her cool standing next to him. His eye sockets were empty, completely empty. She could see the back wall of his skull through the huge openings. It made her feel faintly like vomiting.

Death nodded his head, motioning for her to lead the way. Pinwheel thought she'd feel relieved not having to look at him anymore, but it was even worse with her back to him. She could feel those empty eye sockets burning into her flank. Pinwheel swallowed hard. He was judging her. If this date wasn't fun, he'd drag her bodily into the darkness and send her soul to the Afterlife. Goosebumps prickled on Pinwheel's skin. All she heard was the chilly, out-of-season wind whistling in the trees and the slow clip-clop of Death's white hooves. She couldn't stand the quiet. "So…uh…do I just call you 'Death' or do you have some kind of 'mortal' name?"

"PALE HOOF." Death answered. Pinwheel stopped in her tracks, looking over her shoulder at the undead pony.

"Pale Hoof?" She echoed. He nodded slowly. His neck creaked like a squeaky coffin door, "Hey…that's kinda cool, actually. Pale Hoof. Is it okay if I call you that?" He nodded a second time. Pinwheel found herself smiling a little in spite of herself.

They took the long road around Ponyville. Pinwheel could see the tops of the buildings looming over the trees, but she didn't comment on them. Peering behind her, she caught Death – Pale Hoof – gazing at the town. Still, she said nothing. If he wanted to go to Ponyville that badly, he could say so himself. There was no way she was taking a faceless undead pony into town with her – he'd have to generate a proper face if he wanted to follow her there.

It was nearly one in the morning when they reached the Everfree Forest. The path between overgrown trees was pitch black. No lanterns lined the inky path. Pinwheel paused uncertainly on the edge of the woods. Everfree was scary enough during the day. When she'd come here with Dizzy earlier in the afternoon, the spooky roars and bellows in the trees nearly made Pinwheel poop herself. In the dark, it was even worse. The growls in the underbrush seemed louder than ever. Pinwheel swore she could see evil red eyes peering at her from the shadows. Swallowing, Pinwheel took her first few tentative steps into the woods. When nothing popped out to eat her, she gained confidence and walked further.

Pale Hoof walked into the forest after her. As soon as he stepped under the trees, a swarm of bats swooped down from the branches and mussed Pinwheel's hair. She squealed, dropping and covering her head. The bats vanished as quickly as they appeared. Pinwheel shivered, shaking her head. "This place is horrible." She said to herself. She turned to face Pale Hoof, "Um…listen. I know I'm in no position to make requests, but, well, there are monsters out here and I'm a little scared. Could you…I mean, would you please just…keep them away? With some death magic or something? I mean, it's not very good if I die in the middle of our date."

Pale Hoof was silent for a few moments. "VERY WELL." He replied. Pinwheel let out a sigh of relief. Arguably, Pale Hoof was worse than any monster. Even so, Pinwheel preferred him to a cockatrice or an ursa. He was still threatening to kill her, but at least he wouldn't rip her to shreds. Sifting through her saddlebag, she pulled out her flashlight and the map Dizzy drew for her. The ancient castle lay along an abandoned road deep in the woods. A huge, water-filled chasm surrounded it. The only way across was a rickety bridge that may no longer be intact. Dizzy said the castle had to be over a thousand years old.

"Hey…when was the last time you came to the mortal world?" Pinwheel asked, looking over her shoulder as she and Pale Hoof trotted along.

"MANY, MANY YEARS AGO."

"How long?"

"YOUR CELESTIA WAS JUST A FILLY THE LAST TIME I CAME HERE."

"Well, maybe you'll remember this old castle then. It's over a thousand years old, according to my friend. But, then again, I have no idea where she gets her data. She probably made it up."

"YOUR FRIEND DIZZY TWIST. THE ONE WHO KILLED YOU."

"It was an accident. She's just…a little ditzy sometimes is all." Pinwheel defended. Death let out a wheezy chuckle. Pinwheel blushed, "Friends forgive each other. And I don't have a lot of friends, so the ones I do have are important. If I died, she'd blame herself. So that's why I have to make this the best date ever."

"WE'LL SEE." Pale Hoof answered. Pinwheel couldn't help but shiver. Did he really intend to take her soul? Suddenly, she felt stupid. Of course he did. She died twice. A second chance was rare enough, but a third chance was unheard of. The realization struck her like a heavy bag of sand. He was only playing along, only being nice to give her a false sense of hope. No matter how the date turned out, he was going to drag her off. Just those two words confirmed that. Breathing deeply, Pinwheel tried not to let her fear show. She kept walking.

They walked through the forest in silence. They crossed ravines and rivers before finally coming to the rickety bridge. It still stood, though just barely. Silver mist filled the gully below. Stepping carefully, Pinwheel started across the bridge. The boards squeaked beneath her, but held sturdy. Pale Hoof followed, treading so lightly that his hooves barely seemed to touch the bridge. Before long, they were across.

The ruins were constructed of some kind of ancient blue stone. Broken glass windows lined the destroyed front hall. Its roof had long ago caved in, opening the hidden palace to the sky. Curling vines coiled around the broken columns. "Here we are." Pinwheel said at last.

"I KNOW THIS PLACE." Whispered Pale Hoof. Pinwheel looked at him curiously.

"It was here the last time you came to the mortal realm?"

"YES. THIS USED TO BE THE CASTLE OF YOUR ROYAL PONY SISTERS. I TAKE IT THEY HAVE MOVED SOMEWHERE ELSE. A SHAME. IT WAS A GLORIOUS CASTLE IN ITS TIME." A chilly wind whistled through the ruins as Pale Hoof spoke, "TELL ME, DO THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY STILL RESIDE HERE?"

Pinwheel blinked stupidly. "Elements of what now?"

"POWERFUL RELICS. CAPABLE OF IMPRISONING A GODDESS." Pale Hoof answered, "IN FACT, THAT IS WHAT THEY WERE USED FOR."

Pinwheel gazed at him thoughtfully. "You mean Princess Luna?"

"YES." Pale Hoof whispered, "TELL ME, IS SHE FREE? IF THE ELEMENTS ARE NO LONGER HERE, IT MEANS SHE HAS ESCAPED."

"I don't know what these Elements of Harmony are, but Princess Luna is free, yeah. A handful of ponies from Ponyville helped soothe her after she got out. I guess she's back in Canterlot now, but no one's really heard from her. Considering what she did, I guess she's just waiting for everyone to cool off before she makes a new appearance." Pinwheel replied, walked toward the ruins. She ascended the steps to the broken front door, "Do you…er, know the Royal Sisters?"

"I HAVE WORKED WITH CELESTIA ON OCCASION."

Pinwheel laughed. "I guess that makes you pretty powerful, then."

"I AM DEATH."

Pinwheel sighed. "Sure."

The ruined castle was silent. Pinwheel's hooves echoed on the marble floors. Bits of rubble and broken glass littered the ground. Pausing, Pinwheel tried to imagine what it looked like in its prime. Arching colonnades, vibrant stained glass windows, floors polished to a mirror-like shine – it probably looked a lot like the current palace in Canterlot. A great stone cylinder stood in the center of the room. Thin lengths of stone extended from the main cylinder, jutting up into the empty air. Pale Hoof sidled past Pinwheel, striding easily over to the large relic. "THE ELEMENTS USED TO SIT HERE. ATOP THESE SKEWERS." He said, gesturing to the thin stone skewers, "HONESTY. KINDNESS. LAUGHTER. LOYALTY. GENEROSITY. AND THE SIXTH ELEMENT."

"I guess they were destroyed when Princess Luna got free." Pinwheel answered.

"NO. I FEEL THEM STILL. POWERFUL RELICS SUCH AS THOSE ARE NOT EASILY BROKEN."

Pinwheel let out a little giggle. "So, if Celestia used the Elements to imprison Luna, does that mean she could imprison you too?"

"I DO NOT KNOW."

"Well…uh…we could go visit the six ponies who freed Luna, if you want to. They all live right there in Ponyville. Maybe they know what happened to the Elements."

Pale Hoof turned slowly to face her. He breathed out, his sigh echoing around the abandoned castle. "LET US MEET THESE PONIES."

Smiling, Pinwheel nodded. Maybe if she discovered the location of the Elements, Death would let her live. The missing elements clearly bothered him, though he did not show it. His skull face was unmoving and expressionless, but Pinwheel heard the subtle ounce of worry in his chilly voice. "We'll head back to Ponyville when everyone's awake. For now, I'd like to have a look around…"

---

Pale Hoof and Pinwheel returned to Ponyville just as the sun was rising over the rooftops. Somewhere in the distance, a rooster crowed. Pinwheel hesitated on the edge of town, shifting her weight nervously from foot to foot. She glanced over at Pale Hoof. By all accounts, he was a scary pony – no face with yellow bones protruding from his fur. While their few hours together had made Pinwheel a little more comfortable with him, she didn't think she could ever adjust to the sight of his bony skull-face and his half-bone, half-flesh body. The ponies of Ponyville, who'd probably never seen anything like Death in their lives, would probably panic.

"Okay…before we go in Ponyville, I think that maybe we should do something about your face…" Pinwheel began delicately. Pale Hoof's neck creaked as he turned to look at her. Pinwheel shivered.

"MY FACE IS FINE. WE DO NOT HAVE TIME TO WASTE." He answered.

"Your face is fine? You don't even have a face!" Pinwheel complained loudly. Pale Hoof sighed, "You can do magic. You're a god. Why can't you just give yourself a normal face?"

"I CANNOT CHANGE FORMS IN THE MORTAL WORLD WITHOUT IMMENSE EFFORT. THIS IS MY FLESH FORM. I SHALL STAY THIS WAY UNTIL I DEPART FROM THE MORTAL REALM."

"So…you're stuck like this."

"IN LAYPONY'S TERMS, YES."

"You picked a bad fleshy form, then. Normal ponies have faces."

"I AM NOT A NORMAL PONY."

"No, you aren't." Pinwheel sighed, "Well…if anyone asks, I'll just tell them it's a birth defect. A really horrible birth defect."

"AS YOU WISH."

Pinwheel walked alongside Pale Hoof into the town. Thankfully, the streets were still quietly empty. A few ponies ventured out of their homes to observe the sunrise or pick up their papers. When they saw Pale Hoof pass, they froze in their tracks, their mouths hanging open and their eyes wide. Pinwheel grimaced with embarrassment. She breathed deeply, praying silently to Celestia that Pale Hoof's odd looks wouldn't cause a scene. "We'd…ah…better go visit Dizzy first. I sort of owe her an explanation. And she might know where the other ponies live…"

Pale Hoof said nothing, merely following along behind her. He was like dark storm cloud drifting in her shadow. Pinwheel made a beeline for Mr. Breezy's fan shop. Dizzy probably wouldn't be awake yet, but speaking to another living pony would help calm Pinwheel down. Mr. Breezy was unlocking the shop door as they passed. The old shopkeeper froze when he saw Death, his mouth open in shock. Pinwheel smiled awkwardly at Breezy. "I'm just coming to visit Dizzy, Mr. Breezy…" She said weakly, lowering her head so her forelock covered her face. Pale Hoof nodded politely to Mr. Breezy. The shop's front windows frosted over as Pale Hoof passed. Mr. Breezy watched them as they disappeared up the side stairwell to Dizzy's apartment.

Steeling her nerves, Pinwheel knocked on Dizzy's door. Dizzy answered almost immediately, surprisingly awake. She smiled at Pinwheel. "Hey! Pin! Is your date over already? I've been waiting…" Dizzy caught sight of the tall bony pony standing over Pinwheel's shoulder, "…up….all…night…" Her pupils shrank to pinpricks.

Pinwheel grinned awkwardly. "Hey, uh, Dizzy. This is my…date, Pale Hoof. He has a…birth defect."

"HELLO." Pale Hoof added. The light bulb in Dizzy's living room blew out.

Dizzy didn't say anything. She gawked openly at Pale Hoof, unable to move or speak.

"Uh…Dizzy?" Pinwheel poked her friend's shoulder. Dizzy snapped back to life, shaking her head. Even still, she couldn't look away from Pale Hoof.

"S-sorry! I…didn't mean to stare at your…birth defect." Dizzy answered, still gawking, "Uh…what do you need, Pin?"

"I'm looking for six ponies. You know, the six that were involved in the whole Nightmare Moon thing a few weeks back. Do you know where they live?" Pinwheel asked.

"Uh…yeah…" Dizzy gaped. Blinking rapidly, she turned and vanished back into her dark apartment. She returned a moment later with a map of Ponyville in her teeth, "I know Twilight lives in the…the library…and Pinkie Pie works at Sugarcube Corner. Uh…all right, I'm sorry, but…Pinwheel, your date has no face."

"I know." Pinwheel sighed, covering her face with her hoof.

"He doesn't have eyeballs…"

"Dizzy, please…we have to find those six ponies. Where do the other four live?"

Dizzy rubbed her eyes. "Well…uh….Rarity runs the Carousel Boutique, Applejack lives on the farm, and Fluttershy lives by the stream. I don't really know about Rainbow Dash…"

"Five out of six isn't bad." Pinwheel smiled at her friend, "Thanks for your help. You, uh, oughta change that lightbulb."

"Yeah…" Dizzy answered vaguely, "Good luck with your…date…"

"Right."

Comments

[Lokness]

Wow I REALLY like this. Not great on grammer but as far as I could see you had no grammatical or spelling issues and over all a great story. Keep it up.

[Magical Trevor]

XD This is excellent! Feel bad that she has 'no chance', but that just makes it moar exciting! (Rats! Only have time for one more chapter before church! :o )

[themanesix]

well.....that will wake you up in the morning